Monday, September 07, 2009

TAIYO IN THE SMOKIES






Noro Taiyo that is - gorgeous stuff - I found a great shop on the way to Tennessee in Franklin NC - I have been traveling thru Franklin since I was a small child - I have fond memories of going there with my grandmother and great aunt as a child - my great aunt bought fabric remnants from a mill over that way for braided rugs. I don't think she did the braided rugs but apparently someone did - we used to have a large round one in my grandmothers house but I let it go years ago before I knew the value of hand crafted rugs. Sentimentally speaking - it should have been kept and taken care of - for that I am very ashamed. OK - so that is my connection with Franklin - a quaint little town on the edge of the Smokies near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I found Silver Threads and Golden Needles when searching for needlework shops in the area where we were going which is actually a yarn wasteland. Silver Threads is a darling shop with GREAT yarns - they were having knit night when we stopped by there on Thursday evening. Had I known it was such a great shop - I would have arranged to spend the night so I could have enjoyed the evening knitting with Virgina's group. AHHHH - on to the yarn purchase - She had lots of neat stuff but we were tired and the men were pacing the sidewalk in front of the shop - I knew I had about 15 minutes before tantrums would occur. She had Spud and Chloe another new yarn venture for Blue Sky Alpaca - could not find a pattern and I did not care for their pattern support - I was looking for something different - something I had not seen before or could not get locally. HUMMMM - A whole section of Noro was spotted and books too - I started thumbing thru a nice new looking book - Flowers I think it is called. Found a cute jacket that could be made into a large size - OH OH OH - she had the yarn - Taiyo - gorgeous stuff - cotton/silk/wool/nylon - AND the owner graciously pointed out a shop model in the exact jacket I was considering. OK - that was it - I was sunk - I busily found a beautiful colorway and even snagged some coveted Lantern Moon Destiny circulars so I could cast on right away. Here's a better picture without the view from our 4th floor balcony.

We have had a fairly relaxing vacation - It has been much cooler which was a pleasant break from the oppressive summer heat in NE FL.

I thought I would get so much done while here - silly me - I did get a small start on the Brenda Keyes design - Sailors Wife - but I mostly worked on another BK sampler - Plymouth - Here is a WIP photo of that one. It has a lot of fill work so it is easy to work on when distracted.


Well - it's Labor Day- Happy Labor Day everyone - I hope you all had a wonderful 3 day weekend and enjoyed BBQ's, picnics, and days filled with happy stitches. We'll be traveling home tomorrow - I'll be drawing for the 3 skeins of lace weight yarn later tonight. Gotta run now - I'm late for dinner.

11 comments:

Cari said...

Mmmmmm - your yarn looks yummy!! I love going into different yarns shops. Each one has their own personality. I'm glad you've had a great vacation. I love all the projects you have shared and look forward to seeing more!!

Jackie's Stitches said...

I love the yarn! And the view? Amazing. It makes me much more excited for our trip in November. I can't wait.

Would love to hear about your trip. How was the visit to the stitching shop?

Deb said...

Oh my goodness, that yarn is to die for! I absolutely love Noro yarn and all their fantastic colorways. I started a sweater with some of their yarn last year and I really should pull it out and work on it (better said than done)! LOL

But I love all of it! And love your progress on the BK piece too. That is going to be absolutely lovely when finished.

Don't you have a hard time deciding what to work on - knitting or xstitch? Especially when you have such beautiful yarn staring at you and then that beautiful project to stitch?

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Beautiful yarn! I don't knit but I can sure appreciate pretty stuff when I see it! Your sampler is looking great!

TeresaB said...

Ohhh, pretty yarn! Love the colors in it. Can't wait to see what the pattern looks like.

Stitching looks great. I'll have to show you what I've been working on when you get back. (It's a surprise for someone who reads my blog, so I can't post it online...yet.) Glad you're having fun on your vacation. See you when you're home!

Siobhán said...

Oh, wow!! That view is incredible. The yarn? Beautiful. Lucky you, it sounds like you really lucked out finding that shop!

Great progress on your Brenda Keyes sampler, too!

Margaret said...

So glad you've had a good vacation. Love the yarn!! I guess it's really knitting season now. :D Your Plymouth Sampler is looking great too -- I agree that fill in is great for when one is constantly distracted.

beeinstitches said...

So glad that you found a nice shop on the trip. That ALWAYS makes the trip a fun and memorable one. A mountain getaway - good yarn - GREAT needles - knitting and stitching - what could be more idyllic for a long weekend away! Glad you had a good time.

Loraine said...

What gorgeous colors! I can't wait to see your jacket.
Glad you had a wonderful vacation. Funny about the men pacing outside the door. I know all about that!
Wonderful BK. I'll have to look that one up.
Take care.

Jean in Georgia said...

I've been to that shop many times when we drove over from Highlands during our vacations there -- it's a very nice shop. Glad you had a good visit there. :)

Jan said...

Oh what lovely colors, dear Mel!! Love them, and can't wait to see that beautiful sweater!!

Wonderful progress on the Plymouth Sampler...that is so gorgeous!!

Glad you were able to get away and have some fun and relaxation!