Adventures in Yarn Country

Have you ever dreamed about a huge room full of yarn? No, not the room where you keep your stash...I mean a room so big and so full of yarn that you can't see from one side to the other.

I have.
In fact, I spend most of my time dreaming about this room, sleeping and awake. I dream about endless quantities of my favourite yarns in my favourite colours, making a big pile of this yarn and then jumping in it. I think that this is a totally reasonable fantasy.

Yesterday (the date was March 17, 2008; I've already marked it on my calendar) I visited this fantasy room, which was actually more of a warehouse.
I never would have guessed that the no-man's-land that is Finch West, such an unattractive and desolate area, was home to my new favourite place on earth! We had been carefully planning this shopping trip for weeks, the store needed some new yarn for spring and Sarah and I were more than happy to volunteer for the job. The drive from our little store in the Beaches seemed to take forever; I was experiencing anxious anticipation that may have had something to do with this. When we finally arrived I was shocked to see a rather cluttered and unpleasant building in front of me. More shocking still were the burly men inside carrying bags of yarn this way and that; saying over the phone, "...Worsted or DK? And was that in Geranium or Azalia?" but these concerns were forgotten the moment I laid eyes on the first shelf-full of yarn bursting with bags of Malabrigo! I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Sarah and I were there to shop for the store, and we would not be allowed to pile the yarn up in the center of the room and jump in it.



I maintained my reserve somewhat as we wandered through the isles of the Diamond warehouse, deciding on colours (which was difficult under the fluorescent lights) and discovering new yarns. A major stumbling block for both Sarah and I was the Noro aisle. All in all I think we spent 40 minutes in this aisle alone, trying to convince ourselves that no person needs 10 full bags of Silk Garden. I am proud to say that I worked myself down to just one bag of Kureyon!
Somehow we managed to spend over two hours wandering the aisles at Diamond, the time passed so quickly. We left the Diamond warehouse with four massive garbage bag-sized bags crammed full of yarn. For the remainder of the day I was a bit delirious. I found that I spoke louder and faster than I normally do, and I couldn't seem to stop. Innocent streetcar riders almost fell victim to my uncontrollable excitement as I fought back the urge to yell at them about my adventures from the day. Instead I pulled out a sock and knit frantically, dreaming more vividly than ever about jumping into that gigantic pile of yarn.