Continued Rant - NASCAR this time

Sad that yesterday's rant was not the only problem at the NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway.  Like I said - I used to spend a lot of money at the merchandise haulers at the track.  They were lined up in rows, some drivers have their own, some teams have a bunch of drivers in one hauler, some independent merchants had haulers and tents to buy stuff at ( that's where Curt got Min's FAVORITE EVER Christmas gift - a Jimmy Spencer t-shirt - heee heee hee hee) So you had some haulers with little crowds, others not so much - the people working the haulers could answer questions, and get you the size you asked for - if you weren't sure about the size they let you take it out and look.  Here's a pic I slurped off the web as an example:

Now some genius - and I mean cost cutting profit obsessing moron - came up with the plan of one giant tent store:

With drivers having little "booths" in the tent - there was a women's booth (nightmare to shop - I'll explain in a bit) but that tiny tent in the background? That's the checkout tent.  With a giant roped line and the cashiers couldn't figure out the registers - and when a cashier was free they'd wave a flag and you had to figure out which row they were in since the cashier's were in rows lined up back to back.

You had to rummage around to find the size you wanted.  The booths that were brand oriented had hats or other stuff on a shelf with shirts/jackets on hangers underneath.  BUT if you saw a row of Jimmie Johnson hats, there might be Denny Hamlin shirts underneath.  As someone who hates shopping, despises shopping sales because of the disorganization that ensues and is really hard pressed to shop clearance or other "bargain" outlets because of the need to keep flipping to find sizes or styles - this was my worst nightmare.  And not just that  - those Denny Hamlin t-shirts - were mixed with Donkey face t-shirts - not even the same manufacturer of car much less team!!  And they were mixed up in quantities that you can't blame the fans shopping - like I tell the guys at work - if there is 1 or 2 things that don't belong - ok a customer dropped it there. If there are case quantities in the wrong place - some moron packed it out wrong!

While I admire the fact that it seems they helped out the local economy by hiring locals, instead of having the people that drove the rigs selling the products - no one that worked there could answer any questions!  They all admitted there were boxes of more products behind the shelves - but didn't know where to look if someone wanted a size that was sold out on the hangers!  And mind you - with the no reentry policy, it's not like you could come back later to see if more got stocked out!

I cannot tell you how many people I over heard saying they'd go online to buy, or go to a local store.  Some took pictures so they'd know what they were looking for.

THE WORST PART--- yup the above was just a prelude to the horror.  Here's a picture of the interior of a booth - from Friday, when there are not that many fans at the track yet:

Look at where that lady is standing.  Now imagine several people, with backpacks and coolers (because they can't shop and then come back in, they had everything with them as they shopped) trying to turn that corner while one person tried to look at the stuff.

It was impossible. I had a backpack, but I'm spoiled and Curt carries the cooler filled with more than people at a Saharan oasis could drink, and I was constantly getting jostled by people hitting my backpack, and hit with coolers as people next to me got jostled.  I just gave up.  And I'm pissed.  I actually look forward to my new Tony Stewart wear each summer.

I won't be buying at nascar.com that's for certain.  I'll still buy from SHR and Tony's website.  Maybe I'll see if Realtree sells online.  I can tell you this - there won't be as much purchased.

So if you see me in the future, I will probably be wearing more Devils, 49ers and Mets gear.  The Devils make it easy to shop, since I don't like going into the city I expect to order Mets stuff online - or it's sold in a lot of local retailers since they are one of the local teams ( Devils too - but some of it has been contaminated by proximity to Rangers, Islanders and Flyers stuff in stores) and since I'm on the opposite coast I know I have to order the 49er stuff I want.

Hmmmf.   

I've created a Monster

Those of you that know me in real life, may know I can be a little bit neurotic about some things. (OK - when it comes to Braun's a lot neurotic) One of my "things" is my bras have to match my shirt. (usually my socks do as well as my underwear - except when I'm wearing what Curt calls my Underoos - yes I have 4 pairs of Wonder Woman panties, Iron Man, Thor, Olaf, Cookie Monster, Animal, several with Oscar the Grouch.....yeah a lot) So when the underwire in my green bra poked through and I had to get rid of it I needed another green bra. All I could find were lime green almost yellow bras. That wouldn't work. I was in search of an emerald or grass or just plain old crayola green!  No luck. 

