weekending...

The weekend began still waiting for the arrival of the yarn to finish some dorm socks.  So I knit a Baa-ble and now know why everyone's knitting it.  Fun.  Quick.  And stinkin' cute.

 

And, ....there is enough yarn leftover to knit a dozen more.

 

A late (LATE!!!) day delivery brought the AWOL sock yarn...

(and some much awaited washable slipper worsted); a couple hours later, the socks and slippers were added to the Christmas pile.  (If you are looking for a quick, cute slipper pattern, flexible enough to use up lots of worsted stash--assuming that unlike me you knit with worsted a lot!!!--this is a goodie to keep in mind.)

Feeling pretty smirky, am I! (Is Yoda in the new Star Wars movie?  I hope!!!)  One pair of big-footed man socks is the only Christmas thing left to knit. After diving into the fingering/sock wt stash --- rejecting pink, bright teal, purple, and some bright blue/green mix (what has happened to all my GREY???, and what are THOSE colours doing in my stash?) ---a yarn shop trip might be in my future.  

But, Saturday I planned to have some girlfriend time.  Last year, a friend and I decided that time spent together was worth far more than any gift exchange, so we carved out the day to shop and EAT!! in Franklin, TN, a cute, historic town south of Nashville.  We both had to get home early, it's 2 1/2 hours  2 hours (she was driving) away, so we left early, early, early.  Got there a bit before stores opened at 10.  Just outside the town, though, we spotted a sign in a big field that said something to the effect of...parking for Dickens; shuttle service available. ?????

And immediately, the line of traffic we were in came to a crawl and then a halt.  ?????

As we inched our way into town, we saw a $10 parking area that was just about full; we swerved in, parked and threw ourselves in to the mix of the wildest holiday fair (or is that Fare in Dickensonian?)  I've ever seen.  The 70 degree weather definitely played a role in the fact that already 1000s of people were jammed into the 5 block area closed to traffic.  Craft booths lined both sides of the street.  Dickens characters roamed the crowds.  (I saw Tiny Tim, Fagan, Scrooge, Christmas past, St. Nicholas and dozens and dozens more within minutes.)  Street musicians played at every intersection and a main stage, already full of performers, blasted holiday tunes.  It was crazy fun and I was without my camera.  Sorry.

In light of what we found ourselves in...we decided that lunch at 10:30 sounded just right if we wanted to eat at our favorite restaurant.  (It was one of the reasons we were there, after all.)  And it turned out that Merridee's had just published a cookbook (which we both bought, sight unseen).  Could the day really get better than this?

After lunch, the crowd had quadrupled, so we quickly shopped in one store, noticed that crowd had at least doubled since we entered the store, and decided that we had had all the fun we could handle in Franklin for the day.  It seemed to take hours to baby-step our way back to the car---shoulder-to-shoulder with all of western Tennessee.

 

Since we left Franklin earlier than expected, we stopped in Nashville at the Ta/Bu event advertised on Fringe Supply blog/instagram.  Interesting. Fringe was the most appealing of the venues to us, but Karen does such a good job of marketing her supplies, that there really wasn't much we hadn't seen before. Time to go home.

Yarn store, anyone?  How about stores?

The first was very so-so, but the other was a hidden little gem that neither of us had been to--and just an hour+ from home.  (Yarn Asylum, Clarksville, TN.  Don't you love the name?)

I was so focused on the man-sock yarn, that I failed to load up on new-to-me hand dyed yarns that I dreamed about last night.  

 

Road trip, anyone?

 

joining Karen for weekending.

Comments

[valerie]

Road trip - me, please!

[Andrea @ This Knitted Life]

Yarn Asylum, yes! Sounds perfect. Good luck with the Man Socks.

[rusty duck]

I'm going to have to try Baa-ble... SO cute!!

[Jenna K]

1. I'm dying to knit a Baa-ble hat!! 2. Franklin is a darling town :) I went last spring for a craft fair with a friend who lives in Brentwood...I haven't tried Merridee's, maybe next time. 3. Yarn Asylum? Sign me up. :) Sounds like a fantastic weekend...and I definitely agree that time spent with friends is far more fun than a gift exchange!

[DIane]

I love your Baa-ble hat. That is one I've had in my queue for a while. Time to finally get at it. Besides the knitting, I couldn't agree more about how important and enriching time spent with friends can be.

[Alina]

Oh, your post made me miss road trips so much!!! We haven't taken one for awhile and I love them so much. And Yarn Asylum? Hmm, I think I can call my bedroom like this :)

[Andi]

I love a good road trip, especially if it involves food and yarn. But then again crowds would freak me out. Always lovely happenings, Steph!

[Tracey]

You lucky duck, you go to all the neatest places!
Love the hat, I want to knit one too, but need to
visit the yarn store, darn. ;)

[Mari]

Congratulations! And what fun to enjoy such a delightful outing :-)

[DKnits]

What a fun post! Thanks for sharing your day with us:)
Oh Steph! I'm soooo in love with your hat!

[Tahnee]

Yarn Asylym is such a great name!! And the baable hat looks great, so cute!

[Sara]

I think baa-ble is next on my list after this force hat! Idk how you get through things so fast!

Yarn Asylum must be for crazy yarn ladies...I don't know any of those, do you?

[Debby]

Oh yes on the road trip...It sounds like you had an awesome weekend. When did you manage to knit those socks so fast!
Hope the rest of the is as much fun,
debx

[Jennifer]

It sounds like you had an awesome weekend! Wow. You know how to do a road trip right. I love that sheep hat. Just beautiful. Oh, how I wish I could master knitting. My husband, major fan of all things sheepy, would wear that hat every day for the rest of his life if I made it for him. :)

[karen]

yay for a baable hat, I am on my second...I'm going to keep on making them until I run out of a color :) I am so glad you had fun with your friend!! Now those crowds do not sound like fun at all but craft fairs would make me feel a bit better.

[MelissaPurls]

That hat is sooo cute...and I think I might have colors to make one!

[susan]

I am on my way to the yarn store this week for supplies to start that sweet sheep hat. Its adorable. I don't normally wear hats but I may make an exception

[ellen]

Sounds like a fantastic weekend! I think you and I were mentally connected as I bought some sock yarn that looks suspiciously similar!

Anyhow can we talk about this: "a couple hours later, the socks and slippers were added to the Christmas pile." Who are you Super Knitter and where did you hone these super powers? crazy pants!!

And then washable worsted? What asylum did yous say you hail from?

[steph@woolythyme]

not all that superhuman, believe me......the pair of dorm socks was about an inch from being done, awaiting that mail-order yarn!!!  And the slippers were for a 6 yo.  :)

[autumngeisha]

Now I reeeaaalllyy need to knit a baa-ble hat. So cute! I enjoyed your road trip shenanigans. Love the idea of a Dickens/Holiday fair but it must have been so bizarre for you both at the time.