I've been following Craig Sinclair's blog, My Daily Image since 2008.  I love his unpretentious style.  I find his photos honest and telling, each one a narrative in itself, and they work wonderfully collectively.  Each photo posted represents the day it was taken and is marked as such as the title of the post.  Above are some of my recent favourites.

P.S. he's the guy who photographed my East Hastings yarn bomb a few years back.

below text taken from their website: www.88stitches.com
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You're invited

 to our Customer Appreciation Day Extravaganza!

ONE DAY ONLY!

 Saturday, February 25th, 2012

10:00 am to 5:00 pm



   We think it’s highly appropriate that in the month

known for big hearts and flowers, we pick a day to let

our friends of the shop know how much we appreciate your

continued support.    We are changing things up this year in a big way,

moving in a different direction, and “shaking” it up.

 There will be no timed discounts this time around.    Instead, you will have the chance to draw

 your discount at the time of purchase.

The luck of the draw will award you either

30%   35%   40%  45%   or even an AMAZING 50%  off your entire purchase!

Nothing in stock is excluded from the sale!


There will also be the chance to win some fabulous door prizes.
  


RULES FOR THE DAY:
  All sale items are final sales.

We expect to be very busy and therefore cannot wind

your yarn or offer knitting help with projects on the sale day.


To ensure fairness to everyone, we will not accept

     layaways anytime before or on the event day.

     In other words, please do not ask us to hold (or hide) yarn for you prior to Saturday.


Please bring reusable shopping bags and your patience:

there could be long line-ups.


Thank you so much for your support and we hope you have  fun fun fun!

Happy stashing,

from all of us at 88 Stitches

Wool is Not Enough is have a sale this weekend: Thurs Feb 23rd to Monday Feb 27th.... and as of Feb 28th WINE will be closed on Tuesdays.

Katia
Ondas Lux 15% off
Triana Lux 15% off
Roccio 20% off
Park Avenue 20% off
Ronda 30% off
Sabrina 30% off

Nova
Butterfly 25% off
Flamenco Floating 25% off

Filtes
Brina 30% off

Elsbeth Lavold
Baby llama 30% off

Debbie Bliss
Como 40% off

Mirasol
Q'ina 40% off
Kacha 40% off
Tupa 40% off

Noro
Silk Garden Sock 30% off
Yuzen 30% off
Vintage 40% off (only 3 balls left)

Sirdar Nomad 30% off

Louisa Harding
La Salute 50% off
La Salute Quatro 50% off

Berroco
Cuzco 20% off
Inca Gold 20% off
Jasper 15% off

Cascade
Soft Spun 50% off (not much left)

All felting pads, needles roving, and books 50% off

Hand Crafted hardwood Drop Spindles and Nostepines 30% off

On line Starlight 60% off
Himalaya Pollen 60% off

All Books (not including yarn booklets) 30% off the Canadian price

This is so wonderfully weird.

Cara Birkeland, the third generation owner of the well loved Vancouver wool and yarn company which has been running for over 70 years, has recently announced their upcoming closure.  I know the community is very sad about this, as am I.  Thank you Birkeland family for your legacy of beautiful, quality products, hospitality and camaraderie.



Below is Cara Birkeland's message to the community, taken from their website.

February 2, 2012


To all our Valued Customers,

Birkeland Bros. Wool will be closing as of March 1, 2012.

Birkeland Bros. Wool would like to thank you for your patronage over the last 73 years. We have enjoyed helping, laughing, and sharing your wool dreams. You are not only our customers - many of you have also become our friends.

This decision has not come easily. My grandfather founded the business, and my father took over until his retirement due to illness. About 15 years ago, parallel to a nursing career, I started to expand Birkeland Bros. Wool into its current format of supplying a wide variety of products for crafts and fibre arts.

A wonderful community has formed around our business, and it has been much fun, and you as customers have contributed to 2011 being one of the most successful years in the history of Birkeland Bros. Wool.

Nevertheless, health reasons have forced me to re-assess my options and consider drastic changes. With pride about what my family, our staff, and you as a community have achieved, and with sadness that all good things will have to transform at some point in time, I have decided to close the doors of Birkeland Bros Wool, and focus on new horizons.

Help us to celebrate the wonderful and woolly things shared, of decades past and new decades to come, in this month of February. We will be having several sales events, and it will be a good occasion to re-stock your coffers and drop by and say hello.

We wish you continued happiness in knitting, spinning, weaving, felting and many other wool dreams.

We have loved being part of your life.

Sincerely,


Cara Birkeland

3rd Generation Owner,
Birkeland Bros. Wool Ltd.

Did you see this?  How exciting huh?

They are currently taking applications for both instructors and vendors.  Apply!