Then I clicked on a Zulilly ad (guess they do work huh?) and ended up buying 12 bras -  2 black, 2 beige,  gray, brown, 2 red, blue, yellow, orange, pink.  Even with shipping it came to $60!! Would you know that the very next day I finally found my green bra in Target?? Yeah it wasn't there before.

So I told Curt about my purchase and how Zulilly works.  Stuff is on sale for really huge (bras were like 65% off) discounts but for only a few days.  SO if you want it, they kind of make you act right away - it's not just selling out you have to worry about - it's the sale going away altogether, and there isn't any "regular price" merchandise on the site.  There's men's stuff, women's kids, stuff for your house etc.  

So Curt looks at the site.  He looks on his laptop.  He then just orders two pairs of shoes!!!!!  By setting up his own account!!!!!!!  I could have gotten $20 for recommending him if he told me he was going to buy something!!!!!!!!!  WTF?!?!?!?!?!

So he gets his shoes at the end of last week.  Yesterday, there is another package,  he bought a watch.  His answer? they sent an email and the watch was a steal.....

yup, I have created an online shopping monster....

Store customer cards.

I have a whole extra keychain that has a ton of store loyalty cards on it.  Most of the time, since I rarely have my purse with me, I have to remember which phone number is attached to the card so they can look it up.  (In the case of Best Buy - I haven't lived at the phone number attached to our card in 13 years, have tried changing it repeatedly - you would think a company selling technology would be able to take care of it.. but NO. They say it's fixed... and it isn't... reason number 1,238,336 I won't be buying any more tech products from them) Anyway, this isn't about them - it's about my local supermarket.  Almost a year ago-ish they stopped carrying the shampoo, conditioner and split end repair cream I like to use.  Ok, not thrilled, I stop in either Ulta or Harmon's to get it. Slightly less convenient, because it's an extra stop - but not annoying enough to get mad or shop online.

Since THEY stopped carrying it, I keep getting coupons at the register :



I know this one is expired, but I think I threw out the "we miss you" coupon from a couple days ago.

This is what is on their shelf:



I have never bought these.  I don't have dry hair!  I have chemically treated hair - very different!!  I use this line:

 If they would put this on the shelf - I would keep buying it for convenience at Shop Rite!!  If they want to track my usage and realize I have stopped buying Pantene Expert - they should look at what product I stopped buying!!  They are annoying me now!

Unplanned yarn.

Friday evening, Curt and I decided to go on a quick day trip.  This was inspired earlier in the week when Krissie and Ryan Newman's date night turned into a trip to Bass Pro Shops.  I believe the closest Bass Pro to me is in Harrisburg, PA - about 3 hours away I think.  But a mere 2 hrs + away is Cabella's.  I love Cabella's- and there is a Cracker Barrel right across the street.  Curt needed some unmentionables because I threw a bunch of his away recently.  So, he wanted to head to the outlets outside Lancaster on Route 30 (not the ones in Reading)  These outlets are just about around the corner (ok long corner)  from Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA.  So our plans were made.  The Angie had already made plans for the weekend down the shore with her friends.  It was just Curt and I.

We left at 7am, figuring we would get breakfast around Allentown.  All the way to Bethlehem, there were those signs about what food was at the next exit.  Just before Bethlehem, was even a sign for Waffle House, but I didn't pick it (he drove I had to pick) because we were still some miles before Allentown.  Well, then Allentown came and went. And went, and went, and went.  I don't think any of these people eat breakfast out!  (ok,  there was Mickey D's, Burger King, and the Wendy's served breakfast- but yuck, I don't do them)  So, when Curt saw a sign for the Midway Diner he picked it.  It was a typical truck diner - and I had a lot of fun eavesdropping (although if they talk that loud it shouldn't be considered eavesdropping) on three pretty loud drivers sitting at the counter.  One driver had a dog that was working on exterminating Groundhogs.  Since my father in law is currently losing his war against a groundhog that likes his garden, they caught my attention.

found the pic on line.
 
