Yarn Crawl!

Warning: This will be a long and picture heavy post.  Click on any picture for a larger version.

On Wednesday I went on a yarn crawl with Ronni.  I "met" Ronni via my blog (I love that blogs bring people together!).  She was one of the winners in my Way Back Machine Sweater contest.  We have been chatting through email and it seemed like it might be fun to go on a yarn crawl together.  She lives in the South Bay (think San Jose area) and I hadn't been to ANY yarn stores down there (hey! it has only been ten years since I moved back to the Bay Area, these things take time).

Ronni mapped out a plan.  First up was Commuknitty in San Jose. I had heard a lot about this store and was very curious and excited to go there.

You gotta love a yarn store with a great wheel in the front window (even if it is missing critical parts).

It is a surprisingly large store.  Not that they had more yarn than the average store, just more space. 

The selection is nice, but not so very unusual.  It would be a great spot for a knit gathering with all the comfy seating.

They do have plenty of sock yarn options, including a lot of Claudia Hand Painted yarns. I got a skein of TOFUtsies and some fingering weight Free Tree alpaca (for roasty-toasty socks this winter, yes, very hard to imagine right now). 

I also picked up a book called Knitting Stitches by Mary Webb.  I got it for the stitch patterns, but it is a good all around resource book with good sections on basic techniques, finishing,  and reading charts.  Plus it is compact ,making it handy for toting about.

Next we went to Knitting Arts in Sarasota (ETA: Saratoga).  It is a very cute store.  Maybe too cute. 

Sarasota is an upscale town and the yarn selection reflects that.  They have some gorgeous cashmere yarns (so dangerous, I am afraid to touch them because of the temptation factor).

They also have Habu yarns.  Somehow I missed the Habu booth at Stitches, so I enjoyed seeing it in person.

Then there were some inexplicable items like this rubber band necklace.  Seems like the wrong demographic to me.  Except for the price tag.  Yup, it says $70 and it is just rubber bands strung on a cord.  Go figure.

I only got one yarn at Knitting Arts.  If you guessed that it was a sock yarn, you are right!  No bonus points though because that was an obvious answer.  The yarn is Jitterbug by Collinette.

Then it was on to Rug & Yarn Hut in Campbell (sorry, no pictures of the store).  The store has moved very recently and was a little discombobulated.  However, the staff was very friendly, the owner is a character (in the good sense of the word), and the book selection is very good.  They also teach classes and sell supplies for many different crafts including spinning, weaving, rug hooking, and dyeing.

I found three books that I have never seen before.  There is also a book on natural dyeing that is already on loan to Brooke. 

I bought some cotton-viscose yarn by Garnstudio because I was struck by a scarf idea.  (yes, I do think non-seasonally.  I am always behind the curve.  Or ahead of it.  Yeah, that's right, I'm ahead of the curve).

We still had some time, so we headed into Los Altos.  There are two shops downtown, just blocks apart. 

Uncommon Threads seems to lean towards more traditional knitting.  I like that.  They have a great selection of Rowan yarns and the only good selection of Jamieson yarns I have seen in the Bay Area.  I really like this store.  Aside from lovely yarns, they have great samples and a friendly staff.

I bought more sock yarn, specifically Meilenweit Cotton Stretch and Regia Silk (so deliciously soft) for a manly two color pair of socks.  Usually there is an extensive Koigu collection, but they have been back-ordered (perhaps that is fortunate?). 

The shocker is that I bought the yarn for a sweater.  Well some of the yarn I'll need.  More on that later when I have everything and perhaps a swatch to show.

Our last stop was Full Thread Ahead.  I have shopped at their Stitches booth, but seeing the shop was better.  It is a great store! 

The owner, Hollis, was there and delightful.  She carries yarns I don't commonly see like Sea Silk and Cherry Tree Hill.  I need to go back when I have more energy to see what I missed.  It is hard to do justice to the fifth stop on a marathon yarn crawl.

I bought some Jojoland yarns.  I got two skeins of the sock weight Melody (it doesn't show well in the picture because it is half knit already) and one skein of lace weight Harmony.  I think I will make a beaded shawl with the Harmony.  Both yarns gradually transition for color to color in wide stripes.  I'll show you the socks I am making with the Melody tomorrow.

I wish I had these two Los Altos stores in my neighborhood.  Did I mention the incredible cake store half way between the two stores?  Yumm!  All that is enough to make me return to Los Altos.

Thank you Ronni for a great day and the great company.  I had so much fun. 

Comments

[Lisa]

Looks like you had a great time and brought home some nice stuff. Have fun with it!

[Rita]

I've only managed to read a bit of your post so far. I'm so jealous! I'm just drooling. When I can stand it I'll come back and look some more. LOL.

[Charlene]

I loved reading your post. Great pictures! ...doing a yarn crawl has been something I wanted to do in our area..oh one day! You were very disciplined in your shopping, and your choices in yarn sound like they'll make for great projects this summer. Gardening is priority right now here in Alberta Canada we have such a short season. Thanks for letting us share in your day, and I look forward to reading your future posts on your work in the garden, and knitting!

[Debi]

Wow, what fun! I wish I could have been there! Nice haul too :)

[Marina]

I'm so jealous! There aren't that many stores here to do a yarn crawl and the selection of yarn is quite pitiful. But, I have "shopped" at Full Thread Ahead"! Just wish Uncommon Threads had online shopping ;-)

[Vicki]

What a fun day! I wish "my shops" were all a little closer -- or maybe I just need to get an extra-early start and make an entire day of it. Hey, that doesn't sound like torture or anything, does it! That's going on my list -- I'm havin' a Yarn Crawl Day!

[elizabeth]

What a fun day! I was eyeing some Jitterbug this weekend too (in that exact color!), but it stayed on the wall of the shop. Probably a good thing.

[LaurieM]

Lovely! It must have been a fabulous trip.

[Ronni]

I'm glad you had fun. I did too. We'll have to do your neck of the woods next time.

I'm swatching today with some of what I bought.

[Robin]

The yarn crawl looked like lots of fun. I like the socks they are very pretty. I may have to hunt some of that down.

[Liz]

Wow, looks like fun! But a rubber band necklace? Seriously?

[ruth]

stumbled onto your site... love your review of some of the south bay yarn stores. the ones you mentioned are among my favorite... especially Commuknitty and Knitting Arts. I grew up in Saratoga, but it wasn't until I moved away did I start knitting (darn it!) and didn't realize what good yarn stores were so close to me at the time!