And then there were 3!!!!
We’re having a great visit here with Josh and Taylor and now a surprise visit from our daughter, Dare. She is spending a couple of weeks with us until she flies out of Denver to Anchorage, Alaska for a seasonal job in Denali! I’m a little jealous….
Somebody should knit that sheep a sweater!!!!!
She went with me to Abilene, KS the other day to visit The Shivering Sheep yarn shop. The shop was located downtown and right next to a quilt shop. It was quite small but had a big selection of yarn. There was not a place to sit and knit but the owner did say they were a large group of knitters in the area. The thing that fascinated me in the Shivering Sheep was a large number of felted hats! They’re bowler hats in all different colors that the owner had made and sells. (I wish I had taken a picture ☹)
He coined the term military-industrial complex and he was right!!!!
In addition to yarn shops, Abilene is the home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. I saw several specialty car tags with the campaign sticker design, “I like Ike”. There is also the Greyhound Hall of Fame, Seelye Mansion and the Russell Stover Candy Company – we had to go there! {ED. NOTE – Of course you did!!!} The company store had candy from front to back! A large counter is at the front for those who wanted fudge, individual truffles, candy apples and other treats. Through the rest of the store is boxes and boxes of assorted chocolates – first quality, seconds and bloopers (candy that didn’t hold up to visual standards). We came home with a few goodies 😊! {ED. NOTE – They are all gone now!!}
The whole family thanks you!!!
On Saturday, the WHOLE family went on an excursion to Kansas City (about 2 hours away)! I went for yarn shops, they went because they love me (and I told them I would drop them at the mall). So, I dropped them at the mall for lunch and went to two yarn shops within 5 miles of the mall in Overland Park.
At least it wasn’t someone’s front yard!!!!
First I went to Yarn Shop & More, which I did have a little difficulty in finding. Google Maps took me to the correct shopping center but I wound up on the wrong side. So, I walked through the middle of the mall and found the shop there.
Well, this is different!!!
I was impressed from the moment I walked in! The yarn was in cubbies along the wall, by color, from the lightest colored yarns to the darkest yarns! I LOVED it! It was just so striking! I was greeted immediately and told that most of those yarns were wool or wool blend and they were also separated somewhat by weight. So, if you wanted to start a sweater in a particular color, you could easily go to that color section and find the weight of yarn you need.
In the middle were shorter cubbies holding sock yarns, baby yarns and cotton blends. The shop was very light and airy and a pleasure to visit! {ED. NOTE – See you don’t need to buy something in EVERY shop!!!!}
Yes, I do!!!
Next, I drove over to The Studio Knitting & Needlepoint about 5 miles down the road. This shop was larger but didn’t seem to have as much yarn as others I’ve been in lately. The shop was split between yarn and needlepoint supplies. There were two different tables for sitting and knitting or working on needlepoint with people at both tables. There was a very interesting lady who asked me what project I wanted to work on and then stayed with me helping me find yarns that might work. Not my favorite way to shop – I felt like I couldn’t just look around to see what was there. I wasn’t getting out of there without yarn for that project!
This is becoming an interesting habit!!!!
I picked everyone up at the mall and went to Boulevard Brewing Company and took a tour. It was our second beer tour in Missouri – this time, Kansas City, Missouri. The brewery was not near as old as Anheuser-Busch but the history was very interesting and we had a great guide. We sampled some beer and then headed to our next stop – Lawrence, Kansas. {ED. NOTE – The process is the same as it has been for about 6000 years, the scale is very different (as are the ingredient blends, particularly the yeast and hops)}
I was hoping to stop by the Yarn Barn of Kansas but arrived right as they were closing.
{ED. NOTE – Ok, this is probably my fault!!!} Yep….
Oodles of Noodles!!!!
While in Lawrence, we headed over to Ramen Bowls for dinner and then made a stop at Brothers Bar & Grill for whisky and coke icees! Josh and I both love a coke icee – how could we leave Lawrence without a whiskey and coke icee?!?! They were very tasty!!! Taylor was sweet enough to play beer pong with me for my very first time (we played quarters in the ’80s!) After that, a quick ride home with the hubs as designated driver 😊! A very long but enjoyable day! {ED. NOTE – My favorite was the Soda Shop (not a traditional, ice cream counter with coke or root beer floats but a shop that sold soda!!) They had sodas from all over the country, small batch, that you can’t find anywhere else or that are just sold regionally wherever they are made. They had probably 75 – 80 different kinds of root beer – personal favorite – in some brands I had never heard of before. Great experience!! If I had a $500 budget for soda I probably could have spent it on the different root beers alone!!!}