Bartering

I've always shied away from bartering, because I always feel what I have to barter isn't worth as much as the other person.

Negotiation Skills
I remember one time we were in St. Croix, shopping in this beautiful little art boutique.  There was a spectacularly beautiful handmade ceramic teapot and cups, selling for $200.

Other than the sales lady at the front, I think Thaddeus and I were the only people in the shop, but I was still mortified when Thaddeus hollered up to the woman, "I'll give you $150 for this."

If there had be a hole in the floor I could have hid in, I think I might have.

She replied very nicely, "I can't sell it for $150, but I can give you 10% off."

Given that we would have paid $200 for it (and were planning on it), getting $20 discount was a bonus, but honestly I never could have asked like Thaddeus did, although I'm getting a little more bold negotiating at the flea market.

All that being said, I decided to barter with one of the guys at the men's knitting retreat.

David, a lovely young man from Montreal, has recently taken up weaving, and some of his first pieces were unbelievably beautiful.  He clearly has an amazing aptitude for envisioning how yarns will weave up.  As it turns out, I had some Briar Rose yarn that he was envying, so I bartered the yarn for a handwoven scarf made out of the yarn.

I think I got the best of this deal, but fortunately, he has plenty of yarn to make more scarves, and there will be others who will benefit from this deal.

I wish I could let you feel the drape and softness of this incredibly rich scarf.  The man has skills.

I think he will start selling some of his woven goods, and when he does, I will let you all know as soon as I know...his work will sell quickly.

Current Knitting
Lots of knitting with sock yarn currently.

In addition to adding a few more rows onto the Milano blanket, I also decided I needed a small sock project for the Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat next weekend, so I started knitting these.

The toe yarn is one of James JOY yarns, and the gorgeous orangey yarn is Madeline Tosh sock yarn.  Both lovely to work with and I'm enjoying the project a lot.