Toy Shoppe and Needlework

August 26, 2015November 7, 2015 | Verónica

When we took our son to college orientation sometime mid-summer, I had an opportunity to stop by a store I had been wanting to visit for some time. I am so glad I did. Ewe and Eye is as enchanting inside as it is outside.

Stepping inside Ewe and Eye is like walking into a fairyland. They carry the prettiest toys from all over the world. Their life-like dolls are just the right size for swaddling. There is a full array of Paddington Bears from England and all shapes and sizes of hand crafted whimsical fairies in almost every room.

Each room has delightful surprises and a curated selection of unique toys.

Just look at this incredible Wizard of Oz collection!

Now what could be more perfect than a toy store that carries yarn?

They carry a lovely selection of yarns including Rowan, Prism and all colors and weights of Colinette, among many others. They even had yarn dolls.

Mr. Jimmy, the Owner and Toy Man Extraordinaire (really, it says so on his business card) was charming and quite knowledgable about the yarn inventory. He can also tell you about every line of toys they carry. After perusing the store and chatting with this delightful gentleman, I selected these skeins to take home with me. Just look at this chunky raspberry gorgeousness.

This ridiculously soft skein is to become a pair of socks for my husband.

If you are ever in Boerne, stop by Ewe and Eye and say hi to Mr. Jimmy.

Frail Silk

April 26, 2015 | Verónica

On a weekend trip to San Antonio with my son, I managed a detour to Inskein Yarns. Inskein Yarns is located in a strip mall on a busy street. It is very small and does not have a huge selection. Despite its tiny size, there were 7-8 women huddled into a circle taking a knitting class.

They didn’t have any unique yarns but I found this skein of Maharashtra Silk which has 800 yards of 100% pure silk.

I liked the greens and purples and the yarn has a nice feel and sheen. Unfortunately, as I wound the skein into a ball, the yarn continuously fell apart. The single-ply was too frail, as if it had been spun too loosely.

The only thing I can think of to salvage it is to ply it with another fingering weight yarn. Any suggestions?

Yarn in Navasota

January 18, 2015 | Verónica

On our Mother-Son college road trip, I teasingly told my son that I only planned to stop at five yarn stores en route to Texas A&M. My 17-year old was not amused. I wish there were that many yarn stores along the way! He was actually quite patient with me when I took the business exit through Navasota so that I could visit WC Mercantile.

Navasota is a small town with just over 7,000 residents. It’s downtown is lined with quaint historic buildings that house antique and other local shops. It was a cold and rainy day so I headed straight to WC Mercantile located on East Washington Avenue. And what a delight it was!

WC Mercantile has a wonderful selection of yarns for the knitter or crocheter and a large space devoted to luscious fibers and spinning wheels. I went straight for their local yarns spun from Texas Alpacas.

Love these project bags!

The owner was very nice and helpful. She was at a table teaching a customer to knit. This is why I love local yarn stores.

In the back of the store, they had a cute little Christmas tree on which hung sheep ornaments and these. Too cute!

In addition to yarn and fibery stuff, I couldn’t resist these cards. They look like original watercolors. I particularly like the one on the left. No grannies here!

Navasota is about 45 minutes north of Houston. I am looking into one of their day-long wheel spinning classes. It would be a nice getaway from the city. If you are ever in the area, stop by and enjoy a few hours of all things fiber!

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A Good Year

December 29, 2014 | Verónica

Now at the cusp of a new year, I started reflecting on this past one and am glad to say that it was a good one. Our family is healthy and happy, a little older, maybe a little worse for wear, but still going strong. My husband realized a personal goal of making a pilgrimage walked by thousands before him. Our sons started their senior years in high school and are anxiously awaiting to hear from their chosen colleges. I received a surprise promotion earlier this year. My mom, who is usually full of vigor at 72, is starting to feel her age a bit and is fighting it the whole way. One of my brothers was elected to the school board of my hometown. We had our share of troubles, some minor, others not, but found our way through them and learned in the process. There are still some scars but they are healing. There are so many other reasons, large and small, for which to be thankful – hot summer days, shared meals with friends, a good book, down time, birthday celebrations, a rewarding job, a good hair day, and soft yarn.

Speaking of yarn, 2014 was also a good knitting year. My goal was to create from my stash, which has continued to grow. I accomplished this with one exception, the hat for my niece because she was very specific about wanting a neutral color. In total, I knit 10 items in 2014. They were all small projects for a couple of reasons: (1) I was trying to use up my stash especially where I had only one or two skeins of the same yarn/dye lot; and (2) With my work schedule, it takes me too long to complete larger projects and I wanted to show progress every month. So here are my 2014 FOs.

January – Molly Knit Hat

February – Azzu’s Shawl

March – Summerhouse Hat

May – Array Cowl

June – Summerhouse Wristers

July – Purple Handwarmers

August – Purple Ribbed Hat

September – Chunky Newborn Hats

November – Regular Guy Beanie

December – Chimborazo Textured Hat

Another highlight in 2014 was discovering new yarn stores. One was discovered during a trip to Colombia – and what a glorious find that was! We came across two other shops during a trip to the Texas hill country. Click on any image to view on a larger screen.

Comfort Crockery / The Loom Room – Comfort, Texas

(Stay tuned for another recent discovery in an upcoming post.)

In 2014, I also enjoyed the fabulous Kid ‘N Ewe Fiber Festival, had a fabulous Girl’s Weekend in the Texas hill country with my mom and aunt, and experienced Yarn Terrors when I found moths in my stash! And lastly, I enjoyed having my niece become a part of our family while attending college. All in all, 2014 was a great year.

Wishing everyone an amazing new year in 2015.

November FO: Regular Guy Beanie

November 22, 2014 | Verónica

Finally, the Fall season begins with all of its colors and cooler weather. Between work and stressing over my son’s college applications (he’s a senior), it has been busy. After not getting any knitting done in October, a warm hat seemed just right for November.

For the yarn, I took this lovely variegated skein in Autumn colors out of my stash. I picked this up during a business trip to Nashville, Tennessee (Brentwood, actually). I made it to Bliss Yarns on the one day they are open late. It was a lovely little yarn shop with a large choice of colors and brands and a very helpful staff.

I wanted something local so they pointed out a bin of MissBabs Hand-dyed Yarns & Fibers out of Mountain City, Tennessee. I selected Yowza – Whatta Skein, approximately 560 yards of 100% Superwash Merino. This skein was “hand-painted” in luscious colors called Rumor Has It.

I used the Regular Guy Beanie pattern, a free Ravelry download. The one departure I made from the pattern is that I doubled up on the yarn to give the hat a cozy thickness. This one is for my middle brother who was just elected to my hometown’s school board. I am so proud of him!