Bad at goodbyes

Isn't everyone bad at goodbyes? Well, I've been saying a lot of them in the past week. I type this surrounded by boxes, as the movers come today, and tomorrow I fly away from New York, and the next time I come back I'll be a visitor and not a New Yorker. I don't know when that's going to really sink in, because it certainly hasn't yet. For the next six months I'll be traveling, and in my head I'm guessing New York will still feel like my home base. It's all so weird I can't quite process it. But I'm incredibly excited for the future, once I can get over the stress of the actual moving part.

Saying goodbyes is not without fun, though. Last weekend, I went on a road trip with many knitter friends to Northampton, MA, home of WEBS, a truly magnificent yarn store. We had two cars worth of people going, and I was in the car that was running earlier, so to stall for time, we went to the Pez factory. It was serendipitous that the moment we discovered we were ahead of the other car, we saw the sign for the factory. So we went!





We opted not to pay the $5 for the self guided tour, and we mostly just stuck to the retail area, sneaking peeks over into the museum/factory area that was in direct view. The retail area was amazingly entertaining all on its own.



Then we made it to Webs (after a delicious lunch at Paul and Elizabeth's) and we shopped!



This photo was taken in the warehouse half of the store, where you can get all the super deals. Given that I'm trying not to spend money or acquire things at the moment, I practiced some self-restraint and only bought one item, some spinning fiber.



This is Targhee fiber from Abstract Fiber. I love Targhee--it's so puffy!--and I love Abstract Fiber--such rich color! It's been packed and it'll be a fun present to my future self, rewarding me for diligently unpacking all the boxes, since it ended up someplace pretty weird.

I also had a fantastic goodbye dinner at Tio Pepe with another group of knitter friends. (Apologies to Jenny Jo about her absence from this photo; it's a long story, but she knows what I mean.)



Check out my super gothy stripey sock in the middle of the photo there! I knew none of the people in these photos before I moved to New York three years ago. Now, I consider all of them dear friends. All because of knitting! If you are a solo knitter/crocheter reading this, and you feel like meeting some new people, check out a group local to you. I didn't click with the first group I went to in New York, but then I found two that I adore. I am sad to be leaving these groups, needless to say. I will carry their big hearts in my heart as I travel.

Then we will reunite at Rhinebeck!