Finding Yarn Along the Way

Knitting along the happy highway

We've hit the happy highway in search of relaxation. I want to knit, but I can't take my whole stash with me. So how do I find LYS?

A couple of years ago my Faithful Sherpa and I decided to take a mini trip to Unionville, NV. It was our 25th wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate somewhere other than home. The beginning of July wasn't the most ideal time of year to be traveling in a 1954 Chevy pickup, that wouldn't go faster than 48 mph, but at least had "air conditioning." But we wanted an adventure, and we sure got one!

Why Unionville? Well, I don't know. I simply measured up to 200 miles from our home, and started looking around on Google Maps until I found something interesting. We stayed at the Old Pioneer Garden Inn, in "downtown" Unionville. I was so amazed at how beautiful it was there. Nestled along side a running creek this place was a lush oasis! bit.ly/2FTQkSL

"Bessame," my Faithful Sherpa's 1954 5 window Chevy pick up. The big tube thing hanging off the window is our "air conditioner," aka a swamp cooler from my parents 1930 Model A Sedan.

​We packed our truck with everything we thought we'd need, a cooler, a pop up tent in case we needed shade, motor oil, and a few bits of clothes. ​

---

But the most important item I packed was a knitting project!
​
We were only going for a couple of days, so I wanted to bring just one project with me. I knew I wanted to knit a shawl since it required just one ball of yarn. But it had to be fairly easy since we will be traveling and I didn't want something complicated. After searching thru the various patterns I've collected, I settled on a Lion Brand Imagine Triangular Shawl. Here's a link to the pattern: bit.ly/2KacV2K

My favorite color!

I learned a lot about knitting while on the road during this trip. The most important lesson I learned, though, is never knit a lace shawl, at night, while watching TV, and drinking wine. The results weren't good!

Ripping your project back is all part of learning!

​That's right. I had to take the whole project apart the next morning because, apparently you're supposed to have an even number of stitches on each side of the center marker.




And. . .well. . .I'm going to blame it on knitting in the dark. Yeah that's the ticket, as Tommy Flanagan the Pathological Liar says. ​

---

Hi Esther!

​I did manage to finally finish knitting my "Anniversary Shawl." Here's a photo of my Mother-in-Law, Esther, and I on her birthday not too long ago. And you can just see my shawl peaking out from under my jacket!

​I love the color maroon, can you tell? Maroon shawl, Maroon jacket, Maroon booties. I've really gotta find at least one more color to wear!

---

So my Faithful Sherpa and I are planning another road trip. This time we'll be taking a more modern truck, but towing a 17' 1967 Aristocrat travel trailer ST. I guess we like old things! And that "ST" bit is important, it means we have a shower and a toilet! Whoo hoo, we've hit the big time!

And although I probably could pack several projects in a cabinet somewhere in the trailer, I'd really like to find local yarn stores along the way. I'm hoping they'll have locally crafted yarns, which I love!

So where do you find LYS in areas where you've never been?

The first place I check is Ravelry. www.ravelry.com. Yes Ravelry, our favorite website for patterns but you can search for so much more!

When you log into your Ravelry account, click on "Yarn" then half way down the screen, just under "Popular New Yarns," you'll find the "Local Yarn Shop Directory." You simply type in the name of the town you are in, and presto bingo, a list of LYS appears!

The second place I always check is Knitmap www.knitmap.com/. 

For all you international travels, you can use Knitmap to find LYS not only the US, but Canada, UK and most of Europe! I love that Knitmap provides you with contact information AND they provide a map of the LYS location too!  I love maps, paper maps more specifically! What I don't love, though, is the fact that my 56 year old eyes don't love paper maps, and need to have glasses to read them!

And the last website I check is NeedleTravel.com (www.needletravel.com/index.htm)

With NeedleTravel.com you simply select your Search Options, then click on the state you are interested in. Once the results pop up, you'll see that, next to the town name, theres a number. This tells you how many "needle shops" are in that town. You can either click on the town, or if you select view on map, a Google map with marks indicating where your stores are located, pops up. 

See why I love this site, more maps!

So if you want to hit the happy highway, mapping your route according to LYS's along the way, check out Ravelry, Knitmap or NeedleTravel to help plan your trip. Between LYS and antique stores, we're going to have a full truck when we return!