I made a mistake when I said the Creme Brulee was part of Webs’ store brand of yarn. In the comments, Johanna said she had been looking for some all over the place, then Lauren asked if Knit One Crochet Too was really Webs own yarn. So I looked it up and Knit One Crochet Too is not actually theirs. They do have their own line, but now I don’t know what it’s called. Sorry about any confusion!

Does anyone remember what Webs yarn is called?

Stay tuned for pictures of my haul from Rhinebeck. Also, I just got back from seeing the Yarn Harlot at the Willow Bookstore and it was such fun! I met a group of amazing and hilarious ladies and we all for drinky-drinks after Stephanie finished her authorly duties. More on that tomorrow, too.

And it rocked! I didn’t bring a camera, but there are plenty of photos floating around the internets. Besides, it’s kind of tough to document girlish glee.

My travel mates, Melanie and Kellee were the best. We worked out sort of an unspoken system of parting and regrouping throughout the day. Rather than lingering or rushing, we pretty much moved at our own paces, but managed to come together after just about every yarn barn. It was like a little dance. Cell phones also helped immensely.

We headed out on Friday morning. Kellee drove her little turbo-charged rocket car and it was nice to just be a passenger for a change. When I work in the office (3-4 times a week), I have about an hour drive each way. The upside of this is that the drive to NY seemed to take no time. This was due in large part to my delightful companions, but also because I’m a slave to the Mass Pike and its wanton toll-collecting ways.

We made sure to leave early because we wanted to make a pit stop on the way to the great Empire state. It just so happens that Webs is conveniently located between Point A and Point B, so it would have been inconsiderate of us not to stop by and peruse their offerings. Having never experienced Webs in person, I was anxious to get there. Upon arrival, we headed straight for the bathroom. They have a little sofa in there. I love that. It made me want to sit and knit in the can for a while. This was the first of many bathroom visits. Between Melanie’s wombmates and my thimble-sized bladder, toilet-trekking made up a considerable amount of our weekend activities. Once we checked that off the list of things to do, we roamed Webs’ vast warehouse. My brain had a tough time processing the endless rows of coned yarn at first. It’s a bit much, so I just petted the chenille for a while. But once I got my bearings, it was a feast for the fingertips. There were all kinds of fiber, from scratchy rug wool to smooth-as-silk . . . well, silk. There was even a shelf of coned tinsel in an array of Barbie doll colors. For a moment, I wondered if a tinsel afghan would be a reasonable project to embark upon, and then I thought of Dot wandering around with a two-foot-long metallic rainbow trailing behind her. Although the other cats would probably enjoy their new living cat toy immensely, I thought better of it and eventually settled on this collection of goodies:

The cone is some sort of cotton/poly ribbons stuff that I’m going to use for Nuthin’ but a T-shirt. I also got some of Web’s house brand superwash called Crƒ¨me Brulee. I got enough for some kind of sweater, but I don’t know which yet. I also couldn’t pass up the super-soft Berrocco Pleasure that was on close-out. I would have if they hadn’t provided a knitted sample to lure me in. I got enough for a scarf and I just need to find a pattern for something knit on a diagonal. That’s what they had knit for the sample and it was very plain, but quite fetching. And sort of French, in a way.

I also found some squatters living among this year’s selection of knitting magazines. These little stowaways were huddled in the corner together, no doubt doing their best to go unnoticed. But my eyes are trained to catch even the slightest hint of an outdated hairdo or the twinkle of a clown’s glittering nose. So I plucked these survivors of the Great Pattern Purge of Nineteen and Ninety-Two from their hidey-holes and took them home where they could be mocked (and MOKSed) properly.

We also had the pleasure of meeting two fellow knit bloggers who were slaving away behind the cash registers. Imagine, we hadn’t even hit Rhinebeck yet, and already the bloggers were springing up! They were sweet as pie (like strawberry rhubarb or chocolate cream, not some nasty mincemeat) and wrapped up our shopping spree just perfectly. One was the SPARKnits, who immediately appreciated those knitting magazines for their unapologetic awfulness. The other gal recognized Melanie’s sweater as a Rogue as soon as we walked in, which I thought was so cool. Of course, I can’t for the life of me remember her blog name. I do know it’s on LiveJournal, but she’s making the switch to Blogspot soon. Damn. If you’re her and you read this, can you put your blog name in the comments? Pleeease?

Once we had spent a good portion of our yarn budgets before even leaving the state, we pressed on and headed for the promised land of Sheep and Wool.

Stay tuned! I will continue tomorrow and give you the scoop on the rest of the weekend, washed-out bridges and all!

Oh, I’m also going to do my darndest to make it here tonight. Anyone else?

I’b totally sick today. By nose is all stuffed ub, and yet it’s running like a faucet. Gross. It’s so stuffy that I can only breath through by bouth, so by borning iced coffee was a real treat. I was afraid that while I was drinking through the straw I would create a vacuum and imblode, bossibly sucking by head right into the straw! Lucky for be and cars near be, this was not the case. But I did try to swallow with by bouth oben, just id case.

~~haa-chooo~~

****sssnnnsnnnnnnngggghghghhhhhhhh*****

Excuse be.

