Thursday, May 24, 2007

For the Love of Local Yarn

Hip-Hip Hurray

Hip-Hip Hurray! Hip-Hip Hurray!! That's three cheers for Hooks & Needles, my lovely new LYS. I went to the Knit Night last night and it was so nice. Kallee, the owner, is kind and funny and very welcoming. They have an excellent yarn selection and a respectable stock of needles - including Brittanys, which I had never before seen in person and Addi-Turbos, my well established favorites. I was thrilled to see she even has the new Addi lace needles - I don't knit lace and yet I was so pleased to see this. Go figure.

It is so nice to have found this place. I will definitely be going back. You'll be pleased to know, as well, that no one was shocked by my giddiness or even batted an eye when I was caught sniffing the Trekking Pro Natura.

I resisted the very real urge to take pictures of the shop and the knitters. I wasn't sure if anyone there would be keen on my particular brand of slightly kooky. Maybe I'll take pictures next week.

A Quick Bit of Sock Talk

I have approximately 1/4" more (about 4 rows) of leg knitting to do before starting the heel of this sock. I really want to try the short row heel but the more I have considered it, the more I think I am going to do the short row heel on the green ribbed destined-for-Dulaan socks and stick with the traditional heel flap on these socks. It seems to me that the flap heel would wear better. Any thoughts?

I should be finished up with those last few rows and ready to start the heel this evening but I may ruminate on it a bit more and delay the decision making by casting on the second sock.

Knitters on Tour

Thursday, June 7, the Yarn Harlot will be visiting the Copperfield's Books in Petaluma, CA. Petaluma is about a 2.5 hour drive from my house and I would really love to go see her. (I've already asked my boss for the time off and I can take it if I decide to. It would be nice to actually take a day off to do something fun for me.) I don't know anyone who is going and I don't know any knitters who live nearby and would want to make the trip together. (Anyone interested in $3.49 a gallon for gas?) It is a strange dilemma. As a rule, I am not at all shy and yet contemplating making this trip by myself makes me feeling as nervous as a 16-year-old virgin on prom night.

I did find out that Jenn, my SP10 hostess, and her mother are going. It would be nice to meet them. Are any of you planning to attend this event? Have any of you attended one of her events in the past?

Books on CD

Audiobooks go with knitting like coconut rum goes with pineapple juice. I've been fortunate to discover that a local used book store has an excellent and varied selection of Audiobooks. Last week I was in there and ended up leaving with The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I read this book ages ago and enjoyed it then but it is interesting what a difference a bit of distance makes. There are things I notice now that I had completely forgotten (or missed) at the time of the first reading and there were things I remembered about this book that were wholly inaccurate.

In a perfect world, what book do you want to listen to while knitting?

Today's Quote:

"Never trust a woman who wears mauve, whatever her age may be, or a woman over thirty-five who is fond of pink ribbons. It always means they have a history." - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

11 comments:

RC said...

i'm so excited for you! A LYS of your very own! You are going to have the best time.
If I could listen to any audio book while knitting & spinning, it would be something like Dean Koontz,Tick-Tock. The funniest scary book I every listened to in the car. Or maybe something read by a male with a foreign accent. yum.

Rose Red said...

Oh dear. I wear mauve (or more correctly, deep purple). But no pink ribbons! I haven't yet listed to an audio book while knitting - I have to do this!

EnnaVic said...

I am so envious - the LYS sounds great!

Audio books - I think for knitting I would like something with a bit of wit - Jane Austen or Trollope (Anthony, not Joanna, although there are some of her books I quite enjoyed). Maybe even some of Fay Weldon's more 'sarky'stuff. Mind you I have a craving for Trollope at the moment anyway - what I read / would listen to changes all the time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kim said...

I'm telling you, there are more yarn sniffers than we know - I just tried to convert a knitter to yarn sniffing this week!

I recommend The Camel Club by David Baldacci. We listened while driving to SC last year (I was knitting) and it is entertaining. I heard he is writing a follow-up.

Dorothy said...

I like sniffing the wool. The more sheepy the better.

I hope you find someone to go with. Although I think if you went by yourself, by the time the tour was over, you would have met so many new people and had a total ball.

Mrs.Q said...

Go Yarn Harlot! As I'm in B.C. I obviously won't be there to see her on June 7th...but I will be making the trek to see her when she comes to Victoria 2 days later...I'm not sure if I'll have someone to go with, either, but I figure it'll be a good while before she's back out this way, and I'll kick myself if I don't go. As it says in Anne of Green Gables: "When you're 80, what will you wish you had done?"

Dr. B. said...

So much to cover here --

How exciting to have a nice LYS! We eagerly await photos.
Still no advice on the heel flap situation.

I wish I could see The Harlot, but will also eagerly await photos and a report!

And finally, you probably know this already, but my friends have found the local library to be a great free resource for the audiobooks.

Sounds like life is zipping along nicely!

Dorothy said...

Famous, Infamous, is there a difference? ;)

How's the sock going?

Dorothy said...

I do still have some stitch markers. So I don't need anymore right now. I'm going to be offering the singles up and prizes in the main draw soon.

Steph said...

Go see the Harlot!! We drove 2 hours with a three week old baby Spike. Go go go!

Anonymous said...

I will see you at the harlot! I am also very excited!
I saw her in September in Los Gatos- REALLY REALLY FUN!
You have to go!
I will be the tall one with REALLY curly hair!