Here I go with another alliteration, sort of. I love words and word play. I am very, very excited. Let me introduce you to the elements of my pending project (another alliteration all using "p") and then I will tell you all about the project.

​What do you get get if you add this. . .

to this?

You get this. . . 

All of the elements necessary to make a Yarn Bombed Chair.  Why would I want to make a Yarn Bombed Chair, you asked?  Every September, Adrian has an Art Fair called Art-A-Licious.  Part of Art-A-Licious is a Chairity Auction where people decorate chairs according to their field of Art and they are sold through a silent auction.  I have studied the chairs for years as I volunteered in the library. Then one day I was exploring on Pinterest and came across a Yarn Bombed Chair.  I said to myself, "Yikes!!! This is what I having been dreaming about without really knowing I was dreaming about it."  Do you get it????? I always wanted to do a chair.  I am a knitter. Ergo, I will Yarn Bomb a chair.  I am so excited.

I took a trip to a storage room in the basement of the Adrian District Library.  I found a room with 20-30 old, donated chairs in various stages of disarray.  I picked out this cute, little chair.  I have my eye on a spectacular big chair but I wanted to get my feet wet to see if I am any good at this.  Next, I had to decide what I wanted the chair to look like.  I decided rule #1 was:  NO BUYING ANY YARN!  I needed to use yarn from my stash or collection.  I guess the difference between yarn in a stash and yarn in a collection is; you will use yarn in a stash but if it is part of a collection, you really won't use it.  So I went up to the Stash Studio just to get my bearings.  What would my theme be?  What would my theme be?  Then I ran across TEN TUBS OF PINK YARN LEFT OVER FROM SURVIVOR SHAWLS.  Yes, you heard it right.  10 tubs!  So I decided my chair would be PINK.  I began sorting through the TEN TUBS OF PINK YARN, looking for the perfect yarn for my chair.  As I was sorting, I had an epiphany!  Why not do a class at Ann's By Design in August on Survivor Shawls in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Rather than having people buy yarn, I will charge a materials fee and take tubs of pink yarn for them to choose from.  That decision required a second sort of the pink yarn; What was part of my yarn collection and I really couldn't bear to part with it and what is part of my stash?  

Needless to say with all of that searching, sorting and scrounging, my Stash Studio doesn't look like this any more.  I did get to enjoy this for a few weeks before chaos once again took over.  I didn't get all of my knitter friends over before pink yarn took over, but it will happen before the end of 2016 because it is knitting goal.  

This is what the floor looks like now.  I love pink!  It makes me happy inside.  I know that all of this pink will lead to one of my favorite things; Survivor Shawls.  By September, I will be reporting on my Charity Yarn Bombed Chair and my Survivor Shawl class.  I can't wait.  Now, I'm going to start planning my Yarn Bombed Chair.  I have pulled all of my stitch books so that the chair is filled with interesting surprises.  Wish me luck!

Some days are so good, you just want to bottle them and bring them out when the humdrum, mundane, doldrums set in.  Sunday, May 22 was such a day for me.

Linda arranged a birthday celebration for me that was over the top perfect.  She picked me up at 10:00 and by 11:00 we were at Spun a wonderful, new LYS in Ann Arbor.  I have been in Spun before but Dick was with me and I really didn't get a chance to look deep. I have even purchased yarn.  I just haven't told you about this fairyland of fabulous fiber.  (I try to get an alliteration in when ever I can!)

If this isn't a welcoming window, I don't know what is! (All of a sudden I realize most of my sentences end in exclamation points.  If I wrote using exclamation points and in all capitol letters you would get an idea about how excited I am visiting Spun) The window is an absolutely Roy G Biv experience saying, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"  Just come inside and be WOW!

I have never seen a LYS announce its specials on a huge blackboard in the window.  Remember when I set one of my knitting goals for the year to learn Brioche?  Well, that announcement is calling my name.  My first thought was Linda and I could go together.  We haven't attend a knitting class together in a very long time.  This time of the year is too busy for Linda, but I really don't mind going alone.  I love knitting classes where I develop new skills.  

As you walk in, you are welcomed by several of Lydia's cousins, all dressed to the nines.  What have I repeated over and over?  "I am a sucker for a knitted sample!"  If you carefully look at the table on the left side of the picture you will see. . .   YES, gradient yarn, my new obsession.  Not only did they have one company they had two with gradient yarn sets.  Be still my heart!  

There they are.  Linda gave me a gift certificate for my birthday and I was sure one of these packages would be saying "Happy Birthday, Jan!" before the day was over.

