Going Out of Business

  Hancock Fabric is going out of business. I'm a little sad about this. I don't sew, but there are times when I do need to mend things and it was nice to know that if I didn't have the right colour thread or a button, I  could get once close by. Now I'll have to make a special trip to a nearby suburb. I also feel bad about the women who work there. They'll be out of work and some of them are not young. Maybe this job was a way for them to earn a little extra money and to get out of the house.
  On the other hand, going out of business means they need to sell their stock. That means things are on sale. Yesterday after work I headed over to see what I could find.
  One of the things I want to make is a tie blanket. It's a blanket that you can make without sewing. All you do is buy some fleece in two different colours. Then you cut a sort of fringe along the edges and tie it together. You can also braid them. When you are done you have a neat blanket. I wanted to make two small ones for the cats to lay on. That way I can take the blankets and wash them. It keeps the cat fur off my furniture. Now that  fleece would be on sale now would be a good time to get some. I was also going to see if there was any good yarn or other knitting or crochet supplies that I might need/want.
  The going out of business announcement had been made fairly recently so I was confident that the stock would not be too picked over. When I got through the door I was right. There was lots of stuff including a large selection of bolts of fleece just inside the door.
  I looked over it carefully. I didn't see anything that I liked. I walked to the back of the store. There was more fleece. There were all kinds of patterns and colours, but none of them really stood out. Most of it was pink and had cartoons on it. I left the section.
  The yarn and stitching section was closer to the front. I found a set of crochet hooks, and a lot of washcloth yarn. I picked up several balls. There was too much for me to carry. I went in search of a basket. Once I had one I set out again.
  There was a knitted sample of some organic cotton yarn. I'm always looking for natural fibers to work with, but there was nothing on the shelf. I walked the section over and over again. I didn't see any cotton, but I did see a flash of blue yarn.
  It was on a bottom shelf and it was calling my name. I picked up a skein. The colour was beautiful. It wasn't a natural fiber, but I thought I would make an exception for this yarn. It was too pretty not to pick up and very soft. I grabbed three skeins all with the same dye lot. Then I roamed some more.
  There was a selection of pattern books, but none looked interesting. I saw an electric ball winder, but decided against it. I can do it by hand. I wandered through the beading supplies, the embroidery section and found myself looking at wedding items. There were a few glittery looking pearl tiaras and headbands. I forced myself to walk away before I picked something up. I have no need for those things. I walked through the fleece one more time to make sure I didn't miss anything. I paused near a display of tote bags. I didn't need any more of them. I looked at sewing baskets. They had some really pretty ones that came complete with all the needed sewing notions. I walked away. I already had a sewing basket. I didn't need another.
  I went over to the notions section. Maybe I could find a shawl pin. I saw a lot of buttons, hooks, shoulder pads and other items. I wondered what some of them were used for. I nearly bought some straight pins, but decided that I really didn't need them.
  I looked at thread. There were thread packages that had all kinds of colours. I considered it for a moment. I wouldn't have to worry about having the wrong colour thread again. There was a smaller thread package. I put it in my basket. It would be more practical.
  I decided to make one more visit to the yarn section. The blue yarn was still there. I picked up another skein. Maybe I wouldn't have enough yarn for whatever I wanted to make. It wasn't like I could go back and get more. The one I picked up had a different dye lot. I took it anyway. I couldn't tell the difference. I could use it in-between the matching lots and no one would know the difference.
  It was time to go. C would be home soon and I needed to feed the cats. I hoped he wouldn't mind that I bought so much yarn. I'd use it. I was proud of the fact that I had resisted the temptation to buy other things.
  When I got home, I put away my purchases after they had been checked by the cats. Now I just need to figure out what I can make with the blue yarn.....