Friday, February 26, 2010

Yarn Crawl

I never posted about my yarn crawl on the way home from LA when I visited Carson. I had several new places and old favorites on my list. So here's the goods!
I started at Wildfiber in Santa Monica. The first time I experienced Wildfiber I drooled over the their Big Wall O'Koigu. Right around the corner from Koigu is the Scrumptious Wall of Cashmere(mynames). I didn't take a photo of the front of their establishment because the building was getting a facelift. Literally--it was being restuccoed painted, the works. I have been here every time I come to LA, which is not a frequent as I wish. There is no comparison to Wildfiber. Great selection of yarn, lots of natural light from their big windows, friendly helpful staff who remember you. Definitely one that you should have on your listif you get within 100 miles of them. I mentioned in my blog a couple of days before that I was going to stop there first. I received an email the next day from the owner, saying that she had read my post and that a free blogger gift awaited my at the shop. She wasn't there when I stopped by, but one of the ladies who helped me took my name and address. Natasha Hopkins, the owner, sent me a gift--how cool is that? The goodies included a project bag, highlighter tape (a must-have), a small box with stitch markers and point protectors. (photo to follow soon) Thank you to Natasha. Your shop is worth the trip, even if it is 301.2 miles and 4 hours, 49 minutes from my front door! Be forwarned though, they really enforce the parking restrictions here, tickets are easy to come by and pricey.

Next I visited Jennifer Knits. I had read about them, and I had a vision of what I thought this shop would be like, but it was nothing like my vision. There were about 10 ladies lined up at the door waiting for them to open. I sat outside knitting on my sock. When the doors opened, they all lined up and signed their names on a whiteboard. The shop owner gives them one on one attention whether they are shopping or need help with their knitting. Which is nice, if that's what you are there for. I was there to touch, sniff, and drool on yarn. Everything was in big ziplocks, the shop was small and didn't tweek my creative side. Living
a long ways away from any yarn shop, this one didn't fit my needs at all. No sock yarn sightings either.


So back in the car, heading for Laguna Hills and Yarn Lady. OMG. Yarn Lady. What can I say? I could have curled up on any one of their several seating areas and knitted all day. It is a large shop, but they have several areas set up with seating, furniture arranged to make it feel like they were separate rooms. Of course I bought some yarn--Schaefer's Nancy in the Elizabeth Zimmerman colorway. And some sock yarn. Actually two skeins of sock yarn. OK, and some other stuff too. A yarn wrap necklace by Perl Grey. And maybe a scarf pin.
On the 5 again, to Common Threads in Encinitas, one of my perennial favorites. Stopping by there reminded me why I always like going there. Basically the same things I have already mentioned--they are friendly, helpful, remember you, and they have a nice selection of yarn.
Also in Encinitas, Black Shop. Nice selection of brands also. They are really quick with shipping too.

Next, a visit to a shop I haven't been to for a while--Needlecraft Cottage in San Diego, over by the beach. A new owner, nice selection of yarn (esp. sock yarn), and they ship. They get the stuff out to you really quickly. A definite plus for me since I live in a yarn-barren town.

Lastly, a stop to the yarn shop we call the "Hooters Yarn Shop". It is right next to the Hooters Restaurant in the Mission Valley area. Nice ladies, but more needlepoint than yarn.
So, in summary, the perfect yarn crawl from Yuma to LA would include driving to San Diego, hitting Needlecraft Cottage (for the sock yarn esp), then on to Laguna Hills for Yarn Lady, and end up in Santa Monica for Wildfiber. Wildfiber is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, for sure!

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