Wife, Mom, Slave to my Craft

The strangest place I think I have ever been.

Tonight, I'm making a ton of cookies. By "a ton", I mean about 10 dozen. I'm making them for a Christmas cookie swap on a forum I belong to. I started off intending to make 5 dozen of my shortbread and 5 dozen of my "Deployment Cookies".

I married Mike on 10 August 2001 (that photo above is from our wedding rehearsal). We moved to Ft Stewart, GA and in January of 2002, Mike deployed to Kuwait. Our lease was up, so I went home to live with my parents. I came back when it got closer to time for him to return and rented an apartment. He came back a little over 6 months later, at the end of August. He just missed our second anniversary. 4 months later, he deployed to Iraq. We had no idea how long he would be gone, so I stayed in Georgia by myself. It was incredibly lonely and boring. He ended up being gone 9 months, just missing our second anniversary. During those 9 months that I spent pining for my husband, all alone in our 1 bedroom apartment, I didn't know what to do with myself...

so I started baking.

I embarked on a 9 month quest to find the perfect cookie. Every week for 9 months, I made different cookie recipes. I wanted to find a cookie that stayed chewy (and all in one piece) over a distance of nearly 7,000 miles. I made Pillsbury recipes, Southern Living recipes, internet recipes, recipes from friends, and finally I started trying my own. I mailed off cookies every week, dutifully, faithfully, on my quest to finally find the perfect recipe. In the end, I estimate that I made almost a thousand cookies on my quest . And in the end, I created one that is all my own and does everything I want it to- they yummy, they're soul-healing, they stay chewy over a distance, and, possibly most importantly, they hold up in the mail. 

Deployment Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose baking flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (margarine is NOT butter- say it with me)
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate chips (any combination you want. I like 1 cup each of: milk chocolate, semi-sweet, and white.)
1 cup coconut

Cream the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl. (The longer you let it whip, the better.) Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and then add the baking powder. Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the chips and then the coconut (You have to put the coconut in! I don't care if Billy Bob says he doesn't like coconut or he's allergic to it or coconuts attacked him when he was a child or whatever. A little coconut never killed anyone...however leaving it out will kill the cookies. So, keep the coconut!)
Chill the batter 3 hours or overnight - if you're in a hurry, pop it in the freezer for half an hour or so (although, if you're in a hurry, why are you baking cookies?). You can freeze this batter up to a month, just take it out and put it in the fridge the night before you want to bake.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Roll the dough into balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Bake for 30-35 mins or until light brown on top. Cool for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack. Package and mail to your favorite soldier with a lovely note.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

I've been toying with the idea of re-opening my business. I want to change directions- less baby stuff, more adult items and patterns and such. I've been working on my first original pattern and been having it tested. It's almost ready. It's a hat pattern for babies through adults with animal ears attached. I have a kitty pattern, a puppy pattern, and a bear pattern. And, per Brandon's request, I'm working on an elephant ear pattern.

Here is the kitty (with a bow):

And here is the bear (well, tiger- apologies for the bad Blackberry photo):

I need to get a picture of the puppy one still. Anyway, I'm happy with the pattern and so long as everything goes well, I should be posting it up around the beginning of the year. I'm excited. Then I intend to write up my shrug pattern. Exciting stuff for me. With a new beginning comes a new name, though. Much as I enjoyed Moose Tracks the first time around, it doesn't feel right to use the name for something else. 

I finally finished my mother's shawl. I love it- sooooo pretty. I am VERY happy with the way it came out. The yarn is (main) Damson and (trim) Concord Grape in Zoe sock yarn by Shalimar Yarns (which is dyed by my local yarn store owner). The pattern is Faraway, So Close by Sweet Mama Small Sugar. It's very well-written and easy to follow. I gave it to my mother when she was here for Thanksgiving- I hope she gets a lot of use out of it.

