Last week we went on vacation to the NC mountains, and spent several days in the knitters' paradise also known as Asheville, NC. There is a wonderful, thriving crafts community there, and I don't mean cheesy crafts, either (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm talking about spinning, weaving, knitting, woodworking, basket making, silversmithing, blacksmithing, just wonderful traditional crafts. I hit several fabulous yarn stores, and discovered that my husband has a talent that I had not previously discovered...the ability to patiently find something to read absolutely anywhere. By the time we finished with the third yarn store, he had learned all about properly wielding an axe, raising sheep and chickens, and all sorts of local events. He's a saint.

My favorite store was Earthguild - a little piece of heaven inside the greater heaven that is Asheville. The pictures on their website give you an idea of what the place is like - they have just about anything you could possibly need for knitting, spinning, weaving, woodworking, dyeing, you name it. I bought some yarn and a book there, and the Mr. learned all about homesteading.

Of course, there was a lot more to the trip than yarn shopping, we also did a lot of driving and sightseeing and eating. The driving portion enabled me to finish the drop stitch scarf. I really like the way it turned out...you can see both the front and back in the second photo, I love it that they are both presentable. I also started my first pair of socks! I think I am almost to the heel now; we'll see how that goes.

By the time we got home I felt so energized...Asheville is such a creative place. I would so love to move there.