When we got to Kitchen Kettle Village we stopped at the Lancaster Yarn Shop.  Not a really big LYS, but they had a section of locally raised,spun dyed yarn.  How could I resist??  I needed some sock yarn that would be a stretch from my usual choices for a KAL that starts tomorrow of Honey Badger Socks.   I found Crab Apple Yarns.  Jubilee.  It was way more than I would usually spend on yarn, but I really loved it.



They also had a sparkly yarn - not sure what I'll make from that.  Revival.



Without the Angie - Curt had to be my sampling partner in the jam shop.  We ended up getting 13 jars, a spicy pickle, watermelon rind pickles for my FIL, sugar free apple butter for my mom, 2 things of peach salsa, pineapple jalepeno I plan on using with pork or ham. and 7 of our usuals.  Then it was the smoke house, love the smell in there for cheee & sausage.  I showed amazing restraint by skipping the fudge store.  I realized some time ago that I like buying fudge more than eating it!  The leather shop also is on I never skip.


From there it was on to lunch - but that is a whole post in and of itself!

Yarn Crawl Part 2

continued from yesterday

After lunch we went to Loop in South St.  if I am visiting Angie at Temple and want/need yarn they would be my Philly Yarn Store (PYS as opposed to my LYS- local yarn store!)  It is the second time I've been there and as opposed to the other stores on the crawl rather than looking for something I liked, Curt had to decide which ones I like better.  They have a really good selection over a wide range of fibers, weights and especially colors.  They have a really friendly and normal ( after my crawl that is now a factor) staff.  I bought a big 500ml bottle of Euclan to wash my knits with, the cutest yarn stitch markers in a case from hiya-hiya ( I used to be in an msn knitting group with Quianer Huang whose family owns the company)








The blue and the pink skeins are hand dyed Black Bunny yarns - she's the author of among other things Knitting Socks With Hand Painted Yarns.  It took me awhile to sort through the 4 bins and Curt figure out which 2 I liked best.  Angie took one look at the multi colored ones and declared I should make something for her with it. I asked her what - she said I don't know something knitted. (and to think she got into Temple's honors college)


We then went to Nangellini's farther down South Street.  This store was 1/2 art gallery, 1/2 yarn shop, 1/2 new age shop ( I know that adds up to more than 1 but some of the stuff overlapped categories)  none was done well.  They seemed almost desperate to get us to go upstairs - "most of the yarn is upstairs' "most of our books are upstairs" "if you like that most of the items like that are upstairs".  When you go up the stairs you have about a foot and a half to turn left or you'll fall down another set of stairs!  They had some Mirasol, but not much selection.  A weird sales assistance sign:





because the way it's typed up it reads "we are here to help you"  "figure it out" and it really wasn't obvious they were there to help so I guess people had problems figuring it out?  When we came down the stairs there were  bunch of women sitting in a circle - not knitting, you'd expect that- that were talking and when we came down were just staring at the walls. Odd. Maybe we interupted their coven or something! So I didn't buy anything there either.


Lastly we headed to Sophie's.  I really didn't have much hope for that place because apparently the best thing about the store was the cat!  We got there and the door were locked.  Looking in the window, the place was 3/4 empty and what was there was on sale.  So I guess the cat wasn't enough to keep them in business. After the fact we thought it would have been hysterical  if we had done a yarnie rendition of the Eaton Center shopper who wanted to get into shop when the mall was locked down due to rioting during the G20 summit.





After that we headed for the sushi place where we a couple of people at all you can eat sushi.


Friday, Curt and I had breakfast at Marathon Grill which was a couple blocks from the hotel.  I had a super yummy wild mushroom, spinach and goat cheese omelet.  We then checked out and went to Franklin Mills Outlet mall, mostly to be inside not outside in the heat and humidity.   We did pick up a few things.  had lunch at the food court, then went back to Temple to get the Angie.  Which of course required a stop at the book store to get some Temple attire.  We picked up Min again, were stood up by Kirsten and her husband, and went to Minar Palace for Indian food.  I had eaten Indian a few weeks ago at the graduation party of one of Angie's Indian friends and it was really good, Angie wanted Indian to see how restaurant food was different than her friends mom's food.  The food was great - none of us could finish it.  We were going to listen to the truck race on the way home, but it was delayed because of a power outage due to a pole down on the highway - so I fell asleep!

