On Saturday I did something I have never ever done before. I visited a bunch of different yarn shops all in the same day. Okay, so it was only three yarn shops, but that’s two more than I have ever been to on the same day before. And, I bought sock yarn at that them all. (buying sock yarn, of course, is highly usual behavior for me)
I know you are all asking yourselves, but why did you spend most of your day in the car so you could hit a few little, but very cute yarn shops in central Kansas? Well, there is the obvious reason…what knitter needs an excuse to buy yarn? Yarn is always needed. Then there is the reason for the trip, which was equally exciting and no less important than the need for MORE YARN. Well, this is why:
I am in the midst of planning Topeka’s brand new Fiber Festival. Myself and a couple of ladies from the Potwin Fiber Artisans have been hard at work finding a locale, plotting floor plans, emailing like crazy and just plain old dreaming big. We want to create something fantastic–and we need you help. We need volunteers to teach. We need volunteers to help hang fliers, to bake goodies for our bake sale, to donate to the silent auction, to just be around and help out. We need vendors. We need artists!
If you’re in the area and are interested in helping us make this event great, please contact me at marla at potwinfiber dot org.
All right, enough with the commercial. I went down to meet and make friends with some LYS Owners, and it was wonderful. I had never been to any of these yarn shops before, and I found something to love in each of them.
First stop was Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear in Manhattan, KS. And this is what I found:
A yarn so delicious I wound it up and cast on Almondine almost immediately. (Yes, I realize this is project three in the book, but the yarn for project two isn’t here yet and you know I already finished owls. What’s a girl to do?)
This is a little out of date, as the sock now has a heel and a gusset and everything, but you get the general idea.
The yarn is Knit One, Crochet Too Crock-O-Dye in a color way that is mostly numbers. It’s a butterscotchy, brassy mix of browns out of wool, silk, and nylon.
Next up was The Shivering Sheep in Abilene, KS. Cutest shop ever. She had things I drooled over. Including, but not limited to this lovely skein of Fleece Artist yarn.
I am not sure what pair of socks this yarn is destined for just yet, but it will luscious.
On next was Yarns Sold and Told in Salina, KS. This shop has soo much yarn. We got there just before closing, otherwise I could have spent all day browsing (and lounging in their gathering area which I wish was my living room!) Instead I walked away with skein of Cascade Heritage that is the same color as Lamb Curry take away from the local Indian joint.
I am thinking this yarn will be perfect for one of the more masculine patterns in The Sock Knitting Master Class book. Brock needs some curry socks, I think.
All of the ladies I spoke with on my little road trip were lovely, and you should visit their shops when you are in there area, whether you live in Kansas or not.