Uh-oh...Do They Have Yarn In California?

So here I am, knitting like mad to finish up the projects I promised to people before I leave (in less than two weeks...gulp!) and a thought occurred to me (well two thoughts actually):

Will there be any yarn stores nearby? I am lucky enough here in Minneapolis to have my pick of tons of lovely yarn stores. There are so many that I have several on my "favorites" list and several on my "the people who work there are so snotty you couldn't pay me to knit with their yarn" list. But...once I get out to CA will I be one of those people who has to drive an hour and a half to find the one yarn store within driving range and be forced to shop there whether or not I can handle the shopkeepers' attitudes? Or, even worse, will I be without any yarn stores at all?

I know people in CA knit because I belong to a Yahoo group of (what seem to be from this distance) fun and fabulous knitters and because one of my favorite blogs (Knit and Tonic) is based in CA. But...when I get to Newport Beach what will be waiting for me? I do purchase a lot of stuff online, but sometimes you just gotta touch the yarn and see the colors and pet the more expensive stuff before you turn your eyes away and go home with the tried-and-true worsted wool that you can afford.

I have done a few Google searches but nothing really close came up. Nothing that would truly qualify as a LYS anyway. Ah well, I suppose I'm willing to make a few sacrifices for the chance to live a mile away from the Pacific coast. Yes, this is a big thing for a landlocked Minnesota girl!

And on to my second thought:

2) What do people in CA even knit??? I have been trying to wrap my head around it and modify my thinking for a month or two now (easier to do when it's a sweltering summer). I guess a lot of tanks and tees. Being relatively new to knitting and living in Minnesota, I confess that all I've ever knit with is wool. Oh, a couple of alpaca shawls, but they weren't for me anyway. I did start a project with mercerized cotton but I hated it so much that it's been sitting on the needles for months now. Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for some lighter, more appropriate knitted things.

Wow. I've been blabbing on so long that I forgot to talk about my actual knitting! I finished the replacement baby blanket on Saturday and delivered it to my parents' house yesterday. They will make sure it gets to my sister next time they see her. No pic, since it looks exactly like the progress pic from my last post, but 25% longer.

I also knit up the bag for my mother yesterday:

It turned out to be a bit more on the purple side than either of us expected. She wanted it to match a garnet/black shawl she has, but the yarn was quite deceptive! I showed it to her and she's still pleased, so all I have to do is knit up that danged i-cord for the handles and felt it all.




I haven't started clue 3 yet for the MS3, but it has put me in a rather lacey mood (and everyone else in the knitting world, it would seem). I signed up for the Hanami KAL and even went out to one of my favorite LYS yesterday for some more Malabrigo. Lace-weight, this time:

Have I mentioned that I can't get enough of the Malabrigo? And I am loving this lace thing...you can get so much more yarn for so much less money! I'm really not a shawl person, or even a lace person for that matter, so I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these lacey things. But I like making them and it's never a problem to have a few nice things around to give as gifts. I just wish I knew my MIL better so I would know whether or not she would like/appreciate/use things if I knit them for her!

And finally, since the MS3 has made me appreciate how pretty beads can look in your knitting, I made a final run to my local bead store to stock up on some 8/0 beads for future projects.
Since I can't seem to locate any yarn stores near my new place I have even more doubt that I will be able to find a bead store either. I picked out some of my favorite colors to take with me if I need them. I'm not sure if the Hanami stole needs beads or not but I got some in pale pink and some clear just in case. I'm really not a pink girl at all so I'm kind of hoping to get rid of the pink ones on this project! (Sorry for the bad pic - my camera ran out of batteries immediately after taking it.)