Yarn Crawling Solo

 Yesterday, I was determined to make it to the Mountain Hollow Farm in Tazewell, to check that store off my list for the East Tennessee Yarn Crawl.  I had to weed the garden, water everything well--it was hot, hot, hot yesterday--and mow the lawn before I could go.  Check out that cute pumpkin!  I have two that big, and a few more tiny ones.  And the cucumbers are just starting to get pickle-worthy.  You know how it is, though.  One day they're too small, and the next, they're the size of a football.

Mamas and babies, shading.

I got on the road about 10:00, headed north on Broadway.  In about an hour, maybe more, I was in Tazewell.  It was a beautiful drive.  East Tennessee in the spring is just so lovely!  But when I pulled onto the road leading to the store, I saw that it said, "Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday."
Curse words flowed, but I was determined to get my Yarn Crawl passport signed.  I figured that if I saw the owner of the store, I could persuade her that I'd come too far to go away without my passport signed!
 


It was down a twisty dirt road, and I drove by a couple working on a fence.  I wondered if that was she?  But I kept driving, made it to the store, and knocked on the door.  No answer.   I drove back to the couple and asked if she owned the store.  When she said yes, I started to ask if she'd sign my passport, but she quickly said she'd open the store for me.
  Turns out, she wanted to be back in the air conditioning!  It was pretty hot, too hot to be putting a fence up!

Baby Cashmere!

  She gave me a quick tour of her store, and told me how she came to be out there in the relative middle of nowhere.  She raises cashmere goats, and has only products that are locally and/or responsibly made.  It's a lovely store, and I wished I'd thought to take photos inside.  Instead, I bought some of her cashmere-silk blend yarn, as well as some silk-merino from Lantern Moon.

My yarn haul from the yarn crawl.

Then, I took her back to the fence--sorry, Beth!--and headed onto Clinch River Yarn Company, making a pit stop at the AACC to say hi to the Tuesday Weavers and use the facilities.
  I bought some recycled cotton and cashmere there, and chatted with Sandy, the owner.
Today, we headed out again, with friends in tow, but I'll leave that to LouAnn to tell you about tomorrow!  Meanwhile, if you're not yarn crawling, keep weaving!
Maggie