Well, it has been almost a whole work week since I got back from HiOhSilver's work trip and subsequently my 1st ever Yarn Crawl. Flying into Seattle, I read about the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I so, so, so wish I would have known so that I could have attended those meeting. Walking down the halls to the open Marketplace , there were so many really great classes and wonderful women and knit goods, oh, and the Hello Cupcakes everyone was carrying around. Unfortunately, no classes for me, but there was lots of yarn. Here is the start of the ShiBui Vintage Baby Cardigan in sock yarn in a non-baby light slate colorway from the Knit-Purl's booth. The lampworked button is from Sheila & Michael Ernst's booth there.
Also at Madrona was Blue Moon Fiber Arts with all of their yarns. The Raven Series was there, their Leticia was there, all the weights were covered, and they even had the Sheep to Shoe kits. I must have walked around and around and around that booth. Oh, what can I make with this one? What can I make with that one?
I totally fell in love with the Turquoise colorway in the medium-weight. The colors remind me of the Lagoon in Bora Bora that I miss so much.
It must be the great weather that was going on while I was in the Pacific Northwest. They were having beautiful weather and I think I was a little bit jealous. I needed to take a little bit of color home. I will have to admit: I never pick colors so friggin' bright. Look at this colorway, Fire on the Mountain. I was looking at this for my Chevron scarf instead of the Farmhouse colorway. I am glad I choose the Farmhouse, but I couldn't pass up the Fire on the Mountain. I don't know if I will make socks out of these, or if I might make another Chevron scarf, maybe for someone else. Madrona Marketplace -
A+ To add to my desire for brighter skeins, while I was down in Portland at Twisted on Broadway, I fell in love with a yarn I have never seen before. Zen String's Serendipity. This one is Hopi in a fingering weight. The colors are intense! The only pattern I could even figure that the colors would not overpower would be another pair of monkey socks. That pattern was really fun to work with, and who couldnt use another pair of Monkeys? I only have one now, and I am not a fan of the colorway, so maybe I will fall in love with this one? But don't let me put the cart in front of the horse. I visited Madrona on Valentine's Day, which this year fell on a Thursday. On Friday we drove back down to Oregon to stay with my MIL and on the way I planned to stop off at Twisted. The directions online were great, the traffic was not. Living in Alaska has many luxuries, and the lack of mass traffic is one of the foremost. Twisted is located in a quaint little area, surrounded by boutiquey shops. The women that were there (one being an owner) were completely down to Earth. Knew there customers, asked about me because they realized I had never been into the store by 1) the size of my eyes as they bulged out of my sockets, 2) the drooling from my mouth over all the delicious yarn, and 3) the speed of my fingers as I cluthed onto every skein in the store. I was feeling talkative as I had been sequestered in the car on the seven hour drive from Seattle (it is usually 2 1/2 hrs but it was a three day weekend, and all of Washington was making their exodus south on I-5). Both girls told me what I liked, found out I was down in a stash enhancement, told me about manufacturers, what drove them to order specific colors, the activities they were planning on for the store and generally made me feel very, very welcomed. As new customers came in, one of them would walk over and talk, but then wander back. As my talkative streak came to an end and all my brain power was computing how much I had left in the bank account and how I could maximize my purchases, they casually faded back into what they were working on before I made my introduction to their store. Excellent customer service
, friendly atmosphere, stellar inventory. Twisted - A+
It must be the great weather that was going on while I was in the Pacific Northwest. They were having beautiful weather and I think I was a little bit jealous. I needed to take a little bit of color home. I will have to admit: I never pick colors so friggin' bright. Look at this colorway, Fire on the Mountain. I was looking at this for my Chevron scarf instead of the Farmhouse colorway. I am glad I choose the Farmhouse, but I couldn't pass up the Fire on the Mountain. I don't know if I will make socks out of these, or if I might make another Chevron scarf, maybe for someone else. Madrona Marketplace -
A+ To add to my desire for brighter skeins, while I was down in Portland at Twisted on Broadway, I fell in love with a yarn I have never seen before. Zen String's Serendipity. This one is Hopi in a fingering weight. The colors are intense! The only pattern I could even figure that the colors would not overpower would be another pair of monkey socks. That pattern was really fun to work with, and who couldnt use another pair of Monkeys? I only have one now, and I am not a fan of the colorway, so maybe I will fall in love with this one? But don't let me put the cart in front of the horse. I visited Madrona on Valentine's Day, which this year fell on a Thursday. On Friday we drove back down to Oregon to stay with my MIL and on the way I planned to stop off at Twisted. The directions online were great, the traffic was not. Living in Alaska has many luxuries, and the lack of mass traffic is one of the foremost. Twisted is located in a quaint little area, surrounded by boutiquey shops. The women that were there (one being an owner) were completely down to Earth. Knew there customers, asked about me because they realized I had never been into the store by 1) the size of my eyes as they bulged out of my sockets, 2) the drooling from my mouth over all the delicious yarn, and 3) the speed of my fingers as I cluthed onto every skein in the store. I was feeling talkative as I had been sequestered in the car on the seven hour drive from Seattle (it is usually 2 1/2 hrs but it was a three day weekend, and all of Washington was making their exodus south on I-5). Both girls told me what I liked, found out I was down in a stash enhancement, told me about manufacturers, what drove them to order specific colors, the activities they were planning on for the store and generally made me feel very, very welcomed. As new customers came in, one of them would walk over and talk, but then wander back. As my talkative streak came to an end and all my brain power was computing how much I had left in the bank account and how I could maximize my purchases, they casually faded back into what they were working on before I made my introduction to their store. Excellent customer service, friendly atmosphere, stellar inventory. Twisted - A+ Also from Twisted,
Also at Twisted, I found yet another skein of Dream in Color, Classy. I used Happy Forest for Boy5's Log Cabin socks, I bought November Muse (brown) for a pair of Log Cabins for myself. But then I found this skein, Deep Seaflower. I fell in love instantly. The blues flow into the purples and back again. I can't wait to start on them. Boy5's socks are like dreams on my feet.
