Folks, I write you now as a married person, one who had the great fortune of marrying someone who likes stopping at yarn shops. Not only did my new husband drive us to Maine and back, he kept one eye out for yarn shops along the way.

I like finding yarns when traveling. I imagine they carry a bit of vacation spirit with them. We got more yarns than I can probably get through this season, but even if I knit the sweater 2 years from now, it can still be a "honeymoon sweater".

Here's what I brought back from our Maine trip.

Peace Fleece, 5 skeins
I am itching to start on this one. This gray-green yarn will be for another "camping sweater", this time a basic turtleneck sweater with deep ribbed cuffs. I haven't decided how to construct it, maybe in the round with raglan sleeves.

Blackstone Tweed, for husband sweater the first
Maybe for the saddle-shoulder aran cardigan by Meg Swansen.

Bartlett yarns in Bark, for husband sweater the second
I love the color of this yarn.. brownish black and tweedy. For a manly version of the camping sweater, a basic crew-neck.

Sock Yarns
Sock yarns are so hard to resist. One is super bright yellow, and one "crazy ball" with colors that reminded me of Maine. The yellow will be for textured socks of some sort. The multi-colored ball looks like it will have long stripe repeats a la Noro. I am thinking about striping in a solid gray or black to break up the long repeats.

Wind-spun Wool
There from Hope Spinnery, a Maine mill where they spin yarn with wind power. The yarns come in lovely subtle colors. This is for a hat for my mom. I made her a hat a couple years ago, but she lost it on a trip and had the hotel staff scouring the laundry for it, to no avail. Time for a new one.

I think it would be great if there was a book or an iPhone app to locate yarn shops while traveling, complete with reviews and hours, so we go to the good shops at the right time. Does this exist? Google maps does a decent job, but more than once I've found the yarn shop out of business or relocated.

In case you're headed up the Maine coast, these shops were my favorites:
Heavenly Socks Yarns, Belfast, Maine
Knit Wit, Portland, Maine
Halcyon Yarn, Bath, Maine