Where am I?
Columbus? Portland? Stranded in stormy Minneapolis? You knew I wouldn't really fly home right away, didn't you? I managed to survive that lonely first night and have been ridiculously busy ever since.
Yesterday was quite the day. I was scheduled to take a sock class from Lucy Neatby from 1-8 pm, but I'd forgotten to bring any of the materials I needed for the class. No problem - I Googled "Columbus, OH yarn shops" and found a shop not too far from the convention center. Then I Googled "Columbus, OH bus" and figured out how to get there on the bus. I went to the bus stop, hopped on the bus, and started looking for the street where I needed to transfer from the north-south bus to the east-west bus. The streets were not jiving with the map I was holding, and as I realized what had happened, we left downtown and entered a neighborhood that was looking not so savory.
Turns out, my internal sense of direction had failed me miserably, and I was heading the wrong way. Not knowing anything about the city, I decided that I was going to sit tight on the bus and ride all the way around. I stuck my nose in my book, and when I looked up, I was riding by Capitol University and the neighborhood was looking much better (I found out later I was in the Bexley neighborhood of SE Columbus when I meant to be in the Grandview Heights neighborhood of NW). So I hopped off to try to turn around. As I was crossing the street to the bus stop to go the other way, the bus sped past. According to the schedule, the next one wouldn't be coming through for another half hour. This was around 11:00 - I still had plenty of time, but I didn't want to push it too close to 1. Fortunately, the cab company I'd used to get downtown in the morning had a very easy number to remember - 777-7777. I called them to come rescue me.
The cabbie was completely stumped at how I'd managed to find myself in this neighborhood when I was trying to get to a shop on the exact opposite side of downtown. After we'd be driving for awhile, I was extremely glad that I'd sprung for a cab! Now I was starting to worry about how I was going to get from the shop back downtown in time for my class. I blasted into Heavenly Creations, grabbed some Plymouth baby alpaca and some Crystal Palace needles, and chatted breathlessly with the lovely owner, who was nice enough to give me a 10% discount for being in town for TNNA. It was really a nice little shop - I wish I would've been a little less discombobulated when I got there!
After realizing that the bus back to downtown wouldn't come by until 12:15 (and I didn't have the wherewithal to take that chance again), I called my friends at the cab company yet again (the dispatcher and I were best buddies by this time) and headed back to the convention center. I arrived, a bit sweaty but generally no worse for wear, in time to grab a coffee before my six-hour class. Whew!
Now, the class - ah, the class! If you've been living under a rock, you might not have heard about Lucy's new series of knitting instruction DVDs. Well, I am now convinced that everyone must go get them all. Now! Her bind-off method is worth the cost of the disc all by itself - it's one of those life-changing things (or at least it will be for me, she-who-hates-to-bind-off).
I'm not sure what I liked best about Lucy - her purple hair with bright pink patch up front, her soothing English accent, her extremely imaginative socks scattered throughout the room, her story about applying for a visa to teach in the US and being categorized as an "alien of extraordinary ability", or her encyclopedia of brilliant knitting tips and tricks. All in all, an evening very well spent.
And now I'm off to dinner and the fashion show with my delightful friend Margaret Fisher. You all were right - it's good I stayed!
Yesterday was quite the day. I was scheduled to take a sock class from Lucy Neatby from 1-8 pm, but I'd forgotten to bring any of the materials I needed for the class. No problem - I Googled "Columbus, OH yarn shops" and found a shop not too far from the convention center. Then I Googled "Columbus, OH bus" and figured out how to get there on the bus. I went to the bus stop, hopped on the bus, and started looking for the street where I needed to transfer from the north-south bus to the east-west bus. The streets were not jiving with the map I was holding, and as I realized what had happened, we left downtown and entered a neighborhood that was looking not so savory.
Turns out, my internal sense of direction had failed me miserably, and I was heading the wrong way. Not knowing anything about the city, I decided that I was going to sit tight on the bus and ride all the way around. I stuck my nose in my book, and when I looked up, I was riding by Capitol University and the neighborhood was looking much better (I found out later I was in the Bexley neighborhood of SE Columbus when I meant to be in the Grandview Heights neighborhood of NW). So I hopped off to try to turn around. As I was crossing the street to the bus stop to go the other way, the bus sped past. According to the schedule, the next one wouldn't be coming through for another half hour. This was around 11:00 - I still had plenty of time, but I didn't want to push it too close to 1. Fortunately, the cab company I'd used to get downtown in the morning had a very easy number to remember - 777-7777. I called them to come rescue me.
The cabbie was completely stumped at how I'd managed to find myself in this neighborhood when I was trying to get to a shop on the exact opposite side of downtown. After we'd be driving for awhile, I was extremely glad that I'd sprung for a cab! Now I was starting to worry about how I was going to get from the shop back downtown in time for my class. I blasted into Heavenly Creations, grabbed some Plymouth baby alpaca and some Crystal Palace needles, and chatted breathlessly with the lovely owner, who was nice enough to give me a 10% discount for being in town for TNNA. It was really a nice little shop - I wish I would've been a little less discombobulated when I got there!
After realizing that the bus back to downtown wouldn't come by until 12:15 (and I didn't have the wherewithal to take that chance again), I called my friends at the cab company yet again (the dispatcher and I were best buddies by this time) and headed back to the convention center. I arrived, a bit sweaty but generally no worse for wear, in time to grab a coffee before my six-hour class. Whew!
Now, the class - ah, the class! If you've been living under a rock, you might not have heard about Lucy's new series of knitting instruction DVDs. Well, I am now convinced that everyone must go get them all. Now! Her bind-off method is worth the cost of the disc all by itself - it's one of those life-changing things (or at least it will be for me, she-who-hates-to-bind-off).
I'm not sure what I liked best about Lucy - her purple hair with bright pink patch up front, her soothing English accent, her extremely imaginative socks scattered throughout the room, her story about applying for a visa to teach in the US and being categorized as an "alien of extraordinary ability", or her encyclopedia of brilliant knitting tips and tricks. All in all, an evening very well spent.
And now I'm off to dinner and the fashion show with my delightful friend Margaret Fisher. You all were right - it's good I stayed!
posted by knittinmom at 2:02 PM
3 Comments:
What a great adventure!! Sounds like you did just great.
Lucy sounds just marvelous.
Oh and the box I told you would be waiting on your door step... well, I came home today and it was waiting on MINE!! I reversed the first 2 numbers of your house number and they sent back to me. Hafrumpf!! Will go back to the PO tomorrow and try to get it all set.
Well, this is quite the trip....glad you found the "cab" to get you out and about....have fun...
Lucy is absolutely wonderful, isn't she? I took a course from her at the beginning of May, first time for any knitting course for me, and I loved it! She's very "colorful", isn't she? I really want her sock dvds. The one she was using to teach us (on correcting mistakes and such) would be worth having, too.
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