Christmas Vacation-Part 2
The drive to Texas from Virginia was totally enjoyable as was the drive home. We took two days to get there and three to come home because of yarn. Thankfully, my SIL and my husband were wonderful to indulge my need for fiber. I know that they don't really understand, but hopefully when they get a gift it will make up for the time I made them come with me to look at skein after skein of yarn.

While driving to Texas, I was thumbing through this book and that's what started this whole thing. I did purchase the book for the purpose it was intended for-traveling in the car with a trapped crazed knitter. The purchase price of the book itself, was the cheapest part. I had no idea just how much this book would end up costing me. There should be a disclaimer on a web site and inside the book itself, that this book is going to cost you a fortune before it's over! Exhibit A...

Since my husband's family lives in Richardson, I looked up shops there. Bingo! There was one there and you know what that meant-ROAD TRIP. Lucky for me my SIL was a good sport and she knew where the shop was. We had a hard time at first, but when you got there, we hit the mother lode. Too bad I didn't take any pictures of the shop.

I did take pictures of the two skeins of yarn that I bought and I sure have a lot to say about The Woolie Ewe. That is some kinda shop. It's huge. It's huge and crammed packed full of yarn from floor to ceiling. My SIL was amazed at all the yarn. I was like a kid in a candy shop and oh what candy they had.

I found some sock yarn that my own LYS does not carry. I don't want to be disloyal to my favorite shop, but I truly had to have this stuff. The neatest stuff about this brand of sock yarn, is the surprise it contains...It contains the reinforcement yarn that matches the skein. How wonderful for us. I am not sure it's enough for the heel and toe on two socks but wow, what a selling technique. I am impressed. So impressed I have already knit one of the two skeins that I bought. This is one sock that lacks a closed toe but the reinforcement yarn that came with this skein was used on the heel. I will use a beige that I had left over from another pair of socks for the toe. I was not sure when I started just how far that little spool would go. I will have a better idea when I hit the heel on the second sock. Right now I am just about 20 rows down from the cuff. So I have a bit to go. I will let you know how it turns out.

I can't wait to go to Dallas to visit family and camp out at The Woolie Ewe so that I can get a better look. You folks who live there have a real gem! Thanks to the person who told me about the shop at Ravelry. I do appreciate the tip.

So you know what I am going to say next right? Well, if I can hit one shop, why not two? Because they were CLOSED. We tried another shop but they weren't going to open until after we were hitting the road to come back to VA. Their lose, I still have credit on my card. Ha!

The drive home was just as productive as the stay in Dallas. I again referred to the knitting traveler's bible (my name for the book) and it yielded yet another place I thought we might be able to get to easily. Who ever drafted the ad for this place did a great job with directions from I40. We had no problems getting there and back onto the interstate when I was done. I think I was in the shop about an hour or so. Hubby scooted off the Target and I got to look alone. Man, what a place!

Since we were going home, I just happened to have my camera handy and got some shots of this place. Hub took the outside shots

Haus of Yarn, Nashville, TN

and I did the most important one...but of course THE YARN! My eyes were on overload at the shop. There was so much to look at and it was displayed so beautifully. The shop owner (whose name totally escapes me) told me that I had come the day after they had their once a month sock night. I didn't think anything about it until she said the sock knitters who come that night get to have first picks over the new sock yarn that had come in. The table with the baskets is the display that was there when they opened the morning I showed up.

I will show what I bought here in a later post. I can't wait to tear into this new stuff. I just had the best time with both our families and the icing on the cake was the find of two shops that are easy to find, the next trip home! If you are ever in Richardson and Nashville, I highly recommend both these shops.