But I refuse to be sick for Rhinebeck. Even if I am, I’b still going. Hobefully Kellee and Belanie won’t mind all by sniffling. Ban, this sucks! I feel like I’ve got a whole cat stuffed in by sinuses! I was hoping by allergy medicine would helb, but it hasn’t. At least there’s Nyquil sweet nectar of the sick. And Buffs Blus tissues! Those are the best. Jon has this cold, too, so we ran out of Buffs Blus and have resorted to toilet baber. It’s not a bretty scene at Chez Yarnbants.

I think I’b gonna need a thicker sweater for this weekend. Babybe I’ll make one of these babies. I still have time! At least you’d be able to find be. Just follow the bointing and laughing.

I could stuff the sleeves with all the yarn I buy! (is it just be, or does this look just like Heather Graham?)

I could totally half-ass the sleeves AND hood and end ub looking like a frightened turtle wearing beach-colored wrist gauntlets.

Or I could just boke a hole in an afghan and call it a freaking day.

I’b totally sick today. By nose is all stuffed ub, and yet it’s running like a faucet. Gross. It’s so stuffy that I can only breath through by bouth, so by borning iced coffee was a real treat. I was afraid that while I was drinking through the straw I would create a vacuum and imblode, bossibly sucking by head right into the straw! Lucky for be and cars near be, this was not the case. But I did try to swallow with by bouth oben, just id case.

~~haa-chooo~~

****sssnnnsnnnnnnngggghghghhhhhhhh*****

Excuse be.

But I refuse to be sick for Rhinebeck. Even if I am, I’b still going. Hobefully Kellee and Belanie won’t mind all by sniffling. Ban, this sucks! I feel like I’ve got a whole cat stuffed in by sinuses! I was hoping by allergy medicine would helb, but it hasn’t. At least there’s Nyquil sweet nectar of the sick. And Buffs Blus tissues! Those are the best. Jon has this cold, too, so we ran out of Buffs Blus and have resorted to toilet baber. It’s not a bretty scene at Chez Yarnbants.

I think I’b gonna need a thicker sweater for this weekend. Babybe I’ll make one of these babies. I still have time! At least you’d be able to find be. Just follow the bointing and laughing.

I could stuff the sleeves with all the yarn I buy! (is it just be, or does this look just like Heather Graham?)

I could totally half-ass the sleeves AND hood and end ub looking like a frightened turtle wearing beach-colored wrist gauntlets.

Or I could just boke a hole in an afghan and call it a freaking day.

Today I have shoe p0rn for you. Charlene and I are going to Spain early in November (more about that in the coming days), and I needed some good shoes to traverse the narrow streets of Seville.

No, wait, wrong Seville. I meant this one. The one littered with frilly Flamenco dancers.

I also needed some to stroll in the rolling farmlands surrounding our pension in Andalucia.

Sometimes when I look at that picture, I think I’m just going to pass out from sighing so much. I mean, should anything be allowed to look so peaceful and welcoming? ~sssiiiiigggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~

*thud*

Whoops! There I went. OK, enough fooling around. I’ll write all about the trip soon. But for now, let’s get to the good stuff. New shoes. I’ve finally decided that I’m done spending smaller amounts of money more often on cheap, crappy shoes that fall apart after the first couple of weeks. I will never again slip my feet into what smells like a pair of day-old carcasses. And no. More. Blisters. EVER!!!! Nope, I’m going to spend that money on fewer pairs of well made shoes that will last longer and provide more support than a couple of empty Kleenex boxes.

And so I started this magical shoe odyssey with Dansko, the mother of all comfortable shoes. I give you Folly. This photo isn’t all that great, you can see them a lot better on their website. One of the things I love about Dansko is that they come right out and call it a bowling show. A lot of companies would shy away from this comparison. I happen to love the look of bowling shoes, which is why I picked them out immediately. These babies are right up my alley. har har.

And then I stumbled upon the NAOT display. Wow. Comfortable, practical, and most of all, adorable. May I introduce Camila. These are like hugs for your feet from the second you put them on. They have a removable cork insole that molds to your feet. When it wears down, you can just get a new one. Amazing! I love the little pattern on them, and it’s highlighted with a bit of stitching for extra fancy goodness. I really liked them in brown, they look great with jeans. But I also wanted to wear them with a skirt, and as stupid as it sounds, I don’t know how to wear brown shoes with skirts. Since I can’t pack too many shoes for our trip, I needed a shoe that could be casual or a bit dressier, so I had to order them in black. And yet the brown were so pretty. So they came home with me, too.

I dare say that these are the types of shoes I’m likely to have cobbled. What a concept, shoes worth repairing. Hot damn! I’m going to take them for a test run at Rhinebeck. Give ¢â‚¬Ëœem a little work out to break them in.

But the day of decadence didn’t stop there. I also happened to be in Porter Square, so I popped into Mind’s Eye yarn shop and nabbed a little treat for myself. I got three balls of Marks and Katten “Dream”. It’s got just a pinch of angora, hopefully not enough to make my nose twitchy, but just enough to make me want to pet my future scarf all day. I set up a little threesome to show just how hedonistic I was feeling after buying such lovely things for myself.

And then Mike got bored with the shoes and the yarn, so he brought his toy to the door and said “Heeeeere’s Mikey!” in a very sinister way. He also claimed that all work and no play makes Mike a dull boy, so I decided it was best to do as he said.