Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I Found My LYS

One day, I will not need to physically type my blog posts.  When this day comes, you will all be graced with the eloquence and depth of the dozens of posts I have written in my head mere seconds after the thoughts occur to me.

This day will come shortly after the day we will all be able to take picture with a mere blink of the eyes and then it would be only a matter of mental concentration to implant them into my wonderful, thoughtful, inspiring blog posts (blog posts which, if you remember, don't have to be typed).

That day, unfortunately, is not today.  I say unfortunately because for many of the posts I have written in my head, the time has passed for them to be relevant.  It is unfortunate also because this post will now be devoid of pictures.

I am popping in only shortly to let you all know that I am still alive and my move to Pittsburgh was relatively uneventful.  Uneventful in the sense that the event of my hot water turning on didn't happen for a week.  Uneventful in the sense that the event of my knitting didn't happen.  Uneventful in the sense that the event of my having internet in my apartment has yet to happen.

Luckily events are now happening.  I have hot water, I am knitting (though have nothing to show you because I haven't taken any pictures), and although I still don't have internet at home, I can use it on campus when I'm here (I'm posting between practice sessions).

...and today, the biggest event of all happened.  After class, instead of dutifully marching to a practice room to practice my heart out, I climbed into my car and went for a bit of a ride.  A bit of a ride turned into quite the expedition after several wrong turns (thanks, Googlemaps...) and several episodes of construction causing me to end up nowhere near where I wanted to be.  (Here's a secret about Pittsburgh: there are three rivers.  If you accidentally cross a bridge, crossing another one does not, as you might think, ensure that you will be on the correct side of the river again.  Just thought I'd warn you.)

Once I found my way, I was able to hunt down my as-yet-unknown destination and finally, after driving a good three miles down the road of my googlemaps location, I had arrived.

I had arrived at my new LYS.  (that was spoken rather dramatically).

I wish I had pictures.  I really do.  I walked in and gasped (and I don't gasp easily).  An entire wall of cascade 220!  The most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen.  And what's that behind me?  Shelf after shelf of Malabrigo?  I swooned.  And next to the Malabrigo?  Manos.  On the other side of the shelves?  Dream in Color and Madelinetosh!  They had Noro like you wouldn't believe, incredible lace yarns.  Need Jamieson's for colorwork?  They have it.  Sock yarns, bulky yarns, washable yarns, books...  I nearly fainted.  Every turn I made brought my toward more and more wide-eyed happenings.  And when I thought it couldn't get better, I made it to the back.  In the back, next to the books, past the shelves and shelves of every yarn I ever dreamed I might find, was spinning fiber.  Spinning fiber!!!  I barely even spin anymore, but I nearly collapsed at that point.  This place has it all.

Here are some texts I sent to my sister while I was there:

"Holy crap, I just found the BEST yarn shop!"

"Oh my god, this store has EVERYTHING!"

"It's unbelievable!  A whole wall of Cascade 220.  It's a rainbow!"

"I feel like I just played hookie from school..."

I take it back, I did not find my new LYS.  I have found my new home.

If you need me, you know where to find me.  (And they're open until 9pm!!!)

19 comments:

  1. Wow, that does sound like quite the LYS!

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  2. Peter.....I followed your link to the LYS website. I also gasped when I saw the picture of that wall on their site. Yikes! Good thing I live nowhere near Pittsburgh!

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  3. all that yarn AND they are open until 9pm....I think I need to move

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  4. Peter,
    You are so funny! I laughed when I read your post. It definitely sounds like you have found "THE" perfect place for all your knitting needs. I call myself a yarn whore and I would also be ecstatic. LOL...

    Anyway, congrats on your move!

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  5. By the way, I finally figured out why I couldn't post to your blog. I have been using Firefox and for some reason, it prevents me from posting. As soon I logged in using Internet Explorer, everything worked fine. Go figure!

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  6. Your LYS sounds amazing. Are you sure you're not making this up? Madelinetosh AND Dream in Color? Surely that doesn't occur often. I hope that many more 'events' come your way soon.

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  7. Once you get your bearings, you won't even need to cross any rivers to get there! And next time you get to where Forbes crosses Braddock, turn to your right and wave at my old house.

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  8. I may be repeating myself, but while you're into driving expeditions, you really oughta take a trip down to Frank Lloyd Wright's FallingWater. It's worth taking the tour!

    I'm so glad I live too far away to visit said yarn shop. That would be very detrimental to my health, I'm afraid. Financial health, that is.

    Good luck with all your practicing!

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  9. Bet THEY have hot water somewhere inside too. :)

    Congrats on landing in your new place. Sounds like the 'burgh is gonna be good to you.

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  10. I'm glad you got to Pittsburgh. I was wondering how your relocation was going. Sorry to hear about your week of cold showers, but at least you were rewarded with an awesome LYS!

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  11. Woohoo!! Glad to hear you're still alive. I was worried there for a bit. Sorry things aren't turning out to be fantastic but it sounds like you made a great discovery. Actually, I'm quite jealous. I want a LYS that is open until 9pm... If I owned an LYS, it would be open late... Who has time to shop during the day?!

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  12. I guess I can stop worrying about whether or not you'll be happy in PGH now. ;^)

    xo

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  13. HOKEY SMOKES! Look at that wall of Cascade! Yowza. You made me laugh about the three bridges...

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  14. Sounds as though you had quite an adventurous tour of the city, and finding such a wonderful destination. Just remember, you cannot buy all the yarn in the shoppe, you need to leave some for the fellow knitters/crochets in Pittsburgh.

    Good to read that you made it to Pittsburgh safely. I'm looking forward to reading of your further adventures of the city.

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  15. Uh-oh.. Are you sure you are going to get any studying done?

    Don't worry (not that you were) - every time I get to touch yarn I have only drooled at over the interwebs I start to tingle. It's an exciting thing! I managed to sneak into the actual Patternworks store a few weeks ago and thought I was going to have a moment.

    Enjoy the Mid-Atlantic!

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  16. Welcome to Pittsburgh and especially to Natural Stitches. Hope to see you knitting at the shoppe sometime.

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  17. Welcome to your new home(LYS)! I'm actually in Pennsylvania now too--could we have possibly planned that better?? I'm glad you were able to find a place that could hold rank with IRIS--I'm already starting to miss it there. Take care for now and happy knitting! :)

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  18. My God, I loved this store, but unfortunately they do not deliver in Brazil. I love your blog, always when I can I come here to see some things and read your posts. Congratulations on your space here and for his work! A big hug from Brazil, Leo.

    P.S.: Sorry about my bad english. rs

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