Category Archives: Local Yarn Store

Knitting, Knitting Pattern, Local Yarn Store, Travel, Winter 2016

Barchan Earflap Hat

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Download the pattern from Ravelry FREE for 24 hours!

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The Barchan Earflap Hat is named after the horseshoe-shaped snowdrifts called barchans.  Worked from the top down with a provisional cast-on, this ribbed hat has a seamless construction with no short rows or stitches to pick up.  The slouchy version of the hat is shown, but the pattern can be easily adapted for a beanie style, with or without earflaps.

I’m in love with the Lana Grossa Fur Pom Pom from The Trendsetter Yarn Group.  It attaches easily with a snap which you stitch onto the hat.  It’s just so soft and fuzzy and gorgeous!

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I used the beautiful worsted wool I bought in Dresden, Germany a few years ago at The Green Wheel.  I love having yarn as a souvenir.  It was so much fun to relive a little bit of that amazing trip!

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Darling German cherub
Darling German cherub

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Fall 2016, Knitting, Knitting Pattern, Local Yarn Store

Piedras Blancas Cowl

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Download Piedras Blancas Cowl on Ravelry.

50% off all WayfaringYarns Designs on Cyber Monday (and Tuesday!)

This summer I had the pleasure of traveling with my two oldest children to Cambria, a quaint little town on California’s central coast.

Ball & Skein & More, Cambria, California
Ball & Skein & More, Cambria, California

After a fabulous lunch, I just had to stop at the yarn store in town.

Beautiful yarn!
Beautiful yarn!

Ball & Skein & More carries items from over 90 different vendors, so it took me…we’ll just say more than a few minutes to decide on my purchase.

Piedras Blancas Cowl in Mrs. Crosby Hat Box
Piedras Blancas Cowl in Mrs. Crosby Hat Box

Two gorgeous skeins of Mrs. Crosby Hat Box was the winner!

I couldn’t wait to get home and get busy with this beautiful, luxury yarn.  75% Merino, 15% silk and 10% cashmere = pure heaven!

I named this cowl after Piedras Blancas Beach, a lovely state beach just north of Cambria.  The textured lace pattern is reminiscent of the white stone beach and gentle waves of the Pacific Ocean.

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The long version of the cowl is shown on the model, but the pattern also includes a shorter version which only uses 400 yards of sport weight yarn.

Happy Knitting!

Issue 3, Local Yarn Store, Winter 2016

Salt Lake City, Utah

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Once upon a time in a cute little neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah called Sugar House, there was a perfect little house.

Blazing Needles Yarn Store. I loved the yarn ball and knitting needles sculpture in the front yard!
Blazing Needles Yarn Store. I loved the yarn ball and knitting needles sculpture in the front yard!

And inside this house a wonderful lady watched over the most beautiful skeins of yarn in all the land.

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Brands like Shibui Knits, Bookland Tweed, Summit Cashmere and Malabrigo.

Malabrigo Worsted, 100% merino
Malabrigo Worsted, 100% merino

This may sound like a fairy tale, but Blazing Needles is a real-life yarn store focused on making every customer feel like a princess who has died and gone to yarn heaven 😇

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I didn’t want to leave, but when I did I couldn’t wait to get home and wind up the gorgeous Malabrigo Worsted I purchased.

The Sugar House Cowl
The Sugar House Cowl

If you’re ever in the Salt Lake area, don’t miss this magical little house on the corner.

Issue 3, Local Yarn Store, Winter 2016

San Francisco, California

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During our yearly mother-daughter trip, my Meggie-pie and I enjoyed the best San Francisco had to offer.

Me and my Meggie-pie
Me and my Meggie-pie

Delicious food, the San Fransisco Ballet, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge and luxury accommodations were a part of the package, but our trip was not complete without an Über ride to San Francisco’s premier yarn store, ImagiKnit!

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ImagiKnit is a tiny store, but is packed to the brim with yarn delights from all over the globe.

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Megan fell in love with the store’s darling mascots.

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I was able to score a couple of skeins of Rowan Yarn’s Fur

Rowan Fur, 97% wool, 3% nylon
Rowan Fur, 97% wool, 3% nylon

and got to work as soon as I got home.

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Downtown Jackson Scarf knitted with Malabrigo Mecha and Rowan Fur

Next time you’re in San Francisco, don’t miss the chance to stop by ImagiKnit!

 

Issue 3, Local Yarn Store, Winter 2016

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

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Tucked away in downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a perfect little yarn store called Knit on Pearl.

One of the daily affirmations at Knit on Pearl
One of the daily affirmations at Knit on Pearl

And no, Pearl is not spelled wrong, the store actually used to be located on Pearl St. in Jackson.  Cute, huh?

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Knit on Pearl carried all sorts of yummy brands like Noro, Juniper Moon, Manos Del Uruguay and

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Plymouth Yarns, which I purchased enough of  to make my Teton Village Sweater.

Teton Village Sweater
Teton Village Sweater

I’m lucky enough to call this store my LYS!  Next time you are Jackson, make sure you swing by!

Knitting, Local Yarn Store, Travel, Yarn

Trace Your Yarn

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While driving through the Rhône-Alpes region of France last year

Dairy cows in the French Alps
Dairy cows in the French Alps

my husband and I stopped in downtown Grenoble so I could check out a yarn store (feeling lots of hubby-love here❤️), Maille á Part, located at 5 rue Génissieu. I went straight to some fingering weight alpaca, and stood there, trying to decide on a color.  This was my first experience with Lang Yarns, a German company which has been in business since 1867.   That’s almost 150 years!

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Lang Yarns carries several wool yarns that are traceable, meaning can enter the yarn information printed on the lable here and learn about the farm and the sheep on the farm that produced the wool you are holding in your hand.  Pretty cool.

Baby Alpaca is not a traceable yarn, but that didn’t take away any of the pleasure I enjoyed while knitting up the Grenoble Fair Isle Hat.

Grenoble Fair Isle Hat, Lang Yarns Baby Alpaca, 100% alpaca
Grenoble Fair Isle Hat, Lang Yarns Baby Alpaca, 100% alpaca

 

Knitting, Local Yarn Store, Travel, Yarn

Encinitas, California

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Last spring we got the chance to visit my brother and sister-in-law and their boys in San Diego, California, the most beautiful, peaceful place on the California coast.  After lunch and before the beach, I paid a visit to The Black Sheep, a LSY located on Highway 101 in Encinitas.

Encinitas Sunset
Encinitas Sunset

This yarn store is the stuff of which dreams are made.

Wall of yarn in Black Sheep. That's Malabrigo Mecha hanging on top.
Wall of yarn in Black Sheep. That’s Malabrigo Mecha hanging on top.

If you can dream of a luxury yarn brand, The Black Sheep probably carries it; Berroco, Classic Elite, Debbie Bliss, Jade Saphire, Rowan, and Skacel to name a few, every brand and style with an abundance of colorways.

I was happy to snag several skeins of Noro Silk Garden Solo

Noro Silk Garden Solo - 45% silk, 45% mohair, 10% wool
Noro Silk Garden Solo – 45% silk, 45% mohair, 10% wool

And Malabrigo Mecha

Malabrigo Mecha - pure merino super wash wool
Malabrigo Mecha – pure merino super wash wool

I’d been dreaming of owning some Noro Solo for months, wanting to pair it with some of my striped Silk Garden in some sort of intarsia designed something or other. Instead, I ended up using most of it for Pierre’s Fringe Wrap.

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You can get the pattern for Pierre’s Fringe Wrap here.

Have you visited The Black Sheep in Encinitas? I’d love to hear about your experience!