evasive maneuvers

In order to avoid posting about any knitting that I myself have done, I am going to post about (most of) my scores from the Minneapolis trip, as well as another sweet surprise I got in the mail-o-rama.

My first "knitting score" was not gotten in a yarnshop, but in a clothing-and-impossibly-cute-housewares boutique in Hudson, WI, called Lavender Thyme.



I had told myself that I was only in to browse, but once I saw this greeting card I threw in the towel and started filling my arms with purchases. This card is one of many in this snarky line of papercraft, although it was the only knitting-related one. How many times have I blown off a possibly unsatisfying social engagement only to stay home with the ultimate in satisfaction: knitting? Don't lie; you've done it, too. [This card is destined for framing and displaying. I can't hide my antisocial pro-craft tendencies any longer.]

This is what I got at the yarn stores I was able to visit:



I finally found a copy of Yarn Harlot's book! I am glad that I bought it, because I burned through all the books I had brought with me on the trip and was especially glad to have something to read on the plane ride home. I got At Knit's End at Creative Fibers.

Just before we visited Creative Fibers, I went to Needlework Unlimited to scope out their Goddess Yarns selection. It seems like they have EVERYTHING there, not just Goddess Yarns but EVERYTHING! A great shop in a nice space, with helpful staff. I found the Mountain Colors Barefoot there, in colorway Ruby River, which I could not deny. After carrying it around the shop for 30 minutes I think they were going to make me buy it anyway. On the way out I saw that they had Sublime Stitching patterns so I picked up the Monkey Love set, which I had not seen before. I got my Stitch-It Kit (by Jenny Hart, the mastermind behind Sublime Stitiching) so it looks like I have a lot of embroidery coming up!!

The Plymouth Indiecita Alpaca was on crazy sale at Depth of Field by the University, so I was forced to purchase it. My hostess and I had just been discussing how my brother periodically pesters me for knitted goods (as well he should, since my other brother has already received knitted gifts from me) so when I heard the camel-colored alpaca yelling "Guy color! Enough for a sweater! Crazy sale!" to me, I snatched it up. Did I think about how little space I had in my luggage? No! It was worth it, because it was on CRAZY SALE and I now I get to design a sweater for my brother, in secret, but with help from his girlfriend who will, I hope, do some undercover spy work for me. Alpaca!!

The yarn store that was the most like one I'd want to work in was St. Paul's Yarnery. Totally adorable, in a little house along a shopping strip that reminded me of Magazine Street in New Orleans. I went to pick up some Lanaknits Hemp6 for the Wear-Everywhere hemp sweater from a recent IK, but they only had the Hemp3 and none in a color that I would want (besides the brick red and I am TRYING not make yet another red sweater). I regret not purchasing anything there, especially since they were so helpful and the store was organized and stocked so well. There was some wine-colored Koigu that really should have gone home with me....

There are so many other yarn stores in the area that I would like to have visited, but my trip was pretty short and we had all kinds of things to do otherwise. Neither my host nor hostess are knitters, so I felt guilty about dragging them all over town to go see things that they couldn't care less about. However, they were just as enthusiastic as I was to drive into Wisconsin to ... the sheep farm!!



Here's Little Mac, the lamb named after my brother. Little Mac has some gorgeous brown fleece. Of the entire flock, there were some whitish sheep, gray sheep, brown sheep, and one with yellow fleece. They are all Romneys, which I guess means not as soft as merino but not really scratchy either. Aunt Pa-a-a-am, the shepherdess, shears her flock, dyes and spins the wool, and makes gorgeous knitted goods from the yarn. She showed us a felted tote with stripes, each stripe being yarn from a different sheep. I gained a new appreciation for the yarns I use, seeing what goes on at her farm and hearing stories of caring for the flock. Pa-a-a-am and Paul also have chickens, turkens (mix of chicken and turkey), and cows. There was a garden somewhere, but I guess I never moseyed over to that part of the land. Here is Shelley getting fresh with the gigantic zucchini she named Tyrone:



She will have me killed for posting that picture. I probably should have told her that all photos were fair game for blogging. I think we should all assume by now that any picture taken of us could end up on the internets eventually. This will probably ruin her bid for the presidency, but oh well.

When I got home to Cackalacky, I discovered a box from my Secret Pal!



Yay, Secret Pal! You rule! Enclosed in the package are two balls each of KnitPicks Dancing sock yarn, Strompegarn red wool, and Feza multicolored wool (hello OSW!). In addition, there are Coffee Nips, which my Secret Pal mysteriously discerned were the candies that my best friend's mom used to send me out the door with when I was younger. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat? Here, at least take these with you." There is also a bound journal, a sheep tape measure, and necklace that didn't make into the picture because I put it on right away! (Dazzling!) So thank you, Happy Phantom, you are a rockstar Secret Pal.

Finally, a shot of Minneapolis's famed Cherry on a Spoon:



We had fabulous weather the entire time, and Minneapolis has so much to offer that I'm sure I could spend a thousand more weekends there and still not "do" the whole town. The only thing that kept me from renting an apartment on the spot was the pervasive rumour that IT SNOWS there. Like, a LOT.

What am I not showing you? The Crazy8 cabled top? Well, that too, but I'm not showing you all the cute things I picked up in Mpls for my Secret Pal. She is due for an August Package, and of course, the revelation of my identity!!