Anniversary Memories: Scarf Fest

The first and second years we were open, scarf knitting was a huge trend. The number of people knitting scarves was breathtaking, and this was true not only in our shop, but across the country. Bamboo needles were in short supply; we heard that it was because there wasn't enough bamboo to make them fast enough. (Anyone who knows anything about bamboo growth rates would find this statement astonishing.)

So we decided to have an event around scarf knitting. We would call it "Scarf Fest."

We decided to buy extra yarn for this event. It was hard to find yarn at that point because novelties were so scarce, so we bought what we could. We weren't sure how much to order, but we knew we needed a lot. It arrived....and arrived....and arrived, in amazing amounts. We put it in the back room, in anticipation of the Big Night.

That, too, arrived. We closed at 5:30, our usual time, and then we had a half hour till Scarf Fest was to commence. One person wanted to come in early, but we wouldn't let her. We were sure she was trying to get a leg up on the other customers. (Later, she would tell us that she only had a few minutes between work and another appointment, and she was sorry she missed the event.)

In that half hour, we opened bag after bag of yarn. We piled it on our back table. The amount of yarn was amazing. We apologize for not having a photo. Words cannot do this story justice.

And then we opened the doors.

Our customers arrived--lots of them. They all looked at the heaps of yarn on the back table, got a glazed--or confused--look, walked past the table, and went to the familiar types of yarn they had been buying.

It took us years to sell all that scarf yarn.