The rows were filled with all of my favorite yarns; Madelinetosh, Malabrigo, Shibui, Why Knot?, Mrs. Crosby, and many, many others.  I really thought I was going to have to wait until the first week in May, 2017 when we returned to North Carolina to find my yarn utopia, but here it is in Ann Arbor a mere 30 minutes away.  Ok, I'm going to say it. . .  Spun is every bit as wonderful as Black Mountain Yarn Shop and Silver Threads and Golden Needles and I can go any time I want.  Seven days a week!  I think I have told you about the LYS which introduced me to high end yarns and changed my yarn purchasing forever, Yarn Expressions.  Well, Spun is right down the hall from where Yarn Expressions used to be.  So in addition to enjoying Spun, I could reminisce about Yarn Expressions.

Spun is a "Family-owned local yarn shop in Ann Arbor's historic Kerrytown neighborhood."  In addition to the fiber companies I've mentioned, they also cater to Michigan hand dyers and spinners.  As a matter of fact, it was an Ann Arbor indie dyer who stole me away from gradient yarns as my birthday yarn.  

Color, color everywhere!  You look down, you look up and all you see is exquisite fiber just waiting to be taken home.  Sitting here and there are also unique accessories and knitting gadgets. I love Knitting gadgets.   

Taking place while we were visiting was a class on different cast-ons and when to use them.  Boy do I need that.  I graduated from long-tail cast-on out of necessity when I made the Survivor Shawls and found out that long-tail cast-on was way too tight.  Look at it!  Isn't that one of the friendliest sights you've ever seen.  I can't wait to take my first class here. Brioche in June is calling my name. Handouts were waiting at the table for attendees.  I must admit that I really wanted to take one. I didn't want to make a bad first impression.  

This is my birthday gift.  This is a beautiful, hand dyed silk yarn made in Ann Arbor.  I love that.  This yarn is so touchable. I am sure if you touch the screen, you will be able to feel its soft, silky yumminess.  Happy Fuzzy Yarn has named this colorway Galactic Gumshoe (someone else who loves alliteration!) 

After my birthday purchase, Linda took me across the street to Zingerman's where we had Hummingbird Cake as birthday cake.  

​I wasn't kidding when I said Perfect Friend, Perfect Shop, Perfect Day.  I now have a three way tie for first place for my favorite LYS, Black Mountain Yarn Shop, Silver Threads and Golden Needles and SPUN!  I am totally enchanted by this exquisite shop and can't wait to come back for a class.  

If you are ever in Ann Arbor, head to Kerrytown.  You will find the fabulous SPUN and many other unique shops then have lunch at Zingerman's.  Doesn't that sound like a perfect day. 

This is "the rest of the story" about the yarn I bought at Fiber Expo and travel knitting.

Remember the beautiful yarn I bought at the Fiber Expo during the snow storm the first weekend in April?  It was yummy, it was beautiful but it wasn't me.  Even Linda said, "Why are you buying that? That isn't you."  I don't why, but I was drawn to it.  I picked it up when we first entered the Fiber Expo and I ended up with it when we left.  I do love gradient but these colors were totally outside of my color zone.  

I brought it home and wound it into the cutest little balls.  All of the time intrigued about its purpose and its recipient.  On Tuesday after Linda's and my visit to the Fiber Expo, a dear friend of Dick's and mine passed away.  That was when I realized the yarn was meant for his wife and my friend Kay.  The yarn took on a whole new meaning.  On that very day, I began knitting Heaven and Space from the beautiful FIBERSTORY, thinking about Ron and Kay, our times together and all I had learned from both.  Ron and Kay have always been very generous with their time, their knowledge and their friendship.  

This became my "in the condo" travel knitting.  It wasn't exactly something I could do in the car because it involved a sixteen row pattern, gradual increases and a sticky note.  An inadvertent movement of the sticky note and I would be in trouble.  I thought I wanted to work on the double knitting project while we were in Maggie Valley.  I was excited about it, it was challenging and I couldn't wait to see the pattern unfold.  Just as I was drawn to the FIBERSTORY gradient yarn at Fiber Expo.  I was drawn to finishing this for Kay.  And here it is. . . 

I love it and I'm sure I will make another in a different gradient color.

It started small and gradually grew.  The color changes were subtle with the length of the color decreasing as the width of the wrap increased.  I thought it was Kay when I began knitting, but I knew it was Kay when it was finished.  Kay has beautiful white hair which will show off the colors perfectly.  

