The Yarn Shop Wytheville, VA

Next stop on the yarn shop tour, The Yarn Shop....this was a cute little town and seemed to have some great little shops, but we were anxious to get back on the road.  We finally found the shop, it was off the main street and it was closed!

As we were peering in the window, a voice could be heard...."I'm coming!" 

Very friendly shop, not overly large, but not tiny either.....It has a large front room and then two smaller rooms connected in the back with tables and couches.

One of the first things I noticed was the collection of hats for local school children..love that!

I bought a really cute project bag from this shop.

The shop worker was Jody and really sweet.  A regular customer came in and they got busy talking about projects.  But she did not ignore us at all.

If you have the time and are in the area, please stop.  It's a nice little shop....

LOOT!!!

So what did I get on my shopping spree through the Southern LYS's?

2 books, 1 magazine, and 1 pattern
2 project bags
2 sets of DPNs
1 circular
1 tube of beads
1 beading needle
1 skein of Lorna's Laces Solemate in Camouflage (the beaded socks)
1 skein Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Cosmos
1 ball Regia World Ball Color (red, white, blue)
1 ball Indulgence with Aloe (red, white, blue)
1 Schoppelwolle Crazy Zauberball in greens/olives
1 Knit Outta the Box Cotton Tweed in a sky blue color
1 Cascade Yarns in Eco Duo (undyed baby alpaca and merino)

Local yarns:
1 skein Unplanned Peacock Studio Diva Sock in Woodpecker
1 skein Neighborhood Fiber Rustic Fingering in 1600 Penn
1 skein The Fiber Seed Sprout in Birthday Bougainvillea

2 balls to make a hat and fingerless gloves for Allison:
1 ball of Mini Mochi in crayon colors
1 ball Opal Vincent van Gogh

Closeups:

Lovin' Knit Marietta, GA

This has only happened once before, the owner really didn't want me to take pictures.  She gave me three specific locations where I could take a picture.  Outside, the front desk and this...

Which is in itself pretty cool. 

I had read some reviews of Atlanta yarn shops. Lovin' Knit Studios had the most positive reviews. She also has some good photos on her shop site.

It was a great place.  Very open, lots of yarn choices and very friendly. 

Plus, BIG Plus..lots of crochet on display!  I immediately noticed a beautiful afghan.  I was informed a bit later that one of the shop workers had just had a pattern published in Interweave Crochet.  It's an awesome beach bag and I had noticed the shop sample.

Janet Brani designed the beach tote in the latest edition.  She will have a few more designs published in the near future.  Exciting seeing new crochet designers on the rise!  I had already bought the issue, but hindsight, I could have had her sign an issue for me and then offered my issue as a giveaway..Oh well!

It was pretty easy getting to the shop from the highway, which took us through a very, very nice neighborhood with extremely LARGE houses!

And there was some yarn bombing

On the Road Again

As Willie Nelson sings...we are on the road again....now on our way down we saw some unusual sights...

Had some kind of bird hit our car....HARD...I ducked as I could see it coming from the corner of my eye...I don't know if it survived...we saw some feathers on the road behind us .....and I can still hear the THUMP....and it was GROSS cleaning it up!

Can you see that smear of blood and some kind of guts?

We saw a band playing on a Friday night in a Hardee's.....they had a bevy of silver haired fans....

So far on the return trip, we hid from a massive thunderstorm...(I pulled off the road, as it was difficult to see)

Saw some signs with improper English...can you spot it?

 What will the next two days bring??????

WIP Wednesday in Florida

While in Florida, I have started two projects and bought some yarn! (Well the yarn is really old news...and if you've read my blog previously, you know not unusual for me)

So what did I start?  Well first my model is The Cat in the Hat, who is holding Thing 1 and Thing 2.  I have been sharing a bed with my niece and assorted stuffed animals....this is her newest and numbers 6, 7, and 8.  So I figured I'd put him to work!

First up is my Miranda hat.  I am on the third repeat.

I am using Mod Dea Washable wool..not the most expensive, but gotta say I'm loving this yarn.  Project page

My second start this week is the Sour Apple Socks. I don't have a name for these yet.  I tend to just use the pattern name, but mine are not in a sour apple color.....Beaded Camo Socks

Both of these projects, I frogged and restarted.  The hat on Saturday, the socks today.

My other perennial project is my Kai-Mei and my Jaywalkers.  I have a new picture of the Kai-Mei, modeled by The Cat....

What have I been reading this week?  Well I picked up Deep South Knitting at Four Purls and read through that, but I actually opened up American Gods by Neil Gaiman again and am interested in the story now....

As always head over to visit Tami and Ginny to see who else has something on the hook or needles.....or wheel....

The Black Sheep - Orlando Florida

The Black Sheep is located in Orlando, Florida.  I had been advised to visit the store by one of the customers at Four Purls.  It's a cute store, but mainly embroidery and needlepoint store.  There are two rooms in the back devoted to yarn and knitting and crochet supplies.  Although it is not a huge selection, but it is a good selection of yarn.  I picked up some Knit Picks DPNs to try and two skeins of yarn.  I got a Zauberball ball and a skein of pretty cotton.

I would recommend the store, especially if you also do the other fiber arts.

I will say that the three stores I have visited have been among the most friendly stores I have ever visited.

                            

Tomorrow we are getting back on the road to head home.....I may be able to do a WIP post, as I do have a few things started.....but I probably won't post the rest of the week.

Knit n' Knibble - Tampa FL

So the second yarn store I visited was Knit n' Knibble in Tampa, FL.  I was meeting a Rav friend there.  My friend ended up being very late and Caroline, the owner, just let me hang out....which was very easy with the big cool glass of ice tea that I ordered.

See you can order munchies there.  She has numerous drinks and different goodies available for purchase.  It was great just to sit at the giant table in the middle of the store and chat with the other customers.  Caroline introduced me and we sat and chatted.

In addition to the large table in the front of the store, there was a smaller table and a couch area.  She also had a second room that had another table and two looms in it.  She had lots of class offerings and lots of store samples up and on display.

 It was a fun, colorful store with a lot of great things to look at and buy.  She also stocks a local indie dyer and I purchased the birthday yarn that she made for the store.

I ended up getting a sock pattern, yarn and beads and starting my first beaded project!

I will share the swag in a separate post, as I have not taken pictures of it yet....

I would whole heartily recommend a stop at this store if you are in the Tampa area, it's a fantastic store!  I'll be heading to an Orlando store that was recommended to me later today on my way to another meeting with a Ravelry friend...