And the Knitting Gods Said, "HA!!!!" Pt. 2

Actually, they're still chuckling a bit, throwing little monkey wrenches in my plans here and there. I woke up yesterday morning with a raging sore throat. Today is much better, but I don't want to infect anyone with this minor but irritating crud, so my plan to blog "on location" has been scrapped for today. On the bright (and I DO mean bright!) side, look at this!



Yes, it's THE SUN (as seen through my very dirty living room window)!!!! I think it has been....oh, probably an entire month since I have seen "Old Sol", as Grandma Young used to call him. Welcome, dude! Stick around a while!

When I left you yesterday, I was standing in the middle of my former favorite LYS (which will forevermore be known as FFLYS) in a pre-migranic, hypoglycemic haze. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have demanded to talk to the owner, and would have more than stood my ground and one way or another, I would have gotten a refund on those needles. As it was...I left. Got in my car, angry and starving, and started driving. I headed north, to that yarn shop I had originally planned to visit. I tried to remember the map I'd seen online...thought I had it right...couldn't find the shop. Drove through town a few times. Got dizzier from lack of food.

At this point, probably the most rational thought I'd had all day popped into my head. DOH! Girl, go get lunch at that coffee shop you've been wanting to visit - and get directions to the yarn shop while you're there!!! Things immediately began to look brighter.

What can I say about Espresso Yourself Music Cafe? It's an awesome place! I'll be visiting more often, bringing my knitting and doing some blogging there in days to come - I had hoped to do so today. The owner is a great guy, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere...homey and welcoming. I ordered a sandwich (turkey, cheddar cheese, mustard and...sliced apple - OMG, you can't believe how good this is!) and a cup of coffee and sat down for a quiet, relaxing lunch. I was wearing my Jaspe wool shawl and, after I asked directions to the yarn shop, the owner complimented my shawl and told me of a friend who lives near me and is a knitter. As I was finishing my sandwich, he gave me a hand-drawn map to the yarn shop and the name and number of his knitter friend, encouraging me to call her.

I honestly could have stayed at Espresso Yourself all day, but I still needed to get those needles and get home. My trip, which I thought would only take about an hour, had stretched into over two at this point, and I knew Wilbur was waiting at home patiently for his daily doggie adventure.


Is she EVER coming home?


It took me two or three tries to find the yarn shop. I'd been told it was kind of tucked away and hard to find if you hadn't been there before, and that was true. The confusion was worth it. A Tangled Tale is a GREAT little yarn shop! I was cheerfully greeted by Linda as soon as I walked in and asked if I needed help finding anything. When I said I was looking for Addi Turbo Lace needles, Linda brought me over to a small but complete display. She had everything I needed, and I mentally kicked myself for not going there in the first place, right after I left Tuesday Morning. I looked around the shop and was impressed with the yarn - she has Universal Yarn Classic Shades, one of my favorites! I didn't see the to-die-for Grapevine colorway, but that was a minor point. I wanted to buy yarn, yes, I really did, but since I'd jacked my credit card balance up enough for one day, I restrained myself.

There were two other women knitting in a cozy little area. We all chatted. The shop was light and airy and welcoming. It reminded me of a fabulous little shop my husband and I found while driving through Tennessee last October that I think is the Greatest Yarn Shop On Earth (Yarn Patch in Crossville, TN). They even had a lot of the same yarns - yarns my FFLYS does not carry.

Here is the kicker: After I'd paid for my purchases and was starting to leave, Linda asked me to bring my shawl in for show and tell then said, "And if you don't get gauge with those needles, BE SURE TO BRING THEM BACK" I wanted to fall at her feet and kiss them...I will shop at this store forever and ever, even if I do have to drive for 20 minutes instead of 5. A Tangled Tale has a new customer for life!

I drove home, with a happy fully tummy and a car full of yarn and knitting needles (only size #3!). It had been three hours since I left, I still had a headache...and Wilbur still needed his daily adventure.

Yesterday...no knitting occurred, not even the so-easy-I-could-knit-it-in-my-sleep scarf. I just felt too crappy. I did, however, wind four skeins of Knit Picks Shimmer into balls for the Evenstar Shawl. Had planned to wind all the Shimmer in my collection, but ran out of steam. Thus, the shawl will be knit in Bayou, and not in Spice, as originally planned.



Thanks for dropping by my little corner of this big, wide world! How are the knitting gods treating you these days???

Wilbur says, "I'm ready for my closeup!"