For myself (yes, I do knit for myself occasionally!), I made a beret (a tester pattern from my dear friend Kim- love it) and a neckwarmer that I designed. I need to tweak the neckwarmer a bit- the fit is a bit off- but overall, I'm very happy with both. The yarn is baby alpaca and it is as soft as a cloud. It's also really hairy and I think my lungs may now have a soft baby alpaca lining. I have a skein left. I need to make some mittens or something.

 

 

 

The week of Thanksgiving, my parents visited us. We met them in Williamsburg and then we came on up to Maryland. Williamsburg was nice...but not quite what I was expecting. It seemed more touristy and hokey than historical...almost like none of it was original. On the way back to Frederick, we stopped off at Montecello and visited Jefferson's house. That was really neat to see.

Our first (full) day in Maryland, we went to Gettysburg and to Lancaster, PA to see Amish country. Gettysburg was bigger than I expected. We drove through most of it, but it was raining and just generally ick most of the day. In Lancaster County, the weather was no better. I didn't take any pictures, though.

Please note Seamus' gun and Confederate hat. He prompted this photo by running up to the re-enactors and screaming "STICK 'EM UP!". Luckily, they thought he was cute and humored him (and me).

We also visited DC, but there was yet again, horrible weather, so no pics. We rode to the top of the Washington Monument, we visited a bunch of museums, and we even got to tour the Capitol (well, most of it, anyway. Seamus insisted he was hungry about halfway through, so Mike and I took him to the cafeteria and my parents finished the tour.). We had a really nice time. :)

I'm starting to get into Christmas baking. This week, I made chocolate-dipped pretzels (chocolate with white chocolate drizzle with pecans and chocolate with butterscotch drizzle with toffee bits. Nom nom nom). This weekend, I intend on making cookies and next week, I'm hoping to make fudge. In January, I intend on not eating to lose the 20 lbs I'm going to gain eating all this sugary goodness in December.

So, that about wraps it up. Dinosaur Seamus thanks you for reading. ;)

Nothing Else Matters.

Today is Thanksgiving. Today I am thankful for a few things:

First of all, my husband. My Mike is amazing. We have known each other a whopping thirteen years and he still loves me just as my as when we were sixteen. I think it's safe to say he's a keeper. I wouldn't trade him for anyone in this world, not even my beloved Hugh Jackman (although I wouldn't kick him out of bed- hubba, hubba). He has loved me through thick and thin (both literally and figuratively) and he's just generally amazing. He lets me stay home with our son and enjoy watching him grow up, rather than work full-time, which would probably make our checkbook a little happier, but would positively break my heart. He supports me in my every harebrained (Ha, bet you thought it was "hairbrained". It's not.) scheme and doesn't throw too many "told-ya-so's" my way when they don't work out as planned. He works hard, he does what needs to be done, and he does it all for us. Sometimes he acts like an 80-year-old man in a 29-year-old body and he even has his diva-like "Pretty Pretty Princess Mike" moments, but I love him more than anything in this world.

My beautiful boy. I love how clever he is and how much he makes me laugh with all his ideas ranging from where he came from (he was an egg, I ate the egg, he hatched in my stomach, he was a dinosaur/the Hulk, and he clawed his way out. Um, ouch) to where yarn comes from (despite having seen a sheep sheered and seeing that wool being spun into yarn, he insists it comes off the sheep in a big colorful string). I love how much he can surprise you when you think he isn't paying attention. I love how much he loves his family. He's an awesome kid. I prayed for an incredible kid when I was pregnant, and, well, I got one. He's a handful some of the time, and to keep up with his brain takes some work, but he's completely worth every ounce of energy he takes. He's so much like Mike, sometimes I wonder if he didn't spring forth from Mike's forehead, completely formed (then I look at the subway map etched into my stomach and I know that didn't happen). He loves math, like his daddy...he loves video games (A LOT), like his daddy...he can run the computer probably better than my mother, like his daddy...and he has a big square head, like his daddy. He's a little nerd-in-training, and I think it's awesome.

