OBX string

I’ve learned that OBX is short for Outer Banks, which is where we are this week.  I won’t post a ton of photos of the beach, the pool, lighthouses, the Wright Brothers memorial, etc… Just one: It turns out that the weather conditions that caused the Wright brothers (who were from Dayton, OH) to test their flying machines here are also ideal for kite flying, which is a very big deal.  I’ve never been a huge kite flyer myself, but I suspect it’s because I never had ideal conditions.  It’s so EASY to fly kites on the shore here, because the wind averages 16 mph.  Here is Boy 1 flying away yesterday evening on the sound side of the island.

Today we returned to the Wright brothers memorial for the second time, just so Boy 1 could attend a kids program on kite flying.  That gave me a chance to pop into a shop I spied on the way down there: Knitting Addiction is a lovely shop with a lot going on.  The shopkeeper greeted us and immediately showed Boy 1 to the lego area (he came prepared with his own book, but extra toys are always a good idea to keep knitters with kids in the store longer).  There was a very welcoming seating area at the front with at least one person knitting there.  A basket on the coffee table held scratch paper with the store’s info on it, pencils, needle sizers, and stitch markers.  There was a “brag book” on the table, too, containing pictures of projects completed by store customers (great for inspiration).  Decorations included lovely bouquets like this: …and check out the felted lizards that were suction-cupped to the front window!  Unfortunately you can’t see the beautiful colors because the sun was coming in (nor was a good shot possible from outside), but picture the colors in your mind:This makes me want to decorate my front door sidelights with suction-cupped felted animals (which I just might do!).  Knitting Addition creates a lot of their own patterns, which come free with yarn purchased for the project (I didn’t even realize that until I looked at my receipt later) – and they offer to wind the yarn for you, which is a nice touch.  I bought a project that might surprise you; it’s really not my normal thing.  Perhaps I was influenced by the beachiness of this environment.  It’s a small bag (suitable for a sock project) knit double stranded with one strand of Mango Moon Bali Sky (recycled viscose handspun in Indonesia – I think the viscose is from saris) and one strand of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton 20% merino):There were commercial yarns that I recognized here, but there were also a few from independent dyers, as well as other things handmade by local craftspeople. I was mighty tempted by these fortune cookie bags: There were even some neat turtle shaped bags (some of the profits go to a sea turtle rescue organization) – they zip up the bottom side of the turtle:I had my eye on some very nice hand-dyed semi-solid sock yarn with a lot of sparkles in it.  I thought my mom might like some sparkly holiday season socks made from it, but I second-guessed myself.  We’ll go back together to look.

Despite the handknit sock on the store’s logo, there wasn’t very much sock yarn in the shop.  And I didn’t find the 2.5 mm wood needle I need for my lace project.  But that’s okay – I’m still finishing the Beachy Felicis (which saw a lot of action on the drive down here – it was supposed to be a 7-hour drive but it took 11) and I’ve started a pair of Cauchys in the Jacob sock yarn I got at MDSW this spring.  I’m also trying to spin a little every day.

Next time I’ll post some actual knitting photos!