[SUMMARY: Hold the presses!]
OK, I got more than one yarn in the mail, but I only took pictures of this portion of the posted yarn because the other yarn is all undyed and how bloggable is that?†
See, this came from Yarny Goodness, Pam's new eStore, so it's special‡ for more reasons than one.
One, it came from Pam and I love Pam. If Pam had been selling Red Heart™ Squeaky Fronds Bulky,§ I would've purchased a couple of skeins just to show my solidarity with her cause.
Fortunately, (two) part of the reason I love Pam is because of her excellent taste, so I wasn't forced to make that sort of buying decision.
Three, Pam not only has excellent taste, but she carries indie¶ dyers and crafters you probably never heard of.#
There used to be a lot of exaltation and anticipation in travel for finding things you couldn't find at home. Like cuisines and gifty stuff.
[SUMMARY: Duck! It's a segueway!]
Finding some cool thing in a store in Sonoma when I was fourteen and bringing it back to Aurora, Colorado, to show my friends... that was a way cool part of the travel experience. The bottle of iridescent nail polish (with real crushed opals!) was as good a souvenir, and as evocative of its origin as any "Wine Country" t-shirt I could have found.††
[SUMMARY: When I was your age...]
With transportation and the Innernets being what they are today, it's easy to go to NYC or LA or Chicago and find whole stretches of road where you might as well not even have left home.
Even finding a cool yarn store at your vacation destination often isn't *that* cool% because so few yarn stores carry independent dyers or handspun yarns. Even if your favouritest LYS doesn't carry one particular fibre fantasy you stumble upon in (f'rinstance) Sheridan, Wyoming, you probably know which hometown yarn store does carry it.
I've long known I have a vague dissatisfaction with travel because it isn't like it was when I was a kid, when a different city in a different state brought a whole new world. Oh, sure, museums are always a thrill,‡‡ but there's something sad about Applebee's on every corner and a Berroco in every LYS bin. Or the fact that so many yarns -- even those I find at festivals -- can be had in a blink from an Innernets "add to cart?" site.
[SUMMARY: ...wolf behind every tree...]
Yes, that's good in some ways. No denying it. But I really like stuff I can get sentimental about.
When I first started Knitting-with-a-capital-K, I was in awe and wonder over the variety of yarn beyond worsted weight acrylic in solids and variegated. A lot of my useless stash is the product of buying pretty yarn because it was pretty,§§ with no idea what I would do with it or how much I needed. Every time I go through my stash and see some of the shiny, furry, fuzzy, thick, halo'd yarns, they remind me of that joy of discovery.
[SUMMARY: ...uphill both ways...]
I hadn't quite put a fine point on my love for Etsy and small-batch dyers like Schaefer Yarn Company and the much missed Cider Moon, but that's it! I like one-of-a-kind or "these are my first Fearless Fibers socks -- once I knit their yarn I was hooked!"
So to get back to my point,¶¶ Pam offers that kind of discovery and rarity that makes fibre fun.
Looky what I got^:
From right to left, Knitspirations in Fall Leaves, Oriri Draco Designs in Bleeding Heart and a skein of STR Lightweight in Carbon Dating,## which I won in a drawing during Pam's grand opening.
I got extras, too.††† A refrigerator magnet, a sock tag...
...a lavender sachet, chocolate...
...and a very nice handwritten note to boot.‡‡‡
[SUMMARY: ...and your grandfather drove RIGHT BY ME EVERY MORNING and wouldn't even give me a ride.]
Certainly, I'm slurping Pam and hope you will feel compelled to shop with her, but this is also an ode to the ecstasy of serendipity, the sentimentality of objects and the spirit of fine craftsmanship.
[SUMMARY: A lot of big words for "Pretty! Mine!"]
In the spirit of boldly going, I must share this with you:
See, Stacey put a picture of Pop Tarts on her blog last week and I am very susceptible to suggestion so I realised just how long it had been since I'd had a Pop Tart and the craving grew and grew and by the time I got to the grocery store to buy toilet paper that night I'd damn near forgotten the toilet paper with my all-consuming need for Pop Tarts.
Then I saw these and thought, "Healthy!"
[SUMMARY: Sucker!]
So I "compromised" with healthy Pop Tarts.§§§ It's all about the feeling rather than the facts.
How am I not a Democrat with that mindset?
†FOOTNOTE (crossed): None. None bloggable.
‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): Not "short bus to the blog" special, "unique and wonderful" special.
§FOOTNOTE (swerved): NOT ™ by Red Heart.™ Don't sue me, Red Heart.™ I don't have anything you want anyway.
¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Indy? "Indie" looks awkward and "Indy" looks like checkered flags and southern accents.
#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Yet.
††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Less likely to get me sent to the principal's office too.
%FOOTNOTE (percented): Product-wise. There are some lovely yarn shops that are experiential marvels, they just don't offer any new merchandise.
‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Is it just me or are there even a lot more travelling museum exhibits these days? Mind you, I've never actually gone to, say, Philadelphia and seen their permanent version of a travelling exhibit I saw at home, but it seems that day could be coming.
§§FOOTNOTE (whirl): Also? Mom went on a lot of those journeys with me -- even bought me souvenir yarn when she went on vacation. Those are utterly sentimental yarns.
¶¶FOOTNOTE (clubbing along): And I did have one.
^FOOTNOTE (careted): Prettier pics on Ravelry soon.
##FOOTNOTE (two pounds of snarky in a one-pound bag): Discontinued. You can't have it.
†††FOOTNOTE (one goth's ear's worth of crosses): And you know what a sucker I am for extras. I can't remember the last time Michael's gave me lavender or a handwritten note with my purchase.
‡‡‡FOOTNOTE (I've been working on the railroad): Pam has the neatest handwriting I've ever seen. It looks like a FONT, it's so even.
§§§FOOTNOTE (look at the spin I put on this!): Justifi-CA-tion!
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