Red + Celtic + India = Summer

My SD converter for my phone was hiding in the couch for the past several days. It's an evil plot hatched to prevent me from updating . . . by chickens . . . evil evil chickens.

Confused? Yeah, me too.

I've been to two LYSs (LYSes?) in the past week. The first was North Woods Farm Fiber and Yarn in Carrboro, South Carolina. It's a really cool store in a little house in a cute little town in the rural south. On the outside it is everything I love about this area.

The inside is really cool too. Every room has a theme. The kitchen is dishcloth cotton, the breakfast nook is sock yarn, and there's a wool room. A wool room. It was really pretty. They also have roving for spinning which was really fun to look at and fantasize about some day learning to work with. The owners also have alpacas, which would be cool to see, but aren't on the property. I believe there was some yarn spun from their own fiber, but I'm not sure.

In any case, I bought some really nice double-pointed bamboo needles. I don't know what it is about these, but they're so smooth! It's like they have been lacquered with something that makes them slide so easily, which is great for sock knitting. Hopefully now that I have size 2 needles again I'll have another completed pair of socks to tell you about soon.

I also picked up the perfect button for my new hat. It's the Indian Summer pattern. Totally worth the $2.50 I payed for the pattern. Particularly since the yarn was free! (a gift from my really cool friend Louis) I had to modify a bit because I used a lighter weight yarn, but that makes it a real summer hat. Plus a little less slouchy, which I like.

My mom actually found the button. It's a lovely Celtic knot, which of course stood out to her because my mom's family is Irish and we're a tad bit obsessed.

The yarn is South West Trading Company Bamboo. Very soft, very cool, very splitty. Not the kind of yarn you want to knit in the round on sticky bamboo dpns. But the result is totally worth it, don't you think?

(this was intended for my Star Wars post. See? That's Boba Fett! Boy's size 7 if you find any more)

The other LYS we went to was Wildskeins in Hickory, NC. My aunt is friends with the owner.

This is my ideal yarn store. Small without being too cluttered and you're not pressured to buy anything. There are often locals knitting on the couch and everyone chats away but don't hover or ignore you. I love it. Last week there was a sale on project bags, and so, of course, I bought one.

Isn't it cool?! I'm so excited. A lot of project bags I see are made out of fabrics that look like they belong in a kindergarten room, which is ok, but not something I want to be carrying around with me. This one actually looks like it could belong to someone over the age of 6. And it's a triangle! I keep seeing them being raved about everywhere, and now I know why. I put a sock project with two skeins in it and it all fit with lots of room to spare. Plus the needles fit easily since it seems to have more volume than other bags. It's a lot nicer than gallon plastic bags that I normally carry around.

And remember, knitting needles are only for knitting. Well, unless you are being attacked by an evil alien robot. Then they're excellent for jamming gears.