Saturday Yarn Tour

Saturday was the day that my friend C & I set aside for the Local Yarn Store Tour. Since she was not picking me up until 11AM, I started to work on another pair of fingerless mitts. I have the first one about an half hour away from being done! I'm knitting them with a skein of the burgundy alpaca from my stash. I'm reworking a pattern from Vintage Socks so that I can use the lace pattern. Its coming out beautifully.

For the LYS Tour, we started at Great Yarns in Everett. No purchases for this store, although there was, of course much to tempt us! Next, we headed over to Let It Rain Yarn. I think this was our favorite for the day. It was so cozy and inviting to just sit, knit and talk with a friend. We both bought a skein of yarn to knit the free pattern. I have also been looking for a longer needle to put my CWS on, and they had the right size in a 47" Addi Turbo Lace Needle, so of course, I bought that, too! They are a small shop in a brand new building, but we have already decided that we'll have to go back for one of their Wednesday night drop in knitting sessions. The 20% off coupon for later this summer, will certainly be used!

Next, we drove into Seattle, stopping first at Fiber Gallery. This store had an amazing selection of yarn. If I hadn't been on such a tight budget, I could have purchased a ton of yarn, here! I did find 2 skeins of yarn in the perfect color to send my Secret Pal. I loved their free pattern, as well, but it will be added to the stack of patterns until I find the perfect reason to knit it. We walked across the street to a market/deli to buy lunch and then continued on toward the University District. On our way we stopped at a store that was not part of the tour, Acorn Street Yarns. This is a small shop, but with nearly floor to ceiling yarn, they had plenty to choose from. They have the largest selection of knitting needles that I've ever seen!! Going on to the next store, we headed for Weaving Works. We found parking easily, next to the store, which was wonderful and unexpected. This was another store with a great selection. I really liked the way the store was arranged. They had almost an entire wall, divided in 2, with wool yarns that would felt. It was divided to make it easy to see which yarns were worsted weight and which were bulkier. Once I have my partner information for the ITEIV, I may go back to find yarn for the tote, assuming my partner would like a felted bag! I did find a skein of sock yarn in dark colors with some black, purple, rose and green. That was my splurge for the day.

Finally, we drove to the 2 stores that we most frequently go to, Main Street Yarns and Village Yarn and Tea. At Main Street, we had our passports stamped picked up the free pattern and looked through their clearance shelf. I found some beautifully hand painted needles for my SIL's birthday gift. (These are the ones that are painted by women in Eastern Europe. I don't remember the country or the brand name.) At Village Yarn, we loved the free pattern, but the yarn they had available for it was not quite what I wanted to use to knit it, so no purchases for me, but C found some great clearance Eco-Wool. (I had a difficult time passing that up, at $13 per
skein for almost 500 yards!) The day was absolutely wonderful!

In sock knitting news, I worked on the second May Day Sock, almost finishing one pattern repeat for the leg, while riding in the car between stores.