Before I start on World Wide Knitting In Public Day, I have to shout out to two readers who have joined after my visit to The Quarter Stitch.  The Quarter Stitch put a link to Knitting: A Love Story after I wrote my last post.  Bonnie sent a comment.  She learned to knit at The Quarter Stitch.  WOW! Is that great or what??????  Just like I have my memories of learning to knit at the Little Shop with Mary Helen, Bonnie has her memories of learning to knit at The Quarter Stitch.  How about that!?!?! Would love it if all of you comment and share where you learned to knit.  What wonderful memories.  Then Jil commented.  She knits samples for Dream In Color the amazing yarn I purchased at The Quarter Stitch.  Remember??????

Once again, isn't it beautiful!?!?!?! I wish you could reach in and touch it.  Jil also recommended a pattern for me to use called "Plaid Is The New Fad" by Cally Monster.  I immediately went to Ravelry and there is was.

No more searching for me!  This is it.  I love it.  Thank you so much Jil for the suggestions.  Knitters are the best group of people in the world.  

Now back to WWKIP day.  Thea and I had big plans.  Twisted Fiber Art announced in their newsletter they would be hosting a WWKIP experience on the lawn of their shop.  Just bring lawn chairs and sunscreen and they would furnish water and lemonade.  There was so many ways this was so right.  There wasn't going to be a WWKIP in Adrian this year.  That was kind of a "Boo/Yea!"  Boo because I wouldn't get to see all of the amazing Lenawee County knitters I see every year "knitting in public" and YEA because I was going to get to sit down and knit. Also YEA because I haven't been to the new Twisted Fiber Art shop.  Right when they were opening Linda moved to Washington and I just haven't been moved to go without her.  Besides I do get to see the Twisted Staff at least once a year at Fiber Festivals and I do belong to the Twisted clubs which showcase new colorways and I do know how to get to Twisted webstore.  So I guess I haven't been missing out on the newest Twisted colorways.  I have been missing out on seeing Meg, Beth, Annie and Hazel. Thea and I planned what we would knit.

I chose the Olga Jazzy pleated scarf in Nessie Catnip.  This was my travel knitting when we went to NOLA.  I have told you before about my love of this pattern.  I have used this to make treasures more than any other pattern.  Thea thought she might purchase some TFA.  I thought I might not.  Let me tell you why.  

While we were at the Coastal Condo in May, I received one of the inspiring TFA newsletters.  In it it informed lovers of everything Twisted that Glamour was ready for purchase.  Glamour is their new yarn base made from merino, cashmere and sparkle. Well, I had to go and check it out.  If I tell you it was glamorously gorgeous I would be drastically under stating its beauty.  I ended up buying 5 cakes of TFA.  While drooling over Glamour, I also discovered a colorway I'd never noticed before; Zion.  So I ended up buying Zion in Rapt an alpaca, merino and silk lovely; Zion in Yummy merino, cashmere and nylon; Nessie in Glamour; Nessie in Catnip; and Ignite in Glamour.  Five amazing cakes of fabulous fiber.  I couldn't wait to get it.  As I was checking email I got my notice from PayPal of my order.  My iPad chimed again saying "You've got mail!" and there was a second notice from PayPal of my order.  That just didn't seem right.  I checked my PayPal account and right there in easy to read numbers were two payments to TFA.  EEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!  I immediately emailed Beth, but it was the weekend.  I would hear nothing for two days.  I paced the floor of my mind wondering what to do.  What if two payments were made but two payments didn't go to TFA??????  Well, I am a worrier.

On Monday, Beth emailed me and said yes indeed, there were two payments.  She said there were three things we could do; 1) She could refund to my credit card; 2) She could send a TFA gift card or 3) She could double the order.  I said, "I'll take door 3 please." Does that surprise you?  Not me.  So last week, I got the following double order.    

Ignite in Glamour.

Zion in Rapt.

Nessie in Glamour.

Zion in Yummy.

Nessie in Catnip.

The whole order.

