Sometimes the best thing about a Monday morning is an in depth review of what you did over the weekend.
We have been in a bit of a “drink slump” on the Friday Happy Hour™ recently so I pulled up my Pinterest Gin Cocktail board and picked a new drink. Why gin? To me nothing says warm weather quite like gin and we are wishing for some of that here. I made this recipe for an Old Tom – it was okay, but we thought it needed a little something. My easy fix was to juice an orange and split that between the two cocktails (my orange, juiced, was roughly 2 ounces) and that was the perfect addition! This cocktail is bright and refreshing – the perfect slump breaker!
Saturday… oh Saturday!
I learned some lessons about my memory, telling time, and how the heck can a yarn vendor be a yarn vendor if they don’t have a SQ* of yarn. My apparently failing memory tells me that Indie Knit and Spin usually started at 10am in their old location, and I remember seeing something about an 11am start on FB, but actually reading the starting times might have been helpful. Why, even reading the FB alert on my phone might have been helpful! Yes, we arrived at 11am only to discover that 11-12 was the “pay preview.” I will leave Steve’s response to this to your imagination – but, let me just say – it was not pretty.
The biggest shock, however, came with the “yarn vendors.” How do they call themselves that if they only have **ONE OR TWO** skeins of yarn in any color????? I saw plenty of yarn I liked, but my intent was not to buy a skein or two of yarn to enhance my already out of control yarn stash! I was on a mission and the only purchase I was going to make would be to fulfill that mission! Imagine my shock when one vendor said to me and I am quoting: “You knit sweaters?” – as if this was a foreign concept! (also, HELLO!! I was wearing a handknit sweater, thank you very much!!) However, I persevered and tried a different tactic – I asked two different vendors if I could place an order for a SQ of yarn in a colorway. Their responses: “Not in that yarn, I don’t stock that yarn.” (Really? Because THAT IS ALMOST ALL THE YARN YOU HAVE IN YOUR BOOTH!!) And “That is a ‘unicorn’ color which means it was a mistake and it cannot be repeated.” – I almost wanted to stay in her booth for the remainder of the day to see how many “mistakes” she sold versus her “planned” colorways… almost. I did not and I really wish them luck with their “yarn hobby.”
There is, however, a silver lining to this disaster of a day, and it came from Lisa of Fibernymph Dye Works!! She had 3 skeins of yarn that I thought would work but, I needed one more skein. She did not ask me why I needed another skein – she just started looking through some show kits she had and found a fourth skein! Really, this was the most AWESOME customer service!! Lisa… you win the day (and you got the sale!!) Thank you!! And, no – this yarn is not for this sweater… I figured that having just one sweater on my radar might result in disaster, so I had a backup plan! I will combine this gorgeous yarn with an enormous skein Wollmeise Lace yarn that has been in my stash for ages. I have not swatched yet…but, I have thought about it more than once this weekend! If you are in need of a skein or ten of yarn, I highly recommend Lisa!
All this yarn angst triggered a bout of Day Drinking which Church Brew Works happily obliged! It was the perfect combination of good beer and great food!
Sunday had some bright moments but those moments did not include very much time outdoors – thank you Gale Force Winds, but that equated to some excellent knitting time. There was also some meal planning for the week in an effort to reduce the “what’s for dinner” conversation – and if this prolonged discussion eliminates the daily “what’s for dinner” diatribe – I am all for it. Because that conversation is my least favorite one to have, yet it is the most frequent!!
And, there you have it… after unloading all that I am ready for Monday! How about you?
*SQ = Sweater Quantity
Yikes! That must have been frustrating…until you got to Lisa’s booth that is. Church Brew Works seems the perfect spot to end up! I remember being there years ago when Colin was still in school.
“You knit sweaters?” from a dyer just makes me laugh and shake my head. Thank goodness for Fibernymph and beer!
Our weekend was cold but dry so I bundled up and did some walking. I was supposed to get a haircut but rescheduled because it made my Sunday too busy. And I went to hear Jasper Fforde talk. I have not read his books but I took my daughter who is a big fan.
I can think of a few good reasons why a vendor wouldn’t have SQs. A response such as “You knit sweaters?” is not one of them! Yay for beer!!
Yes, yarn angst is real.
Gale force winds are also true which brought cool winds here in TN, brrrr, but at least it was sunny, for some parts of the day. We take what ever we can get in the sunny mode.
What’s-for-dinner is also true, but fortunately only in my head. Which reminds me, beer is useful for cooking too, chili-con-frijoles here we come.
Wow, that response is something else! I guess I was lucky in that the one SQ of yarn I was shopping for was from a vendor who always has SQs (HipStrings) and my other purchases were single skeins for my Fibre Share partner. I didn’t do a ton of shopping because I was only there for a very limited time, but I did notice that some vendors had surprisingly low stock. I understand that for some vendors (like Dusty Tree, who started with soap and has added some yarn), but I saw one “booth” (if you can call it that) who had a table with maybe a dozen skeins of yarn. How is that worth it to vend if that’s all you have to sell?
My friend, who is a yarn dyer, realized not everyone will knit shawls forever more and has started knitting sweater samples and dyeing SQ of yarn. I didn’t realize she was on the cutting edge. LOL Some dyers are always late to the party. Looking forward to seeing your purchases and future projects! I stopped having the What’s For Dinner conversation, because I’m always the decider.
I think Margene and Vicki’s comments are spot on with regards to SQ yarn amounts. I’m glad you found something you could use so that it wasn’t a wasted trip. Although, great beer and food after would have meant it wasn’t a wasted trip at all!
Glad you found some yarn!!! 🙂 At our house, whoever cooks . . . decides! 😉
um, ok, I might be reading too much between the lines, but was Steve WITH you on this epic almost-fail to find yarn? whoa. and if yes, YAY STEVE! (and if not, still, yay YOU and Fibernymph!)
the wind was wicked over here! I surprisingly did not lose power but the grocery stores did and I couldn’t do my shopping…better them than me though.
“You knit sweaters?” Srsly? Good grief.