Yarn Crawl Part 1

Angie had her freshman orientation on Thur and Fri this week.  She also got to meet with her advisor ( with the Honors College it's a staff and she can see any of them) to make up her schedule for fall semester.  She is taking the same approach to college courses as she took in HS. She is taking 17 credits, all fulfilling one or more graduation/major/honors requirements except French.  She placed out of the first 2 years of French - so that fulfills her foreign language, but she really likes French, "it's easy" to her and she discovered that one of the honor societies she wants to get into doesn't count the placement test.

She placed out of several semesters of math as well, so she will take statistics next semester and not need any more math. ( meanwhile my brain is in convulsions - I went to an engineering school and had 24 math credits)  She is really good at math but, gulp, doesn't like it.


Ready for orientation!

While she was in orientation we stayed at the Latham Hotel - it has a floor 13!!
Most hotels go from 12 to 14, and since we stayed on 12, I noticed the 13 right away.  I even pushed it once to make sure it would stop at a floor and it did! (yeah I'm a dork)



Thursday I went on a yarn crawl with my friend Min.  First we went to Narberth to a store called EWE AND I .  I got a skein of Lorna's Laces that reminded me of an outfit I used to wear in college all the time.  Enough so , that Curt remembers it.



They were really friendly, and we had a fun discussion of how college and dorms etc have changed ( seriously Angie's dorm has central air!) Parked in front of the shop was a car with knitting plates.  (Some background - there is a NASCAR driver Clint Boyer who looks like a serial killer. My friends and I refer to him as TSK) I misread the plates as TSK Knits and thought oh my god, CLint Boyer knits?! (yes Dork I already admitted it)





We then went to a "highly recommended by several members of the Philly knitters" LYS  THE TANGLED WEB.  We were in the shop for at least 5-6 minutes before anyone even looked our way to say hello ( I know you can only help one person at a time, but said person usually won't mind if you just look over and say Hi) If you took out all the eyelash and ladder novelty yarn, there was like 5 kinds of Plymouth and not a really good color selection of them.  ( I really don't like the stores where it is obvious what color the owners like, and that's all they order. because unless those are the colors you like it's pretty useless and if you ever need to make a gift or swap they don't have the colors you need so I try to avoid them)  I usually try to buy at least something when I'm in a yarn store, because they don't have a really high customer count and have to compete with the internet and all that, but I'm not buying something I don't like either. I walked out of there empty handed.  Couldn't even find a pattern or stitch markers I liked!


We then went up te street to The Knit With.  I wish I had taken a picture of the outside.  Looked like an abandoned house.  Serious overgrowth, could barely read the sign through the vegetation covering it.  There were no lights on but the sign said open.  So we went up the stairs 9 Curt behind us wondering if he was going to have to save us from an axe murderer or something.  The door creaked! as we opened it and there was a weird  smell, like musty dirt - or Norman Bates mom...  An older ( mid-late 50's guy) came out and asked if we wanted the lights on - i mean how do you shop for something for which color is a big selling point in the dark?  Hmmm this feels like orange...  he kept asking Min weird questions, like was she from Hawaii - I look more Hawaiian than she does, and where was she from, West Philly apparently not the answer,  not where she was born, where was she from...  When she finally said she was from Kansas City he said that explained why she didn't have a Middle Earth accent ( did he think she was a hobbit?  I mean she is short, but she wears shoes and has correspondingly small feet not big hairy hobbit feet!) 

He had a huge- not fat mind you, just huge white cat (Sancho) with one green and one blue eye who he had odd convos with.  At one point he kept asking the cat if he wanted his belly rubbed. (another important aside- my text/IM alert is Yoda saying "awe ooh, message from the dark side there is)  Curt had texted me about how weird the place was just then , and Min thought the alert was the cat!  So she's laughing saying " I don't think the cat  wants it's belly rubbed"  He did have an interesting selection of yarn, some that you don't see often and he had Mountain Colors and Anne sock yarn - two of my favs.  I bought a super bulky Italian yarn that caught my eye - and didn't smell - I checked!  I also got the finer mesh yarn bras that I like using.





