I recently resurrected crocheting as a hobby.  It’s been years since I created anything with yarn and a crochet needle.  Crochet patterns and yarn have changed significantly.  I practiced on some old yarn I found stored in my sewing supplies and contemplated what I should create.

When my daughter was scheduled for surgery on her broken ankle, I knew I would have some down time while I waited.  I decided it was time to start a project.  I intended to pass time during her surgery by crocheting.  A great idea, but I didn’t get to the store before the surgery.

Because I would stay with my daughter in Tulsa while she recuperated, I picked up yarn the following evening.  Although I had crochet needles at home, I picked up a new set along with a two skeins of yarn, (Yarn Bee, First Love, he’s the one) a beginner refresher book and a basket to hold the yarn.  The baskets were half price so I couldn’t resist.

I found a basic afghan pattern and realized I would need a lot more yarn.  The yarn I purchased was variegated so I decided not to worry about the lot#.

I headed back to the original Hobby Lobby and discovered I had bought the last two skeins.   I did find and purchase 4 small skeins of a nice cotton blend.  After all they were on clearance. How could I resist?  En route to the second Tulsa location of Hobby Lobby on East 71st, I spotted a Barnes and Nobles and decided I would duck in for just a minute.  An hour later I realized I had no idea what time the second Hobby Lobby closed.  I paid  for my books and rushed off in search of ‘he’s the one’.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the Hobby Lobby on 71st, I could see people milling about as I hurried toward the entrance.  No luck.  A store employee  waved me away and mouthed, “We are closed”.

I searched for the yarn online and discovered it appeared to be sold exclusively at Hobby Lobby.  The yarn was out of stock for on-line purchasing.  The next morning, I called the store on 71st and found out they were also out.  Apparently, ‘he’s the one!’ was a big seller.  And so began the quest for ‘he’s the one’.  An internet search identified Hobby Lobby stores in two nearby towns.  A phone call to Owasso confirmed they were out of the yarn but the Broken Arrow store had 4 skeins in stock.

My husband set off  to Broken Arrow to pick the up the yarn. He returned triumphant with the four skeins.  That was great but I still needed more yarn.

We would drive home through the Dallas area the next day, so my husband called the Dallas Hobby Lobby on Preston.  As I was making lunch, I could hear him on the phone.  “Yes, I need to see if you have a specific yarn.”  (pause) “Yarn Bee, First Love, he’s the one!”   He had to keep repeating, “First Love, he’s the one!”  as he was disconnected twice and transferred between departments.   I believe he just demonstrated, he is definitely the one!  Finally he was told that yes they did have 5 skeins. The sales clerk said no they could not hold them until tomorrow and no he couldn’t purchase them over the phone.

Still searching for yarn, I made an afternoon trip to Tuesday Morning and found 4 skeins of cashmere yarn and 2 of a lovely wool blend on the clearance aisle.  Of course I had to buy them!

When we left Tulsa, OK for Austin, TX,  I used Google maps to locate a Hobby Lobby in Sherman, TX where we found 4 more skeins of ‘he’s the one!’  on the shelf.  Score!  Stopping by the clearance section, I found several more skeins of yarn which found their way into my cart.

I now have 10 skeins of ‘he’s the one’, and about the same number of skeins of miscellaneous clearance yarn.  Doing the math I realized I could use a few more of ‘he’s the one!  We set off to find the Dallas store to determine if they had any of the five skeins left.  Upon arriving, I rushed to the yarn department to grab all five skeins which were still on the shelf!  I completed the quest!  This will be a lovely and fun project!

Now I just have to buy a bigger basket for all the yarn and figure out a few more projects.  Aren’t clearance sales wonderful?