Do you have a Vancouver based blog or website that is fibre, craft or art related, and want to share our website with your visitors and readers?  Please feel free to download our logo and add it to your website, and be sure to let us know so we can add your link to our links page too :)

Collages by Tracy Jager of Living Feral make me smile.  They remind me of those weird dreams where characters turn into other people randomly, and you know you're in your house but it doesn't look like your house - you know those kind?

Above is a new one that I'm loving.  Also check out the awesome desk calendar she offers.

<3 J

Wool Is Not Enough is a wee yarn shop that recently opened up in the International Village Mall.  The proprietor Shoshana was kind enough to answer some questions about her shop right in the middle of the holiday season AND amidst moving the shop.  Read the interview below:

Janna: First off,  I'm really curious if there is some inside joke to the acronym of the name of your shop, WINE?

Shoshana: No the acronym means nothing it was an accident that I didn't even realize until someone pointed it out. The name is just a play on the expression "once is not enough." Wool is not enough means you need lessons, needles, other yarn, friends to knit with etc. because a knitter cannot live on wool alone.

J: Which products that you offer are you most excited about?

S: I try to offer quality products in an affordable price range. I think that the Berroco line can't be beat for this and I will be carrying more of it all the time. I also carry the old stand by Sirdar, not just quality but their pattern library is unmatched and timeless. I also love the Mirasol line because it supports a school in the highlands of Peru for the children who raise the animals and it is also very good value for the money with excellent quality. 

I also believe that I carry more Katia yarn than any other store in the GVA. The one ball scarves
are great fun. people love them. Katia is also a very good company that supports their product with patterns and videos. I don't think any other company does these scarves better.

So I'm, excited about carrying some Canadian yarns. I am sourcing these now. I am also excited about carrying the Knit Pick needles, which aren't available in any other Vancouver yarn stores as I know of. I love the rainbows. I also carry milk cassein needles which are made of milk plastic. They are soft and pliable absorbing the oils from skin and yarns as well as warmth to create a lovely slick but pliable silent needle to knit with, my favorites.

J: Part of the reason I wanted to interview you was because of your recent fundraising to buy a herd of goats for villages in Uganda.  How is that going so far?  Can you tell us more about the program?

S: The kid mohair for kid goats promotion continues until Jan 15th. I need to make a sample from the yarn to promote it, and maybe find a good free pattern i can give people with it. I just wanted to give something back for the success of my business.

Plan Canada is a great charity that provides tools for success in underdeveloped communities, such as goats, chickens, trees, learning kits etc. Instead of just food aid. The dollars are also matched by governments to increase the donation. Actually one of my main yarn suppliers Diamond Yarn decided to give 20 chickens 15 goats and 10 donkeys to underdeveloped communities through OXFAM rather than give us all pens. That's way better than pens. I think the more businesses give back the better all our communities become. 

J:  So, you shared with me in an email earlier that you're changing the location of your shop.  What's the reason for the move so soon after opening?

S: Each yarn store needs to get a feel for it's clientele. My customers will be different in Gastown than they are in Chinatown where I am currently located, even though it is only 2 blocks away. I'm moving because it is time. I began teaching lessons, then opened a pop up shop in my friends front window, for the summer, then I opened a yarn kiosk in a mall in Chinatown because there is no yarn store in downtown Vancouver. Now I am moving to Gastown and opening my own store. The mall has been great for exposure and my business has done very well far surpassing my expectations for the first quarter, but it is challenging to be in the hallway. So it is time too move upwards and onwards. I will be building my collection over the coming year, adding new lines every month or so, or as finances allow. 

J: You mentioned something about a yarn parade or something awesome like this in one our past convos.  Can you elaborate on said awesomeness?

S: I am having a yarn parade because it (moving the shop two blocks) really isn't far enough away to rent a truck to take over a rolling slat wall and a rolling shelf unit. So I thought why not have a parade and march the yarn over.  Following the parade there I will be having a New year's Grand Opening Reception until midnight with food and entertainment. Lots of fun. 

J: So anyone is welcome to join in the yarn parade then?

S:Yes of course everyone is welcome for the yarn parade. We are marching the yarn to the new store with live musicians, and we need hands to help push the rolling shelves.

J: When and where will it be occurring?
5 pm beginning at the International Village location (88 West Pender) on December 31st, new years eve

J: And where will your new location be?
S: 77 E Cordova St.


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J: Anything else you want to share about Wool Is Not Enough?

S: That's about it for now.  I'm a bit nervous about my new venture into Gastown but I just need to let people know where to find me and they will come I think. Check back next year and we'll see.

J: Thanks so much Shoshana! I wish you the best of luck in your move and with the future of the shop :)



Wool Is Not Enough links
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