While hunting for our new stomping ground, I squeezed in some "me" time and ran amok in my first of many new LYS discoveries. Not necessarily new, but new to me. :) After grabbing a quick slice and taking a stroll with my babe thru town, Ry spotted the brick n' mortar beauty across the street. I simply had to indulge, for the sake of the "mustash." ;) Before I ramble on and get even more off topic...my first stop was the darling
Wooly Monmouth in the cozy town of Red Bank. Glee overcame me upon entering! Hey, clothes or jewelry shopping do the trick for some of us, and a spur of the moment yarn spree does it for others. (I happen to be the latter if you hadn't already guessed.) =) The staff were extremely gracious and helpful making me feel right at home. As if the name and logo weren't cute enough, wait until you step inside. (I've already made my 2nd trip back for a few more things to further enhance the growth of my "mustash." Hehe! ;) I found
myself jumping bin to bin fondling all the wooly beauties. You'll want to add this little gem to your to do list if you're ever nearby. Now that I've increased my yarn stash a bit, I'm project ready...with an inkling of what new yarns are next in line on the never ending wish list. I'll be sure to share the colorful goodness as it's knitted up. My next stop was going to be Knitting Nation in Nyack, NY, but sadly it was closed for the day by the time we passed thru town. I was excited to go here after reading about their inventory....right up my alley - another time.
So don't get me wrong, I really love the ease in online ordering (I do it often), but there's a benefit to hitting up an actual shop for obvious reasons. Granted, in the age of tech it may be more convenient to point & click purchases, but not always. Touching and seeing are of great importance with knitting. These aren't exactly inexpensive purchases, so knowing you're getting what you want saves a lot of aggravation. Monitor settings all vary, and while reviews are helpful...in reality it's all a person's opinion. What I consider soft may not be soft enough to another, or vice versa. Again, beneficial, but still a personal view. Lastly is the social angle. Nothing beats shooting the breeze with people who share the same passion as you...sharing knowledge and technique, laughs and showing off those hours of hard work! Let's not forget the fun factor either! :) Thank you much, Dori and Wooly Monmouth for making my long, overdue yarn shop stop such a lovely one.
