knitting makes me brave(r)

I have been AWOL but not at all forgetting about blogging. In fact, I've been out field-tripping at LYS's in two different states!

Last week, I went to Oceanside, California, for a work trip. The brave(r) part is this: I have a lifelong fear of getting lost. Knowing I was going to be in an unfamiliar locale, navigating on my own in a rental car (not a common occurence in my only moderately work-traveled life), had me nervous about getting lost but very determined.

Fear makes me mad--I recognize it as a sign of "big growth ahead," so I get very focused on conquering it. But something was different this time: MapQuest (thank you, internet gods! for this brilliant invention), and yarn. I knew there were several yarn stores in the area, and that made me really want to go exploring. That made the idea of conquering my fear of getting lost even more interesting and compelling.

It was an amazing trip--whenever I step up to meet fear, my life expands beautifully. The training I was attending was brilliant and life-changing. I stayed by the ocean in a charming little hotel, had cappucinos each evening, spent an endless evening in Barnes & Noble just browsing whatever came to my attention, ate delicious Armenian food, and slept in a giant big fluffy bed. And went to three LYS: Noble Knits, Common Threads, and The Black Sheep. Surprisingly, I walked away with only a moderate stashing:

Sometimes the journey is more important than the product. I went focused on finding something for a knit project, and the only thing that really spoke to me was this quirky, youthful, bohemian crochet scarf. Though I bought the hook to begin the project, I instead got immersed in Wicked and spent almost no time working crochet or the two pairs of socks on the sticks I brought. Go figure.

I had one day at home, and then I was off again, for another work trip to Portland, Oregon. I had enough time after the drive to explore three yarn shops in a very efficient, cruise-the-stacks-in-15-minutes fashion. Here's what I walked away with (aren't packages like this enticing?)

Some of it was stash from Knitting Bee in Beaverton:

I was on the hunt for Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, and they didn't have any. Though I love this Mountain Colors colorway, I have no idea why I bought it (translation: no project in mind). It has mohair in it, which generally makes me itch a little bit.

They did have a Fair Isle felted bag class that I wish I'd registered for (or at least bought the patterns), and another pattern book that I can't remember now--some Scandinavian name. I bought the Mission Falls book because I really liked the pattern ideas, but not one of them comes in my size. Knitting Bee looks like a great shop, but I don't think it's destined to become one of my favorites.

Yarn Garden up next. I only had 15-20 minutes for this browse. I didn't buy anything, though I found it impressive, and would love to go and spend time knitting away in their sipperie.

On a whim, I called knit/purl at 5 p.m. to find (hallelujah!) they were open until 6. I dashed over and spent the next 40 minutes debating, while their staff rearranged the Koigu/Lorna's Laces wall. Lesson: when you find yarn you like, don't walk away. When I was there in February, they had gobs of Socks that Rock, a whole wall full of delicious merino color. Now they had it pushed away in a small cubby--either because they were running low or because they're deliberately making more room for Koigu/Lorna's Laces. I grieved, then bought a hank of STR in the colorway closest to Pebble Beach that I could find. I also decided I needed to make their twirly mohair ruffly scarf in deep true-red. Things I walked away from (which I may or may not regret): the giant yardaged hank of natural tan alpaca for a scarf for Paul (newly moving to Cleveland), and the kit for Color on Color from Scarf Style. I just really like knit/purl--they have all the good stuff, their shop is modern and inviting, their staff is knowledgable and nice, and they get that the details (like the beautiful pearl-blue logo stickers they use to seal the packages and on their bags) matter.

The last yarn shop trip was another new and great little Portland shop, Lint. I'd been noodling the idea of making a felted bag, and they showed me the one Leigh Radford (a Portland resident and one of their teachers) had in IWK Spring 2006 issue. Their shop sample was in a great pink/brown combo, so--with the help of my colleagues who'd come along--I snapped up some Lamb's Pride, Manos, and Classic Elite Montera, ready to make the tote. I'm wishing that I'd chosen ice blue, green, and salmon to go on the brown background instead of the pinks, but the shop sample was gorgeous.

Now when will I have time to knit all this lusciousness?

Stashing is fun. I'm not allowed to go to yarn shops for a good, long time.