Harrisville, NH……..Sept. 13, 2005

Yesterday I took a "me" day.  I packed up my car and headed off to Southern NH for a a day of dogs and yarn.

My first stop was to visit Francie Stevens of Fieldplay English Setters.  Cavaliers will always be my first love and I can’t imagine not having a few, but we are facing some new serious health conditions in the breed, in addition to MVD (mitral valve disease) we are now dealing with SM (syringomyelia) Cavalier owners and breeders have really done their part in providing enough blood samples from cavaliers in the UK, US and in Canada to convince the researchers to do a complete DNA marker, which will at least help breeders make educated decisions in breeding down the road, but that is at least a few years away.  For me, I will breed very few litters until we know more about this condition and it’s mode of inheritance……….and I am also looking at a few other breeds.  English setters are amazingly like Cavaliers in temperament, just in a bigger package and is a breed with few serious health issues.

Now with gas prices being what they are these days.  How could I resist the temptations along the way?  Who knows when I may get back down to Southern NH and we wouldn’t want to make separate trips to places, as my DH keeps reminding me……….so……….first stop on my travels was a side trip to the Elegant Ewe.  I just love this store!  You walk in the door to celtic music and the store is just filled to the brim with some of the nicest yarns, books and spinning supplies.

After visiting with the ES breeder, I took a look at the map and by golly, Harrisville Designs was only a mere 20 minutes away.  What can I say?  Even though it was already 3:30, it was just too close to pass by with out visiting…….and what a treat!!

What an incredible room of colors, textures and unique designs.  The staff is very friendly, the store if full of eye~candy and the building is located in such a beautiful setting.  Even though it is a good distance away from me (almost 3 hrs), I will have to take another trip down in the future!!

As you may remember, just a few posts ago, I spoke of wanting to keep my fiber purchases under control and you would be proud of me.  Can you believe that in visiting 2 incredible shops, that I only came home with a few patterns and the new copy of Spin~off?

I had such a fun day , inspite of the nasty hot and humid weather we are experiencing……..I highly recommend a visit to Harrisville Designs!!