So we’ve just had our first week of being open (we open Friday to Monday) and it was a great start! Locals seem to love having a yarn shop. We’ve had great feedback from tourists as well.
We haven’t started advertising yet, so that will be our next step as well as continuing to add items and keeping the shop well stocked with hand knits which will now reflect our yarn.
We’ve been inundated with requests for classes so that will also be high on the To Do list, but for the next few days it’s tending a garden that’s looking a little ragged and spending some time with the dogs who are wondering where I’ve been lately.
The sign being erected made it seem very realThe Zauberball display attracts attention
Yesterday was our Grand Opening – not sure about opening a yarn store in Central West NSW in 40 degree heat, but it was still a great day.
We had locals and tourists through, made some sales and had a wonderful opening night with our new friends.
The library is building up – we have a broad range of reference books as Shop Copies and the For Sale selection is growing.
We think the shop looks great and seems to be getting good feedback. There’s still lots of stock we need and are seeking feedback from our customers. It’s tempting to take home many of the beautiful items but we are really pleased to offer some special treats and collectibles in the store.
Hedgehog Fibres from Ireland and Claudia’s Handpainted Yarns from the US – hand dyed luxury fibres saturated in colour
G’s daughter has been a great help in setting up our online store which we are sure will be a great supplement for business as well, so we won’t be dependent on foot traffic.
So now we’re open, the next stage is to start promoting ourselves, start some classes and drop in groups as well as add to the depth of stock in the shop.
A few weeks ago, we had snow. This week it was bush fires.
It was shortly after some friends and I retired inside after a lovely balmy night eating alfresco (and after providing treats to many of the Kandos kids for Halloween, which was great fun), that a neighbour called to warn me. There was a fire blazing on the escarpment out the back of my place, ‘Old Baldy’ to be precise.
At around 7.30am this morning.
I’ve been near bush fires before when living on the North Shore in Sydney but somehow being in the country makes it much more concerning. Even though distances may be similar, the space between dwellings and fires is mostly bush with few houses. It’s easy to understand why the local fire services are held in such high esteem in the country.
Although many locals (including us) were involved in Rylstone StreetFeast the next day, most locals had an anxious late night watching the fire flare up from a small blaze and then quieten down after 1pm. The area was inaccessible and it wasn’t until daylight that the water bomber copters could go in to quell the blaze.
Anyway, fortunately it seems under control now and since being home from StreetFeast, I have now become attuned to the non-stop whir of the choppers as they continue to douse the flames. I’m sure the local fire services were one of the community beneficiaries from StreetFeast today and richly deserve local support.
Plans for the new shop are moving at a cracking pace. Stock has either been delivered or is on its way – particularly for the international products. Some of the new arrivals are so stunning, I’m finding it hard to imagine how I can part with them. Probably not the best retail approach.
Noro, of course!
So far we have a good stock of Noro, Zauberball, Moseley Park and Kaalund. Books have arrived as have a selection of Knitpro needles. A few other lovelies such as some Golding spindles have also found their way here. This week a trip to Sydney helped with shelving as well as some surprises from the last David Barsby auction.
Very happy with our shop fittings
The shop is coming together well and is perfect for our needs – great location, lots of character, good size with two rooms to add interest, of course Yum Cha next door as well as outdoor seating for knitters in good weather. There’s still lots to do – phone/wireless connection, Merchant connections, signage, stationery … but it’s so exciting.
The needles are clicking madly in preparation for our Rylstone StreetFeast stall on 1 November, then it should be full steam ahead to open the shop sometime in November.
To think that less than two years ago this was bare earth!The crabapple – a late but sensational bloomer, with the sensational Popcorn!
It’s that magical time of year for gardeners where everything is growing and flowers burst forth. It’s particularly exciting in such a new garden where many of the plants haven’t flowered before and any growth seems so dramatic. You also start to see how the plants blend in with each other and their individual growth patterns.
Snapdragons outside the Chapel
I’m thrilled to see so many plants responding, not just in terms of growth and flowering, but also the abundance of self sewn plants from letting the plants go to seed.
