All About My NYC Yarn Crawl

There's so little to tell. I only went to one store. Isn't that pathetic? But at least I chose a winner.  And it had the added benefit of a next-door latte, a pumpkin tart, and a wonderful gab with Kay and her daughter who has A+ skills at Sitting and Pretending Not to be Bored and Unhappy When Mothers Gab.  That girl has awesome skill and talent!  She could win gold in the Olympics in that sport!  Not only that, but when a stranger comes along who is admiring and trying to furtively touch The Mom's handknit Shadow Box, she even cheerfully models it for said stranger who *gasp* has never heard of Ravelry.  Hopefully she remembered the word, because she did not write it down, but Kay urged her to JOIN.  Seriously! You mean there really is a knitter left on this planet who has not joined Ravelry? And we met her. Not only that, but when I was in Purl, the helpful and cheerful staff kept asking people if they were there for the yarn crawl, and many of them said no.  You could tell they were wondering why it was so sardine-like in there.  Made me feel so very cosmopolitan.  There I was, having flown down from Vermont for The First Annual NYC Yarn Crawl.  

I really did intend to hit more of the shops on the crawl, but instead I spent all of Sunday with the kids and the dog.  Not much surprise there, I suppose.  And it was a blast.  The weather was wonderful, we walked miles and miles, and though my best NYC walking boots were in the repair shop, I managed to make it through with only a couple blisters and minimal aches and pains, thanks to plenty of "are you gellin'"-type inserts in my shoes.  

I know you want me to shut up and show you what I bought already!  So here it is:

 

Two skeins of splendid, exquisite softness known as Swans Island Certified Organic Merino worsted-weight yarn in Indigo.  This is such gorgeous stuff, I'd like to take a bath in it.  It's made in Maine, and the stunning dye is natural indigo.

The softness is amazing, but as we knitters all too sadly know, the tradeoff with such softness is often that the knitted item pills like a mofo. This yarn has a bit of a tighter twist, and I'm hoping that prevents the pilling. Fingers crossed. I bought it with something very specific in mind, but after I got home, my idea morphed slightly.  The new idea will require more yarn, and I promptly called Purl and ordered two more skeins.   

I've already cast on for the first part:

Look familiar?  Yup, another Palindrome. And since I cast on and knit and ripped out and recast on and reknit a total of four times the other night, in order to get the width I wanted, and the yarn held up really well to all of that nonsense, I have high hopes that it will not pill and be ratty in no time.  I sure hope it won't, because it's meant for something special, and I certainly don't want it to turn into a schmatte suitable only for wiping down the car after a few wears.

And after mucho waffling, the decision has finally been made:  I will be going to Rhinebeck, though I may be walking around with a tin cup asking for donations, since I freakin' lost my freakin' wallet at UVM last night. So all the credit cards have been canceled and I have to start over.  Off to the DMV for a new license today, unless someone miraculously has turned the thing in and I get it before I go to start to recreate my life.  It's the return of WTF Wednesday.  *siiiiiiiigh*

EDITED TO ADD:  The wallet is sitting safely in someone's office.  I will pick it up later today.  Dang it, though, all the credit cards are canceled.  But still, this is the best sort of outcome, and I got the call before I went to get my license replaced.  Big whew.

Comments

[Kristen]

Oh gah! Sorry about the wallet fiasco. :(

Enjoy your time at R! I'm jealous. Maybe next year... {sigh}

[Sarah]

I hope you make it through the wallet incident with minimal trouble.

[AnnaMarie]

That yarn is freakin GORGEOUS! Now I want to try to recreate the color with some batts.

[sandy]

MOST people will do the right thing. Let's hope.
The yarn LOOKS so soft! It is really lovely, color, texture, pattern choice. I'm feeling the love and so will..... well.. the recipient. (I almost said the name but then thought better of it!)
Tin cup at Rhinebeck. I hadn't thought of that approach! :D
xo

[Carole]

The yarn looks incredible. Sucks about the wallet. See you very soon. 2 more sleeps!

[Kym]

That color is my favorite kind of blue. Just gorgeous. Sounds like a perfect NYC kind of day! (Sorry about the wallet. Hope you get it back.)

[gayle]

Beautiful yarn! I'm not normally a big fan of blue, but indigo is the exception.
Keeping my fingers crossed for your wallet turning up.

[Kathy]

I've been ripping out and re-doing the same scarf for days as well. Where are you staying? Hope it's poop free!! ;-)

[Margaret in Ontario]

That yarn looks wonderful. Amazing colour, so rich and deep. Sorry about the wallet woes; hope things go smoothly in restoring your official self. Very glad you said yes to Rhinebeck! We're driving down tomorrow. Going to camp again...in a tent...in the Catskills... Today's agenda: find every woollen garment in the house and layer same upon my person. Hope to see you there! (I may or may not be the one with the blue lips.)

[Nancy]

Contact the credit bureaus and put a fraud alert on your credit report, just in case someone not so nice get hold of your identity.

[margene]

Oh NO!! Hopefully the wallet will show up...how disconcerting. That yarn looks heavenly and I love the color, too. Have fun at Rhinebeck!! I'll miss you all.

[Ruth]

aaaargh!! Losing a wallet is such a PAIN. I hope someone finds it and does the right thing. Love the yarn ... and can't wait to see you this weekend!

[Marilla]

I'm sorry to hear about the wallet loss. It's a pain in the arse! Especially right before Rhinebeck. I will be looking for you and your tin cup at. :) I'm really looking forward to this weekend, and am bringing lots of layers to wear because every time I look at the weather forecast it has changed.

