Another trip to the mill.

On Thursday my husband I went to East Jordan, Michigan, so I could get a sweater's worth of yarn at Stonehedge Fiber Mill. Ever since I worked with their worsted weight for the CookieA sample knitting, and their DK on my Zori sweater, I've been wanting to knit another sweater from their yarn. The perfect pattern presented itself in Rafters, by Stephanie Tallent, and once I added up how much I'd need, we headed out to the farm.

We had a lovely drive there, once we got through the traffic jam in Traverse City. It seems like everyone is trying to get in their last bits of summer fun before Labor Day, just like we are. As we got a little farther up the road, the traffic cleared out and we drove past lovely fruit orchards and smaller lakes. As we pulled into the driveway at the mill, their little black farm cat came over to greet us. This is the same little guy we met last year, still just as deaf, but still as fond of ear skritches as last time. Anyway, the shop door was closed, so I pet our little friend until the owner came by and showed me in. She said the door was closed because the goats couldn't be trusted not to eat the yarn. She told me that one of them had eaten a check from a customer - actually snatched it out of her hand and ran away!

Once I got inside, I was able to choose a color pretty quickly - I'd been thinking I wanted a heathered purple, and there were two skeins of pansy front and center. After a quick look at it in the sunshine, I asked for 10 skeins, which she had to get from the mill shed. She hadn't twisted the hanks, but no matter. She added an extra tie to them so they'd make the trip home safely. I can't wait to start on this sweater! Of course the search for buttons will be kind of a pain, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I'm looking forward to all those pretty cables and the shawl collar, too.

Once we bought my yarn, we decided to go to Bellaire to the Short's Brewing Company pub. They make a variety of really tasty beers and my husband knew that they had a restaurant, so we took it in our way home. I had a delicious (and big!) avocado BLT and their Kolsch 45. It was so good! My husband had the Reuben sandwich and one of the IPAs. I took a picture of him with his sandwich, but he didn't want a picture of himself while he was eating posted to the internet, so you get to see my sandwich instead. I also took a picture of the beer board, just so you can see all the options. These guys aren't fooling around. If you're in the area, check them out.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. We're headed home in the morning, so there's lots to do tonight before we leave. Until next time, Friends.

Sock Yarn Doesn't Count As Stash.

Amiright? This is what I've heard, anyway. See, when I go someplace, I like to check out the local yarn shop, if there's one anywhere near the place I'm visiting. At Sock Summit, the yarn was conveniently located mere steps from the classrooms where I learned so much. Up north, in Michigan, the shops were a little farther away, but definitely not out of our way.

When we go to the lake, in addition to spending a lot of time in/on the water, we also like to check out the surrounding countryside and small towns in the vicinity, shopping in the local stores and eating local foods. In Cedar, Michigan, we always make a point of going to Pleva's Meats, where they make the most delicious sausages. They even put cherries (a plentiful local agricultural product) and pecans in them! They're so good. Next door, there's the Cedar City Market, which stocks lots of regional wines and liquor, as well as locally-produced cheeses and other good stuff. The guy that runs the place is pretty cool, and has a very well-curated selection of booze. This makes me happy.

Conveniently located across the street from both these shops is Wool and Honey, a yarn shop with a nice selection of luxury yarns as well as locally-produced alpaca yarn, roving and felt. I keep looking at that yarn because the undyed colors are so lovely, but I can never think of what I'll make with it while I'm in the store and so end up with yarn purchasing paralysis. I really need to plan ahead, or, at the very least, take my laptop so I can search the Ravelry for an appropriate pattern. Anyway, I ended up buying the buttons to finish my Peasy cardigan and two skeins of fingering-weight yarn. I hesitate to call the Fibre Company Canopy that I purchased sock yarn, though it is 400 yards of yarn that some people have knit into socks. There are plenty of hats and shawls, too, but I think this yarn will become gloves. I still have to make up my mind.

Another town we always go to (especially as it is on our way to the cottage) is Suttons Bay, which is home to lots of places to eat. This trip we had dinner at the Village Inn (Est. 1871). The food was good and the beer was cold. We left full & happy. Just up the street from there is the Thistledown Shoppe, which is so chock full of yarn, skeins were jumping out of the bins and into my hands. I ended up with two skeins of Shibui Sock (against which I am helpless) and a skein of some lovely locally-dyed tussah silk single-ply. The color is called Leelanau Sunset and that's exactly what it looks like: beautiful reds, gold & reddish-purples that I can't wait to start knitting up. As this yarn was not fingering-weight, I think it has to count as a stash acquisition. The day I was in, they had the sweetest shop dog in the world napping on a wing chair in the front room. She very gently stuck her nose under my hand whenever I stopped scratching behind her ears, as it was obvious I had chosen my yarn and was defenseless against her beseeching eyes. She saw me coming a mile away.

So now that I'm home, I've been searching Rav's Green Acre, looking for just the right patterns for my new yarns. I haven't found exactly what I was looking for, but I'm sure that with a little patience and perseverance I'll find what I want. At least I have plenty of non-stash to get me through until the next time I leave town. If you happen to have a favorite pattern for variegated sock yarn, let me know. I may well end up knitting every sock in Carol Sulcoski's book, as most of the sock yarn I've been buying lately seems to be some variety of variegated.

Looks like that's all I have for now. Until next time, Friends!