Monday, August 21, 2006

a bit of swank

What I want is to complain about how overwhelmed I am with the new jobby-job, because, damnit, I am. But I haven't held my new position long enough to be that ungrateful. Besides, it is because of my overwhelming but much-appreciated job that I was able to afford a trip home last weekend. In between celebrating my sister's AS degree in nuclear medicine technology (yeah, she's smart like that), sitting with my grandmother who's battling cancer, attending a longtime friend's baby shower, and hanging out with Mister Stevens and THOASKATB (The Husband Once Again Sometimes Known as The Bubba) I asked myself, Hey, what would a Toledo yarn store look like?

I kinda expected Toledo's premier (and only, as far as I can tell) yarn store to lean on the acrylics with a heavy elbow -- from its post in a strip mall. But it turns out swank has come to town in the form of the Yarn Company. Check out the rag yarn. I bought the second ball from the left in the front row for an embarrassing amount of money (thanks, job!) seeing as it's just strips of fabric tied together, but I couldn't resist the colorway, or the idea of whipping up a fall scarf on 17s and setting it off with a bright and lovely aurora borealis brooch (okay, except for the aurora borealis part, I stole the idea from someone on Craftster. In fact, this person). Sure, I could sit around tearing up my own fabric, but I'm not that stressed.

Mister Stevens and his underwear welcome us to the world of fiber.

Don't I love it when they behave themselves in the presence of yarn.

The Yarn Company is a pretty sexy place. The owner wasn't in, so I couldn't ask where she got the inspiration for the decor. One of my favorite elements is the checkout counter, shaped like a horseshoe, which doubles as a scarf burlesque show.

A couple more, because, Oh, why not?

The requisite "Take a picture of me! I'm in yet another out-of-town yarn store!" But this one's all about my new best friend, Clapotis.

Yarn really brings people together.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

a little corner all my own

I'm obsessed with flickr's Corners of My Home group. I can't seem to get enough of peeking into other people's corners, yards, work rooms, bedrooms, porches, drawers, kitchens, broom closets -- you name it. This photo is my contribution to the group. If you check it out on flickr, you can read my notes. You can also visit the rest of the Corners photo pool. It really evokes the stuff of life. There's some beautiful and moving photography there, not to mention a smorgasbord for you if you happen to be nosy like me.