Knitting, Travel and Shenanigans

Greetings from the Volunteer State! As many of you know, I am on vacation in my favorite place this week - Tennessee. My family and I have been coming down here to vacation for the better part of a decade, if not longer. The picture above was taken by our cabin rental as I was out walking my dog. I got to watch the sunrise over the Smokey Mountains. Pure Bliss!

We started our trip by heading to music city - Nashville. One of my husband's best friends lives out there so he wanted to visit him. Since he only lives about 45 minutes from the heart of Nashville, naturally I had to purchase tickets for Nash Fest.

Oh golly Miss Molly! It did not disappoint.

When I walk into these events, this feeling comes over me like I am entering my natural habitat and the people are my tribe. This sense of euphoria and belonging sets in. Almost instantly, I forget that I am not rich and do not have an endless amount of money to spend. Don't worry about 3 or 4 purchases in, I start to remember .... sorta.

As I walked the aisles, I got to meet a lot of new vendors I had never come across before. Wool & Vinyl was one of those that I loved and spent some time speaking with her. She and I are on the same millennial wavelength and bonded over our taste in yarn and music. Fan Girl Fibers was another booth I thoroughly enjoyed as I was able to get Pinky and the Brain stitch markers. Bonding over the 90's with both places was something really special. Fan Girl Fibers also had Yarn Daddy Yarns with heart throbs from the 90s and early 2000s. Brendan Fraser from the Mummy was calling and I had to pick up. (picture below)

I also visited Kato Yarn Co, Daily Modern Knitting, FYN Fibers, Yarn Byrds, and so so many more. There was even a booth where you could knit your own name tag. I didn't participate in that only because there was no more room left at the table. I have a little FOMO but I can do that at home if I really wanted to. But it's just not the same!

The best part (if there was something even better than all of that) was that there was live music at the event. If I had someone narrating my life, they would have said something to the effect of, "Here you see a Maria in her natural habitat. Watch as she interacts with her kind. See how gracefully she weaves through the others. Her ability to float from booth to booth is unparalleled by others of her species."

Perhaps, much to your disappointment, I did not purchase that much yarn.

GASP! THE HORROR!

Ok but listen, I'm traveling. I only have so much space to put things. I get it. Yarn is squishy and can be squished into places. If it were just me traveling solo, I would have agreed with you. However, traveling with others, makes that even more difficult because I know that there will be other items to be smushed into all open crevices of our car. So I did the right thing and limited myself to only a few skeins.

Now, when I am traveling I always bring the items I need the most, fully knowing purchasing yarn is in my future. One thing I always bring with me is my Nostepinne Yarn Ball Winder. This is essentially a stick that I can wind yarn around to ball it up. Since traveling with a swift and ball winder can be difficult, this is a MUST have when traveling. The one I have even comes apart to make it even easier to put in my purse or project bag.

I also need to bring my scissors. One thing I found at Nash Fest was a Scissor chain. I literally said out loud when I found this was "this is the most genius idea!" I can't even tell you how often I lose my scissors both when traveling and when Im at home. This has kept them with me.

Im not saying you need these. But Im also not not saying you need these. These are both fabulous things to have with you when take your knitting on the go. And that doesn't mean when you leave on vacation. Take your knitting to the local pub or the doctor's office or a family gathering you know will be super boring but you go anyway or to a local sporting event. I have brought my knitting to both a Red Sox game as well as a Thunderbirds game.

I have knit on a boat. I have knit next to a goat. I will knit here. I will knit there. I will knit everywhere. You should too. Yes, even you, Tina!

I will be home this coming weekend. More shenanigans to be had with my family but also hoping to relax a bit before going back to the craziness.