U-LYS-Os
Monday April 19th 2010, 10:44 pm
Filed under: "Wrapped in Comfort",LYS

Wandering about ten years in the wilderness, driving up 101 as it got closer to the City, (I took the much more scenic 280 home), I was stunned when I found the place.

“How long have you been here?”

The woman answered with the owner’s name which I didn’t catch, “…’s been here 34 years.”

“I’ve been here 23. How did I miss you?!”

A search for in-person Malabrigo Sock had gotten me here.  Jade, this is all your fault–you gave me some as a very lovely, extremely soft Sock Summit souvenir and I’ve been wanting more ever since.

But in all my years of knitting here, I had never heard of this place.  I couldn’t believe it.  The entrance was at the side of a building that had the names of its other businesses facing the street–and the Cottage Yarns sign was pretty and big, true,  (not the one pictured on the site, which I was looking for) but it was sideways to the road and if you missed it on approach, looking for something else, and went past, you missed it.  You could not see the store itself till you walked past the gate.

I pulled over anyway, figuring that had to be it, looked back to the sign, and went, well, duh, Alison. I walked down the sidewalk and there you go.

The ironic thing is I had had lunch once at the cafe kitty-corner from there–with the employees of a competing yarn store, no less, a LYS now gone.  I was right there.  And I did not see this place.

Advertising is a good thing.  Meantime, now I know who stocks a lot of Malabrigo!

“Give me your phone number and I’ll ball it up for you and call and tell you when to pick it up.”

That was very kind of her, I told her, but no, thanks; by way of explanation, I told her what town I’d driven from.

Oh.  She chuckled.

But the best part? Besides getting really nice yarn and being able to check the shades and match up the handpaint skeins in person?  I tell you.  I asked her with a twinge of shyness as she checked me out if she were familiar with the book “Wrapped in Comfort,” (note that Amazon has now dropped that last, three-cent discount–their stock on hand must be really low, and when they’re gone, they’re gone) and she smiled and said, “Oh, yes! We’ve got it right here.”

“That’s my book.”

The oh cool! look on her face made it worth every mile.  Every. Single. Mile.  Thank you, whoever you were.  I will be back.


13 Comments so far
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When the knitter is ready, the yarn shop appears?

Comment by Lynn 04.20.10 @ 4:23 am

Brigadoon?

Comment by twinsetellen 04.20.10 @ 5:16 am

Me too! I wanna go too! I like highway 280 too.

What’s that you say? Count my Maryland Sheep & Wool blessings? Right-o.

Imagine that. A yarn shop with which you were unfamiliar. I’m amazed. Hope the Malabrigo is perfect.

Comment by RobinM 04.20.10 @ 5:59 am

I’m so very glad you were rewarded for wandering in the wilderness.

Comment by Channon 04.20.10 @ 6:53 am

Everyone should get such a look.

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 04.20.10 @ 7:28 am

My Heavens, what town were you in? Not that I go looking for yarn, ya know. But I have not been the other side of Menlo Park in years, and I avoid 101 like the plague. Glad you found what you wanted.

Humor –

Don’t know if I’ve used this joke before, but …

Then there’s the story of the elderly woman who was not allowed to board her airline flight because she had knitting needles. They were afraid that she’d knit an Afghan.

Comment by Don Meyer 04.20.10 @ 8:52 am

Love it! mmmm, what wonderful things will come out of that yarn??

Comment by Bev 04.20.10 @ 8:53 am

I’m also surprised that Cottage Yarns is not better known. I knew about it for a while before I first went there, just a couple of years ago.

Comment by Fae 04.20.10 @ 10:50 am

Very cool! I love finding a good place like that, and finding your book there is an added bonus.

Comment by Jocelyn 04.20.10 @ 11:45 am

Does this mean your book is going out of print? Why?!! And by now you know how I feel about MMmmalabrigo….sock or otherwise…

Comment by Ruth 04.20.10 @ 4:00 pm

Poetry does lie in the wilderness too, huh? 😉

Comment by Suzanne in Montreal 04.21.10 @ 12:06 pm

I love that smile–the one you get to share when someone knows your book! Glad to hear you found another favorite yarn shop. 🙂

Comment by Joanne 04.21.10 @ 1:50 pm

What a lovely gift of a day!

Comment by Diana Troldahl 04.21.10 @ 5:06 pm



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