Sunday, February 24, 2008

A Day Well Spent in Lawrence

Saturday was great! Though cold, Bob and I took off early for a planned road trip to Lawrence, Kansas. You see, there was this train show drawing us there. And plus, there's always Yarn Barn for me to explore.


We started our day off right by going to my favorite Lawrence coffee and breakfast spot, Milton's. Even at 8:00 in the morning, it was packed. This is the kind of place that serves wonderful, bottomless cups of coffee in all KINDS of flavors and strengths. Not the fru-fru latte' stuff (although they probably have that too), but the REAL fresh-ground bean kind that is the favorite of those of us who drink our coffee PLAIN, BLACK and unaudulterated with milk and foam. Instead of waiting for a server to serve you more, everyone goes to the pots and fills up themselves as needed.

Next we headed over to the train show. It was really fun. We spent the morning there. Not only did we find a few things to add to Bob's small display, but we also won a door prize, and that's always exciting. It was so neat to watch the little guy's there with their father's and grandfather's staring in mesmerization at the trains on display.

We also OF COURSE had to stop in at Yarn Barn where I found a couple of skeins of Malabrigo Lace in a color called Cinnebar - yum. I found Louet Gem's sock yarn there too in a shade of green. I've been wanting to try that sock yarn because so many people rave about it. I can never walk out of that store empty-handed now, can I? It's downright impossible.

I made it back to town in time to go to Honkerbeans to meet with my regular knitting crowd. Unfortunately, during the time there, we discovered that they are no longer owned by the family who used to own them, and they have even changed names etc. They are turning it into an Italian eatery in the evenings and maybe the weekends - the format is still undecided but I just wonder if we'll still be able to meet there? Not sure. I know that I much preferred it being a family-owned casual coffee shop. So if you go to Honkerbeans and don't find us there, go to Borders. I don't like the idea of switching to a corporate owned place. But how many places can 10-15 people meet for free in our area? Not sure yet.


While there at Honkerbeans, Kay brought in more of her hand-dyed yarn and I fell in love with Black Rose. It's mine now. She's really brewing up some winning colorways.


I found some help with my Magic Loop socks at the knit group yesterday. Both Carol and Kay helped me figure out the basics of how Magic Loop works. Then I came home that night and guess what? I opened up Melissa's book again, followed the instructions step-by-step and it suddenly made perfect sense. I loved it! Started knitting two small socks at once and they are really easy and fast. This method might make a believer and a two-at-a-time sock knitter out of me yet. Why knit only one when I can knit two and it's really really EASY. I swear.

Do you notice the cute little red bag sitting there holding my sock yarn? My friend Carla told me she got one on clearance from Avon. So I went on ebay and found one here for only $4.50 + shipping. It's $9 after shipping, but it's really a great little 9" by 4" vinyl bag. It holds 2 balls of yarn, my socks in progress, a small knitting notions packet. If you are trying to find it through Avon it's called, "Avon Red Holiday Train Makeup Case." Now I have socks 2 at a time TO GO.

6 comments:

Kay said...

Did you get it figured out after all?!? Yaaayyy! I felt bad that I couldn't decipher the cast-on instructions with any coherency. It felt like my head was going to explode. Glad it clicked for you after it had a chance to perk around in your head for a while.

ChelleC said...

Yes, I got it figured out. Now I'm at the heel turn. I want to try to finish this pair of sample socks before I try the method with the Simply Lovely socks.

Amanda said...

Ohhhh...very pretty yarn! What are the two sock yarns you are using? Do you think the Magic Loop method is easy? I thought about learning it.

ChelleC said...

Amanda, the dark colored yarn is Mirasol Hacho sock yarn, a Peruvian sock yarn I bought at the studio in color 307 (black with multi bright colors). Second one is Fortissima Cotton Colori in Color 14 that I bought at Yarn Barn of Kansas. Hope that helps.

ChelleC said...

Ah darn, I'm stuck on the heels. Am going to turn to knitting the Simply Lovely socks. Maybe by then I'll figure out how to turn the heels. Otherwise, I'll just do them separately.

Anonymous said...

I have a Yarn Barn in SA, somewhat near me, also! I think the Laurence one is the original. Ours is closing in April after 39 years! The owner lost her lease and doesn't want to start over in a new place, so she's retiring. There MAY be a buyer... we're still waiting on pins and (knitting) needles to see if that works out.