And lastly, knitting. Knitting keeps me happy, keeps me sane. When I'm happy, I knit, and I smile with every stitch, thinking about where the project is going and who is going to (hopefully) love it; when I'm sad, I knit, and I let my tears flow until the stitches help me forget (tonight be one of those nights, matey). When I was a teenager, I painted my feelings away; as an adult, I knit them away. Same outlet, different medium, and I'm grateful for the skills that keep my creative juices flowing.

 Tonight I should write about other things, but I'm not in the right state of mind to do it. Instead, I'm going to upload some photos to Flickr, make a turkey sandwich with copious amounts of mayonnaise and black pepper (also another thing to be grateful for), knit a little on this monkey I'm working on, and call it a cold November night with my gorgeous boys. 

TAKE THAT, FLU

Apparently Operation Let's-See-How-Much-Crap-Shanna-Can-Take-Before-She-Completely-Snaps is still in full force. On Saturday night (Halloween), Mike begged out of going Trick-or-Treating, saying he didn't feel well. By the time Seamus and I got back (with a sack full of high fructose corn syrup- nomnomnom), he had a fever. I ran over to CVS and picked up some Nyquil for him and doped him up. Monday morning, he went to the doctor and learned he was the proud recipient of the seasonal flu. Yay!

Well, my husband, who can't share the covers, the bed, the couch, or anything remotely chocolatey (I thought I was a chocoholic, then I married one)...managed to share the flu with me. Thanks, babe! I went to the doc while Seamus was at school and was immediately plastered with a mask to protect the innocents. While I waited for my super-duper prescriptions, I was sequestered by the Immunizations Department at the clinic. If they were trying to guilt me over not getting my flu vax, it totally didn't work.

My Fall '09 Collection: Flu Chic. I call this color H1N1 Red.

I got a nice, big bottle of 800mg Motrin and some kind of cough perles for my troubles. The Motrin has been handy, the perles can just get out. My Nyquil works better. Oh, Nyquil, how I love thee. And none of those pansy gel caps for me. NO, SIR. I go straight for the good stuff. GIANT LIQUID VALUE-FAMILY-SIZED BOTTLE FOR ME, PLEASE. Ba-da-da-da-da! I'm lovin' it.

And, well, because things are better when they're round, Seamus got it, too! Yay! Again, thanks, babe! He was utterly heartbroken at the prospect of missing his professional karate photos Sunday. He planned on giving everyone the pictures for Christmas, so I could not make him understand that we would figure something out if he wasn't better. Luckily, he was mostly better and got to go. He looked so cute. I can't wait to get the photos back. I wish I had ordered the trading cards, too, but they were crazy-expensive. I think I'll just get some made up on my own.

I have got to get finished with the few projects I have left to do- my parents will be here in TWELVE DAYS. I can't wait.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go.

Let's start with good things.

Seamus started karate this month. It's been amazing for him. Despite some poo-poos from people saying that it would make him fight, it has been perfect for him. Before he started, he had gotten some notes home about his behavior and since he started, we have not gotten a single note. He loves it. I can tell a huge difference in his concentration and focus. He still acts like a typical 4-year-old, don't get me wrong (I still maintain that 4-year-olds should be declared a separate species), but when he knows he's expected to pay attention, he does.

I've been teaching Seamus to knit. Surprisingly, he's picking it up pretty easily. He insisted he had to use circular needles (2 needles attached by a long cord) rather than traditional straight needles (which would probably be easier). I gave him some chunky yarn, cast on a few stitches for him, then spent some time showing him what to do. He loses interest in it pretty quickly, but what can I say? Again, he's 4. I'm just excited that he wants to learn. He's wearing his karate shirt in these photos- I guess he's a knitting kninja.

