Metro Yarn Crawl 2015!

Hard to believe another yarn crawl has come and gone!  Two friends and I headed to Virginia last Tuesday and visited Nature's Yarn, Aylin's Woolgatherer, and Uniquities.

The first stop was Nature's Yarn.  I couldn't believe that the store has been open for 7 years, and I've never heard of it.  But they did say that this was the first year they were participating in the crawl, so why else would I have heard of it since I think of Fairfax, VA, as the edge of the earth ;-).  I didn't actually buy any yarn at this store (even though they had a lot of great fibers), but scored some Knit Blockers and this beautiful shawl pin by Jul.

Then it was on to Aylin's.  It's a little tricky to find since it's actually on the third floor of an office building wedged between the Loehmann's and the Giant grocery store.  I love this store because it still carries the Catania yarn by Schachenmayr that's so impossible to find.  With 20 percent off, I loaded up on some beautiful colors and think I've found the perfect project for it (which of course will be in another post).

We were starved, so after a quick South American chicken lunch, we were back on the road to Uniquities.  This is such a great shop and totally worth the trip out there to Vienna, VA, even when it's not crawl time.  I managed to not buy anything after breaking the bank at Aylin's, but there was some hand dyed sock yarn that I've got my eye on!  It was definitely Mary's favorite, and she scored some wonderful sock yarn and a yarn bowl at an awesome price.

So, after our Virginia adventure, we made it back to civilization (aka the District limits) by 4, just in time for me to drool a bit more over my purchases and take a nap!

Adventure!

I've been taking it a bit easy this Metro Yarn Crawl.  My yarn stash is already busting at the seams, and I'm in the process of working on at least 3 "real" projects (aka gotta get them done for someone else!).  I really can't/shouldn't/WILL NOT go wild this crawl...

So, yesterday, Mom and I piled in the car to venture out to Glen Burnie to see The Knitting Boutique, the only shop that we did not visit last year.  It really is near to BWI Airport -- we know because we ended up missing our turn, going too far, and circling through "departures"!  The nice desk lady at the Four Points Sheraton got us headed back in the right direction :-)

Once we found the store, it was a worthwhile trip.  Although located in a relatively empty part of a strip mall, once you get inside the store, it's quite lovely and inviting, and the folks there could not have been nicer!  I wish the shop wasn't so far away, it really would be a great spot to sit for a while:

I of course ended up getting some Tahki Cotton Classic in a beautiful red color, you know, for that tank top that I'm going to crochet or knit up for myself ;-).  Any day now, any day....

Tulips

Yes, the tulips are finally blooming, even though the weather here in DC has been cold and then hot and now back to quite brisk again (but at least sunny).

And, speaking of tulips, CrochetAddict has added my Tulip Kindle Cover to her Thursday's Handmade Love blog feature!  She's got some really sweet tulip spring patterns featured on her blog, so check out the whole collection.

And one of my squares for the Looped Blanket Project is done!

I've almost finished getting all of the knit and crochet squares finalized for the blanket and will be featuring each square and its designer in blog posts during the Metro Yarn Crawl.  I'm hoping to team up with

The Block Project

The whole Looped Yarn Works family is joining together to get ready for the Metro Yarn Crawl, and each of us is creating a crochet or knit block (12 inches by 12 inches) to showcase the beautiful new yarn by Quince and Co that is exclusively carried by the store.  I'll be posting pictures of all the squares as we get closer to the start of the crawl and letting you know how you can get the patterns if you are not local.

Still working up some other new spring patterns, but it's just too soon to do a reveal ;-)  But, right now, the spring cleaning fever has hit me, and the Goodwill truck is coming to my building on April 27th, so I've got lots of cleaning and organizing to do by then!  My treat will be to get to organize my stash, but I don't get to play with yarn til I get all the paperwork in order, so...

Two and Towels

The Countdown to National Crochet Month continues, and today, I'm taking a step back to look at my yarn stash and figure out some new projects to use it up before the Metro Yarn Crawl so that I can buy more yarn!!

One great way to use up yarn is Towel Toppers!  I know, it seems a bit much to put all that work into something that's going to get messed up pretty quickly, but tell me you can resist this cute little Chicken Topper?!

And this Pineapple Towel Topper really is quick and easy!

Ok, stay tuned for more of the Countdown!

And Twas the Day After New Year's!

And I'm barely stirring...  I have tried to unplug again and am spending my time knitting (?!) and playing this addictive game on my iPad.  It's called "Found" and I justify it by saying that it is helping with concentration and eye-hand coordination ;-)  It's free in the iTunes app store, but don't blame me if you get lured in...

And, yes, I said it, I've been knitting.  Remember how, way back when, I said that I am determined to make a pair of socks.  Well, crochet socks are just not the same.  I think crochet booties for babies are actually better than knit booties because they aren't as flexible, so baby won't kick or push them off as easily.  But, the lack of "give" in crochet socks just don't work as well for grown-up feet, so I'm going to knit a pair.  Actually, I just want little ankle length "tennis socks" so how hard can that be?!  (famous last words...).  I've still got that beautiful yarn from the Metro Yarn Crawl last year, and I've got to finish it up before I can justify buying a whole bunch of new yarn this year.