It’s a treat now to go outside and pick bunches of flowers and enjoy them inside as well. One of changes I need to adjust to is that when I let the dogs out in the morning, it’s often over an hour before I make my way back inside for breakfast as I wander through the garden inspecting changes and doing some never-ending weeding!
The centre front bed is looking as pretty as a picture!
Blues are my favourite and this solid blue is close to perfect.
Last year I posted pictures of my Aquilegias – also called Columbines and rather charmingly, Grannies Bonnets. They are probably my favourite flower and are just coming into season.
A red Songbird – perfectly named.
The colours are so variable but always stunning. They also self seed, so multiplying plants can be a treat. I both allow seeds to scatter as well as collect them each year to spread early Spring. This year I’ve also taken the step of trying to sew some in trays to see if I get any results.
Anyway, here’s a selection of the earliest starters.
And a pastel dusky pink – the first Aquilegia to flower.A pale lemon.Totally different, a very deep purple Barlow.
One of the pleasures of owning the Convent has been making the building more accessible to the public. After all, the local community put so much into building and maintaining the property for many years, however whilst being a home for the nuns and priests it was always so private.
Last weekend, as part of the Kandos Centenary Celebrations, the Convent was open for visitors for two days. This time not just the garden but also the whole Convent, and it was such a highly rewarding experience. It’s beautifully built and deserves to be seen and seems to be highly enjoying a more public profile. Sunday in particular was a little overwhelming with the crowds but I’d estimate we had between 400 and 600 people through the doors, this time more to see the interior than the gardens.
It was a sentimental time as ex-students of the nuns returned with such vibrant memories given the piano lessons and confirmations held at the Convent, which served as a backdrop for photos of generations of townsfolk. Visitors included a nun who was first taught at the school by the nuns and then joined the order and lived at the Convent, a local who had been the resident gardener for so many years, one of the resident priests and a wonderful gentleman who had learnt piano at the hands of the nuns to later become an international pianist.
The stories were fascinating and added so much more to our understanding of the nuns and their relationship with the community. One woman’s great grandmother had learnt that the nun’s were in dire straights during the depression and organised locals to provide a food roster for the nuns, we heard that the nuns ran a lolly shop and sold treats to the children, Melbourne Cup Day was popular with the children as they ran sweeps and sat out the front of the Convent on the grass with the nuns to listen to the race on the radio. Oh, and the priest with the poker machine who gave children coins so they could play it.
Two days of memories, with a few tears and hugs along the way. Many thanks to my friends G and R who manned so many tours through the Convent and also to everyone who turned up. It was a great few days and I hope the visitors enjoyed the opportunity to explore – I know how much I loved having everyone here and hearing stories first hand and I tend to think the Convent was also a little pleased to be able to show another side to the community.
I’m sure Kandos will be having a quiet day today after four days of celebrations to mark the town’s hundredth anniversary.
It’s been a huge long weekend for the town and the Convent. Friday was a busy day preparing the Kandos Bicentennial Industrial Museum for its official reopening by the new Governor, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley. The Museum reopening has been a mammoth task for the community, with volunteers pitching in to help with building works, painting, gardening and management of the collection. Now the building works are coming to a close, all the wonderful old exhibits are re-emerging and being homed back in the museum. I had no idea of how much would be involved and it’s been amazing to see the community support.
On Saturday, the town kicked off with a street parade which included the local volunteer groups, although locals were involved in many different activities and had to make some hard choices about where to be over the weekend. I’ve learnt that in country towns, many people wear many hats!
We spent all afternoon at the Museum preparing for the opening and then enjoying the official ceremony and the reaction of locals and visitors as they stepped back into the Museum after so many months closure.
Saturday night culminated in a wonderful ball, again attended by the Governor and his wife. Kandos Centenary Celebrations was their first official engagement since his appointment. By all accounts the ball was spectacular. Unfortunately I didn’t make it – given the Convent was to be open to the public the next few days, I had thought I may be up til the wee hours stressing with preparations. Instead, I ended up having a relaxing night with visiting friends, chilling before the arrival of hordes over the next few days.
