So yesterday the plan was to head over to the old home place and help my aunt set up her new computer. Instead, I made the mistake of glancing through the yarn store lists at the back of the new IK in the desperate hope that a new yarn store would have magically appeared somewhere within driving distance. Lucky for me and unfortunately for my credit card, I actually found one. So, instead of spending the day tangled up in wires and USB cables, I dragged my aunt and grandmother out of the house to join me on my quest for non-icky yarn.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t holding out much hope that this shop would be any better than the last I tried. While it wasn’t quite up to par with The Woolie Ewe, Rose Path Weaving was a lovely little store. I knew I (or rather, my credit card) was doomed the minute I walked in…the very first thing you see is a shelf full of gorgeous sock yarn. Opal, Lorna’s Laces, Claudia’s Handpainted, Koigu, Regia, and Supersocke 100 all jumbled together in colorful abandon. No Lion Brand or Red Heart anywhere. It was a beautiful thing. I think I spent over an hour in this teeny tiny shop…I dug through every shelf at least 3 times. The staff was ridiculously friendly and helpful; they were even nice to my grandmother (who is just learning to knit)…all the other stores we’ve been to, the staff has looked down their noses at her and basically gave her the brush off when she tried to ask questions. The back of the shop was taken up by ladies working at looms, which was very interesting to watch. If I didn’t live over an hour away from the store, i’d probably take weaving lessons there, just for the hell of it. They also had a good selection of fiber, spindles, and wheels, the latter of which i’ll be taking advantage of once I have some extra cash. I can definitely say I will be headed back to this shop sometime soon, gorgeous yarn that close to me is not something I can ignore. Plus, they have a spinning workshop twice a year…I can’t pass that up.

I picked up a ball of Opal, 2 hanks Lorna’s Laces, another skein of Ultra Alpaca (originally for some cabled fingerless mitts, but now possibly for the Brea Bag because it’s adorable), some Silky Tweed for a modified Dream Swatch for my grandmother, a drop spindle, and 1lb of Corriedale roving. I absolutely cannot wait to start spinning…I just have to decide whether I want to dye the roving first, or spin it up and then dye it. I also grabbed a copy of Spin to Knit and Knitting Vintage Socks from Barnes and Noble, both are excellent.

And finally, before I go on rambling about my stash additions, two FOs.

Pattern: My own…just a plain round yoke cardigan
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots…ugh. Never ever ever using this yarn again, it pills and fuzzes like crazy and kept me sneezing all through the knitting. It also makes the knitting a bit bumpy, so the finished object doesn’t look very polished. The button band got all bumpy after washing too, even though I know I didn’t pick up too many stitches…it looked fine before washing.

Pattern: Dream Swatch Head Wrap
Yarn: Berroco Soft Twist. This yarn is pretty, and looks great knitted up, but it’s a bitch to work with. The rayon splits and breaks easily and you have to pay really pay close attention to your work.
Mods: I love this pattern but I didn’t want a scarf, so I knit a 3 stitch I-cord for a tie then worked bar increases until I got to the cast on number for the original pattern. I worked in pattern until it was a good length for a headband, then decreased back down to 3 stitches and finished it off with another I-cord tie. Eeasy peasy. (And sorry about the horrid picture…it was the last picture before my camera batteries died, and now that I have new batteries I can’t be bothered to take another picture of myself. My hair isn’t usually that 80s-esque. Unfortunately, however, I am always that pale.)