Thanks to Yarn Bar in Billings, Montana for Hosting a Fifty Four Ten Studio Trunk Show!

Recently, I shipped five of my favorite blanket samples off across the country for a trunk show at Yarn Bar...a yarn shop in Billings, Montana.  After the box arrived safely, Sue and Linda, the owners of Yarn Bar, sent this lovely photo of the trunk show set-up.  The blankets will be on display through Saturday, October 5, 2019.

I'm so appreciative of their thoughtful, attractive display of my blanket samples!

Fifty Four Ten Studio trunk show at Yarn Bar in Montana

It's feeling very appropriate that my first 'out-of-town' trunk show is in Montana.  A few months ago, my aunt mentioned that she enjoyed reading my January blog post that mentioned the Yarn Bar store.  She reminded me that her father (my grandfather) worked for a while in Billings, Montana when he was a young man.  He was a traveling salesman - selling candy, playing cards and other small items wholesale to grocery stores - around the Montana and northern Wyoming region.  It was the mid-1930's - early 1940's.  Times were tough.  Jobs were hard to come by.  He didn't talk about this time in his life very often....but he did just enough for us to know that he had persevered through some hard times.

In 1942, he took a chance on a job offer in Kansas City.  One of the biggest challenges was finding a place to live - it was war time and housing options were very limited.  He was able to rent a one- bedroom apartment on the 7th floor of a 'hotel'.  Soon, his wife and two very young daughters joined him in Kansas City.  It was a tight living situation that he thought would be short term.  The four of them lived in the one-bedroom apartment for eight years...far longer than he planned.

After looking for a long time (housing was scarce during the war years) - they purchased their first home.  The house number was 5410....the number that inspired the name Fifty Four Ten Studio.  Here's a favorite winter photo of the house....

My grandparent's house - 5410.

My frugal, hard-working grandfather would be quite pleased that I've made this connection with a yarn shop in Billings.  He died in 1998...so it would be hard for him to comprehend that I connected with Sue and Linda through the internet and social media!  He was of the paper, pencil and land-line telephone era.

Here's a closer look at the blankets that I sent to Yarn Bar for the trunk show...

Fifty Four Ten Studio - blankets for knitting trunk show!

The patterns shown in the photo above - clockwise starting from the top:

Click links to learn more about the patterns here on my blog...

Green: Prairie Fields blanket
Blue: On the Map blanket
Stone: Stay on the Ridge blanket
Turquoise: Dance on the Breeze blanket
Light Stone / Tan: Northern Trail blanket

Sue and Linda added their store sample of my 'On the Porch' blanket knitting pattern to the trunk show.  They have had this beautiful yellow blanket on display in their store for quite a while.  They used Cestari Sheep Mount Vernon worsted weight yarn in the colorway 'Daffodil'.  (Sue and Linda rave about this yarn - it's on my list to try!)  This blanket is so full of sunshine!

On the Porch blanket - store sample by Yarn Bar in Billings, Montana

One of these days I'm going to make it out to Montana to meet Sue and Linda in person!  I can't thank them enough for all their kindness and support.

In other news....I'm working on a couple of new knitting projects (more on those soon!), reading a good book (Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson), watching the Country Music series by Ken Burns on PBS, and patiently waiting for some nice, cool fall days to arrive here in Kansas City!

Have a great day!

Mary Lee
Fifty Four Ten Studio

Many Thanks to Two Darling Yarn Shops!

Many thanks to my friends at Yarn Social in Kansas City and Yarn Bar in Billings, Montana for helping make January such a fun month for me and my Fifty Four Ten Studio knitting design business.  I can't thank them enough for their kindness and for recommending my knitting patterns to their customers.

THANK YOU - YARN SOCIAL IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI!

Yarn Social hosted a five day trunk show of about ten of my knitting pattern samples at their darling shop in Kansas City, Missouri.  This was my first knitting trunk show and it was such an honor to be invited to display my samples at Kansas City's newest yarn shop!

My husband built this beautiful display stand for my blanket and scarf samples the night before the show.  (I didn't give him much notice!)

Fifty Four Ten Studio trunk show at Yarn Social in Kansas City, Missouri.

Samples shown on display in the photo above (from top to bottom) - click any link to read more about each pattern here on my blog:

On the Porch blanket (ivory)
Quality Time scarf (dark blue)
Prairie Fields blanket (green)
Northern Trail blanket (tan)
On the Map blanket (blue)

Quality Time scarf and Prairie Fields blanket knitting pattern samples.

Last weekend I taught my first knitting class at Yarn Social.  It was so fun to spend the afternoon with eight delightful, enthusiastic knitters!  They worked on small sampler projects using stitch patterns from four of my patterns and we talked about a variety of knitting topics, including blocking.  (Blocking is one of the best things you can do to improve the appearance of your finished project! Click here to read my blog post about blocking.)

Here's a photo of the knitting class in progress...sampler pattern instructions, pretty yarns, blocking demonstration and snacks!

Knitting class at Yarn Social!

The 'Toast' shade of yarn that I used for the examples of the sampler project (photo above) is Spud & Chloe 'Sweater' yarn from Blue Sky Fibers. I love how this yarn knits up!  Great stitch definition and it blocks beautifully. 

Spud & Chloe 'Sweater' is a blend of wool and cotton.  It's available in a beautiful selection of colorways...see Yarn Social's display below.  I'm looking forward to using this yarn in a future project! (Shh...a secret plan is in the works!)

Spud and Chloe 'Sweater' yarn in beautiful colorways at Yarn Social.

If you live in the Kansas City, or are visiting from out of town, be sure to make time to stop in at Yarn Social!  Trish has a beautiful selection of yarns and she has created a warm and inviting shop. 

Yarn Social is located in the West Plaza / Westport area...near 45th & State Line Road.  

Address: 1707 W. 45th Street, Kansas City, MO (near the antique shops)

Check the Yarn Social website for hours!

Yarn Social - yarn shop in Kansas City, Missouri

THANK YOU - YARN BAR IN BILLINGS, MONTANA!

In January, Yarn Bar in Billings, Montana hosted a 'Cheers to Nifty Fifty Four Ten Studio KAL' - how fun is that?!  They suggested using any of my Fifty Four Ten Studio blanket or pillow knitting patterns as cozy winter project for the knit-a-long (KAL).  

One of their customers finished a throw size Prairie Fields blanket! (Photo below.) I love that she used a beautiful ivory colored yarn so her stitches really shine!  Lovely knitting and blocking. 

Prairie Fields blanket (ivory) made by a Yarn Bar customer!

And, the yellow blanket...that's my On the Porch blanket design that Sue and Linda made up as a sample for their shop!  They tell me the yarn is Cestari Sheep Mount Vernon in the colorway 'Daffodil'.  This blanket is so cheery and full of sunshine!

On the Porch blanket on display at the Yarn Bar in Billings, Montana.

On their website, Sue and Linda shared that the 'On the Porch' blanket pattern has been quite popular with their customers: 

Our friend Teddy zipped in to knit a second one as soon as she got a request from the 'hipster' niece who had received the original one Teddy made, gets the 'where did you get that blanket' comment from fellow hipster parents, and wanted another one in different color.

Such a fun story!

I'm so honored that Sue and Linda hosted this knit-a-long and that they have been recommending my patterns to their customers for a long time.  One of these days I'm going to make it out to Billings, Montana to meet them in person!! 

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I'm excited about other plans in the works for the coming months.  There's lots happening behind the scenes...if only I could knit faster!

Thank you so much for reading!  Happy knitting!

Mary Lee 

Fifty Four Ten Studio