On the Road Again

Several members of our Tuesday morning knitting group have been raving about Vulcan's Rest, a fiber arts store in Chesapeake City, MD, so the rest of us decided it was time to check it out.

We were all a bit speechless when we walked in--it was amazing. There are at least four rooms that are filled with yarn. Another room has more knitting notions than I've ever seen in one place and there's a whole walk-in closet for different kinds of roving and top. Scattered throughout there are materials for weaving, basketmaking, felting, beading, and spinning.

In the back there's a beautiful kitchen where customers can help themselves to tea and coffee. One of our members exclaimed, "Tea, coffee, and yarn all in one place! Does it get any better than this?"



Here's a shot of two of our ladies enjoying the book corner--it looks more like a real library and it had more significant titles than even the larger booksellers.

I'd gone looking for a few small things to get the new spinning wheel going and I got more than I bargained for. The owner let me try out a Schacht Ladybug wheel. Not only was it adorable, but it was heaven to spin, especially since it had double treadles.





Afterwards, we moved next door to the little cafe for lunch and then, took a short walk around the town to see the sights. I thought that this color-coordinated house was too cute to pass without taking a photo.

A New Family Member

On my return from Woodstock, I stopped at my mother-in-law's house to see the newest member of our family. The little girl, to be named Cora, is the first child born to my nephew and his wife. She was born at home on April 23rd and is perfectly beautiful. Here's a shot of Paul's mom, Jean, admiring her first great granddaughter and another of Granddad, Chris, a few days later.

My Birthday Week!

It was a great week. My earliest surprise was a beautiful Keurig coffee maker from my very good friend who probably loves coffee more than I do. She is an enabler of the best sort. Last year she gifted me with a collection of goodies from King Arthur Flour for making donuts. Yumm! Now we have the coffee to go with them.

Then, after a week of bailing out the laundry room because the furnace was acting up, I decided to buy myself a new furnace. Just what every girl dreams of. Our old one was simply a nightmare, noisy, nasty and very cantankerous. Every morning, I'd wake up and wonder if we'd have hot water for a shower. I think I had heart palpitations when I wrote the check, but I promised myself that we'd be happy we did it next winter.

At the end of the week, it was time for my trip to Fibersmyth, in Woodstock, VA, for a Beginning Spinning class. I'd been eagerly looking forward to the trip and it was even better than I had anticipated. The weather was more like July than April, so the class was held on the porch of the old farm house that now houses the yarn store and tea room. Priscilla, our teacher, is a lifelong fiber artist who, at one time, also ran a working sheep farm and spinning business. What this lady doesn't know about spinning and spinning materials isn't worth knowing and the best part of it is that she's a gifted teacher.




Here are some other photos from our class:




Erin, on the left, has an imaginative method for securing unspun fleece and Kristin, on the right, is hard at work, using her Louet wheel.





Here's shot of Gillian wearing a skein of her newly spun yarn and another of Linda using the drum carder, which I later broke! (I'm sorry, Elizabeth!)

I had a lovely weekend and learned a great deal--everyone was so friendly and open--the kind of folks you want to gather up and take home to be your neighbors!

My Springtime February Lady

Here's what became of the yarn I bought at A Good Yarn. My first February Lady Sweater was by the book. The only modification that I made to the pattern was to go down one needle size on the sleeves to cut down on the width. On this one, I decided to make the sleeves short and to add a shawl collar. The sleeve modification was easy because I simply continued the garter stitch on DP's until I thought they were the right length.

The collar was an entirely different story and I couldn't have done it without the detailed directions left on the Ravelry by "Darkandstormyday." This ingenius young knitter posted a picture of her own FLS in the project files and also explained exactly how she had added a short-row collar. I've read much about short row shaping but, with the exception of sock heels, I really had no idea how to go about it. In fact, I wouldn't even have considered using this method to construct a collar!

Jack Falls From Grace

I came home from yoga this morning to find a small pile of partially digested dog food on the carpet but there was no indication as to who had left it. A little while later, as I sat down to do some knitting, I heard wretching sounds in the other room and then I knew. It was Jack. Poor baby, he looked terrible. I coddled him and started to worry. Is he uncomfortable? It's the weekend--what if he needs to see the doctor? Is he dying?

