5.17.2008 A Glorious Spring Day/Shop Hop Day 1

(I Spent How Much?)

Yes, the sun was out, the birds were singing, and there was a spring (hop?!) in our step. The Hop was on. We were so excited that we met at a shop that wasn’t even Hopping. How could we possibly resist Jacquie’s lovely LYS Cultured Purls, which just happened to have all yarn on sale? A good time was had by all as we purred over the Blue Heron metallic rayon, amongst other beauties. Now, with lists in hand, the quest began…

Rayon Metallic

Jacquie and Sheila

Leaving Issaquah, we consulted Sheila, our astral navigator (ok, GPS guide), and headed into Seattle to Tricoter. Famous for both their patterns and their snooty attitudes, we wanted to see for ourselves as we had never been to this shop. I must say that while they may have been naughty before, the ladies were on their best behavior today. There were a couple of particularly nice designs, and we found a selection of Socks that Rock, but the overall layout of the shop was disorienting. The yarn was all organized by color, and while it made for nice eye candy, it was too hard to settle in and contemplate the fibers. Looking for a specific weight for a specific project was a joke and would have had you zigzagging about. Not for me. Je suis désolé, mademoiselles.

Next stop was over the bridge, through the U∙District, to Acorn Street. Jacquie found the Ty Dy she was looking for (YAY!) and we spent a good deal of time with the sock yarn. Boy was it hot in there! We finished up and headed over to Wallingford. Note to shoppers: be leery of things from the basement.

Socks!

Bad Woman Yarn was a delightful little shop in Wallingford Center. They were all ready for the sHoppers, with snacks, a list of sale yarns, and a list of local eateries. We kept feeding our sock yarn appetite (Shop Hop? Maybe Sock Hop!). This is also where I started my relationship (can you stalk a yarn?) with the luscious Manos Silk Blend. I quickly snapped up every skein of a particularly lovely variegated, and made it my mission (obsession) to find more before the Hop was done. It was here that we also picked up some knitterly trinkets for Clarise – the poor girl was slaving away at work and couldn’t Hop with us. Afterwards, we poked around at a cute gift shop in the Center, and then had lunch across the street at Julia’s. Yum!

Manos Silk Blend – “Hello, Lover”

A note about Knitterly Guilt: I have such fondness for my LYS (Main Street Yarn), the lovely owner Marie, and the ladies like Teri and Tina who taught me to knit, that I often feel guilty shopping anywhere else. I rationalize by saying that most of what I’m buying isn’t carried by MSY (sometimes true). I rationalize further by saying that I try to bring back juicy bits of espionage about their competitors (usually true), and even further by reminding myself that I have sent several customers there (always true). Today there was an extra source of guilt when I felt I was cheating on another lovely entrepreneur, the yarn dying diva of Damselfly Yarns. But, I do have a skein of her Sturdy Sheep Blend in Chartreuse Mousse, earmarked for Pomatomus, and a skein of Glacier Lake that is awaiting assignment. I’m going to start saying personal affirmations in my mirror, “I am an equal-opportunity sHopper. I support many local businesses and the national economy. I am loyal and adventurous. ” – hey, do you remember that song from Girl Scouts? “Make new friends, but keep the o-old, one is silver and the oth-er gold.” See. It worked for the Girl Scouts.

 

The Fiber Gallery was next. Not much ambience, not much inspiration, and one singularly wrong item. Sick and wrong – a knitted thong. Enough said.

Over to Ballard, to Full Circle Yarn. This was a yarn, stitchery, and framing shop. A little scattered, but nice folks and a clever one skein purse pattern for the Hop. I picked up a little 220 for my Bird In Hand mitts.

Cascade 220 Solid & Paints

We headed north to Village Yarn and Tea and found delicious chocolate chip cookies waiting just inside the door. They were a perfect little snack to perk up afternoon sHoppers. Always fun to peruse the teas & fibers, it was a little disappointing because they didn’t have the colorway of Kauni that Jacquie wanted. And I was still on a quest for more of my Manos Silk Blend. Sigh.

We stopped off at Evergreen to drop of the goodies for Clarise. Alas, she had gone home early. Our surprise would have to wait another day. Sigh, part deux.

We wound up the first day of our tour at Hilltop East. I helped myself to a cute pink polka-dotted Lantern Moon bag and proceeded to load in some more Blue Heron metallic rayon. A beautiful black with gold Tinkerbell trail throughout. Divine!

After reaching yarn satiation for the day, we walked down to Maggiano’s for a little dinner. Mmmmmm… Yummy pasta followed by apple crostadas with ice cream and caramel sauce. Night night. Until tomorrow…

Uh, or so you thought… But, dear reader, don’t be fooled. Where there’s a will (and internet access) there’s a way. Our intrepid sHoppers would continue in their quest for all the Knittle Bits their hearts desired. Jacquie found the highly sought Kauni at Little Knits, Lynn prowled Ravelry in search of sock designs for the miles of new sock yarn, and both burned up the messaging system… Furiously they typed messages back & forth to plan a special getaway to the Fall Fiber Arts Retreat in the Canadian Rockies. So giddy were they it was like passing notes in the fifth grade about a boy you liked – and you knew the teacher would catch you any minute. Srsly, a knitting trip with a great friend to meet and learn from some of your favorite designers and knitting personalities, all while staying at a resort in Kananaskis? What more could one want?!

We’re going to have to remember that if we dance around singing “we’re going to meet The Harlot, we’re going to meet The Harlot” someone is definitely going to get the wrong idea.