Fall has arrived here in Maryland. It's lovely...and cold...but mostly lovely. I love when the leaves change. We never had this when I was growing up. In Mobile, Alabama, we have winter-ish (more like Fall, Sr. starting in January), "Spring" for about a month or so (in March and maybe April), then Summer (May, June), Summer Hardcore (July, August), Summer again (September, most of October) and then a couple of weeks of fall-ish (November, December). The leaves are beautiful and then one day they all just fall off. No pretty colors, no picturesque scenes. Nada. Here today, gone tomorrow and I hope you have your sweater. I'm going to miss that when we move from here.

This past weekend was Halloween. On Friday, Seamus and I carved pumpkins. No, they're not amazing or artistic or, well, anything more than traditional and plain, but they're the first pumpkins I've ever carved, lol. And, well, to be quite honest, I like the traditional ones best. They give me warm fuzzies. Yeah, some people can do some real show-stopping pumpkins, but 95% of them are probably done with a template. We scooped them out, separated the seeds out, and carved one happy and one angry pumpkin. They even have eyebrows, because Seamus insisted that you couldn't tell if the angry pumpkin was mad or sad and you needed eyebrows to be able to tell. Whatever, they're cute.

For Halloween, Seamus wanted to be "a karate guy"...no, Buzz Lightyear...no, Iron Man...no, Wolverine...the list goes on. We started out as a karate guy (for karate class), then we changed into our Buzz Lightyear costume to go trick-or-treating at the mall, then he changed into his Iron man costume to go play with Sebastian (who was dressed as Spiderman), then to go trick-or-treating, he became...wait for it...

Tigger.

Yes, Tigger, as in Winnie the Pooh. As in Shanna HATES Winnie the Pooh. Sebastian's mom found this cute Tigger costume she had bought for Sebastian last year that he never wore because he insisted on being Spiderman for the 3rd year in a row. She gave it to me to let Seamus play with. I hung it up in the hall and he spotted it and that was that. I intended to change him back into his Buzz Lightyear costume for trick-or-treating, but that wasn't happening. So, he was Tigger. Oy.

I've been working pretty much exclusively on a shawl for my mom. The pattern is Faraway, So Close and I'm working it up on a semi-solid lavender yarn dyed by the owner of my local yarn store. I've become a really big fan of her work. I already picked up a different color to make one for myself. These are progressive pics:

Speaking of knitting, I finally get to see the lovely baby kimono I made over the summer on it's intended recipient. I love it! So soft and snuggly! Here are Baby Zerah and Audrey wearing their fancy matching clothes. I love it when things I make are appreciated. I hate making things and never seeing them ever again, so this truly warmed my heart.

 

Now the not-so-fun stuff.

I had Seamus' parent-teacher conference this past month and while his reviews were great- he's right where he needs to be or better in everything but writing. Poor kid is ambidexterious like his mommy and can't decide which hand to use, but he favors his left (I favor my right). However, his teacher mentioned that she had concerns about his hearing. Mike and I had noticed the same things she mentioned, so we'll be taking him in at the end of the month for hearing testing. I was really upset when we first found out, but I'm starting to just come around to accepting whatever will be will be when we get him tested. I'm just mad we have to wait until almost the end of the month (the 20th) to do it. I shouldn't have to wait that long to get my child care!

Also, Mike has the flu (the normal kind, not the bacon-y goodness kind) and he hit a deer last week. The car is currently in the shop being fixed. It's been a hell of a few weeks. If life doesn't slow down soon, I'm going to go crazy.

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight.

After a few weeks of going back and forth about it, I finally convinced Mike to let Seamus get into an activity. We've been having issues with him getting adjusted to school- nothing major, just talking in class and he got into a fight over play-doh. We considered art (nah, he gets enough of that at home)...we considered sports (none for his age group here on base)...and finally we settled on...

KARATE. We looked at a few places in the area and we think we finally found the perfect fit. The first place we checked out was fine, but the guy admitted to charging a higher fee to teach the under-6 set because they're more difficult to teach (um, what?). He's charging a pain-in-the-ass fee for little kids? If you have to charge a PITA fee for kids, YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE TEACHING THEM, BOB. The second one was a chain masquerading as a privately run dojo (no thank you- I want people who aren't in it for the money). The third one we looked at seems awesome. It's a privately-run family-owned dojo and he'll be in the "Lil' Dragons" class. He starts Saturday. He'll technically be doing taekwondo, but he calls it karate.

