Yarn Shopping En Route

Driving 3400km isn't all hard work. This year, we have a couple of extra days to kill before picking up our condo key on South Padre Island. For once, we are taking our time driving through Texas, stopping at places of interest to us.

Today the plan was to stop at La Grange, halfway between San Antonio and Houston, to visit a fabric and yarn shop, The Quilted Skein, that looked very inviting on line.

We arrived there after 5 hours of driving from where we stayed last night, very little of which was interstate driving. We were mostly on 2 lane highways where the posted speed limit was 70mph. Most of the time, we were able to drive the speed limit so it wasn't too frustrating getting stuck behind the odd truck or motor home. There were passing lanes or small towns every few miles where we could get past the slow pokes.

We had no trouble finding The Quilted Skein, half a block down a side street off the main street.

Skip had to take this action shot of me going in. (note: I am now sporting flip flops)

The yarn shop is beautifully laid out with fabric on one side

 

and the yarn on the other side.

There is also more fabric (Skip calls it 'cloth') and yarn in the back room.

Even the bathroom was tastefully decorated with quilted pieces.

This one resembles an ancient Sumarian image:

 This quilt was a very clever way to display several Panamanian molas.

 There were several other colourful quilts on display in the shop.

I like how this one was quilted just with straight, parallel lines.

Next door is the Texas Quilt Museum, which we didn't visit this time.

Beside the museum is this painted mural

and a 'grandmother's flower garden'.

The downtown of La Grange is still well occupied with banks, businesses, and interesting shops.

And what did I buy?

A lovely multi-coloured skein of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn. I have a Hitchiker in mind for this - or something similar.

I also purchased some Vice sock yarn.

The dyer uses knitted blocks of doubled sock yarn, dyes them, then unravels them and winds them separately so identical twins can be knit.

It's Freia-esque.

Now to find the perfect pattern for 'blurred lines' striped sock yarn.

Pattern suggestions for it and the Jitterbug yarn are gratefully welcome.