From there we had lunch at a coffee shop that was fantastic!  I had a roast beef panini with spicy mustard and pepper jack cheese, and a side salad that was very cooling with lots of diced cucumbers.  I also had a triple macchiatto - the real kind not the Starbucks version! 


This post is long enough so I'll cover after lunch tomorrow.

New Hope, Robiin spoilers

Curt and I went out to Bucks County,PA.  A place called Peddlers Village  has great little shops and restaurants.  It's only a little over an hour from us, and Curt wanted to spend a day with just the two of us.  I didn't really buy much.  But it was fun just browsing all the shops with him.  I did buy the first Christmas present to put away for this coming holiday.  Paper made from elephant poo for my sister. hee hee hee hee. We'll see just how green she really is.  LOL!  I also bought a red glass dragonfly for Angie ( her track and field nickname is the deadly dragonfly, and her team colors are scarlet and white)  I got a new shortbread mold and a much nicer pastry cutter than I currently use.  

Another type of daff started blooming in my garden.  Also one very sad hyacinth that is missing half its flowerettes.

I'm done with clue 2 on my Cotton Fine Robin.  There were three bobbles in clue 2.  I really, really don't like bobbles.  I did them in my shoshie shawl, but I really think they look like the fur on a matted cat that needs some serious grooming.  I think I started a mini-revolt in the robin thread.  Sharon gave an option to use contrasting beads, which I may try for my stormy robin, but I didn't want to use them for the cotton.  I had breakfast Friday with my friend Grace ( after 2 months!)  and as she is the shawl guru, I asked her about it.  She suggested nupps, which is an Estonian stitch ( according to google anyway) The nupp has a similar look but is much flatter.  Here's my robin so far:

 Here's a closeup.

The nupps are the budlike swirls at the end of the rows of beads on the left side of center.  (not the horizontal beads in the leaf motifs)   I really do love it otherwise.  The bottom of the picture is a "wicker section" which I really enjoy. 






Here's a picture that is more true to the actual color of Robin.

 As I mentioned earlier, I had breakfast with Grace on Friday.  And if she doesn't relapse again we will have lunch on Thursday.  It's been 2 months since we've gotten together, and I didn't realize how much I've come to rely on her to bounce ideas off of, or get knitting advice from.  She brought me pressies!!  A skein of "garnet" sock yarn from dreamscape threads in all shades of red, a sock pattern she got with a club ( I haven't convinced her to go beyond those itty bitty keychain socks)  a cozy book, and a giant jar of honey ( yum)  Had some with tea this afternoon.  I also bought one of her shawls to use as a gift for someone who hinted at a handknit gift, but I really am not close enough to to stop my current projects for.  If anyone is looking to buy an amazing shawl, check out her blog on the left margin - lovin comfort knits.

You Are the Queen of Hearts

To call you passionate would be a total understatement. You have quite a temper. You put fear into the hearts of everyone you know. You are easy to make angry, and once you're angry, you may do or say anything. You love vengeance. You don't like to be crossed. And while you can't say "Off with their heads!" when people make you mad, you wish you could! There are a couple hobbies you're passionate about (perhaps croquet?), but even those can be sullied by the stupidity of others.

What Alice in Wonderland Character Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

        

Weekend Plans

 Here comes the weekend!  My plan is to go to the mall with Curtis and not leave until I am at least 90% done, and the extra 10% must be potentially on line!


It's supposed to snow, so if it does, I want to take Angie out driving.  She drove in snow last winter, but that was all before her license, and 10 months to someone at 17 is a lot longer than someone my age!  I really hope it does, so that a school day won't be her first time behind the wheel again, and so the other maniacs at her school have some time to get used to it again!