Isn't the pattern beautiful?!?!?!? The instructions says to end on either row 8 or row 16 before you bind off.  I ended on row 16, bound off and had one yard of yarn left.  Was that perfect or what?!?!?!  I wanted to do something special for Kay because she is very special to me.  Kay has been a friend for about 25 years.  I also think there is nothing more stressful than being the caregiver of someone you love who is terminal.  Throughout Ron's illness I tried to email Kay frequently focusing on how she was doing.  

I gave Heaven and Space to Kay this Tuesday after an afternoon of friends, wine and bridge.  She emailed me back and said she's found three outfits to wear with Heaven and Space. I think it is Kismet  that the wrap's name is Heaven and Space.  Some things are just meant to be.

Let me introduce you to Lucca.  Lucca was a birthday gift from Kathy that I couldn't talk about on my birthday post because I hadn't yet taken a picture.  You know how it is when you're getting ready for a trip, everything you meant to do doesn't get done.  I have never seen Lucca Yarn before and I thought I had seen pretty much everything.  Luca is hand dyed, custom blend, hand spun and hand crafted.  No where does it say what the fiber content is.  It is heavier than bulky.  I really don't think I'll knit with this but I am dreaming, plotting and conniving about what would make the most of this totally unique yarn.  I promise you one day I will have something mind-blowing that will showcase the beauty of this exquisite fiber.  Thank you to my dear and generous sister.  She knows me so well.

It has been a week since my last post and about a week since we returned to Adrian.  You would think in a week I could live up to my twice a week commitment.  Well, this week I couldn't.  Tuesday I hosted a bridge group, an all day affair.  I told them last month they needed to lower their expectations for the day because we would be coming home Sunday and I wouldn't have much time to get ready.  The day went great and a good time was had by all.  I had a couple of appointments and worked at Ann's By Design and before I knew it, it was Saturday.

I usually write about what I am going to take for travel knitting but this time I am going to tell you what I took.  I want to review from April 1, 2014 my criteria for travel knitting.  "It has to be somewhat small so that it doesn't take over your seat.  It has to be interesting so that you find yourself working on it making the miles fly away.  It has to have great yarn (of course, I think that is a must for every project.)  It has to be something you can knit on then talk to the driver then knit on then listen to a tune then knit on then day dream.  Picking it up and putting it down not skipping a beat." I don't think I have any better words today to describe travel knitting than the ones I used in April 2014.  

On the way to Maggie Valley, I finished a Bandito in Twisted Fiber Art Evolution, Catnip fiber and Minstrel colorway.  This is my third Bandito.  It seems to be becoming my Olga Jazzy Pleated Scarf as far as go to travel knitting.  This is so beautiful.  I love touching Catnip.  It makes my fingers sing.  FYI, the Twisted Ladies have a club open right now with the inspirations being National Parks and Recreation. I couldn't make up my mind which club I wanted (National Parks or Recreation) so I joined them both.  Six cakes of never before seen Twisted Fiber will be coming to the Stash Studio some time in June.

I also took this beautiful yarn for another Caterpillar Arrow.  I have no idea what the yarn is, what the fiber content is or how many yards there are.  I had this huge hank I bought from a short lived LYS in Ann Arbor.  Linda and I went to check out this new shop we just heard about.  It was kind of word of mouth like jungle drums.  One of our favorite LYS had closed (Knit A-Round and I still miss Carrie and the gang) and we heard this new one had opened.  Linda was ahead of me and opened the door to walk in.  She stopped, turned and said, "You have more."  When we entered I realized that indeed I did have more yarn in the Stash Studio than was in this LYS.  Frightening!!!!!!  I never (well, seldom) walk out of a LYS without buying something.  I feel it is my duty to keep LYS in business.  I bought this huge hank of yarn with no label because I loved the colors.  It has been waiting for several years to become something.  After I finished my first Caterpillar Arrow, I realized this would make a lovely Caterpillar Arrow.  I just hope I don't run out of yarn since I don't have a clue how much is here.   

You know there are two kinds of travel knitting; the simple for the car and the complex for the condo.  This is the complex.  It is a scarf using double knitting made with Kauni.  It is from an ebook set of patterns called Parallax by Alasdair Post-Quinn.  I saw it on Pinterest and became obsessed with the intricate pattern.  

I am not going to show you the final product.  Instead I am going to blow your mind some day when it is finished.  You'll take one look and won't be able to catch your breath.  

I also took this yarn but I am not going to tell you its story.  It deserves a post all of its own.  

​We are back and there is something about sleeping in your own bed with your own pillow and having coffee made with your own water.  I love to travel but to quote a girl with red shoes, "There's no place like home."