The Cement Works ambo participating in the Street Parade
That will be me down this end. Wonderful building and location in a great town.
After 30 years of corporate life, I’ve seen so much change in the last few years. Moving to a small rural town (into a Convent!) was so much more than I have ever dreamt of. It’s been great just having time to build and enjoy the garden (especially the veggies), spending time with the dogs, indulging my knitting passion and getting to know and join the local community… but I guess I always knew that I’d look for a little more. Work has always been a big part of my life and I enjoy a little pressure on me, just not the stress. I found it hard to imagine working for someone else but my next steps again are serendipitous.
Knitting has always been an important part of my life so it seems fitting that it’s driving my next steps (or rather, leaps). I’m opening a yarn store in Rylstone in the heritage Bridge View Inn. The shop will cater to the discerning knitter with luxury imported and local yarns. My main knitting love is lace and my intention is to have a special focus on lace yarns.
The lovely Na Lan who serves some of the best dumplings you’ll taste in the most unexpected setting.
The building is perfect – a lovely old place that has been well restored. I have two rooms, both with working fireplaces, as well as a front verandah and back landing. My neighbours include the lovely Na Lan with 29 Nine 99, a popular meeting place with magical Yum Cha. I also have the Museum next door and a community garden where knitters can enjoy sitting in the fresh air.
I’m hoping it will be yet another reason for people to come to this amazing area, as I know knitters enjoy a trip for yarn. My good friend G, who also bravely took the step of changing to a rural lifestyle from Sydney, will be joining me and we should be a formidable partnership.
This time last year I could hardly catch my breath, finishing up work, putting Wahroonga on the market, tradies fixing the Convent, the garden open for the local Garden Fair and the relocation in full swing. Same time this year is still busy – the Kandos Museum is opening after a long hiatus, the Convent is open to the public for the Centenary weekend and I’ve leased the shop with business planning in full swing. But so much more fun…
I’ll focus on the shop opening (which I think will be early November) after the long weekend and there are sure to be many more posts keeping you up to date with developments.
It’s now less than two weeks before the Convent will be open to the public, which I anticipate will mainly be locals, returning Kandos expats and some tourists, for the Kandos Centenary Celebrations over the October long weekend.
All the plants are well and truly planted and beds weeded as well as possible, so now it’s up to Mother Nature and some housekeeping – watering (including fertiliser watering each week), mulching and last minute trimming, sweeping and raking.
Four weeks ago the garden was bare. At least now there’s lots of new growth. Last year the garden was open for the Kandos Garden Fair which was held a month later. At that point I was bemoaning that the roses had all but finished and the grass was barely green given the lack of rain. A little earlier this year and at least the grass is more presentable but there is barely a rose in sight. The Aquilegias and Indigofera Decor, last year’s stars, are not yet up to the flowering stage, although a few Aquilegia’s may just make an appearance. I’m feeling a little vulnerable in the flower department.
The visitors will probably be locals who popped in last year and they will notice a difference with plants being more established and the most dramatic change, with the lopped privet. Expat ex-locals hopefully will remember the last 30 odd years which were “low maintenance Convent gardens”. Anyway, I’ll have the photo albums our showing the old glory days of well tended formal gardens, the low maintenance period and the inherited status to take people through the gardening journey.
If nothing else, there are lots of plants to look at, even if not at their seasonal peak. Also the central bed is in good flower mode with the ranuncs and anenomes flowering and heaps of other things coming through. Blue bells are just starting although the daffodils and snowflakes are at their end. The freesias are still out but the dogs are doing their best to flatten them given that bed has become a favourite “chasey” spot. The veg beds also look productive with lots of crops at various stages from new seedlings to heavy crops of sugar snap and snow peas and towering stalks of broad beans.
No photos this time – I’ll hold off until the October long weekend festivities and hope the garden quickly progresses!
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CONVENT AND CHAPEL 