Sunday, September 29, 2013

Yarn Along the Rockies, Part 4 and Part 5

This week I have learned that there is in fact such a thing as too many yarn stores.  We did three on Friday, and three on Saturday, which was nearly too much because a) they were the far away stores, and b) we had to work around me and the kids' belt tests.  I have completely lost track of what I got on those days, however here is a picture of all the swag:

I think I lost something, but can't figure what.  Here's a picture of all the things I bought:
There was also actually a shawl pin, but I discovered this morning that I could also use it to pin up my hair, and forgot that it was attached to my head when I was taking pictures.  So, yarn stores visited on Friday:

Knit Knook:  I got the shawl pin here.  Another yarn store with a little coffee shop inside, except this one actually has muffins and stuff, not just drinks, which was a nice surprise.  Nice big open space in the middle to sit and knit in too.  They also have a restroom, which turned out to be very important to my cute little girls.

Yarn West:  They have a yarn bombed bicycle in front!  This one is kind of hidden in a shopping center - you have to walk down a little path from the parking lot.

The Recycled Lamb:  Happy thirtieth anniversary, Recycled Lamb!  Nice shop, I can see why they would be able to stick around so long.  They were having a yarn tasting that evening that we couldn't stay for, but it looked really cool.  Also, they have coned yarn for weaving.

And on Saturday, we went up to Boulder:

Mew Mew's Yarn Shop:  Cute little shop.  Oldest girl found something called "dragon scales," which are basically aluminum scales you can work into your knitting.  They look extremely cool.

Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins: This is another one you have to walk down a bath through the shopping center to find, at least the way my cell phone told us to go to get there.  This is a BIG shop, which has an adjoining store that is basically all weaving stuff.  So if you weave, go here.  I also found a really clever DPN holder, that I can use over my needles when there's a project on them, which I'll probably talk about some more once I've tried it out.

Gypsy Wools: These guys dye most of the yarn in their shop, it seems.  And it is very nice stuff!  They also carry a wide selection of hand dyed embroidery thread, of which oldest girl got some for her tatting (it's linen!).  Be careful parking around here, most of the roads are one way and it was quite possibly more confusing than down town Denver.  There were fewer places to park, least ways.

So that was the yarn crawl, all twenty and three yarn stores, from Colorado Springs in the South to Boulder in the North.  If I had it to do again, I would figure out how to do in fewer days, because honestly, by the end I was ready to be DONE.  But we pulled it off with an assortment of small children in tow, so I think we did well enough!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Yarn Along the Rockies, part 3

Yarn Along the Rockies!  We went to five yarn stores yesterday, and had lots of fun.  Also got lost.  But fun!  So, acquired:

Swag: just buttons for my bag.

Purchased: 1 skein Dizzy Blond Superwash Sock (it comes with a stitch marker!), 1 skein Skeindalous Eartha Sock

Stores visited:

Bags by CAB: If you want to go here, make sure you have the right address, then google map the *address.*  If you just search for the store name, it will take you to a place that was, apparently, two locations ago.  We ended up at the two locations ago place first, which was annoying, but not the store's fault.  There was however a nice restaurant there, so we had snazzy lunch.  When we finally got there, the store is at least half bag store.  But what yarn they do carry is nice.

Wild Yarns: I like this store.  :)  They specialize in local hand dyed yarns, which is about my favorite thing ever, and have their shelves labeled as "dyed in (place)."  They also have other nifty local hand made things.  Easy to find, to boot, which was nice after the fiasco with the first store.  I wish they were closer to my house!  This is where I got the Dizzy Blond (dyed in California).

Lamb Shoppe: Big yarn store!  They also have a little cafe inside that has coffee and tea and stuff.  Also, a corner with toys for the kiddos, which I always appreciate.  We didn't get to linger here because the children were getting hungry again, but there is a place next door that has super tasty frozen custard treats.

Fabric Bliss: This was my favorite yarn store until I went to Stash this weekend, and it is still a close second. They carry nice quilting stuff as well as yarn, and it is nice yarn!  This is where I got the Skeindalous - it is a special limited edition colorway for the yarn crawl.  They do that every year.  Last year the special yarn was from Pigeonroof Studios, one of my favorite dyers.  I wish they were closer to my house too!

Knit Knack: These guys are all the way in Arvada!  That is much further away than I initially believed!  They are a nice store though, right in the downtown.  They have a little cafe with drinks in the yarn store, too, which I always like.  Little girl tried to take some yarn home from here, so I had to take her back.  She had to give it a good-bye hug, which was very cute.

We're taking a break until Friday, when we are going to do the rest of the Denver area stores (what we have been calling the "outer loop"), then on Saturday we will go up to Boulder for the last three stores.  We are almost done!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Yarn Along the Rockies, Part 2

Still doing Yarn Along the Rockies.  Today's conclusion: seven yarn stores may be too many for one day, especially if you have three small children with you.  They were very good girls.  Just holy CRAP are we tired now!  So today:

Swag: another Eucalan sample, several coupons, buttons to go on my bag.

Purchased: 1 ball Koigu KPPPM (this color looks like sprinkles!).

The swag is a lot less here in the heart of the yarn crawl.  I wonder if it will get more again as I move back toward outlying regions.  Also, towards yarn stores that are NOT going out of business.  But anyway, stores visited today were:

Zen Knitting: These guys are closing.  Their normal location is actually already closed, and their remaining stock is being sold at screaming deals from another store.  Kinda lame, and inconvenient because this was the yarn store closest to my house.

