Huzzah for exploration! Today I ventured forth into the North Carolina wilderness on an expedition to find the only embroidery shop less than 2 hours away from Fayetteville. After dolling myself up a bit in the morning I headed off, stopping first at Subway (the Subway my mother owns and which I am General Manager at) to check in and get a bite to eat. While there I unexpectedly acquired a best friend/travel companion, which made a trip I was already looking forward to 10x better! Beautiful weather made for a pleasant drive and about an hour + much rural roadway later we found ourselves outside Moore Than Needlepoint in Pinehurst. Upon entering, much geeking out, done by yours truly ensued. The shop itself was small and cute, neatly organized, and had a very decent selection of threads available- including the one color of Arctic Rays I have been looking for each time I go back to MI but have been unable to find. The lady behind the counter was uncertain about us at first, and understandably so. I'm sure the majority of her customer base is at least 20 years older than Tamara and I are. She warmed up to us quickly though, especially after I showed her the the piece had I brought with me- the stocking I am working on for my daughter. She was super helpful, making suggestions about threads and stitches to use in areas I was concerned about. She even gave me a copy of the monthly newsletter for the ANG chapter she belongs to. I am seriously considering joining. Tamara later confided in me that she was laughing to herself in amusement at my behavior the whole time we were there- I was just so excited! Thinking about it now it must have been a sight to see, watching as I bounced back and forth across the store over and over, gushing about threads, textures, different forms of embroidery (it's CREWEL not CRUEL lolol), kits vs patterns, hand painted canvases, waffling all the while about what I wanted to buy. Despite my enthusiasm, I was a good girl and managed to keep my spending down to 35$. Tamara got herself a beginners project too! =D Now we have another excuse to hang out! WOOT! Out the door we went smiles on our faces and stitchy purchases in hand! And boy am I glad I signed up for their mailing list, because while Tamara and I were at the dollar store out there, getting drinks and snacks for the drive back, my phone rang- it was the needlepoint shop calling. Apparently, in my excitement I had completely forgotten my camera, left it sitting on the checkout counter! =O What can I say, the pretty threads were distracting me! Homeward bound we were then, and getting back to Fayetteville was much easier than the trip to Pinehurst- as I actually managed to correctly follow the mapquest directions in reverse order instead of wandering a bit on and off roads I thought were the ones I was looking for- as I did on the way there. We made it though! And are happier for it! If I can manage to get up early enough tomorrow morning I may go back there for the sit and stitch they have every Wed from 10-12.