Because I am still a crocheter at heart, I've decided to make "toe up" socks because it makes more sense to me.  I signed up for Knit Toe Up Socks on Craftsy (if you're interested, please sign up through my affiliate link above, thank you :-), and since Craftsy has a new iPad app, it's so easy to watch and pause to give it a try.  The course covers all aspects of making socks -- different toe and heel constructions as well as help on making other choices along the way.  I like the instructor too, I feel like she's really trying to anticipate your questions and answer them as she goes along.  Actually, I used her suggestions to start a knit baby hat from the top -- I figured that might be an easier way to get a feel for working in the round with knitting and using double pointed needles.

I will keep you posted on my progress!

A New Look

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but as you can see, I've been up to some behind-the-scenes changes, more of which should be coming to light soon.  So, what do we think of the new look?!  Would love some feedback on the changes :-)  Though, I have to say, not sure that the new Blogger dashboard is as user-friendly as the previous version, but guess everyone's needing a change these days
 
And, I'm still recovering from the Metro Yarn Crawl, but what a great time! As I mentioned, I got 9 out of 10 store stamps and decided to go back to Knit + Stitch = Bliss in Bethesda to enter their drawing.

 And I won!!  What a great gift:

Six hanks of Tahki's Cotton Classic Light in a beautiful mauve color that does not quite come through in this picture, a kit to make a hat, three great knit and crochet pattern booklets, and a really nice tote bag.  I've already picked out a crochet pattern that calls for 6 balls of the Tahki, so I hope to get started on it soon and get some pictures of it up here.

I'm also hoping to start some of the other great projects I've been thinking about and start using up some of the way-too-much yarn I have now.

More changes coming, so come back soon!

The Last Day of the Crawl

Well, mom and I hit up the last two shops on our list on Friday.  We first headed to the Mount Vernon area to see In Stitches Needlework.  This is a great shop for needlepoint, but frankly, their yarn selection is limited (though they were having a great sale on Sublime yarns). 

 But, it was a beautiful day for a road trip, and we then came back up US 1 to get to Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria.  They now have a classroom upstairs, so the former classroom on the main level is filled with even more yarns!  Since I already had gone overboard in yarn purchases, I picked up a great little project bag for only $10 in support of Project Knit Well.

Hard to believe the Metro Yarn Crawl is over!  I ended up with 9 out of 10 stamps on my card (the only shop we did not make it to was The Knitting Boutique in Glen Burnie, MD, but hopefully I'll get up there before next year's crawl :-)

In the upcoming weeks, I'll be posting pix of my purchases and projects related to the Yarn Crawl, so stay tuned!

Day 2 of Metro Yarn Crawl

Whew, we hit up 4 stores today!  Started by heading east to get to The Tangled Skein in Hyattsville, MD.  It's a great big shop with a large selection of yarns and notions.  Friendly staff as well, and I got a lovely lace-weight silver yarn to weave in with my grey mercerized cotton yarn for an idea I have for that next great project of mine ;-)

Then, it was on to The Yarn Spot in Wheaton, MD.  I didn't get a chance to meet Jennifer, with whom I'm been corresponding about the fleece, but I did get to meet Victoria, who could not have been nicer and gave me some great tips for the next step of carding/combing the fleece.  Can't wait to go back for a spinning lesson :-)  Got some Schaeffer Yarn while I was there -- great deal!

Onward to Rockville, MD, to visit Woolwinders.  This is my mom's favorite shop -- it's a bit smaller but has a beautiful feel to it, still a great selection, and is in such a quaint area.  Even though my wallet was getting quite empty by this point, I broke down and got some Berroco Weekender Chunky to make a bolero for the spring/summer.

Finally, we stopped by Knit + Stitch = Bliss in Bethesda, MD.  I can't believe that I bought sock yarn that calls for a size 2 needle!  It's just so beautiful though, how could I say no to something named Strawberry Latte?!

We've got one more day of shops to visit (it's back to Virginia!), so there will be a third installment.  Then, I hope to be posting pix of the yarns I picked up and the projects they will turn into!!

Metro Yarn Crawl 2012

Ah, it's that time of year, and I am going to try really hard to visit almost all the store (I don't think I'm going to make it all the way to Glen Burnie this year though :-(

So far, I've been to Aylin's Woolgatherer and Uniquities Yarn Shop, both in Virginia (the website www.metroyarncrawl.com has a suggested routes map that's very helpful).  Uniquities is located in a lovely part of Vienna, Virginia and has an amazing selection of notions, knitting and crochet "equipment".  Their yarn selection is extensive as well, and the ladies there could not have been nicer!

Then, off to Aylin's we went.  That shop was much harder to find, but thanks to the ladies at Uniquities, we knew that we had to go to Loehman's shopping center, look for the building in which the 7-11 is located, go over to the side of the building, and go to the third floor.  But, it was worth the trip!  I love Schachenmayr's mercerized cotton yarn, and the shop has a great selection of colors, and also an extensive collection of knitting and crocheting booklets, with a number of European brands.  We also got to meet Aylin, who turns out to be from Turkey originally.  After making my purchases and tasting her delicious borek (Turks can never let you leave without feeding you :-), I made my way back to DC!

The next adventure is on Thursday, this time in Maryland!