We got to Reno, and see what it looked like!
Oh My Goodness– We unpacked the truck and this happened:
Modern Day Cattle Drive
Yesterday we left Jackson for the TKGA Knit and Crochet Show, after loading up the new truck. Only 40 miles outside of Jackson, here’s what we encountered:
Those little ones are the calfs born last spring. Don’t know if you can see the cowboys way in back, but two are on horseback and the last one was on a motorcycle!
Oh, and here’s a photo of our new truck:
On the road again….
Stitches West Ho!!
We left Sunday about noon from Jackson, and wouldn’t you know it? We had a spectacular animal encounter almost immediately. This is what we saw about 25 miles south of home:
These mountain goats are always a welcome sight. They’re very impressive animals, very calm and very big.
They’re also cute– see the face on the juvenile in the photo on the right?
Anyway, we had off and on snow until we got to Salt Lake, but managed to make it across the salt flats to Wendover before stopping for the night. The entire trip has been filled with gorgeous scenery.
Yesterday, we drove to Sparks NV, where we picked up some new display for our booths. On a whim, I checked the customer list and found we have one customer in Sparks! So we decided to do our best imitation of Publisher’s Clearinghouse, and we showed up on the doorstep of Mary F., and presented her with a little gift! You should have seen the look on her face. It was fun.
So we have made it here to Santa Clara a little while ago, and checked into the hotel, and are anticipating getting a good start on the set-up tomorrow. It was an easy drive broken into 3 days. Stay tuned for more updates from Stitches West!
Days 2 & 3 — Cleveland to Ludington, and on to Wisconsin
WHERE???
Ludington, MI is on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and home of the SS Badger Car Ferry that traverses the Lake to Manitowoc WI. We thought this might be a nice little relaxing respite from all the driving. And it was–it was delightful, although quite windy. But that didn’t stop 2 knitters I saw on the bow area of the top deck from stitching away! One was working on EZ’s Baby Surprise Jacket, and the other was half way through a Transverse Jacket, knit from side to side.
Anyway, here’s some of the scenery from the cruise …
GGGGGG!!!!!!!!
Seriously, there were wonderful views of the shore during departure & arrival, and a sailing regatta with race, that we got to watch. The vibrant colors of the sails against the misty surface were truly enervating and delightful.
Next, day 4
Day 4: Hot as Hades!
OH — MY — GOODNESS! The Midwest is caught under a dome of sweltering, oppressive heat. It must be record-setting.
We left early this morning, and stopped early too. We’re now in Sioux Falls, SD, it’s 102 with high humidity so the heat index is 115-120, and it’s 5 pm. Arrrgggghhhhhhh. We’re hoping it will be easier as the weather moves eastward and we continue to move west.
Whew.
Lots of new Toys!
Of course we looked at yarn at TNNA, but the things that are arriving first are new tools and accessories. You might be familiar with some of them, but I’ll bet there are some you haven’t seen.
At the first chance we got, we pounced on the Knit Kit!
This is a self-contained tool kit for crocheters and knitters both, perfect for traveling, but also very useful at home. The photo on the right shows the front side, where you see a row counter, thread cutter, retractable measuring tape, and a snap in and out crochet hook for picking up dropped stitches.
On the reverse is a compartment that holds a set of collapsible scissors, point protectors, stitch markers, and a darning needle, with space for more little items. All the articles in the Knit Kit have been approved for airline and train travel by the TSA. All in all, this tool kit is just a wonderful addition to your project bag. See the complete description on our webpage here.
And look at these: Permanent labels for your circular needles!
These handy ID tags clip on to the cords of your circular needles, and show you the size both in US size and millimeter diameter. The markings are etched into the plastic, so the numbers will never wear off. Easy to see and read.
There are two sets, one for sizes 0 through 6, and one for sizes 7 and up. Each set has more than 25 tags, with as many as 4 for the most popular sizes. You’ll soon wonder how you did without them. Get all the info here.
I’ll be back soon with more products from TNNA…..
Stitches South
We had a very, very good time at Stitches South, and will probably go again. Where to start? Well, at the beginning wouldn’t hurt.
We rented a truck, loaded it up, and headed out for Atlanta from here in Maryland. It was an enjoyable trip, mostly because we took the western route down the Shenandoah valley, along side the Appalachian mountains, instead of the “citified” route. When we started in Baltimore on Tuesday, the redbud trees were just showing buds, but the farther south we got, the bigger the blooms, then the dogwoods in bloom, and poppies, like this:
We have to admit we were tired by the time we got to Atlanta on Wednesday. We found the Cobb Galleria, pulled in, and with one false start managed to unload the truck with not too much trouble. It was the beginning of the set-up that gave us fits– I had this GREAT idea, right? We would arrange all the Super10 in a spectrum–a rainbow–of color. Wonderful!! We started…….. we kept trying….. we gave up. The 130+ colors might have been arranged that way years ago, but now they’re all mixed. We wound up going back to the numerical order. Well, live and learn, right? 🙂 We wound up admitting exhaustion and collapsing in bed.
More tomorrow….