OBX Knitting Weekend - February 2007

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Okay, I think I'm rested and awake enough now to actually present a decent description of last weekend's antics.

I took lots of pictures, and posted quite a few of them out to Flickr, so will give a link to them at the end of this post. Forgive me for not putting more of them here, but it's just so much easier to organize a large number of pictures on Flickr than trying to post them all here, in and around my textual description.

So, without further ado, I'll just start from the beginning and give a play-by-play. Hope it's not too terribly boring.

This past weekend's knitting trip came about as a last-minute, serendipitous treat for me. While eating dinner w/ Robin H. and Sheddy and Linda two Sundays ago, Robin mentioned that she was going to the North Carolina Outer Banks for a knitting weekend with Emmy and Pam, two friends we met at our Knitting at the Lake retreat in January. I jokingly replied, "Hey, see if they have room for me!", and Robin took me up on that and later called Emmy, who talked it over with Pam, and both agreed that there was, indeed, room for me. Oh, happy day!

So, I left Richmond Friday, a little after noon and almost exactly three hours later I was driving across the bridge into Kitty Hawk. I immediately called Emmy & Pam who had already arrived at the beach house, and we agreed to meet at our primary place of interest, Knitting Addiction in Southern Shores. I bought some dark green Burlyspun for a birthday hat for my younger brother, (don't look so surprised), and after about an hour, we headed back to the cottage to wait for Robin, who had made a side-trip to The Woolery in Murfreesboro. I do believe that Robin could find a yarn & fiber shop in deepest, darkest Africa, if she happened to be driving through there.... ;-)

Anyway, once Robin arrived, we headed on to dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe in Kill Devil Hills. Good food, slow service. I had the Thai Coconut Shrimp Bisque and a Steak-and-Shrimp special w/ asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. Yummy, but very filling -- I had tons of leftovers. After dinner we stopped at the nearby Harris Teeter to pick up a few groceries, before heading back to the cottage for an evening of... you guessed it... knitting.

I cast on for my brother's hat, while Pam continued working on a baby blanket she started that afternoon with yarn (Plymouth Heaven, I believe) purchased at Knitting Addiction. Emmy worked on the first sleeve for her Noro cardigan, and Robin worked on several projects, finishing up a fun fur chemo cap, and casting on for her a Fiber Trends felted clog. Everyone was tired and nodding off, and we all eventually wandered off to bed.

Saturday morning, after eating breakfast, more knitting and showering, we all headed back to Knitting Addiction, where we spent another 2½ hours shopping and/or knitting. I think that between the four of us, we've probably helped shop owner Jeanne finance an addition to her house. I purchased mostly notions, although I did buy two hanks of some gorgeous, hard-to-find Ellyn Cooper's yarn to add to my stash. Oh, and I almost forgot -- I also bought several patterns and a knitting basket.

After leaving Knitting Addiction, we met my sister and my niece (who live down there) for lunch at Mama Kwan's in Kill Devil Hills. Another good meal -- everyone liked what they ordered. I had the crab cake sandwich.

After lunch, we drove across the bridge to Roanoke Island, to visit the other Outer Banks yarn shop -- Fine Yarns at Kimbeeba, in the Phoenix Shops on Budleigh Street, at the Manteo waterfront. I didn't purchase any yarn there, but did buy the Sweater Wizard software. (Last summer I bought my Sock Wizard software there, as well). We visited a few other shops while there, including one of my very favorites -- Endless Possibilities, where I purchased another gorgeous woven bag and a rug for my kitchen. At another shop that sold nothing but dog-related items, I purchased a very cool tennis-ball putter for my brother, so that he can play putt-and-fetch with his dog. At another shop that sold lots of beachy apparel and gifts, I bought him a Life is Good mug with a shamrock on it. (His birthday is on St. Patrick's Day).

While walking around in and amongst the shops, we took pictures of each other on that Great Big Chair in the courtyard across from the waterfront. I love that chair -- it makes everyone look tiny!

As the sun was setting and shops were closing, (and my debit card cried "Uncle!"), we hopped back in the car and headed on to dinner at Lone Cedar, at the east end of the causeway. I took a few more sunset pictures while we waited for a table. The place was jam-packed with people, and it's always like that, according to my sister, thanks to a very loyal following from Manteo locals. Our food was fantastic, and worth the wait. I had the she-crab soup (possibly the best I've ever had), and the Seafood Pasta (shrimp, scallops & mushrooms over linguine). Delicious, with enormous portions, so I had plenty to take home.

And home we headed, where we changed into our jammies and knitted for several hours before going to bed.

Sunday morning we knitted some more, ate breakfast (I ate all my yummy leftovers), showered, cleaned the house and headed out. The house where we stayed is owned by a coworker of Pam's, and is rented privately rather than through a rental company, and so we had convenient access to their sheets and towels, (which we washed and put away before we left) and were able to leave at our convenience, rather than being chased out by 10 am as is usually the case with beach rentals. Pam & Emmy were gracious enough to stay until the final load of towels was dry, to close up the house, while Robin and I each left around 1pm. I headed to the Life is Good store, right next to Kitty Hawk Kites, across from Jockey's Ridge, to pick up a couple of their incredibly, silky-soft cotton t-shirts. And while there, who did I run into but Robin, buying t-shirts for her sons! Robin went next door to check out the Crocs selection at Kitty Hawk Kites, and I left to visit my sister and her family in Colington Harbour, before heading on home.

I left around 4:30 pm, and was met with gully-washing rain for most of my drive, but made it home safely, if exhausted, around 8:30 pm.

All-in-all, a super fun weekend with knitting peeps, and I'm very grateful to Pam and Emmy for inviting me, and to Robin for being such a nice roommate.

I hope this wasn't too dry of a description of the trip, especially with no pictures here for immediate gratification. However, there ARE pictures -- you just have to go here to see them!

I haven't yet taken pictures of my "loot" from this trip -- I need to take those and perhaps will post them here tomorrow. So, stay tuned!

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