A little play on words.  I do not have a broken heart but a visit to Silver Threads And Golden Needles in Franklin, NC can pretty much sooth the savage breast in me.  I have waited a whole year for this visit.  Silver Threads And Golden Needles (I just love saying/writing that) is definitely one of my top 10 LYS.  I have taken you on a field trip in the past but this time was definitely different.  We usually go on Thursday because Thursday is the social knitting group.  I have salivated watching the women knit and talk together and this year I thought I might join.  Just a couple days before my much anticipated experience, I got an email saying the knitting group would be off site for Thursday.  So, Dick and I went on Wednesday for our Silver Threads And Golden Needles/Caffe Rel trip,

Everything was pretty much like I remembered it.  Stacks and stacks of yummy yarn, great knitted ideas but there was no body in the store.  

Well, not exactly nobody.  This lovely young woman was working.  I believe Laura was her name (if that's not really your name, I apologize.  I'm pretty bad with names.)  You might think I was disappointed that the store was empty.  You would be wrong.  I missed seeing Amy and Virginia the owners and the knitting group, but it was a dream come true to have a yarn shop all to myself. I had my own private guide to every skein, ball and cake in the place.  

I bought this gorgeous Alchemy yarn for this beautiful garment last year.  Laura asked me if I'd finished and I had to fess up, "No, but I love it.  It is in the knitting queue."  It was kitted in beautiful teal colors and I almost bought it again, I liked it so much.  But I slapped myself (metaphorically) and said, "Jan! What are you doing!?!?!?!?!"  I'm proud to say I didn't buy it.  

I love this.  They wound 2 different skeins of sock yarn together to get these fabulous color combinations.  What a great idea!  The skeins were almost too beautiful to pass up, but I did.  I said to myself, "Self, you really can't buy everything you love."  You really could tell I haven't followed that advice by looking at the Stash Studio.  

Just look at those breathtaking pillows.  I was already to buy the one on the left when I remembered my experience with the Rainbow Cardigan.  If you don't already know about it, read January 2015 of Knitting: A Love Story.  It is a heartbreaking tale but true.  Something told me this pillow would be the Rainbow Cardigan all over again.  

This is the weaving section.  I love the look of weaving, but it gives me a backache just looking at the loom.  I have all of the respect in the world for weavers.  God bless them.  They are made of stronger stock that I.  

Isn't that just the best picture ever?!?!?! The shawls are just waiting patiently for the knitters to come back.  

​I bet you're thinking maybe, just maybe I got out of Silver Threads And Golden Needles without buying something.  You would be oh, so wrong.  I must admit that I didn't get everything I wanted, but I did get some pretty fabulous stuff.  

This is a display of Interlacement one of my very favorite yarns.  The pinkish one, second from the right is the one I couldn't live without.

This is what I'm going to make with it.  It is called Twisted and is a top/poncho Laura says is flattering on everybody.  I must admit it wasn't the picture on the pattern or the yarn that sold me.  It was the knitted sample showing exactly how beautiful this yarn is and how unique this top is.  I'll say it again, I am a sucker for a knitted sample.  As soon as I saw this being modeled by Lydia's cousin, I had to have it.

This is the Interlacement.  Now look me in the eye and tell me you could resist this after seeing the knitted sample.  

I have been waiting until I came to Silver Threads and Golden Needles to buy this next fiber.

This is Noro's Rainbow Roll and it really isn't yarn.  It is roving fiber that you knit with.  I actually bought two colors.

I have a plan.  I want to make an Entrelac, felted bag in the new Noro magazine.  I have been dying to knit with this since the first time I saw it in a magazine.  

I always come away from Silver Threads and Golden Needles with at least one set of buttons. . . 

and something Amy and Virginia had waiting by the cash register for me to buy.  This year it was these interesting blocking pins.  I can't wait to use them.

You might think I was let down and disappointed that Amy an Virginia weren't there and the social knitters weren't there.  You would be wrong.  Laura (I hope that's correct.  Let me know if it isn't) was a wonderful guide who took me on a private tour of a Fiber Wonderland.  I enjoyed the time I spent with Laura in one of my favorite LYS.  I will treasure my unique experience.  I did miss seeing Amy and Virginia but I know I will see them next year.  Linda is retiring and I am trying to talk her into a Yarn Tour in northwest North Carolina.  I could show her my favorite hang outs and we could discover some of our own.  

If you want to expand your fiber horizons, just head to Franklin, NC and visit Silver Threads And Golden Needles.  Oh, by the way, Amy and Virginia, I was taken care of very well.  The proof is in my receipt.  See you ladies next year.

