The Three Amigos: Episode 1
So, what happens when three yarn divas set off on a day of fun in the city?
I picked up my friends, Tara and dkzack, in the morning and drove off in the sunshine into Calgary. We were pretty excited, and we chatted away the whole drive in. It wasn't long before we were talking about our projects, and we laughed as my friend, dkzack, pulled out her Blackberry to look at yarn online. "Yeah, I'll have to tell everyone that I bought yarn even before I got out of the car," she said.
It wasn't long before the rain that was forecast for the day started to come down, but it didn't dampen our spirits. The World Wide Knit in Public Event we attended ended up being a rather small indoor affair because of it, but we met some interesting knitters who are practically professional yarnbombers. I think the fact we drove in from out of town may have inspired a yarnbombing event. We may have a small horde of knitters descend upon us to decorate the urban fixtures around us soon!
It was also a day of firsts, as dkzack experienced not one, but two yarn shops, for the first time.
Good gracious, she may never be the same.
Our first stop was The Loop in NW Calgary, on their grand opening event. Since we didn't arrive until the afternoon, we had missed the big rush (apparently, there was a line up outside that morning), but there were still fantastic deals to be had. 15% off? Yeah, baby!
Yarn shops can be really intimidating the first time you go... so much yarn, so many things to look at... your mind starts to spin in panic over what you could possible make with this stuff. You are reluctant to walk away, though, because you know you'll regret it later. This being dkzack's first time, Tara and I were happy to let her have time to think. I mean, how hard would it be to convince us to hang around longer in a yarn store, huh?
Of course, since the first store left her so bewildered, we decided that the best remedy for dkzack was to go to another one!
Off we zoomed across town to Gina Brown's, a fantastic yarn shop with a LOT of stock. I think the initial sight of the size of this place might have frightened dkzack even more, but she was quickly calmed by the organization of the shop. All the yarn is organized clearly by weight (most yarn shops are, but not nearly as well as Gina Brown's), and there is a lot of each kind of yarn. You can easily walk away with a sweater's worth of yarn all in the same dye lot, which you can't always do in a lot of modern yarn shops.
So, Tara and I had a good time figuring out projects for dkzack. She walked away with some beauties, as did Tara.
And me? Well, I scoffed at the idea of bringing home more yarn...
I almost cracked my computer screen with the rate my nose was growing at just there.
Here are two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima in a gorgeous shade of silver from Gina Brown's. I have a beautiful drapey shawl in mind for this.
These three just had to come home with me, all Mirasol Tupa, a 50/50 blend of merino wool and silk... *shiver* so lovely! Those two skeins of black aren't quite black. They're such an interesting colour, kind of like the colour that permanent black marker makes when you scribble on shiny cardstock.
And these... oh these...
I just could not walk away from this yarn. It's DROPS Alpaca, and it is SO soft. When I first touched these, my head practically spun around in circles looking for Tara or dkzack to find them so that I could make them touch it. Each time I touch it, it makes me smile. I need to be completely surrounded by this stuff!
Anyway, after a long day in the city, we drove home (I almost got us killed by trying to overtake a big truck that didn't see us, but I think the others are over it by now). It was a quieter drive home, the three of us worn out from our adventures, but the drive was entertaining as my passengers fondled their purchases (dkzack, you stay away from my yarn bag!).
Later on, I Tweeted and Plurked the following:
Anyway, this is actually one the first of three adventures for the three of us this month. Stay tuned for our next adventure: Olds Fibre Week!
I picked up my friends, Tara and dkzack, in the morning and drove off in the sunshine into Calgary. We were pretty excited, and we chatted away the whole drive in. It wasn't long before we were talking about our projects, and we laughed as my friend, dkzack, pulled out her Blackberry to look at yarn online. "Yeah, I'll have to tell everyone that I bought yarn even before I got out of the car," she said.
It wasn't long before the rain that was forecast for the day started to come down, but it didn't dampen our spirits. The World Wide Knit in Public Event we attended ended up being a rather small indoor affair because of it, but we met some interesting knitters who are practically professional yarnbombers. I think the fact we drove in from out of town may have inspired a yarnbombing event. We may have a small horde of knitters descend upon us to decorate the urban fixtures around us soon!
It was also a day of firsts, as dkzack experienced not one, but two yarn shops, for the first time.
Good gracious, she may never be the same.
Our first stop was The Loop in NW Calgary, on their grand opening event. Since we didn't arrive until the afternoon, we had missed the big rush (apparently, there was a line up outside that morning), but there were still fantastic deals to be had. 15% off? Yeah, baby!
Yarn shops can be really intimidating the first time you go... so much yarn, so many things to look at... your mind starts to spin in panic over what you could possible make with this stuff. You are reluctant to walk away, though, because you know you'll regret it later. This being dkzack's first time, Tara and I were happy to let her have time to think. I mean, how hard would it be to convince us to hang around longer in a yarn store, huh?
Of course, since the first store left her so bewildered, we decided that the best remedy for dkzack was to go to another one!
Off we zoomed across town to Gina Brown's, a fantastic yarn shop with a LOT of stock. I think the initial sight of the size of this place might have frightened dkzack even more, but she was quickly calmed by the organization of the shop. All the yarn is organized clearly by weight (most yarn shops are, but not nearly as well as Gina Brown's), and there is a lot of each kind of yarn. You can easily walk away with a sweater's worth of yarn all in the same dye lot, which you can't always do in a lot of modern yarn shops.
So, Tara and I had a good time figuring out projects for dkzack. She walked away with some beauties, as did Tara.
And me? Well, I scoffed at the idea of bringing home more yarn...
I almost cracked my computer screen with the rate my nose was growing at just there.
Here are two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima in a gorgeous shade of silver from Gina Brown's. I have a beautiful drapey shawl in mind for this.
These three just had to come home with me, all Mirasol Tupa, a 50/50 blend of merino wool and silk... *shiver* so lovely! Those two skeins of black aren't quite black. They're such an interesting colour, kind of like the colour that permanent black marker makes when you scribble on shiny cardstock.
And these... oh these...
I just could not walk away from this yarn. It's DROPS Alpaca, and it is SO soft. When I first touched these, my head practically spun around in circles looking for Tara or dkzack to find them so that I could make them touch it. Each time I touch it, it makes me smile. I need to be completely surrounded by this stuff!Anyway, after a long day in the city, we drove home (I almost got us killed by trying to overtake a big truck that didn't see us, but I think the others are over it by now). It was a quieter drive home, the three of us worn out from our adventures, but the drive was entertaining as my passengers fondled their purchases (dkzack, you stay away from my yarn bag!).
Later on, I Tweeted and Plurked the following:
So happy with my yarn purchases today that I may sleep with them under my pillow.And a couple of my followers wanted to see that. So, this afternoon, I took a nap:
Anyway, this is actually one the first of three adventures for the three of us this month. Stay tuned for our next adventure: Olds Fibre Week!
Comments
Who can resist a beautiful yarn's pull? Especially in fancy shops? I recently introduced a friend to knitting and I didn't know how much of a monster addict I would create; she has recently starting going to the local yarn shop more than weekly as well as spent her last couple paycheques on beautiful yarns.
I heard about the knit in public day but alas was stuck inside because of the baby. But maybe next year I will participate! I did crochet a few stitches while sitting in my back yard though.. does that count?
@dkzack: That doesn't surprise me at all!