Whenever I go on a trip I buy a ball yarn while I’m away to remind me of my travels. It might be inspired by the color or it’s a yarn I’ve never seen before, or it’s from the area I’m visiting, etc. This project has been in the works since 1999. I started tracking the afghan in Ravelry with block #41, but I have a chart with the details of all the blocks.

Block #41 (top 2 photos) - out of 55 total
Diamond Yarn Edo - #2 Miso - green tweed - DK
Purchased at KnitTraders of Kingston
December, 2010
This yarn was purchased during a Christmas visit to my hometown of Kingston, Ontario, so I chose green. Also, I had never seen this yarn anywhere before.

Block #42 (pictures #3 and #4)
Classic Elite Yarns Magnolia - Forget-Me-Not #5448 - DK
Purchased at Creative Yarns in Macon, Georgia
May 20, 2011
This yarn was purchased during a trip to Macon, Georgia in May, 2011 and I chose it because of the name, representative of the beautiful trees in the area.

Block #43 (picture #5, top)
Viola Yarn (local Calgary dyer) - 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon - worsted weight - color: graphite
Purchased at The Loop in Calgary, Alberta
September, 2011
I moved from Denver to Calgary in August, 2011 and The Loop was one of the first shops I visited.

Block #44 (picture #5, bottom - blue)
Two Juniper Yarn (local Canmore dyer) - 100% superwash merino - DK - color: Alberta Sky
Purchased at Knit & Caboodle Yarn Shop in Canmore, Alberta
September, 2011
After moving to Calgary my first day trip was to the beautiful city of Canmore in the Rockies, 55 miles from Calgary.

Block #45 (picture #6)
Copper Corgi Yarn - 100% merino wool - worsted weight - color: Peach State
Purchased from the dyer, Sara, when I met with her in a cafe in Savannah, Georgia
February, 2012.
It was a perfect choice: a local dyer, and perfect color and name for my visit to Georgia. Savannah is a city that I’d wanted to visit for a long time and I love it. It’s lush and beautiful. I’ll be going back again in February, 2013, and again and again, I hope. The picture shows the yarn as more pink in color, but it really is a lovely peach shade.

Block #46 (picture #7)
Cakewalk Yarns - sock yarn held double - color: Cakewalk
Purchased at Colorful Yarns during a trip to Denver, Colorado
May, 2012.
I’d bought some of this yarn online and was pleased to see it in the shop. Apparently this is the only shop that carries Cakewalk. If I had to pick a color that makes me think of Colorado, it’s green.

Block #47 (picture #8)
SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Color - DK - color #05285
Purchased at All About Yarn in Columbia, Maryland.
July 30, 2012
This was a trip I made to go to see a favorite band, The Allman Brothers at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. Also on the bill was Santana. I’d never seen this yarn before and, of course, I had to pick the blues!

Block #48 (picture #9)
Dyelot Yarn - 100% bamboo sportweight (held double - it made the square a bit bigger, but it’s okay) - color
“Sunset”
Purchased at Oodles Yarn & Bead Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico
September, 2012
This was an organized week-long trip with Jane Thornley. The time was split between Santa Fe and Taos. The colors associated with New Mexico are coral and turquoise. I chose a local house-yarn from Oodles in the coral color.

Block #49 (picture #10)
Malabrigo - worsted weight - dyed specifically for The Quarter Stitch in New Orleans, Louisiana in recognized New Orleans colors.
October, 2012
The yarn is bright and colorful, just like the city. Not only is the yarn pretty, but the lady in shop wound it for me and put it in a clear bag with a bit of matching confetti inside and tied it up with a number of colorful ribbons. Lovely shop, wonderful city.

Block #50 (picture #11)
Copper Corgi worsted weight - a local dyer from Savannah, GA. The color is “Spanish Moss” which is indicative of all the dramatic Spanish moss that you see hanging from the trees in the city. The 100% organic merino.
February, 2013

Block #51 (pictures #12 and #13)
Tutto Santa Fe Hand Dyes - 100% Merino in Southwest colors. Purchased at the Tutto yarn store - yarn is dyed specifically for the shop.
May, 2013

Block #52 (pictures #14 and #15)
Adam Eve from River City Yarns (west), Edmonton, Alberta - 81% Merino, 9% Cashmere, 10% Nylon - yarn is dyed by Handmaiden specifically for the shop
June 17, 2013

Block #53 (picture #16)
The Girls - Remi, from Charlotte Yarns in North Carolina. Each of the workers in the shop have a yarn dyed and named especially for them. I chose Remi, the owner, as I met her when I visited the shop.
August 30, 2013

Block #54 (pictures #17 and #18)
Abuelita Yarns worsted in color “Fantasyland”. I found this yarn in a basket and featured at Fabric Bliss in Denver during the Yarn Along The Rockies yarn crawl. The color matches the yarn crawl graphics. I believe that Aurora, owner of Fabric Bliss, is one of the organizers.
September, 2013

Block #55 (picture #19)
Wonderland Yarns Cheshire Cat weight (fingering) in color Barley Sugar. The yarn was used double for the block. Yarn was purchased at Yarnivore in San Antonio, TX. Yellow was chosen because I think of the “yellow rose of Texas” when I think of a color associated with the state. I’d never seen this yarn before, from an indy dyer.
November 16, 2013

BORDER: Side #1 (pictures #20 & 21)
Vice Yarn in the color Calypso. The yarn is a heavy fingering weight and was held double. Blue was chosen as I was in the Memphis/Mississippi area to hear some blues. This yarn is new to me. Purchased at Rainbow Yarn & Fibres in Germantown, TN.
May 8, 2014

BORDER: Side #2 (pictures #22 & #23)
Baah Yarn, sock yarn (La Jolla), color “Carmen, The Opera”. Purchased at Colorful Yarns in Centennial, CO. The yarn has been dyed in this colorway exclusively for shop and is named after the owner’s Mother, Carmen. This is fingering weight and I’ll double it for the border. There was also a colorway, “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” named for the owner, Tiffany, but I only needed one skein for this border.
July 13, 2014

BORDER: Side #3 (pictures #24 & #25)
Rain’s Obsessive Stitchery Fred Sock, color “Nashville”. Purchased at Bliss Yarns in Brentwood, TN. The dyer is local to the Nashville area. The yarn is fingering weight and was doubled for the afghan border. I visited the area and, as well, attended the Tenntucky Retreat.
October 2, 2014

BORDER: Side #4 (pictures #26 & #27)
Wollemeise - Purchased at The Loopy Ewe in Fort Collins, CO. The yarn is hard to get and Loopy Ewe is one of the only places in the US to have it. Purchased on a road trip from Denver, CO - went with friends. The blue, and mostly green, colors put me in mind of Colorado. Fingering weight was doubled.
February 7, 2015