Knitty Cat:  Also closing.  They still have a fair amount of yarn, and TONS of books, and some fabric, for screaming deals, but from what I hear after the yarn crawl they are no more.  This was the second closest yarn store to my house.  GAH!

Colorful Yarns:  Still plans on being in business next week!  Yay!  I really like this store for browsing, I've found all kinds of interesting things there.  They also have monthly sales that are awesome, so if you live in the area, get on their email newsletter.  Also: they had lots of snacks for yarn crawlers.

A Knitted Peace:  I've actually never been to this one before, which was cool.  They have the largest selection of non-wool yarns I've ever seen - cotton and linen and hemp and all kinds of stuff.  They also have a toy bin under the window for kids, which was awesome, because little girl wanted me to stand next to her while she admired herself in the full length mirror in one corner.  BORING.  Also. made me wish I had bought that mink yarn yesterday, because it was significantly more expensive here.

Blazing Star Ranch:  This yarn store is actually inside a vacuum cleaner store.  Selection is limited, but almost all from local ranchers and dyers, which is cool.  They also have tons of spinning supplies, like wheels and stuff. The children wanted to use the wheels as bicycles, so we had to hustle out of there.

Fancy Tiger Crafts:  If you are into any craft involving yarn, thread, fabric, or paper, you will love this store.  If you are into multiple such crafts, you may have a hard time ever leaving.  Also, the road they are on is both four lanes wide and one way.  Down town Denver is an odd place.

I Love Knitting:  When I visited these guys last year, my first thought was "man these guys need to get organized," because there was basically yarn everywhere.  They are looking MUCH better now!  They are also within reasonable driving distance of my house, which is a relief after the first two stops today.  This is where I bought the Koigu.  They are also right next to an awesome French bakery, which is unfortunately closed on Mondays.  GAH!

We're going to go again tomorrow, and then rest until Friday.  We are definitely on track to go to ALL the yarn stores.  Fun!


Sunday, September 22, 2013

Yarn Along the Rockies, Part 1

So me and my mom are participating in the Yarn Along the Rockies yarn crawl this year.  Nine days!  Twenty three yarn stores!  MADNESS!  So I thought I'd give a report on all these yarn stores.  Yesterday we went to five, and received:

Swag: 3 bottles Kookaburra Wash, 1 bottle Kookaburra Delicate (it smells like flowers!), 1 pen, 1 sample Eucalan, 1 nail file with llamas on it, 1 tube chapstick, 1 felted bag pattern.

Purchased: Official yarn crawl tote bag (also received: one pin for each yarn store visited, except one), a bunch of tatting stuff for the big girl's birthday, a 5.5 mm crochet hook (to replace one I lost), 1 ball Kiwi lace weight (it has possums in it!), 1 tiny felted purse.

The stores we visited were:

Green Valley Weavers and Knitters:  I like this store.  They have just about everything, but you have to ask to find anything.  This is where most of the tatting stuff came from.  Also, they had a super cute tortie kitten frolicking by the register.

Wooly Works:  If you like tatting, or thread crochet, or just like thread size #10 or smaller, go to this store.  They have about six MILLION colors.  This is where the rest of the tatting stuff (ie, the thread) came from.  Was suddenly glad I didn't buy thread at Green Valley, there was a better selection here!  These guys didn't have the button to go on my bag, though.  Super annoyed!

Needleworks by Holly Berry:  This is one of those yarn stores that is actually mostly a random rick rack store.  I got lost in their embroidery and needlework thread section.  One of the employees was really grumpy, but I don't blame her because it was SUPER crowded!

Table Rock Llamas:  I actually go to this yarn store all the time, because they are kinda right by my mom's house.  We are super excited because they didn't get burned down this summer!  Remember to go to the back building - that's where all the cool spinning/dying/SALE stuff is.

Stash:  This is my new favorite yarn store, despite them being twenty minutes from my mom's house and nearly forty minutes from mine.  They have tons of super nerdy stuff, like this hat:
As well as super rare yarns - like 100% mink, or 100% Tibetan yak - for super reasonable prices.  This is where I got the tiny felted purse.  It clips onto the belt loops on my pants!

Tomorrow we are planning on going to five more yarn stores, so I will try to keep you posted.  We're doing our best to go to them all this year!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Housekeeping, and a surprise!

First of all, my Tea Party Stole is finished and out of preorder:
It is available for purchase on Ravelry for $4.99.

Also, the next pattern in my book, Nuts and Spice Shrug, is now in the testing.  It is also available for preorder for $3.99.  I think it turned out really nicely!
There, done housekeeping!  Now, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I'm actually slightly ahead of schedule, which will allow me to give you a surprise.  My book is a collection of layering pieces - shrugs, wraps, and so on - but it has really bothered me that there isn't a shell included.  There was supposed to be, but between one thing and another, it seemed it wasn't to be.

UNTIL NOW!
I will be adding one more pattern, the Whipped Up Shell (in Knit Picks Comfy Sport) to my book.  This will necessitate me raising the price on the book to $18.  However, anybody who has already bought the book when I raise the price will get the additional pattern for FREE.  Surprise!  The price change will happen as soon as the shell goes into testing - hopefully in about two weeks.  I will set a date for it once I get a little closer to completing the pattern, however I wanted to let you know that if you want to get the lower price, you should go ahead and order now!