mimiwontonknits

Monday, September 15, 2008

S. Carolina

I noticed it seems to get longer between posts these days. Not sure why, exactly....I'll think about it and then decide I'm not in the mood for whatever reason. Oh, well...not going to put pressure on myself about it....it's supposed to be fun, not an obligation, right?

We took off the day after Labor Day heading for S. Carolina. Man....that was one long trip! We left Tuesday and came home on Sunday. Almost 1100 miles...one way! With the exception of 2 of those days we spent the majority of the time in the car going to or coming back! I think the shortest driving stint we made was around 6 hours...most days were longer! Thank goodness I love to knit while on road trips or I would have gone stir crazy.

We were headed to Ft. Jackson, S.C. to see Patrick, the eldest of our blended family kids, graduate from Army boot camp. You know, most people who join the military do so in their late teens/early twenties, not in their 30's, and most of the soldiers I saw there that day looked like kids to me!! I know...I'm showing my age...lol....for that matter, most doctors I see these days look like kids to me....but I digress....back to the topic! I have to say, I have the utmost respect for Patrick! It had to be tough and he hung in there and got it done! There were soldiers there much younger than him that are having to go through boot camp again because they didn't pass! He looked great and so fit! I'm glad we went! It was a long and in many ways hard trip but we were the only family on Patrick's side that were there so it was worth it. We wanted him to know that we support him in his new career choice and that we are behind him.

It was a little nerve wracking keeping an eye on Hurricane Hanna.....which was supposed to hit the Carolinas the day of graduation.....we just kept watching the weather channel and heading that way hoping we wouldn't get caught in it. As it turned out, the Army moved the graduation ceremony up a day because of the storm and we were able to leave a day earlier... and had no problems at all. We only got rained on once for about ten minutes leaving Memphis and had clear sailing the rest of the trip.

Between the driving and spending time with Patrick and his wife's family we did do some other fun things. We spent one day going through Graceland in Memphis. It was pretty interesting and a little mind boggling that one man generated that much adoration and an establishment the magnatude of the Graceland compound!

The other fun things we did.....if you know us at all :-)....should be no surprise......Yarn stores and aquarium stores....lol! Oh, and we stopped in at a winery in Arkansas on the way home too. I wanted to pick up some regional wines for David and Amanda as a thank you for watching the fur-kids and saving us a boarding fee!

We hit two yarn stores in Memphis. One shop was really cute but I didn't really find anything that I can't get here at either one ....kind of a disappointment all in all and I left with only some Zephyr in a color I haven't seen around here and some beads.

Next shop I hit was really surprising! It was in S. Carolina. It was a relatively small shop but stuffed to the rafters with beautiful yarns! From what I was told I was lucky that I stopped by on the day I did! The owner has health issues and only comes in a opens the shop on days that she feels good! Evidently sort of a hit or miss situation unless you know to call first! I got some Queensland Rustic Wool to do the Susie Hoodie out of there:

and found a bunch of Fiddlesticks and Fibertrends lace patterns....for....get this...$2-$5 each!!! I loaded up! I don't know if she has had them for a while and just hasn't updated the prices or if she just didn't take a mark-up but I couldn't pass on those!

We decided on the way back...since we left S.C. a day earlier than planned, to spend the night in Atlanta instead of driving all the way back to Memphis. We ate dinner at the Buckhead Diner.....OMGosh! Food to die for! If you ever go to Atlanta....eat there....seriously! The next day before heading on to Memphis we tried to hit some aquarium stores and yarn stores.....lesson learned on that trip.....CALL to see if the darn store is still in business before you go!!! We spent all morning driving to places only to find they aren't there any more! As a result we only hit one yarn store before we had to head out. BUT the one we hit.......can you say BAG SALE? She was having a huge bag sale with all bags anywhere from 30-50% off! Safe to assume I fell off the wagon again...to heck with yarn diets...they never work anyway...lol! I picked up 2 sock yarns and one lace weight that I'd never seen before but everything else I got was bag sale stuff! Needless to say it was time to get OUT of Atlanta after I left that store.....and NOT go to any other yarn stores between Georgia and Oklahoma!

Here is the haul:

Mountain Colors Winter Lace

Purled Llama Dulce

Seacoast Handpaint

Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk - Bag!

Laines Du Nord Ciclamino - Bag! I don't usually like bulky yarn but this one spoke to me for some reason.

Arucania Atacama - Bag!

I did start some new projects on the trip. A pair of the handsome devil socks for DH out of Jitterbug. Got one down to gusset decreases. Also worked on the Tilted Duster that has been sitting in the stash for a year. Got it going up to armhole decreases on the back. Also started the felted bag for the GYC Retreat next month. Have the front done on it. And then, last but not least, the MS4. Ended up going with the dark green zephyr and copper beads that I got in Memphis on it. I'll post pics on all those later.....for someone who hasn't been enjoying blogging lately I got a little carried away this morning...lol...but now I'm tired so more pics will have to wait!

2 Comments:

  • At 2:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    We took a short day trip several months ago to Meers and then to Wichita Falls to visit a yarn shop. That was a lesson learned, always call first!! The store was closed indefinitely! lol We had one in Denver that wasn't open until noon on certain days. So it does always pay to call ahead. Great haul!!

     
  • At 4:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi! I followed this link from another fellow blogger. I noticed you were in S. Carolina. One of the best yarn shops is in North Myrtle Beach on old highway 17, it's called Knitting Up a Storm! The owner is wonderful and she has tons of yarn in every weight and style you could dream of having for your projects (hmm...stash...). I recently moved back to Oklahoma from the Wilmington, NC area and I miss that store!

     

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