This weekend is (was) the North Shore Yarn Crawl. It is supposed to be continuing tomorrow (Sunday) but we won't be able to participate tomorrow, so we were done as of today. This was a group of 12 yarn shops that got together to offer something fun to knitters. In quilting, it's called a shop hop and operates in a similar manner.
At the first shop you pick up a "passport", which you have signed or stamped at the shops you visit. Some shops had visiting artists, some had extra raffle baskets over and above that for the yarn crawl as a whole, and all of them were fun!
Thursday night we had some extra time, so we ran down to Gloucester, MA (I love Gloucester!) to find Coveted Yarn. Imagine that, a yarn shop in Gloucester, and I had no idea it was there! We visit Gloucester several times every summer, because we love Stage Fort Park, and we love going to Amelia's restaurant for lunch (best broccoli parmesan subs on the planet!)
We loved Coveted Yarn! As soon as we walked in, we noticed the couch prominently placed, along with several pizza boxes. We were immediately invited to join them for pizza, and DH took a seat as I wandered around the shop. I left there with a few things:
One skein of On-Line Supersocke 100:
And a few accessories - Hiya-Hiya sock needles in size 2.25 mm, some yarn darning needles, and some puppy snips.
Here's a closer look at the puppy snips.
And this is what they look like when you squeeze the bottom:
Cutest snips EVER!
We had such a good time that we decided to go back today and try to get to a few more stores.
Our first stop was Seed Stitch Fine Yarn in Salem, MA. It is a very pretty shop! We like Salem for other reasons as well. You see a lot of bicycles, both being ridden and locked up outside the shops. The yarn shop is also very close to a quilt shop! We parked four blocks away, at a municipal lot that was very easy to get into and out of (important when driving a pickup truck, and when unfamiliar with the area!). When we asked the lot attendant for directions, she was surprised we were willing to walk "all that way!" (Four blocks, mind you!) Regardless, we managed four blocks each way without collapsing or calling a cab, and I found some very interesting sock yarn! This is a variegated German sock yarn called Shoppel-wolle. It comes on a "wheel", with instructions to run a knitting needle through the center of the wheel (white with lettering) and hang it to unwind.
It's actually two strands together, dyed at once. You hang the wheel and wind both strands individually into two balls, with the intention of ending up with matching socks!
Our next stop was a brand new shop, Creative Yarns on Cabot St. in Beverly, MA. It was indeed brand new, as you could tell by the semi-naked shelves and the extremely strong "new carpet" odor! We didn't stay long at all, but I did pick up some yarns to make my two young nieces (ages 1 & 3) some kid socks. This is Plymouth Yarn "Happy Feet" in lavender - a little lighter in color than this picture shows.
Next was a shop that ended up being quite a bit out of the way - Yarns in the Farms in Beverly, MA (actually in a section called "Beverly Farms"). It was a really cute and very well-stocked shop that was way too small for the crowd it attracted, and very overwhelmed by the number of people visiting at once! I had an enjoyable chat, briefly, with knitting designer Julia Farwell-Clay about spinning wheels, and purchased a knitting magazine that I've never seen before!
Next stop was Cranberry Fiber Arts in Hamilton, MA. I've been to this shop several times before, and sevveral times when it was a quilt shop instead of a yarn shop! Nice shop, bonus points for being easy to find and for having adequate parking! I picked up a little knitting notions box, "The Perfect Notion Case" by Nancy's Knit Knacks.
This is what it looks like opened up:
Next up was Toni Lee's Knitting Nook in Rockport, MA. We love Rockport, probably about as much as we love Gloucester! I went to this shop a long time ago on a previous visit to Rockport. It was no longer where I remembered, however. Instead it was difficult to find, and it was a tiny room in the basement of a home in a residential area. The shop was totally charming, however. She had several absolutely wonderful baby and children's sweater samples hung up, and I ended up getting two sets of yarns (with free patterns) to make sweaters for my two nieces. One is Plymouth Yarn "Dreambaby DK" (the variegated) and the other is Plymouth Yarn "Jelli Beenz".
We ended where we had started, at Coveted Yarn in Gloucester. Heather of Sereknity.com was there, with her wonderful yarns and rovings! I'm a new fan of her work, having recently purchased some roving when she showed up at our spinning group meeting. Hubby allowed me to be absolutely indulgent, and I got two braids each of four different colorways of her rovings!
This is "Campfire", in 80% Merino/20% Tussah Silk top.
"Crush", in 100% Superwash Merino top.
100% Blue Faced Leicester top, in a colorway called "Purple People Eater". This picture definitely looks more blue - the actual braid is more of a medium purple.
And this is "Lilacs in Bloom", the top is 50% alpaca, 30% mohair, 20% silk. The colors in this picture are darker than in real life.
All in all, it was an awesome day. I got to spend the whole day with hubby, we got to visit some of our favorite Massachusetts towns, the sun was shining, and the temps were in the 50s. It was gorgeous! The mood among the people attending the Yarn Crawl was happy and cheerful; we ran into some of the same people at several stops, and laughter was frequently heard. To those shops that put on and participated in the yarn crawl, thank you!
Knitting Traditions is a once a year knitting magazine under the Piecework magazine label. I haven't finished reading through my issue yet but it looks like there are some interesting projects.
Posted by: Rachel | March 13, 2011 at 04:44 PM
Got any advice on the easiest mitten pattern for a beginner?? My friend wants to do mittens, and would appreciate any help. I am waiting for yarn and a pattern to arrive for my first sweater - a swing coat!! supposed to be easy!
Posted by: karen sue | March 14, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Glad you had fun! Even more glad we'll see you a few times every summer. Thanks for coming down!
Posted by: Robert | March 16, 2011 at 12:46 AM
i snagged some of the sereknity at coveted as well (in fact, that is where I heard about the hitchiker). Yarns in the Farm is one of my favorite spots. I Adore jill.
Posted by: betsy | March 16, 2011 at 09:45 AM