The past several days I have been a bit under the weather. My back started giving me trouble on the ride to Abilene, KS, and I was in a bit of pain while walking around the Eisenhower Museum. It got worse from there and I began having difficulty walking and even changing position in bed. Since then, I have been putting ice on my back and using the TENS unit that our NJ chiropractor gave us a couple of years ago. A TENS unit is a neuro-stimulator, with electrodes that you place on either side of the affected area, and it has helped a lot. After several days of treatment, my back is much better. Maybe in a few days I'll be able to do some weaving on my towel project.
Which is a very good thing, because today was the day I had scheduled a trip to Yarn Barn of Kansas, in Lawrence, KS. YB of K is one of the biggest yarn stores in the country and I was so excited.
The shop is located on a pretty street in downtown Lawrence, nestled in amongst restaurants and fun little shops in this town that is home to the University of Kansas. I do so love college towns!
Bob was kind enough to drop me off and go to a hardware store, leaving me to browse by myself for a bit.
Inside was a very nice selection of knitting and crochet yarns and supplies, plus looms, spinning wheels, books, patterns, videos, spinning fiber, and weaving yarns. Such fun! Time passed in a flash, unfortunately, and all too soon it was time to go. I picked up some fun things, though...
...some 5/2 cotton yarn for weaving, some bobbins for my boat shuttle, and some books. Even a Prairie Wool Companion magazine from the 1980s. Very hard to find.
I tend to compare every yarn store to WEBS in Northampton, MA, so here is my comparison. YB has a slightly larger shop, but WEBS has an additional warehouse in the back that is huge! YB carries more looms in stock, from Schacht, Ashford, Leclerc, Kromski, and Glimakra on display, floor looms as well as rigid heddle looms. There are more books at WEBS but more videos at YB. I saw some out of print books at both stores. YB has a much better selection of spinning wheels than WEBS. I loved all the samples of knitted items I saw today--very inspiring.
As a bonus, there was a fabulous quilt shop called Sarah's right across the street.
Oh my. Don't I wish there were stores like these in every town we visited!
Tomorrow we will visit the Truman Library in Kansas City, MO, before moving on.
You're following our footsteps on a trip we took 2 years ago only we did it in the reverse direction. Do not pass up the WWI museum in KC. It was even better than the Truman Library in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion, Laurice! If we don't have time for it, we'll put it on our list of "must-see destinations" for next time we pass through the area.
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