A Knitting Store Adventure

As summer comes to an end I wanted to share a funny yarn story with you all. When travelling to B.C. this summer, my husband had to first make a business stop in Calgary.  When we arrived he went off to the Calgary office and I decided I needed a long walk to stretch my legs.  Of course, a walk with yarn at the end is highly desirable.  I found a yarn store called Stash which was about 2.5 km away from the hotel we were staying at.  No problem, I thought.  It was a lovely sunny day, a perfect day for a walk.  

However, I noticed as I walked that the clouds were getting darker in the distance.  By this point I was closer to the yarn store than I was to the hotel.   By the time I made it to the yarn store and took a quick tour around, it was getting really cloudy, and clouds in Calgary are much bigger and darker than here in Toronto!  When I asked the young girl at the shop if there were any cabs around, she told me they really didn't get out this way very often.  I made a quick decision to head back to the hotel.  I started off jogging, but then ended up in a full run as I could hear thunder and then see lightning. Now, I have to admit I ran by people that didn't look concerned at all so I probably looked like a crazy woman. There was really nowhere I could take cover as the street only had apartment buildings, a park and a parking lot. Then when I looked up in the distance I saw a funnel cloud.  Yes, that's right.  A real funnel cloud.  I ran faster!  Thankfully, the tornado never hit the city and I got back to the hotel before the rain hit.  Now, to prove to everyone that I was not hallucinating here is a picture I took of the news in the hotel bar. This is exactly what I had seen in the distance.  My husband bought me a drink (or two!) and we had a good laugh about my adventure.  

It's been one of those weeks.  I really wanted to finish my Lake Effect cardigan as part of the Very Shannon Summer Sweater KAL (knit-a-long) I am taking part in.  I have until September 9th to complete it.  But instead of finishing up that last lace sleeve, I started knitting my Mailin in the gorgeous Plucky Knitter Scholar in the Twill colourway.  Knitting a cardigan with worsted weight is so much faster than fingering weight.  It is the kind of relaxing pattern that will be perfect as I head into September, which is a very busy time for me at work. I guess I really needed a break from lace knitting.  Hopefully by next weekend I will have finished my Lake Effect and have a F.O. to show you.

Plucky Knitter:  Scholar

After I finish Lake Effect I will cast on a Brooklyn Tweed pattern called Slade, by Michele Wang, for my very patient son who has been waiting for me to knit him a cardigan for a long time.  When I chose this pattern I knew exactly the yarn I wanted and when I was out in Vancouver I visited one of my favourite B.C. yarn stores called Urban Yarns to buy it. They carry a yarn by Harrisville Design (the same company that produces Brooklyn Tweed's yarn) called Watershed, a 100% wool worsted weight yarn. This yarn is described as a softspun, minimally processed heathered woolen yarn. The shade I chose is called Granite, a medium gray flecked with an interesting combination of colours.  Have a look:

Harrisville Designs: Watershed

Colourway:  Graphite

Depending on the light I can see red, blue, and yellow flecks, to name a few. This yarn is very lofty, and I am really interested to see how it will knit up. 

And lastly, look at this interesting skein of yarn that I could not resist buying recently from the Madelinetosh store.  It is called Electric Rainbow in DK Twist.  I am thinking of some mittens or a hat for one of my nieces.

Electric Rainbow: Madelinetosh DK Twist

I hope you all have some exciting knitting projects set up for September.  Fall knitting here we come!