Knitting hath charms to sooth the savage beast! A new customer at Skein on Saturday. She seemed pretty agitated and ready for a fight. She announced the she wanted to knit a shawl and she didn't want anything complicated and she didn't want to spend a lot of money. So I go through the routine of showing her some samples and suggesting some yarns and trying to get her to focus on what she really wanted to do. Once I had figured out what her price range was and showed her some nice yarns she began to calm down a little. Then when I showed her a simple pattern, that she didn't have to purchase, she even got a little cheerful. By the time she left she was smiling and looking forward to an evening of knitting. She's even coming back to get some help with a sweater she messed up because she didn't follow the directions. After she left, Ann Mary said to me, "Boy, you sure know how to handle these cranky old ladies!" And it's true.

I have another customer who loves to put on her best belligerent face when she comes in. I like to tease her about it and she just loves it. On Friday she came in all riled up because she didn't like the neckband on her sweater. After we reworked it she went home and finished the sweater. She came in on Saturday wearing the sweater, pretending that she was just returning something. She was so cute, trying to pooh-pooh all the compliments. But you could just see she was grinning from ear to ear on the inside. She can be a trial but she won't let anyone but me help her. She usually calls to make sure I'm there before she comes in.

It's really a lot of fun to work in a yarn shop.