I Really Need to Count My Blessings More Often

I am a lucky dog. I truly am.

I visited a friend's local yarn shop and it was a much needed reminder of how fabulous my local yarn shop is. Don't get me wrong. The place was fine. It just wasn't anything special. The yarn wasn't displayed very well and I kept bumping my head on needlepoint canvases that were strung on clotheslines around the place (I'm tall but not that tall).

Driving home, I was thinking about what made my place so special and there are oh so many reasons.

1. The yarn is gorgeous but not precious. Yes they carry pashmina for a boat load of money. But they also have a huge assortment of what I consider their house yarn. I've been a Brown Sheep fan for a long time. Great quality. Great colors. Great price. What more can I ask for when I'm looking at everyday knitting.

2. They have some really precious yarn. I mentioned the pashmina but they carry so much more truly inspired and lovely yarn. And they encourage you to stroke it and love it even if you can't afford it. I'm generally a house chardonnay kind of girl but on occasion, I'll treat myself to the $22 glass of vino at X20. My lys appreciates that.

3. They know me. They know my taste in both fiber and color but they also use that knowledge to get me to step out of my comfort zone pretty regularly. A friend wanted a burnt orange scarf. Not a color that I would normally go for but, hey, you do things for your friends. Off I went to Lamb's Pride Worsted (my go-to yarn) and find a color that, although, it wasn't perfect, was okay. Then someone (I'm not naming names here) metaphorically took me by the hand and guided me to the exact (and I do mean exact) shade I was looking for in Berrocco Peruvia. Great yarn, great color, same price range. The result--I am still in love with Lamb's Pride but I made a new yarn friend in the Peruvia.

4. They encourage me to be fearless (and often reckless) in my knitting. I started a sweater less than two weeks before Christmas and only owned a third of the yarn. Of course, it was a Monday and they're closed on Mondays so I was truly throwing caution to the wind. I shot them an email and got back a quick quick quick response that, not only did they have the yarn I needed, but they thought that jumping into a project like that was good for our creative souls. I was so inspired that I finished the sweater with time to spare. Clearly, this was not a gift for my sister as those tend to try to kill me.

5. Their enthusiasm spills over onto their customers. I've only once met an unpleasant person there and have never seen her again. The other customers are fun and nice and chit chat with each other and let each other pet their yarn. And it's such a diverse group of people that it reminds me every time how lucky I am to live in such a splendid world.

I could go on and on but I think you get my point. Go visit them, either in person or online.

I love them long time.