[RObby]

Quelle bummer about the wallet. I have been pleasantly surprised after such an event, here's wishing the same for you. That yarn is a stunner, wish I had seen some while in ME recently.

[Joannah]

I love that blue!
So sorry about the wallet. It is such a drag to find a good replacement and then recreate the contents. You better have a totally fabulous weekend to balance things out.

[Vicki]

Oooh, that yarn is gorgeous! Have a little fun at Rhinebeck with my name on it, OK?

[Carol]

How awful to lose your wallet! It's all the hassle of getting things again that I hate. I'm sure you'll be fine at Rhinebeck. They take checks, don't they?

[Lynn]

That is gorgeous yarn!!!! I would love enough for a sweater to wrap up in when it gets cold. Sometime in Jan. Did I mention I live in FLA???

[Renee]

I was just looking at Shadow Box this morning and thinking about how nice and warm it would be to have on.

Hope your wallet shows up!! Have a blast at Rhinebeck. :)

[Joansie]

The yarn is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Lucky recipient!!! Where in Maine is it spun? Have fun at Rhinebeck!!!

[marianne]

Oh damnit, Norma, about the wallet, that even gave me that initial feeling of... dread in the pit of the stomach. Hoping it's returned, and gah on replacing everything.
I spent a lovely time checking out Swans Island, reading all about them, how utterly cool. The yarn is GORgeous and the colour...WoW! Beautiful! A couple of people come to mind.. blue loving people :^)
edited to add: YAY!!!! re: wallet! Hoping the cards can be reissued asap! Let's hear it for good and decent folks.

[Mary Fran]

I so heart that yarn. It looks divine. I just got a box from Webs last night, so I have too much in my queue already. I also had to queue up the shadow box. I think I need that for my cold office. Sorry you went through the hassle of canceling your cards. My husband's card went missing, and he didn't realize it for 10 days. But we check our account daily and nothing red flagged. Turns out he left it at a restaurant in NH, they had it in the safe and mailed it to us.

[lyssa]

It's good to hear that your wallet is back! Cancelling all the cards is such a pain, but not nearly as much of a pain as getting all the other stuff replaced.

[naomi]

Yup, that's my favorite of the NYC yarn shops I've been to. I'm glad your wallet was located safely, and maybe I'll see you at Rhinebeck. :)

[Peggy]

Lovely new top o' the blog, Norma - I hope it hasn't been up for a week & I just now noticed. I am only nominally a knitter & do not belong to Ravelry, although I do click on the link every now & again & mean to join. Thanks for your every day work here.

[kmkat]

You will be cash'n'carry @ Rhinebeck? Maybe that will be good for the budget, although baaaad for the stash and the mind.

[Seanna Lea]

Your yarn crawl sounds just about my speed. When I was last in NY I went to a few places, but they were all right around Habu. I missed everything that wasn't in that small few block radius.

I'm pretty sure I'm missing Rhinebeck this year. Don't have the foggiest idea how I'd be getting down to it.

[Barbara Meyers]

Probably a good thing the credit cards are cancelled.... a friend lost her wallet & had it returned with all the credit cards in it. Unfortunately, someone had written down all the numbers and since she did not cancel them, she ended up dealing with a lot of problems since that someone else had a good time ordering stuff with them. You protected yourself from that scam.... of course, no one in the lovely state of Vermont is that devious but still......

I'll be happy to help if I run into you at Rhinebeck!

Barbara M.

[Diane H.]

Ah, the banner - I looked at it in detail today...
New doggie photo, red scarf, garden goodies, pretty rose petal jam jars (which I continue to enjoy!!) and the critical "Norma in Knit Wear Ecstasy" photo! You done good.

And Rhinebeck - will I ever be able to return? It's so difficult to find a place to stay. Looking forward to your reportage and adventures there.

[Cookie]

At least, you got some yarn out of the trip.

Thank goodness! I'm so glad it was found.

[elizabeth a airhart]

fun posting nyc is a good town

faith in ones human kind has been restored

my part of fl will cool down a tad

the banner still looks good

good night

[Brenda]

That yarn is beautiful. I want to reach out and squish it! Thanks for the link to the website. I'm on Mount Desert Island right now (next to Swans Island) and I never heard of that company. Did you look at their blankets? I want to wrap myself up in one right now.

[Holly]

That yarn is just beautiful! Too bad about the wallet though. Canceling cards is always the pits!

[Judy]

beauuuuutiful yarn and beauuuuutiful color. You do find some amazing things.

[Angie]

Hurray for the found wallet despite the hassle with the CCs! Have fun at Rhinebeck and I hope I see you to say hello.

[JessaLu]

Yay for finding the wallet! Boo for finding it after all the cards were cancelled. :o(

Super yay! for going to Rhinebeck! See you this weekend! :o)

[Mundi]

You are going to LOVE knitting with the Swan's Island yarn!!! I found it at Halcyon Yarns in Bath in September and fell head over heels in love. On my first trip I bought two skeins on fingering yarn .. one in spring green and the other in orange. The colors are pure magic!! After knitting up a sock in the green I knew that I had to have some of the heavier weight to knit myself a cozy sweater so back I went for more!!

[Birdsong]

Glad to hear your wallet was found.. I have been through that a few times; once I found it right outside the door, when the snow had melted enough! I hope you have a great time at Rhinebeck; I thought the vendors all preferred cash anyway, and I am sure your local tellers will be happy to oblige.