Seamus is insanely excited. His uniform arrived today and he had to put it on RIGHT THEN. No washing first, nothing. RIGHT THEN AND THERE.

 

Loves it. He's also decided he wants to be a "karate guy" for Halloween. Hallelujah. No more back and forth about what he wants to be. "I want to be Iron Man." "I want to be Wolverine." "I want to be a ghost." "I want to be Buzz Lightyear." "I want to be Iron Man with Wolverine Claws while wearing Buzz Lightyear's rocket pack."

You think I'm kidding.

Halloween has been a fight this year. Seamus has been trying to convince me to put out the decorations since...August. I fought him off until mid-September. We now have our big grinny pumpkin sitting outside and our witch's hat tealight holder in the window.

I love this little monster...and his chocolate-coated teeth.

It's cheaper than drugs...if only by a little

Heaven showed up in my mailbox recently. Most people would say that if a shiny pair of Louboutin's or a Birkin bag, if you're a Trendy Girl, or perhaps the perfect Gucci bag- the one with a brown leather that's as soft as a cloud and the bamboo handle, the one that every Classic Girl wants- showed up in their mailbox. But oh no, not me. Heaven showed up in my mailbox in the form of....

Yarn.

Yes, that's right: yarn. Specifically, 6 skeins of my favorite colorway ever. Huckleberry Knits "Moonlight". Slightly over 1,000 yards of yarny goodness. All for me.

I got Mike to take this picture. How he managed that perfect heavenly light in the right corner, I'll never know.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been making hats. Lots and lots and lots of hats. One for me, the rest for my soon-to-be-arriving cousin (second cousin? Its my cousin's daughter.). The first I made is a tester pattern for Sweet Mama Small Sugar- "Handspun Cloche". I knit this out of Huckleberry Knits (are you sensing a pattern yet?) "Copper Patina" on organic wool. I decided to make the XL and I honestly should have made a large. I've apparently been married to Mike too long- I think my head is as big as his. I kinda like the floppiness of the too-large sizing, though. Plus, I can tuck my hair into it if I want.

I won't bore you with eleventybillion baby hats and such, so I'll just show you this one. This is another tester pattern I did that was written by Kimberly Russo, called a "Slouchy Beret". I made the newborn sized one. I have no idea what this yarn is, though. I've had it in my stash for a couple of years. Oops. It's being modeled by Baby, Seamus' waldorf doll who is always willing to crossdress for me.  

Ah, Seamus' beloved "Baby". He got Baby for his second birthday- just a few days after he broke his arm jumping off the computer chair. Baby has done everything with Seamus. When Seamus got a sling for his arm, I made Baby one, too. When Seamus potty trained, Baby did, too- he even had boxers and got genitals attached for the occasion (no, I won't take pictures of the doll's penis). He got his arm torn off at one point and had to visit Dr Joyce of the Hillcountry Dollmaker Hospital. He's been an awesome learning tool, and now that Seamus has outgrown him a bit, he has become my newborn clothing model- he's nearly the size of one. 

Seamus and baby in their matching diapers by Holden's Landing.

So, to all you naysayers who think that boys don't play with dolls, sod off. My son has a doll and he has been an awesome friend to him through moves and milestones.

And just in case you failed Anatomy and Physiology, here is 2-year-old Seamus to remind you of your parts.

Life is a classroom.

