Philadelphia story

Back in the day we used to jump rope in the schoolyard and sing

I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman at the door, door, door.
He grabbed me by the collar,
And made me pay a dollar,
So I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more.


This ear-worm of a ditty came to mind yesterday, when my friend HC dragged me into Macy's in Philadelphia, where we were spending a girls-night-out weekend.  She claimed to be in search of holiday bargains, and they were indeed to be had, if you could stand the idea of pawing through racks of man-handled, trampling-down-the-vintage garments, most of which were loudly proclaimed to be discounted forty- or fifty-percent. What was worse, I wondered?--the tatty state of the clothes, or the bored-to-death salespeople stuck gloomily behind counters, and seriously uninterested in sprucing up their bailiwicks? And if Macy's was so deeply-discounting its inventory and still no one was buying--the store appeared bereft of patrons--what did this say about the economy? Or is it pointless to generalize from such anecdotal evidence?

After trying on a dress that was too large and therefore not of interest, HC wanted to visit the glove department.

Gentle readers, check out the merchandise strewn about hither and yon. All the while I was thinking, Why would anyone want to spend hard-earned cash on stuff that they have to pick up off the store's floor? Moreover, if you were a knitter (as HC is), why wouldn't you want to knit yourself a pair of beauteous gloves or mittens--or support a hard-working crafty-person of the Etsy sort--rather than settle for this kind of disrespected, made in China or similar slave-labor manufacturing country, stuff?

Soon, fortunately, we were headed towards the exit. There was no big fat policeman demanding a dollar, though I would gladly have paid it to be released from holiday-shopping hell even more expeditiously.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I suddenly noticed this, parked by the escape route:

Yes, this singular display purports to be a Christmas tree made of multicolored yarn balls. I guess it's supposed to relate, somehow, to the strangely partial mannequin wearing the wool-like cap and scarf combo, but I'm not sure. (Believe me, that striped get-up was not hand-knitted.) Nonetheless, there seems to be an attempt, on the part of the store, to somehow conflate balls o' yarn with the holiday spirit.

Whatever.

Personally, I find the juxtaposition of Christmas-themed sock (knitted by yours truly of Marathon Yarn's North Pole for HC, who models it) about to descend, Godzilla-like, upon the marshmallow lawn of the gingerbread house in the lobby of the Sofitel where we stayed, to be so much more entertaining.

Anyway, except for that infamous half-hour of department-store hell, I once again enjoyed my time in the City of Brotherly Love.

Espied on Walnut Street

Two deer

Yesterday began with this--

and ended with this--

In between I blocked some socks, and thought about the yarn I'd used, of which I bought extra balls in a range of colors.

As you can tell from the label, it's called North Pole, and it's from Universal Yarn, imported from Turkey. Fiber content is 72% Superwash wool, 24% nylon, and 4% metallic thread; each ball is 437 yards, enough for two pair. I bought it at The Yarn Outlet in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for a bit under $15, and when I checked a few weeks ago, they had a small amount still in stock.

(A slight digression:  I first went to The Yarn Outlet about six months ago and was underwhelmed, which is why I didn't write about it (btw, this happens a lot...my general policy is not to cover commercial establishments that underwhelm me). However, if you happen to be in Providence or close to I-95 in Pawtucket, it can be a useful place to shop. Needles are discounted about 20%, and they carry bamboo as well as metal circs and straights. As with any outlet store, too, the merchandise is catch-as-catch-can, so it could be worthwhile to make several visits over a long time. They've got this funky North Pole yarn for $2 less than at Webs and $3 less than if you order it from the distributor (Universal Yarns), and they do carry small lots of good yarn like Manos and Cascade 220. But the selection overall leans towards acrylic, which is IMHO a turn-off.)

What I enjoyed about knitting North Pole:  its self-Fair Isle pattern is amazing, the yarn has a beautiful hand and elasticity, and it's light but warm and sparkly! (Socks knit from this are perfect holiday gifts!) As those of you who have read my article, "Stitch and Seed" in the current issue of Knitscene Magazine know, I love to knit socks in the summer, because the ick factors of heat and humidity make it hard to deal with large pieces of woolen stuffs, as with sweaters.

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, and summer has unofficially begun (so the tv weathermen say), my knitting will be mostly small-scale items. After dropping younger son (who graciously took time out from his fun-filled college-reunion weekend to grace our house for 24 hours) at the Kingston Amtrak station yesterday,

H and I headed towards one of our favorite restaurants, Matunuck Oyster Bar, on a lovely tidal creek in East Matunuck RI, where I worked on a hiking sock while we waited for our entrees.  (He had the fried oyster plate; I had linguine with clam sauce. We drank a vidal blanc from Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth.)

If the dear boy looks peeved, it's because he doesn't quite understand the allure of always knitting, my friends. But you do, I know.

View from our table on the deck at the Matunuck Oyster Bar. If you sit out there, bring bug spray.