We Love Economy Busters!

So we say..."Just DO it!"

More Economy Busters!

Paul wanted to pass this on to everyone. We truly believe that each one of us can make a difference and improve the world around us.

Trying to save money??? Check out Gaspricewatch – You can search you local area, or trip route, for the lowest priced gas. As summer draws closer it is reasonable to think that fuel prices will be around $2.75 to $3.00 a gallon. That’s especially painful as you are trying to scarp a few $$$ for yarn ; ) – so use the site to find the cheapest gas and save $$$$$

Looking to reduce your grocery bills?? – Look for coupons using websites like – Couponmom and hotcouponworld.


From Claudia:

When going downhill, put your car in neutral to save gas. She claims she is up to 40 miles per gallon in her Bentley...oops, I mean Honda Civic.

Fans are CHEAPER than air conditioning, and better for the environment.

Take all your little snippets of yarn and scatter them for the birds to use in building nests...adds a little color to the world and helps our bird friends.

See you at the shop soon!

Side to Side Summer Top

Here's the finished product of my newest pattern, the Side to Side Summer Top. This is also going to be a class on Tuesday Nights, May 26th, and June 2nd, 6-8pm. The pattern allows you to pick your own yarn, needle size, and stitch pattern, and it is made to fit you! I used two skeins of Araucania's Ranco Multi to make this one.

It's a fun pattern that can be made up for anyone from a baby to a full size person.

In Love!!

So it's spring and love and all that is in the air!

Two good friends of mine got married yesterday and they are most certainly in love! I had the priveledge of kntting a top for the bride (see image). Kristi helped me pick out the yarn once I told her my idea. I used Classic Elite's Cotton Bamboo...and I'm IN LOVE with this yarn. I plan on using it alot this summer. It's sport weight and soft and light and I thoroughly enjoyed working with it. And the happy groom couldn't keep his hands off the yarn (yeh, the yarn, right!).

Congratulations Economy Busters!

We have a Winner! Congratulations to Lauria of Massachusetts who wins a $25.00 gift certificate to Eleganza Yarns.

Our number generator pulled Lauria who had a long post with lots of great ideas in it. I especially like her idea of having a budget and sticking to it...oops...it's on our list big time.

And a HUGE Thank You to everyone who took the time to participate and post comments. If you haven't already, please take a look below at what innovative and savvy ideas everyone had. If we put these ideas into practice, just think what we can all achieve collectively!

Share your Economy Busters!

I have a dream. And it looks like eggs.

This is one of my summer Economy Busters and it's been on the back burner for awhile now. I've always loved chickens and can remember helping my grandmother when she gathered fresh eggs into her gingham apron.

Last year at Sheep & Wool, I was able to pick up a copy of this great little magazine (Backyard Poultry Magazine), along with a $3 booklet on raising chickens. No yarn, no fiber purchases whatsosever. Honest.

Take a look at the most recent entry on designer/farmer Kristin Nicholas' blog. All you have to do is read Kristins blog to see that chickens are in fact, extremely amusing.

I may follow Kristin's lead and check out McMurray Hatchery where you can buy rare breeds, breeds that lay colored eggs, etc.

I've been doing some homework on coop building. You can even build a chicken "tractor"...what a hoot! This one is new to me, but it makes sense...just wheel the coop to greener pastures when needed. Here's a coop that my customer Gretchen emailed to me. She actually built this herself. I'm so impressed.

We've been talking lately on our Eleganza and Shalimar blogs about what we term "Economy Busters", those things in life that we can add or tighten up on to become more fiscally responsible while still enjoying life! You probably have your own list.

Take a few minutes to share your idea(s) with our readers. Post your comments here before April 8th. We'll be using a random number generator to choose our winner. The winner will receive a $25.00 gift certicificate to Eleganza Yarns. Let's all work together for a better life and a better future.

Poems Sock is Here!

So today we received our newest sock yarn, Poems Sock by Wisdom Yarns. Some of you may be familiar with the "big" Poems, which is a worsted weight self-striping yarn that we carry. Poems was new to us this fall and we LOVE it! It is soft, the colors are wonderful and the price point is heavenly also! Naturally it made sense then, to take a look at the Poems Sock. And it only took a glance for us to say YES, YES, YES!

Can you tell we're excited? Not only will this little yarn make up an extraordinarily lovely pair of socks, but we can see all kinds of projects being whipped up by our customers. What about a pair of fun, fingerless gloves, Claudia's Side-to-side Baby Sweater (free pattern with purchase), or the Modern Quilt Wrap by Mags Kandis (from Knitting Daily and Folk Style).


This pattern out of Folk Style takes nine individual colors, but you can do it with only 2 balls of Poems Sock-and let the yarn do the color changing work for you! Whew! And that's only a start...go wild. We know you will when you see (and feel) this little gem of a yarn.