Anniversary Party Pictures!

We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who came out on Friday night to celebrate our one-year anniversary with us at the shop! We had a fantastic turnout, some great prizes and contests, and lots of familiar faces. Enjoy the pictures (click to see full size) and scroll to the end for an important announcement about our Wednesday Knit & Crochet Nights...




























***Wednesday Knit & Crochet Night Announcement***
While we've had some great Wednesday nights here in the shop these past few months, the turnout has been less than we were hoping to keep the K&C Nights going, so we'll be suspending the weekly knit nights until further notice. We're happy to hear suggestions for alternate days/times that might work better, and if there's a popular favorite, we'll do our best to try to accommodate! We'll be cross-posting this in the Citizens of Yarnia Ravelry group also, but feel free to pass the message along to others who may not be aware of the change. Thanks!

First Official Contestant

We arrived at work yesterday morning to find this in our mail slot:


We are exercising restraint and waiting to open it until tonight at the party...but we're so excited to see what's inside, and what everyone else has come up with!

See you tonight!!

We're making yarn for you!

We've always got new yarns in the works that we like to play around with and mix up here at the store to sell as pre-made cones, but this week especially we're looking forward to our Anniversary Party on Friday, when all premade cones in the store will be 10% off from their regular price!


Just as a reminder, here's all the pertinent info you need to know...and you've still got two days left to come in and make up a custom yarn that can be submitted for our Yarn of the Year Contest!

Save The Date: Friday, February 20!!

That's right, this month Yarnia turns one year old! We want to thank everyone who's helped to make our first year such a success -- all the bloggers and Ravelers who have given the shop rave reviews online, journalists who have gotten us writeups around town, and of course you, our customers! That's why we're inviting you to our one-year anniversary party here at the store! On Friday, February 20, from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m., come on by to enjoy food, drinks, and some live music! During party hours only, we'll be having a bunch of fun in-store treats, including:

• 10% off all pre-made cones
• Prize drawings for in-store goodies, as well as a grand prize drawing for a 1-hour massage with licensed massage therapist Anne Gray, of Beauty Mark on Alberta St., who has kindly donated her services for this occasion
• Yarn-of-the-Year Contest (details in previous blog post, and on website)

Hope to see you there!

You're invited...

Save The Date: Friday, February 20!!!

That's right, this month Yarnia turns one year old! We want to thank everyone who's helped to make our first year such a success -- all the bloggers and Ravelers who have given the shop rave reviews online, journalists who have gotten us writeups around town, and of course you, our customers!

That's why we're inviting you to our one-year anniversary party here at the store! On Friday, February 20, from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m., come on by to enjoy food, drinks, and maybe even some live music! During party hours only, we'll be having a bunch of fun in-store treats, including:

• 10% off all pre-made cones
• Prize drawings for in-store goodies, as well as a grand prize drawing for a 1-hour massage with licensed massage therapist Anne Gray, of Beauty Mark on Alberta St., who has kindly donated her services for this occasion
• Yarn-of-the-Year Contest (details below)

Yarn-of-the-Year Contest
What's your favorite Yarnia blend that you've made over the past year? It just might be our favorite, too! During our one-year anniversary party on Friday, February 20, we'll be accepting entries for Yarn of the Year. Got a little bit of that favorite blend left over? Knit or crochet up a little swatch and bring it in! If your yarn is chosen as our Yarn of the Year, we'll carry it here in the shop as a premade blend (or as close a match as we can, given the fibers on hand), and not only will you get to name it, but you'll also win a $30 Yarnia gift certificate!

Don't have any yarn left over that's calling to you? You can come into the shop and make up a blend anytime up until the evening of the party itself, to submit for consideration. Who knows? Your next custom blend just might be the winner!

Official Rules: All entries must be submitted in person on the evening of Friday, February 20, and must be in swatch form, at least 15 stitches (or chains) by 15 rows in size. Knowing the fiber content is useful, but not necessary. However, there will be room on the entry form to suggest projects that would show off the best of your yarn, so come with a few ideas! The winner will be contacted by the end of the following week, and announced both on the blog, and in next month's newsletter.

Entries will be judged based on versatility, creativity, novelty, and personal taste of the judges :)

RSVP to our online Evite here!
Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday to us!!!

A secret admirer! Well, a secret gifter, at the very least. I returned from celebrating a family event up in Vancouver on Saturday morning to find this in my mail slot:


What a sweet surprise! Thanks so much to whomever this was from; it's little things like this that make a difference on the tough days and remind me that we're part of such a great, supportive community here in Portland.

Whether this person was aware of it or not, I need to get a little sentimental here and point out that today is Yarnia's official birthday. One year old! Yep, a year ago today, we opened the doors to an eight-hour flood of customers who patiently waited for their very first custom blends of yarn to be wound, as the line at the machine grew longer and longer. The introductory crowds were in no small part due to some great press we received in the week before our grand opening, but at the same time, that sense of community and eagerness to support a burgeoning small business was so palpable in all who came to visit, and honestly, that has played such a crucial role in helping to allow Yarnia to grow over this past year, and onwards into the future.

So a huge thank you to everyone -- from anonymous gifts in the mail slot, to our landlord who was technically our first official customer (he bought a gift certificate for one of his employees before we even knew we offered them); to Dario over at Marino Cafe who is ever-supportive and ever-generous with his coffee; to the yarn barons in my life who have imparted the wisdom of experience and gave me a crash course in yarn counts; to the blog commenter who suggested we procure ourselves a McMorran yarn balance; to friends with fabulous ideas, graphic design skills, other-worldly levels of creativity, and a sense of aesthetic that can only come from not occupying the same space for seven hours a day.

And of course, thanks to all our customers near and far, online and in person, from the neighborhood, or passing through town...you're the ones who keep the gears turning! While we won't be celebrating at the store today (cherished weekend, remember?), we're going to be throwing a behemoth of a birthday party later in the month as a big thanks to all of you. Stay tuned for details about it in the coming week!