Fiber Field Trip

Work has been totally crazy! I have taken Friday and Monday off, and was planning to go to NYC, but I decided I didn't want to spend the cash to get there, stay over etc...

But, I still needed a diversion...

The days have been getting cooler. The nights have been getting cold. The fiber monster, though never asleep, is kicking into full force. I called my "intro to fiber" friend, Dennielle, from work on Thursday, to see if she would be interested in a day of fiber fun. The plan: Drive to The Mannings in East Berlin, PA and then head east/south/east and wind up in Chesapeake City, MD to visit Vulcan's Rest Fibers. You see, I needed some more yarn! Yeah, right! I did need some needles though. I have been on a hat craze and the closest shop to me in Ellicott City does not have the needle sizes that I need - the perfect excuse to drive six hours. Ha!

But seriously, the weather here is gorgeous! The leaves are a changin'. What better time of year to drive through the countryside?

As for Dennielle, she was ecstatic!!! "For the whole weekend?" she asked. No, silly, just for the day! "Well, what about Saturday, Sunday and Monday?" LOL. She is so cute!

So, Friday morning, I picked her up at 8. We had a lovely breakfast (in the car, from McDonald's - Eww, I know...) and were off...

The plan:

• 
  
  Drive to The Mannings (2 hour drive)
  We had no real set schedule, but even with a bit of traffic we were able to get there in 2 hours flat, arriving at 10AM. I wound up with 2 balls of Jojoland Melody superwash (to add to the two I already have), a 2oz skein of Bambu 7 in deep navy, 2,800 yds of cotton/linen ($15 for kitchen towels, nice!), natural dyes (henna, cochineal and indigo and some potassium alum [I forgot to get the spectralite, oh joy]), 4oz of bombyx silk top, my needles and locking stitch markers. Whew! We left right at noon.


• 
  
  Drive to Vulcan's Rest Fibers (2 hour drive. Ha!)
  I decided I didn't like the planned route because it took us all the way down to the Baltimore beltway and then back up 95N). So, I improvised. We found a main road that would cross us over to Bel Air, MD. From there, just follow the signs that we would see to get us to 95 (pray hard). We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel around 1:30 - yum. We were back on the road at 2:30. We found 95. Yeah! ...but got stuck in crazy traffic. Finally when we broke through, it was 3:30. I called the store to make sure they were open until 5. They were. We arrived at 3:55. I wound up with another pattern book, the Jane Ellison Queensland Collection, Book 9, 2 balls of Classic Elite Yarns - Moorland. Color: #2548 Blue Jay (I'm thinking a hat) and a set of cable needles - for this.


• 
  
  Drive Home (1.5 hour drive)
  We left the store at 5 sharp and took a few pictures and drove around the town. Most places were already closed. Back on the road at 5:30, I was able to drop Dennielle home by 7:10.

Now it's time to bust out some wood for the fireplace... ;)

That's me!

Dennielle outside of Vulcan's Rest Fibers

Dennielle and me on the deck at the end of George St - Chesapeake City, MD
Hmm, I look like I have a tooth missing. LOL