Well, I really believed I wouldn't succumb to temptation.  Thea and I continued planning for our WWKIP outing.  We decided on who would drive, what time we would leave.  I packed my knitting bag then checked the weather.  Rain all day. Then I looked at weather in Mason.  Thunderstorms.  We were disappointed but decided to stay in Adrian and find a place to knit.  We chose Panera Bread.  Thea made a sign that said "We are participating in World Wide Knitting In Public Day."  We knit, had treats.  I drank coffee, Thea had Pepsi.  We talked and talked.  Knitting with friends is so soothing.   

I got a lot done on my pleated scarf.  Thea worked on little baby socks, her specialty.  It was a different day than we had originally planned but it was a great day.  Any day knitting with friends is a day of happiness.

There is no crime unless you consider adding to an already bulging yarn stash a crime.  I just wanted to get your attention.  We're back from the fabulous, one of a kind city of New Orleans where I did my pilgrimage to the Goddess Of All Things Fiber, i.e., The Quarter Stitch.  I can't even explain how much I revere this place.  Just thinking about it makes me feel like I am meditating and going to a better place.  

The Quarter Stitch is just off Jefferson Square in a tiny, unpretentious shop.  But don't judge a book by its cover or a yarn shop by its exterior.  Just walk in and get ready to be amazed.

 

It is the Mardi Gras of yarn shops.  It is filled with color, happiness and beautiful yarns.  I discovered The Quarter Stitch about 35 years ago and having been visiting it on each NOLA trip ever since.  I have made so many discoveries in The Quarter Stitch.  It was in The Quarter Stitch that I saw my first Entrelac. . .  

and discovered the magical fiber called "Stuff."

In fact, I walk into this lovely little shop and suspended from the ceiling was an Entrelac vest made out of Stuff.  I believe I swooned.  It was the exact same feeling I had when I discovered Valentina Devine designs in the Yarn Barn of Kansas.  I will never forget that feeling.  Just seeing a skein of Stuff or an Entrelac pattern will transport me back to that time and place.  

Much of my Crayon Box Jacket was made from fibers from The Quarter Stitch.  The finishing yarn was my favorite fiber of all time purchased at The Quarter Stitch.  If I'd have been a Collector then and not just a knitter, I would have squirreled some of that amazing yarn away.  Before writing this, I went up to the Stash Studio to see if I could find if not a skein at least a little piece to show you. I couldn't.

Here is that fabulous yarn made into a scarf for my good friend Barb.  Isn't it beautiful? Can't you see why I loved it so much? Now that I think of it,  this yarn may have started my anxiety over discontinued yarns.  I have none of this and I will never be able to own it again.  JAN, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!!  This is a joyous post.  

All of the single color cotton yarn in this Crayon Box Jacket came from The Quarter Stitch.  It wasn't so long ago I wrote about this particular cotton yarn, sharing it with a friend's Mom and The Quarter Stitch.  Ahhhh!  Memories.

I found this yummy yarn at The Quarter Stitch.  I knit it into a pullover then discovered I didn't wear pullovers any more so frogged it.  Lots of this went into my Survivor Shawls.  

WOW!  Let's get back to the present!  That little walk down Memory Lane did kind of get me out of the present.  The magical, celebratory ambience of The Quarter Stitch never changes. Even though the fibers are the latest the textile world has to offer, bits of The Quarter Stitch remain the same.  

You still can find Stuff.

They still wrap your purchases.  They also still have this huge table with skeins of all different types of yarn sorted by color.  (Why didn't I get a picture of that!?!?!?!?! I think I was too focused on finding my perfect yarn.) It is a smorgasbord for those of us who love color.  It shows you how fibers go together to create fabulous one-of-a-kind projects.  If it's possible to drool and hyperventilate at the same time, I'm doing it now.  Now for the unveiling of my purchase.

I am in the process of finding the perfect pattern to showcase these three beauties.  I will share it with you as soon as I find it.

Well, all I can say is SHAZAM!  It was awesome to return to The Quarter Stitch and it was even more awesome to share it with you.  In 2019, The Quarter Stitch will be celebrating its 50th birthday.  That's right it opened in 1969.  AMAZING!  Maybe I'll have to find a way to return and help them celebrate.