"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Pre-felted Lucy Bags

I sent a quick e-mail to my knitting friends not long ago.  I miss them!  When you sit around a crowded table with women you’ve been friends with for several years now, you develop a friendly rhythm.  You know those to ask for specific knitting help; you know who is going away on an upcoming trip; who is worried about their parents, children, grandchildren; you know who is likely to drop a few expletives along the way (yes Steph, I mean you).  I am having a terrific time here in Florida, but I miss my knit group-groupies back at Spun Right Round.

When I wrote to them, I shared a funny story that happened last week.  In my web quest for a yarn shop to visit in the St. Petersburg area, I came across one that seemed to fit the bill.  The site said that it was not too far away, and had a Thursday night Knit Night – just what I was looking for!  When Thursday came along, I decided to check out the shop earlier in the day, prior to going in the evening.  I used my husband’s trusty GPS and finally located the address for the shop, located in a small strip mall.  I scanned all of the storefronts, but saw nothing that was a yarn shop.  Finally, I went in the door of the shop that had the exact street address that I was looking for – but it was not a yarn shop – it was a burlesque shop!  There were sequined corsets, feathered masks, exotic boas and other burlesque paraphernalia.  I had a fun conversation with the gentleman behind the counter!

It seems that the yarn shop had closed well over a year and a half ago.  He said that he had people constantly stopping by for the yarn shop because the previous owner still had her website up and running.  We both had a good laugh when I said “So, I guess you’re not hosting Knit Night tonight!”

Not to be deterred, I have a plan to visit A Good Yarn in Sarasota this Saturday.  Sue, from my homespun knit group, recommended this shop to me – and upon checking out their site, I see that they will be hosting an open house for Susan Gibbs, from Juniper Moon Farm.  I have contacted both Susan’s – the one from Juniper Moon Farm and the one from A Good Yarn, and they are both happy to have me come and take photos of the shop and Susan’s visit for a future blog post.  So, I know that on Saturday I will be getting my first fiber and (new)friend fix in awhile!

In the meantime – the photo above is of the Lucy Bag projects that I have been working on since leaving New York.  It is such an easy “knit as you go” project that even I – notoriously motion sick – can knit these in the car (no Tierney – not while I’m driving). I will felt them all when we return home.

So - please look forward to a future post on a local (well - half hour away) yarn store, and on Susan Gibbs, her farm and her products!