You Are an Impulse Shopper

When you go shopping, you have no set strategy. You just browse until something catches your eye. You like sales, but you mostly like them because they're an excuse to shop. Of all the types, you are the most likely to be a shopaholic. You can't stop shopping! You're not the kind of person who makes a list or plans what to buy. So sometimes you end up with too much stuff.

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

       

Stitches Shopping

Dream in COLOR - Stardust hard to see but there is a bit of sparkle in the yarn


Cutest little stressball  I got from a yarn store I need to visit in Bergen county


A superhero mask kit!!!  I need to wear this to work!  Once knit...

Webs & VICKI'S LYS Score

I got this Manos @ Vicki's Lys to match my malabrigo for Colonnade



See how well it matches?? the color is more deep brick -  it looks orangish in the picture.


Noro destined to be Angie's


Noro for me!







I found Highlighter tape!!


Future swaP GOODIES!

Rhinebeck purchases

Roving for needle felting


Don't know what to do with Lace weight... but it was Malabrigo at $9!!  The cake was a tangled mess, but apparently my friend Min, likes untangling yarn... and it was Malabrigo at $9!!


recycled sari silk - no idea what to do with it yet.




Buttons!!

STITCHES PART 2

Sunday, we went to Stitches, specifically the Stitches Marketplace. Vicki and Renee were running late, so Min, Rachel and I went through the Marketplace.  We did bump into Vicki and Renee twice, but it was mostly just us three.  Remember yesterday when I said I didn't take any pictures because of the weather and I would take them on Sunday?  Well there were no photo's allowed at Stitches except for the Big Sock Booth.  So here are Min and Rachel outside of Stitiches:


Min and I outside of Stitches:


A bizarre sign - which was repeated inside , and they sold t-shirts!




The big sock was there, and as Rachel was not with us at Rhinebeck she needed to knit on the Big Sock.  Min and I then found out the buttons they gave you for knitting on it were slightly different - the Rhinebeck buttons said  Rhinebeck on them, the Stitches East said Stitches East.  So we jumped in and knitted another section.





Renee wasn't at Rhinebeck either so we bumped into Vicki and Renee at the booth also





The best thing about hitting the marketplace on Sunday - especially later in the afternoon - was that the vendors were marking down their stock because they didn't want to pack it up and transport it back home.  So we did find some bargains.  Pictures of m y Rhinebeck and Stitches/WEBS/LYS purchase will be another post. later. 


I later told Curt, that overall I enjoyed Rhinebeck a lot more than my trip to CT.  Rhinebeck had a lot more indie spinners/dyers, yarn you don't find in brick and mortar LYS's ( I like to touch my yarn before purchase, my online purchases are ususally limited to yarn I am familiar with) there was a much bigger variety of food- from fair food and treats, to all the lamb dishes, to the wine and cheese building (and an hour wait for chicken pot pie?)  There were all the pre-yarn on 4 legs ( llamas and alpacas and rabbits and yes - sheep) Stitches was a lot more commercial yarn, but a lot of it.  No cool food - huge lines  for standard convention center food - we brought peanut butter sammies.  I guess if you take classes.... but I have never taken a class.  Mostly, I taught myself from books and magazines with limited internet video help.  Curt thinks at some point I should take a class just to see what a class is like and stretch my horizons a bit, after all I am only going to figure out on my own stuff that is already in my head.  


I definitely want to go back to Rhinebeck next year.  I can see going to RHinebeck every year.  Stitches I can see as an every few years event for me.




 

Stiches East PART 1

Last weekend I went to Hartford CT for Stitches East. Min and her friend Rachel picked me up on their way from Philly. It was a traffic nightmare! We didn't arrive at our Hotel until 930ish. We should have been there by 8ish. This was after poor Min and Rachel got stuck in NJ traffic and got to my house an hour late!

