Ok, April isn't this green, but Surekat on Flickr snapped the basic I89 view
Last Friday was an oddly warm and sunny April day… perfect for detour along the I89 corridor between Concord, NH and White River Junction. It’s easy to engage cruise control, enjoy the spotty cellular coverage and roll by the White Mountain scenery. Today was different. Today, no one would complain if I deviated from the freeway. Today I was driving with the latest Bridgebuilders EP with ample time to reach my destination. It was easy to meander off exit 5 and head toward Henniker.
I confess, this was not idle exploration. Over the winter, our family had been in this part of the Contoocook River Valley looking for snow. I’d seen the sign for “The Fiber Studio” just before the exit to Henniker.
Lack of enthusiasm is a gentle description of my family’s response to my “Oh, look! The Fiber Studio exit in one quarter mile.”
They wanted to put skis and snowshoes in action, not pace around another yarn shop. Time for unfettered browsing had finally arrived.
Take that right turn just before the Henniker exit and have confidence: The Fiber Studio is just over the hill.
Housed in a converted barn, this oasis has one stop shopping and friendly service for those who want to dip into spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, felting, punch needle and even beading! The spacious upper floor has big windows, grand seating and chairs, and a variety of fibers. I’m lucky enough to have enough yarn to keep me going for a year or so, (really, I think it’s only a year or so), but I’m always on the look out for different notions and books.
Knitting Portuguese Style by Andrea Wong was a welcome find
. I’d heard that this technique was helpful for those who have tension issues in their ribbing. Why not? She also encourages Portuguese style for those with fair isle tension issues. Sounds like a great tool for the knitting bag of tricks. In addition, the patterns in her book were based on Portuguese traditional knitting.
Buttons made in Henniker from wood and deer horns; I’d never seen a yarn store with so many different wood varieties. And the buttons are made and sourced from local trees: apple, birch, maple… Buttons are beautiful displayed on my studio bulletin board, and eventually they do find themselves in a project (Ok, some of the really cool buttons from the Barcelona Picasso Museum in 1997 haven’t been used yet, but…).
Fiber fumes filling my head, I returned to the car and wandered along the Contoocook River near the Hopkinton Dam, and passed the Rowley Bridge. Then it was back to the cruise control and I89.
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