Road Trip

My friend Pam and I took a last minute shopping trip to Lansing, Michigan. I get the weekly Threadbear email and it said "Spring Clearance Sale". Lots of yarn on sale from 20% - 70% off. Who could resist. And if I was going to Lansing, I had to stop by Rae's Yarn Boutique.

We went on a Sunday and stopped at Rae's first since it opened earlier. At first we were the only ones in there and that's great. You get the full attention of the shop owner. Then a stream of shoppers arrived. Pam & I were just the opening act. Rae's store isn't really big but she has great stuff in there. I bought some Socks That Rock Lightweight in Purple Rain, Socks That Rock Heavyweight in Love-in-Idleness, and Sock Candy in Henpecked. All made by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I also picked up felted starfish and seahorse patterns and Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks Warm Feet. And two more Sock Blocker key chains.

Then we went to Threadbear for the big sale. Threadbear is the largest yarn shop I've ever been in. Pam screamed "sensory overload" 15 feet into the store. Threadbear is run by Matt and Rob. They are so wonderful. Rob was teaching a sock class but Matt helped Pam pick out colors to make a bath rug for her master bath. He showed Pam how to mix fibers and colors to get the look she wanted. He twisted strands from 3 different colors together and it looked very different than when you looked at the full skeins themselves.

At Threadbear, I bought a small tote bag which is pictured below with supplies for my sock class at Heritage Spinning & Weaving. Toe Up, 2 Socks at once, magic loop technique. And, more sock yarn, Twisted Fiber Art yarn in colorways Exile and Portal. And, Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 100% merino superwash, in dark red for a Red Scarf project scarf. Also, for a Red Scarf scarf, I purchased Alpaca with a Twist's Baby Twist, 100% alpaca, in a medium gold color. And, Karabella Aurora 8, merino wool, in Red (color 7) and Burgundy (color 18) for Red Scarves.

All the sock yarn I bought on the road trip is superwash merino, except the Sock Candy which is 96% cotton and 4% elite. All the socks will be for me. All of the yarns are ones I've never used before but heard good things about.

Now for the pictures:

Purple Rain - Henpecked (2 skeins) - Love-in-Idleness
Portal
Exile

yarn: Baby Twist
pattern: Ribbed Scarf with a Twist by Ann Budd

yarn: Aurora 8 in Burgundy
pattern: Simple Scarf, Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled

yarn: Aurora 8
pattern: His/Hers Reversible Scarf from Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled

yarn: 1824 Wool
pattern: Steam by Diana Gates

Sock Blocker key chain
with a completed sock made from Cherry Tree Hill yarn