It Followed Me Home....

One of my justifications for binging at my LYSs is that they are local businesses, they are owned and run by lovely women, and I want them to stay here and keep selling yarn. If my splurge helps their doors to stay open and it's not costing all the catnip money--then I think we're okay.

Part of the pleasure of hosting a knitting in public day, especially when one has a generous budget with which to play as I did this year, is getting to buy raffle prizes. I do get donations, which I very much appreciate, but I like to supplement where I can, which means a pre-KIP-shopping-trip to my three local yarn stores. (Technically there are four, but I won't shop in one of them.)

Our Lady of the Business Office even agreed to drive this year! Extra knitting time! Also--she pays and I don't have to buy and then get reimbursed! This is an excellent way to go yarn shopping--though OLotBO likes to take back roads, which are all windy and twisty and equal a carsick Hedgehog.

First we went to Viroqua, home of Ewetopia Fiber Shop. I picked up a Pom Pom maker to use with my kids group--they adore pom poms and it uses up yarn like nobody's business. Since my kids group is going on hiatus in May for a while, using up yarn would be a good thing.

I also picked up three skeins of Queensland Haze, which is 60% Corn Viscose and 40% Cotton; 275 yds/skein It's in the surprising shades of blue/green and should be enough yardage for a simple tank top. I'm thinking about the Honeymoon Cami from Knitty. I saw a friend wearing one and loved it.


Next we drove over to the Salem Stitchery. Tammy carries a lot of embroidery things as well as yarn, but she has this huge wonderful wall of Cascade 220. She also carries interesting yarns I've never seen anywhere else. If I could figure out what to do with them, I'd buy her stock of Rauma yarns from Norway. It's rough and scratchy and I'll bet it softens up beautifully with a wool wash and is incredibly warm and wears forever. I have a couple skeins around here somewhere and gave some to one of the kids in my knitting group. 

This trip though I bought English wool in an Olive Green. No, olive isn't particularly my shade and yes, I just knitted a ridiculous amount of a similar shade for an afghan for my brother. But I picked up 5 skeins and I'll find something interesting to make with it. 





Finally, it was over to Baskets of Yarn. Wouldn't you know Judy had a sign out front that said "Yarn Sale." Be still my bleeding checkbook...I knew she was moving and hoping to not move all her inventory, so there were things to be had within. 

And were there! Immediately I was drawn to the "Bear Hug" kit: pattern, yarn, and bear buttons all wrapped into a cute ball. I have at least four friends who are having babies in the next 4 months. I'm only knitting for one of them but lookit! So cute! I couldn't resist.

I also bought a skein of sock yarn. Black and white with pink and some shots of green. I'm thinking mittens. I'm also thinking the yarn fumes might have gotten to me on that one because that's not normal Hedgehog. I was on my third store by that point.  I also got 10% off purchase coupons for her new location for the Knitting in Public Day. I hope everyone rushed the store....certainly I'll be headed that way.