Not sure about you, but our local yarn shops have barely heard of Classic Elite Inca Alpaca. And of course, we had to EACH have our own Heading East sweater from the Fall 2006 Knitter's magazine.

Luckily, we heard about Rosie's Yarn Cellar in Philadelphia. Coincidentally...we had to go to Philadelphia (no...we didn't fly here JUST for the yarn). So, we call for availability then start the trek. Let me tell you, we wish we had just flapped to the store instead of driving a car because there is NO PARKING. Yup...this is the east coast...NO PARKING! After circling the one way street maze, we locate a lot who will generously allow us to park the rental car AND not take the car keys, for a mere $15 fee (partially refundable, if you return within 1 hr - it's $4/half hr). Had we realized this, we would have called ahead and had them pull the yarn so that it'd be in "ready to purchase mode".

Next, we got lost searching for this place. We'll tell you that it's called a "cellar" for a reason...they're really a few steps below street level. If you're walking and you're on the correct block, you'll find it - there's a big sign. But when you have to park 4 blocks away...well, we wish we had had a map!

Typical of smaller stores...the bulk of the yarn inventory was actually not on display, but in bins in the back (and the side storage). Not a big deal, actually it was rather amusing to watch, except that we were tired and in a hurry. :)

In the end, we got most of our yarn (just short 3 skeins of the pretty blue color) and we're thrilled. We made it back to the parking lot within 45 mins and got $7 back. We apologize to Mr Parking Lot man who we thought would not provide a refund as promised...he did refund happily and was actually surprised that we could shop THAT fast.

In any case...open letter to all you shops who have Classic Elite Inca Alpaca hiding in their cellars - PLEASE OH PLEASE kit this sweater and let the rest of us know about it! We'd rather be knitting than searching for all the yarn!