In September of last year, we enrolled Seamus in the pre-school program here on base. It was 3 days a week, for 3 hours, and was delightfully convenient in location (literally right behind my house). The experience was, well, horrible. We ended up puling Seamus out after only a few sessions. (If you'd like to read about what happened, start at the bottom and work your way up here.) In a nutshell, I was told that my child was too easygoing and laid-back. What a horrible thing to be! (sarcasm)

After we pulled him out, I began homeschooling him with some curriculum I picked up at a homeschooling store here along with our Hooked on Phonics program that he got for Christmas. We learned counting, letters, writing, and some basic reading. It all went great, but I came to realize that I do not possess the patience to do this for 13 years, no matter how much I wish I did.

So, today, my gorgeous boy started pre-kindergarten, which is a half-day program at the local school. They even get to ride the bus to and from. His teacher, Miss Summers, is very nice and seems quite patient. This morning, Mike and I took him to school and dropped him off (and he could have cared less if we were there or not), then let the bus bring him home. I didn't really worry until I knew it was time for him to be boarding the bus. I worried he wouldn't get on for whatever reason, even though they explained the bus procedures to me (they escort the kids to the bus and their backpacks have a tag with their bus number). He made it home fine, though, and gushed all about his day. They played, they drew, they played some more, they sang, he picked the purple spot on the rug because it "is mommy's favorite color" (♥), and he "made a lot of girlfriends and they all think (he's) cute". I'm so glad this is such a good experience. I feel better about it and he does, too.

 
Ready to leave (note to self: clean the storm door, Shanna)


Walking into school with Daddy.


So excited!


Listening to his teacher, Miss Summers (that's the TA, Miss Brown, in the background).


Daddy showing masses of concern whilst we wait for the bus at the bus stop. And by masses of concern, I mean for his 3G network coverage and WoW Podcast Download.


Showing the bus driver his tag.

Getting off the bus.

All in all, great day. He can't wait to go back on Monday. I'm so happy that he enjoys school, is excited about it. I'm so proud of him...but I'm torn between being so proud and being so sad. I can't believe he is so grown up. He didn't cry when we left, which shows that he is a secure child, but man, oh, man...wasn't he just born last week?

The one with the blue sweater.

I finally made myself a sweater. Well, okay, not a sweater, but a shrug...which is like half a sweater, right? I've been wanting to make myself a February Lady Sweater (free pattern, btw), but the idea of making a full sweater was rather daunting. So, instead, to dip my toes into the pool of adult-garments-that-are-not-accessories, I set out to make Glampyre Knits One Skein Shrug ($5, but good pattern for any knitter to have in their arsenal). I armed myself with Huckleberry Knits "Moonlight" on merino wool and Season 3 of Dexter on Blu-Ray (thank you, Netflix). I got most of the way through the yoke (the top of the sweater) and realized that I didn't like this, and I didn't like that, and I had way more yarn than necessary (thanks mostly in part to my obsession with this colorway), so I decided to change things. Why? Because I am a troublemaker and nothing is right until I've screwed around with it. Case in point: the baby sweater I made for Brandon and Audrey. the pattern was, gorgeous, perfect, but nooooooo. I had to contact the designer and discuss how to add eyelets to the sleeves so I could run a ribbon through it.

Anyway, so this one-skein shrug ended up becoming a one-skein-shrug-with-sleeves-and-trim-and-cute-little-buttons. As far as I'm concerned, it's practically perfect.

So, now that I've gotten over my fear of adult garments, I'm going to make my mother the sweater she's been harassing me to make for her for 2 years. Do I think she'll ever wear this sweater? No. She lives in Florida...on the coast. Even their winters are beach-worthy. I started off making her a February Lady Sweater but after 3 nights, a million start-overs, a bunch of wasted yarn, and near-tears over the eleventybillion rows of garter stitch, I changed my mind...and renamed the pattern. So, instead, I'm making the Liesl Sweater with some washable wool I have by Miss Babs. I originally bought the yarn for me, but when it arrived, it was too coral-y pink for my skin tone. I can't wear orange-y or yellow-y colors AT ALL. I cast it on a couple of nights ago and so far, so good. I really like this pattern and the way the author wrote it up. Totally worth the £4.00 I paid for it.