I was going through the whole list of Dogmomma Whatif's when I wandered into the kitchen and saw it. There in the corner sat the 40 lb. bag of dry dog food. It was right where we always leave it, but now a corner of the top was missing and the jagged edge of the front was pulled down to just about 10 inches from the floor--oddly enough, the same distance from the floor to Jack's nose. That little thug! While I'm busy making myself a nervous wreck, he's in the other room, quietly sleeping off his morning bender!

Then I got to thinking. In the past few months, I've had holes chewed through to the pocket of my wool pea coat, a flannel blazer totally destroyed and a hole eaten in my favorite jean jacket. I've blamed Molly but now I'm thinking I had it all wrong. Call Grissom, call Jethro Gibbs! Get a cheek swab from the black dog and Mirandize the mutt.

Another Road Trip, Another LYS

Years ago, I happened upon a little yarn store in Baltimore, called "A Good Yarn." It was wee tiny and stuffed with yarn and other knitting goodies. I shopped a bit, bought some sock yarn and that was that. Last week, a friend and I decided to meet there and I found that it had changed in a very interesting way.

It is still located in the heart of Fells Point, a historic neighborhood about 10 minutes from downtown Baltimore. What's changed is that the shop now specializes in American made yarn and, while there is a lot less to look at, I found the offerings very interesting. There are no specialty yarns (yaay!!) and very little in the way of alternative fibers, like bamboo and such. What you will find are wools of various weights, some wool blends and some cotton. Lorraine, the store owner, only handles about four companies but she knows each yarn intimately and can show you a garment knitted from everything in the shop, probably by her. (When was the last time you could say that?) It's very refreshing because I think you could go in with almost any kind of project or pattern in mind and I'll bet she could provide with at least one suitable yarn choice.

I fell in love with two different yarns, a worsted wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill in Michigan and a wool and silk blend in DK weight from Harrisville Yarns in New Hampshire. Both were very nice, but the Shepherd's wool from the Michigan company won out because it was such a delicious turquoise color. By the time we finally left, I had decided to make another February Lady Sweater, because I felt that the yarn would really make the gull lace pattern shine.

As I drove home, I thought about how different A Good Yarn was, in relation to other stores I'd visited. Many offer an overwhelming number of yarn choices and yet, I can leave empty handed and totally unimpressed. I think Lorraine's little store is an example where "less is more" because she had things that I'd never seen or even heard of before. Even better than that, she knew from personal experience what each yarn had to offer and how it would work. I saw every yarn she had within the first 30 minutes and yet, we spent over two hours in the store and I can't wait to go back!

Tea + Crumpets + Yarn = Heaven

No trip to Bryce is complete without our annual trip to Fibersmyth, an absolute gem of a knitting shop in Woodstock, VA. Last year, while we were there, the owner's husband showed us an adjoining storage room where they planned to open a tea room and when we got there last week, we discovered that those plans have indeed become a reality--a quite wonderful reality.

Originally, the shop was located in an old stone townhouse in downtown Woodstock. Shortly after the present owner, Elizabeth McCarus, bought it in 2007, the business was moved to a large farmhouse farther out of town on the the main road. While the store's new location, amidst highway type businesses, lacks the charm of its former historic surroundings, a step inside reveals that the new space is a great improvement upon the old one. The rooms are now warm, inviting and full of natural light. The shop's collection of yarns is extensive, including my favorite "workhorse" yarn, Cascade 220, and other more luxurious offerings like Blue Sky Alpacas, Malabrigo, and Sublime. The shop also carries many Berroco yarns and some interesting local wools. This is a place where a knitter can spend many tranquil hours shopping for yarn and inspiration. It is also a place where a new knitter can find come for assistance and support. Whenever I've been there, I've witnessed the special care that Elizabeth extends to her beginners or, for that matter, anyone who seems to have questions.


The new tea room, The Cup and Crumpet, is the perfect addition to the shop. The offerings are mainly quiches, some sandwiches and soups, but, oh, the choices! I had a hard time deciding between the roasted asparagus sandwich, the leek quiche, and the tomato bisque. Julie got the bisque, Paul and Amy both ordered the roast beef on pumpernickel with (gorgonzola mayo), and I settled on the quiche. When the food came, conversation stopped and no one seemed to regret their choices. It was all SO good. Afterwards, we split a piece of Chocolate Decadence. After one bite, I wanted to grab it, hide under a table, eat the whole thing and lick the plate. But I didn't. Sometimes, I hate being a Good Girl.


Later, as we finished our tea, Julie proclaimed that Fibersmyth was her MOST FAVORITE LYS in the world. Think about it: good yarn, good food and a cute loo--how can you beat that?