Here we are on our annual trek to the North Carolina mountains for a little golf, a little R & R and a lot of shopping.  In addition, yesterday was my birthday (60-Something) but I'm not saying which one.  I packed plenty of travel knitting which I'm going to show you in another post since I'm having trouble getting my photos to download on to my computer.  Just when you think you know how to do something, technology smacks you in the face and says, "Don't get so sure of yourself. I think I'll make you suffer!"  And suffer I am.  I know my first stop when I get back home will be at the Apple Store for a little help from my friends.  I think they hate to see me coming.  My birthday was fabulous.  Let me tell you all about it.  

My first birthday yarn was from my sister Kathy.  This is so yummy.  The colors are so rich they glow.  She got it in her favorite LYS in Woodstock, GA.  I've been there and it is quite a shop.  

I thought I would knit it into Bandito but I don't think they do right by each other. The colors of the yarn hide the pattern of Bandito and the pattern of Bandito doesn't showcase the yarn. That just goes to show you that favorite patterns and favorite fibers don't necessarily go together and you never know that until you start knitting. I thought these two would be perfect together. It's kind of like when you invite two of your best friends to come along with you and they hate each other. You never know until you try. "I'm just saying" as Trisha Yearwood would say. Kathy bought me another birthday fiber which is so fabulously, over the top, beautiful (do I have enough superlatives there!?!?!?!) words can't even describe it but I left it home and didn't take a picture. I will put that in with my post on travel knitting. Now next on my birthday adventure.

Here we are in one of my very favorite LYS Black Mountain Yarn Shop in Black Mountain, NC. This is where my birthday adventure started. This shop amazes me. It is truly a boutique shop, small with scrumptious high end yarns. There isn't a wasted yarn in the shop. Meaning there isn't a yarn that scores less than 15 on Jan's fabulous 15 scale. In most yarn shops you can walk around, pick up a yarn and asked yourself, "I wonder why they carry that?" but not Black Mountain Yarn Shop. Every yarn is a beauty. It is like they put all of my favorite brands in the shop then knew I was coming and wanted to introduce me to something even more exquisite.

There isn't a wasted millimeter. Just look at those fabulous colors and samples knit up. You know what a sucker I am for a knitted sample.

And of course the frosting on the cake, the cherry on the sundae, there was a knitting group in progress. I must learn from this wonderful red-haired lady working. She asked me if I needed help when I walked in, I said "no" I was going to "explore" and she left me alone but checked in periodically. I didn't feel like she was hovering (I think I hover too much at Ann's) but I knew she was there if I needed her. I got so excited by the yarn, all my favorites like Madelinetosh, Malabrigo and Fiberstory and a new yarn Baah La Jolla. When I finished organizing the Stash Studio, I told Linda I was thinking about a commitment of no new yarn in 2016 I was so overwhelmed with what I had. Black Mountain Yarn Shop made me forget that commitment and remember that I am a Yarn Collector. I came away with so much but not as much as I coveted.

First I bought more yarn for Knit The Sky. I feel I'm running out of "grey" and "rainy" yarns. I think that says something about Michigan weather. I need something with sparkleys but that will need to wait for another shop. I know I can find sparkleys in other shops but I was afraid I couldn't find the yarn I am about to show you.

This is La Jolla original hand painted merino in the most beautiful colors.  I was scanning shelves for yarn and this stopped me dead in my tracks.  I even made a sound which made several people stare at me.  The husband owner (Black Mountain Yarn Shop is owned by a husband and wife) turned, looked then let out a small laugh when he saw what I was touching.  These five colors say and do it all.  I am going to make something with a striped pattern and it was be over the top smashing.  

I thought I personally knew every color of Madelinetosh but let me introduce you to Electric. This took my breath away. The wonderful red-haired lady asked me what I was going to do with it. I said, "I haven't a clue. I just know I want it." Now for a woman who wasn't going to buy any more yarn in 2016, I did ok or to quote Melanie "Some people say I done all right for a girl." I love that song. I had a great conversation with a woman checking out about being not just knitters but yarn collectors. A kindred spirt in a LYS! I know I said this last year, but if you are within walking, driving or flying distance of Black Mountain, NC you really need to stop by and visit the shop and the people. It will be a memory you will not soon forget. Tell them Jan from Knitting: A Love Story sent you.

The rest of my birthday included earrings at Bellagio Art To Wear in Asheville and dinner on the Sunser Terrace of the Grove Park Inn. All in all 60-Something proved to be a very good day.