I did a pretty nutty thing two weeks ago. I drove my teenage son and his friend to a concert, mid-week, on a school night, to a different state roughly 120 miles from home. X is a huge music fan and hasn't been very interested in going to concerts ... that is, until now. One of his favorite artists was perforning in NYC but those gigs required 18+ ID so X scoured the tour schedule and discovered a gig in Philadelphia.
Somehow in February, May seemed very far away and remembering how much we loved concerts in our teen years, Mark and I let him buy these Philly tickets and promptly pushed the date out of our minds. And then, as these things happen, the May date swung around the corner, and I was finding myself leaving work early to pick up the boys and drive 2.5 hours.
They had a great time ... and so did I. The eastern part of South Street in Philadelphia is lively and filled with a lot of energy and as I had two hours to spend alone, I decided to explore this neighborhood. Within a few blocks I came across something truly magical, Philadelphia's Magic Garden.
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| From PMG's Web site |
It was after hours and sadly, I couldn't enter the building but I will definitely make a point to go back soon. Farther north, I came upon this terrific gallery/shop which hosts knitting classes and sells hand-knit beauties,
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| (notice the cool yarn bomb?!) |
and finally, a LYS that I've been meaning to visit for years!
So, while the boys were feeding their love of music, I was feeding my love of fiber arts and even though I couldn't actually participate in making anything or buying new yarn, I loved "discovering" these places and knowing that I'll be visiting them when I next go to Philadelphia (which will be soon).
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| (from freshstitches.com) |
As I peered into the brightly-lit store window of Loop (and it's neighboring shop Spool), I felt like such a yarn geek. And I couldn't help smiling...
Oh how I wish I could have been with you, what a fun adventure and sometimes peering through shop windows engages my creativity more than when I can enter. My mind is forced to stop and savor what I see, think about possibilities and just dream. You should get on Loop's mailing list! They send out newsletters that tell of sales, new yarns, patterns, etc. I love their blog too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Ida's Kitchen hat, I have wanted to make that since I saw people talking about it last summer. Just this morning I was on Ebay, trolling for yarn for another project, and I thought I would tell you about it. If you enter the yarn name, sometimes you can score on a great deal. There are a number of online shops that are selling the inventory of brick and mortar yarn shops that have closed. (Imagine? Oh the horror!)
Have a good day, another grey day of rain here. I need sun so I can snap a picture of my bag made from your stash swap. I need to get another ball of yarn soon. =>
Oh Philly is fun! You'll definitely need to update us when you go back again.
ReplyDeleteYou are so not out of your mind. What a wonderful parents you to nurture your child's need for the arts. :) I am thankful that my parents allowed me to go to quite a few when I was young.
ReplyDeleteBonus you got a little yarn grazing in!
What a lovely thing to do for your son, I hope enjoyed the gig. It looks like you had a blast too :)
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