Alpaca goodness

Here are some excerpts from a blog i just posted about my afternoon in Downtown Berkley. Check out the full blog HERE.

But here are the excerpts about my yarn store finds (both the finding of a yarn in a store and finding a completely new store!) and how my new angora cowl came to be:

Perusing some local yarn stores last weekend I found this baby alpaca and knew it had to be mine. I rarely (OK, never) make myself stuff, so last weekend I decided this would be it!

I have had a lot of success and positive response from the new cowls I have been making, so I decided I needed one.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am only beginning to baby-step into wearing color. For more than a decade, black has been my color. (In high school, one of the administrators used to say, "Is it Johnny Cash day again just about every time he saw me).

Going through the piles and baskets and compartments of yarn stacked high at Have You Any Wool? and felt this amazing yarn. (Did I mention they give you a mimosa on Saturdays? I swear it made the it even softer.) I didn't even know what it was. Then one of the employees said, "That's what that vest is made out of." and pointed to this cool sweatery-vest thing. As I made my way around the room, I kept looking at it and when I got there -- everything else went back on the shelves. This is what I was going to make my cowl out of.

I bought two skeins of the yarn just in case I needed more. Well, it only took one, so that means I can make a cowl to sell. I've just posted it in my shop. Within a few minutes a friend ordered a custom one for her sister-in-law and I've gotten several views on the one I posted. I love it!

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I discovered another little yarn store. Twisted Stitches. It's basically across the street from Have You Any Wool? so it's odd that I never saw it. If I hadn't been walking by, I wouldn't have seen the yarn through the window and never would have known it was there.

I had a great talk with Maureen, the owner. We sat down and talked about yarn, my experiences in the Detroit Urban Craft Fair, and all things Etsy. She gave me the most adorable, teeny, tiny, miniature buttons that she bought from a button vendor in Manhattan. She's having a big sale right now -- especially trying to get rid of her lot of scrapbooking supplies and bookbinding supplies so she can focus more on yarn and things. She had a some great hand dyed yarn and a dozen or two other kinds, much of which will be half off in the coming weeks. I bought some really great lumpy, bumpy wool in varying shades of blue for half off and started a scarf out of it last night.

Maureen has made a new friend and customer for sure -- I will soon be back!