A Day Well Spent

Today three knitting friends (Kelly, Karen Michelle) and I went on a little adventure north into the Wilds above Milwaukee… okay, maybe I’m embellishing a bit here.  We actually went to the towns of Grafton and Cedarburg, WI to do a little shopping and eating and sight-seeing.  The weather was excellent for a day spent going in and out of little shops and such. 

We started out by hitting the Grafton yarn store.  I found the Curlicue coverlet pattern I’ve been on the lookout for and some really cute buttons for a future project for little Miss Sylvia. I also picked up some Noro in a kicky colorway, a back issue of Debbie Bliss Magazine that I had seen last summer but never got around to buying, some Arauncunia Yarn to try and an original hat pattern from the store that will be good to use with the Noro. 

Then we went to Cedarburg.  What a pretty little town.  It is chock full of little specialty shops, antique shops and museums.  There was also a store for the Cedar Creek winery.  We were all hungry when we got there, so we stopped for lunch at the Cream and Crepe Cafe.  I had the best vegetable soup, paired with a ham and cheese crêpe. Everyone else had soup or crepes and we all enjoyed our meal.  Of course we all were careful to save room for the pumpkin crepes for dessert - totally yummy.  Then we meandered around town seeing what was there to see.  I picked up some cute little sheep charms at the bead store and some handmade caramels at the candy shop.  Adjacent to the bead shop was the Cedarburg Woolen Mill Textile Museum which unfortunately wasn’t operating while we were there but we did get a peek at the carding machine and some of the other historical equipment.  Mostly we just had fun poking around and seeing the different things to see.  I may have also picked up a couple of bottles of wine from the winery store which I’ll have to sample soon!

On the way home we felt the need to make one more stop, so we swung into Ruhamas Yarn store and checked it out.  I didn’t really find anything there to buy, even though the display of Kauni did keep trying to trip me and Kelly.  I managed to stay on my feet and avoid the temptation, although there is one colorway that I could see working up really nice… Kelly found a colorway she liked, but she was unable to buy any because they didn’t have that color in stock. (excuse for return trip in future!)

After that we were feeling a little need for refreshment so we visited Kopps Custard and had some treats for the road.  Pumpkin Shakes for Kelly and Michelle, a sandwich and tea for Karen and the flavor of the day chocolate chocolate chip custard for me.  MMMM

I didn’t take very many pictures, but here’s a shot of my loot:

Even though I was certain that nothing but wilderness existed north of Milwaukee, I discovered a couple of charming little towns.  It was all very civilized and nice.  We had a fun time visiting and exploring and I’ll definitely have to take DH there sometime after he comes home.

All in all, it was a day well spent.

Oh, and in case you were wondering if I’ve been knitting anything lately; on Friday, I finished these:

This was a fun and pretty pattern which I will probably make again someday.

 

Niagara Falls Socks by Janelle Laidman (The Eclectic Sole)

Yarn KPPPM in P416138

Size 2.25 needles (magic loop, 2-at-a-time)

Happy Knitting!

Nana