Heather, Heather, Heather! And a String of Purls!

Hello Fellow Knit-Heads,
Well I am SO happy to report I am back in Austin, TX. Nebraska weather was just too much for my always-freezing self. But before I left that state (switching my flight ahead two days to avoid a predicted blizzard), I had a most wonderful encounter. Suzanne knew I was flying out of Omaha after my trip to Lincoln. She excitedly informed me that the Most Beloved Heather, who used to so cheerfully help us out at HCW, now lives in Omaha. She sent contact info and Heather and I connected and made a plan to meet up at String of Purls, that city's totally kick ass knit shop.

I got there first, and was pretty blown away by SOP. The nice folks at The Yarn Shop in Lincoln had told me that SOP has a very curious method of organizing inventory. Instead of putting yarns together by brand or weight or fiber content, just about all the fibers are organized by color! Very interesting visual effect. And what makes the place even more fun is that, while you'll see walls of one color or another, all around the store there are any number of bright, multi-color objects like furniture and paintings. Speaking of furniture, there are cozy overstuffed chairs and couches around a fireplace in the main room. And there's a bright teaching room off to one side, but with a wide open doorway (wait, bigger than a doorway-- maybe we say "no doorway") so that there's a nice community feel.

I plopped down and started talking to a couple of knitters and a couple of the store owners. I know I don't have to say it, but let me say it anyway: it is SO easy to shoot the knit with others. I love how you don't have to explain or defend your passion. And I love how, after ten years of knitting (the first four focused on garter-only rectangles), I finally understand what people mean when they refer to "broken cables" or "top down cardigans."


Then, whoosh, in came Heather, as bright and shiny as y'all might recall and we had the best knit-and-chat session, getting caught up. Heather's still adjusting to the weather-- if I lived in Omaha, I'm sure I'd spend the rest of my life adjusting to the weather. But she's got a job she loves at Gallup, and a nice house, and many, many, many opportunities to wear her knitted goods. In fact, the day we met, she had on a gorgeous sweater and scarf and was working on a lovely lacy cowl.

I was so glad for the company, and filled with more than a little gratitude when Heather actually led me from String of Purls to the airport-- a labyrinth I never could've navigated on my own. H promises to visit Austin soon, and I hereby proclaim that when she does, we will have a KnitBuzz party in her honor.

So thanks, Heather. And thanks String of Purls. I can't wait to try out that alpaca I bought with that two-sided cable pattern y'all generously shared.
spike