Since none of us were taking any classes, Vicki who lives in CT and her daughter Renee from RI, picked us up on Sat morning and took us to Webs. Webs, I found out was in Massachusetts. (As those of you who have driven with me in the back seat of a vehicle can guess - I was sort of passing out for awhile, waking up for awhile etc etc) I was kind of disappointed in WEBS. Though it wasn't really their fault. They were a large yarn store, they had a somewhat unorganized warehouse behind the main shop. They had a bunch of salespeople willing to be helpful ( those of you that have shopped with me know I really would rather shop on my own than get help) and were friendly. I did buy a bunch of yarn, some sample size packs of SOAK for swaps, and HIGHLIGHTER TAPE!! YAY! Sounds good right? Why was I kind of let down?? I think it's because my expectations of WEBS was too high. Everywhere you look, in blogs, especially on Ravelry people make WEBS seem like the mecca of yarn stores. That you will be in a yarn coma when you leave - that knitting nirvana can be found through their doors. That you can find any commercial brand yarn represented there.

Well, it was a Large yarn store. It had some great prices. There was a volume discount. There was a warehouse in back with further discounts taken not eligible for the volume discount. There was no Crystal Palace, there was no Manos. There were limited colors of Malabrigo and Aruncania. There were a lot of cones. So it was a bit of a letdown.

We went to a Japanese place for lunch. That's when it registered that I was in MA. It seemed odd that so many people from MA would be in CT AND no one from CT would be there. Lunch was great and from there we went to WEBS bead store. Which, although I gave up on beading some time ago ( doesn't mesh well with longer nails) it was a very cool store. I bought a witches hat, skull, witch on broomstick and something else in pewter as well as a ceramic penguin to use as stitch markers.

We then drove for what seemed like hours in the pouring rain to another yarn store. When we were close it was determined that we did not have time for 2 LYS's so we turned and set sail for Vicki's LYS. It must be a big word of mouth business because it's in a basement and has the littlest sign on the road and is kind of hidden behind trees. ( everything in CT is hidden behind trees - either this or there is nothing in CT and I know people live there!) I DID find the perfect yarn to go with the Malabrigo I had purchased in Tennessee this past summer to make a Colonnade shawl. Of course the pattern needs 414 yds and between the two yarns I now have 624yds... so matching fingerless gloves?

Still pouring rain, we went to Victoria station for coffee/dessert. And yes it was forever away. The town was cute, and apparently had their pumpkin fest or something ( but no pumpkin cannon!) there were a lot of pumkin "people" around the town - kind of like scarecrows with pumpkin heads. Unfortunately I guess the coffee shop had been inundated all day, and it took over 20 minutes for all 5 of us to order and get our food. Min, Rachel and I , got slices of quiche to take back to the hotel for later. Rachel decided she wanted some wine, as this was her first weekend in a long time to relax with no exams in med school coming up. I cook with wine but really don't drink it - I'm going to have to go tasting with Grace and Tom to learn about wine to drink. So I bought a 6 pack of Smithwicks. I thought about a pumpkin ale or octoberfest, but after hours in the car in the rain I wanted something tried and true. I feel for Vicki and Renee, because even though I spent 1/2 the day in a coma, I was exhausted when we got back to our room and they had a 45 minute drive - in the rain - back to Vicki's house. I didn't take a single picture on Saturday, because it was really gray, dismal and raining and figured I'd get shots on Sunday.

Giant Sock

We knitted on a sock which is going to be entered into the Guiness Book of World Records as the worlds largest sock!



Vicki and I



Min working on the sock.



Vickie with an E knits her share.


Ok - no more phone calls!! Yes I cut my hair!! What are you people the follicle police? For the record I cut 9.5 inches off my hair. I went to a new lady said - it has to be long enough to make a decent ponytail, and I very very rarely blow dry it!! She apparently didn't realize that you can't donate your hair for cancer wigs if it is more than 5% grey - Mine is about 80% in front 10% in back. And if your hair has been permanent dyed. So mine fails on both counts.


Heading up to CT for a yarn crawl tomorrow and Stitches on Sunday! At least it will be indoors.

Some of Angie's "haggling"

Some of Angie's haggling victories from the market in Ecuador.



A sweater coat.


A woven scarf.and you can see a bit of her belt.













Two of her four hoodies (these 2 are knit the other 2 are woven) She was wearing one of her woven ones in the Angie's Back pictures.




A few pairs of pants under her scarves on top of her GIANT orange duffle bag.


Just some of the jewelry she brought home!