I still intend on making a February Torture Sweater. I think they take away your knitting needles if you don't eventually make one- it seems to some kind of rite or passage. I'm shopping around for yarn and I have a few things in mind, but it's going to cost me about $100 for all the yarn to make it. That seems like so much to spend on yarn for a sweater...but if I were to go buy a sweater at the mall, I'd probably pay at least $100 for it and it would probably be machine-knit with crap yarn. I'm worth $100, aren't I?

Of course, Mike's reaction to me buying more yarn (in mass, no less), was this:

He loves me. He knows he does.

In Praise of the Local Yarn Store.

Seriously, if I wrote poetry, I'd write it about my local yarn store at this very moment.

Local yarn stores (or LYSs) are an important supply for any knitter (or crocheter) to have in their bag. If you Google "yarn" plus whatever your location is,  JoAnn's or Michael's comes up, but normally not an actual store that just sells yarn. The differene between JoAnn's/Michael's and a LYS is massive.

At JoAnn's/Michael's, you encounter a huge selection of mass-produced yarn in an array of colors. The staff may or may not (more than likely the latter) have knowledge of yarn and/or knitting/crocheting. The experience is anything but personal. I'm not against JoAnn's/Michael's- please don't get me wrong, they have their place- but I wouldn't shop there every time I have a project.

At a local yarn store, you encounter a smaller selection of yarn that is in part mass-produced and in part produced by small businesses or individuals. You will also enounter a wider variety of tools and are more likely to find a style that is perfect for you, be it wood, metal, or acrylc/resin. But the part that makes it really special is the staff. You are highly unlikely to have someone working at a LYS that doesn't knit or crochet at all. That is the common thread- a love of fibers. The people working at your LYS have ohh'ed and ahh'ed over the hand-dyed cashmere that was dyed by a woman in Oregon- the very same one that you find yourself fondling as you walk through. They've also admired the colors in the shipment of Noro that they got last week. They poured over choices, trying to decide if they would mostly carry Ella Rae or Cascade as their major supplier. They're the ones willing to show you how exactly to KFB (knit front and back) when you just can't understand it. They recommend patterns, yarns, notions, and tools and they do it all while letting you accost their stash.

My local yarn store is Eleganza Yarns. The husband and wife team who own it also own Shalimar Yarn (which I am also a big fan of). Most recently, I have been working on a shrug for myself out of some lovely merino wool that I bought from a dyer that I adore, Scarlet of Huckleberry Knits. The colorway is called moonlight. (Yarn Bowl by June of Rising Sun Earthworks, stitch markers by Nature Baby Knits)

Anyway, I'm nearly finished with the shrug. Just a sleeve and a half to go and I'll be good to go. The shrug is turning out beautiful, but I decided that it just needed a little something. I pulled out these beautiful star buttons I had and decided the shrug would look amazing with those buttons and a bit of pale yellow yarn embroidery to go with them. When I started digging through my stash, though, I realized (1) that I'm not a big fan of yellow and (2) that I didn't own any solid yellow yarn, pale or otherwise. I was about to give up my search and decide that the sweater would be fine on it's own when I remembered my local yarn store. Let's just say that they closed at 6pm (it was 6:30 at this point) and they stayed open for me to get there and get my yarn...and order a longer cable for my Denise interchangables...and buy a couple of skeins of Shalimar superwash...and the newest issue of Knitsimple. But, seriously, for what was a $7 transaction, they stayed there...just for me. Would JoAnn's or Michael's do that for you? I didn't think so.

Should you never shop at Michael's or JoAnn's? Absolutely not. Like I said, they have their place. They offer things that other stores don't carry or cannot carry. But when it comes to a project, a truly special project, why go with what everyone else can get, something ordinary, instead of getting something truely unique, something special?  It may cost a little more, but with that kind of service, it is usually well worth it.

In short, support your local businesses- especially the yarn stores. Check out the 350 project and do something good for yourself and your community.