Today started out as lovely day for a road trip...blue skies, puffy white clouds, nearly 60 degrees. Gretchen, Katie and I met up at Gimme and made our way out to Watkins Glen where found Sue at Finger Lakes Fibers, our first stop.
We found out from Nancy, one of the employees, that the store was only recently opened in July. It's a really sweet place with loads of locally spun yarns like Schaeffer, Bel Canto and our very own Kathy Halton's creations! We spent a lot of time wandering around just feeling everything. I think each of us walked out of there with at least one purchase.
The next stop was Graceful Arts Fiber Studio in Burdett where Karey, the owner, spins and hand paints her own yarn. The shop is located in her house and is just packed with many of her own yarns as well as some interesting commercial stuff. As promised, she had a pot of peppermint tea waiting for us upon our arrival.
In addition to spinning and painting yarn, Karey is also into tatting, a method of creating a very sturdy kind of lace. She gave us a little demonstration while we were there using two little shuttles that zip back and forth creating knots that when pulled together make circles, ovals and teardrops. I'm convinced it's some kind of magic and the finished product looks absolutely amazing! She teaches tatting in her studio so if you are ever in the mood to "tat" just drop her a line.
After a tasty lunch at the Grist Mill Cafe, also in Burdett, we ventured out for some wine tasting. Since it was a Saturday, most of the wineries were quite busy with large tour buses and stretch Hummers parked in the lots. However, Silver Thread, our last stop, was located down a long gravel road off Rte 414 and didn't accept buses! The winery grounds were beautiful and peaceful with a fantastic view of the lake from the back deck.So basically we drove, we groped (yarn), we ate and we drank. All in all, a wildly successful Stitch n' Bitch early autumn road trip!
