All I need is enough to make the Viking Chicken hat and I can stop

We started off with a plan. A sober driver, four knitters, a tiki bar, and four yarn shops.

We wound up starting a little later than we’d originally intended, and two of the yarn stores both closed at 2 PM. So we sacrificed the first yarn store in order to stop and get some food, as we were all ravenous.

Stop #1: Chili’s
The food was crap, but the drinks were two-for-one! Which we didn’t know upon ordering, so… whoa, Nellie! We joked that Jenn’s margarita was as big as a spa. For the rest of the day it was referred to as the “Spagarita”. When the twelve-year-old waiter asked if there was anything else we wanted, Sharon - on a whim - asked if we could get ‘to go’ cups for our extra drinks. Lo and behold, he brought us to-go cups! Rawk! When we left, we were that giggly tipsy where we’d finally stop giggling, and then somebody would giggle and it would set us all off again. Lucky, lucky Tim!

Stop #2: Eye of the Needle
Upscale shop in a cute downtown artsy-ish area. When we walked up we were a little unsure if they were open, since they had these great tall bay windows and nothing on display. Just carpet, and cloth curtains that hid what we were about to see. When we got in, there were three older women at the long dining room table, working on something that I admit I didn’t pay close attention to. The first half of the store was taken up with needlepoint-- and not the dusty, 70’s kind of needlepoint, either. Nice, crisp, new canvases (canvasi?) and every color thread you might ever possibly even think of using. Naturally we stormed right through this into the back of the store where the yarn was. And oh, what yarn it was! If it was classy, it was in this shop. Including the Tilli Thomas yarn that is being used for that Simple Knitted Bodice that I so want to wear. However, it was more than I was willing to spend. Poking around, however, I came across a recommended substitution yarn: Karabella Aurora 8. We were pouring over it and comparing the colors, and did they have 10 balls in a color I liked… and they had three of a lovely deep red… and three of a lovely deep purple… two of a black… I gave up. We touched the lovely yarn. We felt the lovely yarn. We smelled the lovely yarn. And to give the women who were running the store some credit, our drunk giggly asses did not scare them. They did ask Tim if he also knit, and he allowed as how he was just a yarn untangler. Ah, my sweet Timmy! I headed over to the sale corner, because Kelly had spotted some lovely tweed yarn (y’all know me and how I love the tweed). And what did I find in a sale basket? Eleven balls of the Karabella, in a gorgeous olive color, marked down! All eleven balls were the same dye lot. It was obviously a sign from the yarn gods. Sadly, I held that rich red up to them, and looked like a Christmas tree. So I got the two black balls to do the trim. Sharon also picked up some Manos del Uruguay (if you want a great example of a cooperative, you should read about the makers of Manos del Uruguay). Regrettably, we got no pictures of the store because … well, because we weren’t thinking. Kelly did get a great inside picture, which I will share when she emails them to me later this week. Becca, this photo is for you!

We either drove past the next yarn store, or it was no longer there, because there wasn’t anything at the address which we had. So, moving on…

Stop #3: Picasso’s Moon
I wish I lived closer to this store; I would never leave. It’s two stores that share the same building, so it’s a bit confusing when you walk in. Furniture on one side (antiques) and yarn on the other. Oh, the yarn! Sharon got a picture here that will give you a little idea of what the place was like. It was packed and cluttered without feeling overwhelming and busy. There were displays, and displays under the displays, and things displayed within that. For instance, there was a little area with a couch (they had three couches, and an oversized chair, but they were all at different angles so that if more than one group was there they wouldn’t all be in each other’s faces) and there were old wooden hutches and trays full of yarn. Under a table was a basket, and in the basket was an old watering can, and in the can was a book from the 1950’s on knitting. I love shit like that! And somehow they managed to not only use the ceiling as display space (by hanging yarn and finished objects off of old bed springs) but the place was bright! They didn’t sacrifice lighting whatsoever by hanging things from the ceiling. When we came in, Sharon was having a coughing fit. The owner asked if she’d like some water, and we were all expecting her to bring a … well, a cup of water. Instead, she brought all of us small bottled waters chilled from the fridge. How nice is that?! While we were there, the owner took a phone call. “Okay,” she said calmly, “the first thing I want you to do is breathe.” We all looked at each other as if to say, “does this place double as the suicide prevention hotline?” … the next thing she said was “Okay, all you need to do is knit two together. Then you pass the stitch over the one you just knitted…” and we all laughed. Bind-off emergency! I would definitely go back to this store the next time I was in the area. If there was one complaint I had about it, and this is totally on me as some people might appreciate this, it would be that a good portion of the popular yarns (such as Cascade 220) had already been wound into cakes from their original hank status. (Read about the difference here) While I can see where this would be beneficial to someone who did not own a swift and/or ballwinder, I just think that a hank of yarn shows off the beauty of color differences better than a cake of yarn does. Remind me sometime and I’ll photograph the difference for y’all. But overall, I just absolutely loved this store.

Stop #4: Good Will
I did not let myself buy anything, because I was still reeling a bit from the sticker shock of that Karabella (worth it, and on sale, but still…). The other ladies, though, came out with three or four sweaters apiece; some really good candidates for unraveling and reusing the yarn to suit our nefarious purposes. There were some really rich purples in there, and the kind of yarn that will show stitch definition to it’s finest. Also, we saw the worlds largest selection of used golf clubs! Seriously, there must have been at least 20 sets of golf clubs for sale there. And some creepy wigs. Don’t people ever brush those things?

Stop #5: Barnes & Noble
A little sit-down to debrief and recuperate… it was at this point that we decided to call the Bahi Hut, since we had driven past them and they looked decidedly… closed. With no signs to indicate what time they were open, if they were open. You know those bars that always look like they’ve been closed down for months, even when they’re open? Yeah. The Bahi Hut looks like that. We found out that they didn’t even open until 8:00. There was no way we were going to stick around until then to start drinking (heh, “start") and then still have a three hour drive back home! So after sipping coffee and making fun of the tchotchkes for sale inside Starbucks, it was off to rifle through the knitting section. Kelly came away with the oft-recommended Sensational Knitted Socks. And Jenn laughed like a maniac over Stitchy McYarnpants, whose book was front and center.

Stop #6: Michael’s
Meh, it’s a Michael’s. What can you say? Sharon did pick up some baby cotton yarn to make the Viking Chicken Hat. What, you haven’t seen it?

Stop #7: Sweet Tomatoes
Much salad, much gushing of yarn stores, and much laughing. We do not know why they don’t have a Sweet Tomatoes in Gainesville, but we’re kind of glad they don’t. We would all eat there all the time, and I can’t eat out all the time if I want to keep spending this kind of money on yarn!

Overall Thoughts
Things were a little more expensive than I was expecting. Needles that I’ve seen in other stores for $8 were selling for $11-15. Jenn allowed as how that was just Sarasota, as a lot of rich retired people live there. I don’t think I could shop there on a regular basis. But it was nice to be able to see and touch (and smell) yarn that I’ve only ever heard about, yarn that is totally out of my budget. That Tilli Thomas was beautiful! If we were to go down again and try the same thing, I’d want to go earlier to hit the other store that closed at 2. I’d also want to stop in Tampa at Knit & Knibble. And I’d want to stay overnight so that we could have drinks at the Bahi Hut! We had a great time, though, and while I can’t speak for the others, I know my throat was raw from laughing all day. Good times!

PS. Kelly’s got some more pictures that she’s going to email to me, and I’ll add those to the flickr album when I get them. 

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