Today's Field Trip

Since Da Hubby is out of town, I decided to take the boys over to MIL' s for a mommy break and a visit to a new yarn store. The store is called "Yarn and Needle" (no on-line presence yet). It's in our old hometown of Fountain Valley and is literally w/in walking distance of the in-laws' house.

The store itself doesn't have much atmosphere- it's in a typical So.Cal. strip mall, sandwiched between Big Lots and Rite Aid.

They've only been open a month, so they're still stocking shelves, but they had a lot of Berrocco yarns, different types of Cascade yarns and some Italian brands that I haven't seen elsewhere: Lana Grossa, Lang, etc. They had some novelty yarns, but it wasn't novelty overload like Yarn Lady.

As for accessories, it was pretty much limited to Clover/Takumi so all the needles were bamboo. The sales girl said that they will be getting in some Inox and Addi needles soon. They had some cute purse handles and clasps, and she also mentioned that they have buttons coming in.

I was eyeing some gorgeous varigated bamboo yarn, but I was supposed to be looking for some laceweight yarn for a Kiri shawl. This is what I found:

It's Lang Venezia, 50% mohair and 50% acrylic (I know, I know, but it doesn't SQEEEEEK like Red Heart). It's listed on Yarndex as a bulky weight yarn, but I think it's more like worsted or aran weight. There's about 600yds in those three balls, which should be plenty for a good sized Kiri.

And of course I managed to pick up a ball of yarn with enough angora in it to make me start itching. *sigh* It never fails- every single time I go yarn shopping, I gravitate to the yarn with angora and end up with an allergic reaction. It's funny because I never wore angora as a kid, and I never realized I was allergic till recently.

I bought a pair of socks made from angora, wool and acrylic and decided to wear them to a sit n stitch. The store was about 15 min from my house; by the time I got half way there, I was itching sooooo bad ALL OVER. I had hives, tearing eyes and a runny nose when I actually got to the store. I guessed that it was the socks and as soon as I pulled them off, I felt 100% better. I ended up giving the socks to my MIL (who isn't allergic to angora). After that incident I had an allergy attack while seated next to someone knitting an angora blend blanket, and another when I leaned against an angora scarf wrapped around the back of my chair at the LYS.

So now I try to be careful handling yarn- but sometimes it still manages to sneak up on me. Today I actually asked to wash my hands in their bathroom, which really staved off the worst of the hives! LOL