I used the flash to take this picture, so the skein is a bit lighter than the actual color. It is more of deep purple like the bottom right of the 2nd photo of the Dream in Color. I found a link to a Central Park Hoodie that is being made from this fiber and I plan to follow the creation of this sweater because I would love to make my CPH from this. It will be the most expensive sweater I will ever own (fingers crossed that I dont get futher demented and start buying even more expensive sweater yarn). But yes, I do really enjoy working with it.
Ah, I just couldnt pass picking one of these up from the Village Yarn and Tea Shop's booth at Madrona. I have been drooling over this from the Loopy Ewe, but they had so many of the WoolPets kits on the booth table that I just could not resist!
And as I was paying for my sheep, I ran across these stitch markers sitting so periously close to the cash register. They were just peeping, "take us home, we're the blue birds of happiness, and we make your knitting fun." Oh, sad little orphans without a home... How could I let you sit there lonely. Hop into my bag and I will take you home. And so they now grace my office desk. Never to be lonely again. I might be buying more and line a desk above the pictures in my office. They are just adorable. By Good to Be a Girl.
soak... oh yeah, dont forget the essentials! I guess with all the socks that I have now, and all the yarn I have to make socks, I will be needing to wash them. I love the samples that I have used, so it is about time I buy a full bottle and have it on hand. And there is NO WAY I am doing anything but handwashing a handknit sweater. Far too much work to see it ruined.
Okay, so not all my purchases were fiber related. I did stop at one other store during my crawl. It was Tricoter in Seattle. I drove down there by myself to take a look around and I was so disappointed with the service and lack of attention by the sales staff that I walked out of there without a single purchase. It killed me, they were having a AWESOME sale! I was "bumped" by two of their clerks, and neither even looked up. I was totally in the way. They knew the women that walked through their doors by name, knew their projects, do an awesome job with those they were willing to help, and yes, they had some gorgeous skirts (as their book covers). It was just disheartening to see that the reviews are true. They completely lack warmth to "traveling through" customers. They will stay in business with their established clientele, but they didn't get any of my money. Tricoter = D
here is Zen String's Serendipity in the November colorway. I love the color of this yarn. It is so soft, but I didnt notice the yardage. At only 241 yards, it might end up as a very short pair of socks. Most likely, I will have work them toe-up so that I use up every available inch of this yarn. It is gorgeous. I am thinking another pair of Roza's socks. I love the ones I already have in CTH. They are my favorite pattern/yarn combo.
Also at Twisted, I found yet another skein of Dream in Color, Classy. I used Happy Forest for Boy5's Log Cabin socks, I bought November Muse (brown) for a pair of Log Cabins for myself. But then I found this skein, Deep Seaflower. I fell in love instantly. The blues flow into the purples and back again. I can't wait to start on them. Boy5's socks are like dreams on my feet.
I used the flash to take this picture, so the skein is a bit lighter than the actual color. It is more of deep purple like the bottom right of the 2nd photo of the Dream in Color. I found a link to a Central Park Hoodie that is being made from this fiber and I plan to follow the creation of this sweater because I would love to make my CPH from this. It will be the most expensive sweater I will ever own (fingers crossed that I dont get futher demented and start buying even more expensive sweater yarn). But yes, I do really enjoy working with it.
Ah, I just couldnt pass picking one of these up from the Village Yarn and Tea Shop's booth at Madrona. I have been drooling over this from the Loopy Ewe, but they had so many of the WoolPets kits on the booth table that I just could not resist!
And as I was paying for my sheep, I ran across these stitch markers sitting so periously close to the cash register. They were just peeping, "take us home, we're the blue birds of happiness, and we make your knitting fun." Oh, sad little orphans without a home... How could I let you sit there lonely. Hop into my bag and I will take you home. And so they now grace my office desk. Never to be lonely again. I might be buying more and line a desk above the pictures in my office. They are just adorable. By Good to Be a Girl.
soak... oh yeah, dont forget the essentials! I guess with all the socks that I have now, and all the yarn I have to make socks, I will be needing to wash them. I love the samples that I have used, so it is about time I buy a full bottle and have it on hand. And there is NO WAY I am doing anything but handwashing a handknit sweater. Far too much work to see it ruined.
Okay, so not all my purchases were fiber related. I did stop at one other store during my crawl. It was Tricoter in Seattle. I drove down there by myself to take a look around and I was so disappointed with the service and lack of attention by the sales staff that I walked out of there without a single purchase. It killed me, they were having a AWESOME sale! I was "bumped" by two of their clerks, and neither even looked up. I was totally in the way. They knew the women that walked through their doors by name, knew their projects, do an awesome job with those they were willing to help, and yes, they had some gorgeous skirts (as their book covers). It was just disheartening to see that the reviews are true. They completely lack warmth to "traveling through" customers. They will stay in business with their established clientele, but they didn't get any of my money. Tricoter = D
Last minute purchase of stationary.
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