Hidden Treasures

Gratuitous kid picture.

I've been terrible about getting stuff up on the blog for the last several months. Obviously. Not a day goes by that I don't compose something in my head, though. It's usually at the end of the day, when I've finally managed to apply enough duct tape to the kids and their beds that not even my most determined Houdini could escape and I've collapsed in a pile of empty tape rolls, laundry, and past due notices. 

And, let me just tell you. Those articles I write? Br-ill-iant. 

Insightful, intelligent, poignantly worded from start to finish. 

Maybe I just dreamt all that. 

I'm pretty sure they were that good though.

So while I haven't been writing for the blog, I have been writing articles for the Seattle Knitters Guild's newsletter for a while now. It's a fun way to write, combining things that I love and putting them on paper. Sort of. The paper bit is the sort of, not the fun. It's actually on my computer. I have no patience for writing this stuff out by hand.

So, while I scrounge around and attempt to make some sense out of the vaguely coherent scribbles I found in a notebook next to my bed, here's a little piece I wrote for the latest Cablegram. (It's a literary AND a knitterary reference. You see what we did there?) 

Enjoy. 

(If you don't enjoy, I'm ok with that. But don't give me any of that, "That's a whole five and a half minutes that I'll never get back..." blah blah. No one is forcing you to read this.)

Also, this particular post is possessed. The fonts and text sizes have become self-aware and have their own agenda. Try not to notice them out loud. They'll hear you.

Gratuitous North Cascades Highway photo.

I love visiting yarn shops. Nearly all my travel planning involves at some point in the process a Google search of the area. ‘Local Yarn Stores in (enter name of destination here)’ gets typed into my search browser so frequently that it's starting to pop up just when I type in the letter 'L'. It’s like a passport of recent destinations, all in my search history.

But there’s only so much that Google can tell you, and it’s in those unlisted places that I find the real treasure. The nook and cranny shops, the mom and pop stores whose doors you duck through as an afterthought. It’s always in these sorts of places that I discover my favorite finds. When I’m least expecting it, I come across a basket of locally grown, dyed, and spun yarn brought in from a nearby sheep farm, or a set of hand-turned needles made by a retired school teacher living just up the road.

On a whim last week, I packed up the kids and the dog and took off for one of my favorite spots in the world. We drove out highway 20, and wandered through the North Cascades until we got to a cabin on the side of a mountain halfway between Winthrop and Mazama. There’s no cell phone signal, no wifi, no cable. Nothing. We all adore it out there, and getting to visit all the little shops is one of the highlights.

The Dirt Road of Near Death and Terror that we take to get up to the cabin. Sure, it's a narrow, pitted track with a several hundred foot drop off the side of a cliff. I have three kids in the car. And, a dog. I'm a driving ninja.

Yarny treasure at the Mazama Store.

At this point, I know I shouldn’t ever be too surprised to come across random yarn, but vacation done right means I’m not thinking three steps ahead. So I was surprised when, in the charming Mazama Store, I came across a basket of yarn, hats, and blankets for sale. It was gorgeous stuff, and lovingly made. The colors were a perfect echo of the view out my window.

I found other fiber offerings throughout the week, just as I have in all my travels. It thrills me to know that no matter where I find myself, there will be someone nearby who loves knitting and creating something out of an unassuming ball of string as much as I do. And as much as I do love knitting, I have to admit, I might just love the adventure of discovering something new a teensy bit more.