Yarn Shop Hop

I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and write about the fun time I had with my friend/neighbor Donna on Saturday morning (which ran well into the afternoon)

3 yarns stores were having a Shop Hop and they were all stores I had never been to before. One is sort of close but I could never find it. I guess the entrance used to be in the back off the parking lot even though the store name suggested they were "ON Main!" They have since moved and there is now an entrance in the front and the back. I finally located it one day when they were closed. The other two stores were far enough away that I hadn't made the trek over there yet, so this was a good excuse to check them all out, and spend a fun morning with Donna.

We started out at Heritage Spinning and Weaving in Lake Orion. What a wonderful shop! LOTS of friendly workers bustling around offering help. This store has lots to offer....lots of yarns for knitters, but also a large room devoted to the spinners and weavers. They had a HUGE selection of sock yarns, which was one thing I wanted to look for that morning so I could knit more socks. At this store I chose a beautiful Trekking XXL skein (colorway 100) and can't wait to see how the socks knit up. I wish I had taken a picture of this beautiful skein before winding it into 2 center-pull balls, because now all the colors are hidden on the inside. From what I could tell as I was winding it, it's going to make lovely blended stripes.

If you spent a minimum of $15 at each store, you got your "passport" stamped and at the last store you entered your passport into a drawing for one of 3 $100 gift certificates. I guess I didn't win because I haven't gotten that phone call I was hoping for. Drats! Each store was giving out a little gift or nice discount. At this store I chose a woven zippered bag which will be good for stashing my stitch markers, tapestry needles, etc. inside my project bag.

The next store we went to was Basketful of Yarn in Clarkston. This store was a whirlwind of activity also. Donna has a friend who works at this store, so we had our own personal shopping assistant. I got some beautiful ribbon yarn to make a poncho out of. I don't have a picture of it because I had Donna take the yarn home with her. It was partly to hide it from Mike (SHHHH! DON'T TELL!) and partly as an incentive for us to get together in her sunroom and sit and knit before the weather gets so cold that we can't use that beautiful room. I'm hoping that maybe sometime next week I can get that luscious project started. This shop had some sinfully delectable chocolates put out for the Shop Hoppers, and I couldn't resist trying a truffle that was soooooooooooooo good and I had to have another. And ok, just one more. I decided to leave some for the other shoppers behind me, so I stopped at 3.

Store # 3 was the previously elusive Skeins on Main in Rochester. This store is incredible. The feeling when you walk in the door is like you want grab your entire stash of yarn from home and move right in for a month. Sit and knit all day long. There is a big table in the front of the store, along with a couch, chairs and a table, sitting in front of a fireplace. The decor is dark walls with a very cozy feeling. From what I understand, this store was previously a Thomas Kinkade art gallery before being taken over by Skeins on Main. If you click on the link to the store and scroll down you can see how beautiful it is inside. The store is really deep, and all along the left side are little walk-in cubbies of yarn, and sitting areas with TONS of knitting books. Towards the back is a FULL KITCHEN for Pete's sake! Back in that area are 3 tall tables with bar stools, which were all filled with people sitting and knitting. Every seating spot in the place was filled with knitters. Obviously a place people like to gather and share their love of Sticks and String. A great selection of yarns presented in a very warm, inviting atmosphere. At this store I bought more sock yarn. This time it was Lana Grossa Multieffect in colorway 3020. It's going to make some awesome socks too! This store was giving out lime green calculators with the store name stamped on them. And they had the BEST cookies on the counter in the kitchen area. The shortbread was to die for and the other cookie I tried seemed to be a citrusy flavor with dried cranberries. OH YUM!

What a fun day it was. I got to check out 3 yarn stores that were new to me, and do some stash enhancement. All yarn bought was for ME! I've been knitting a lot of Christmas gifts, so it will be nice to have these yarns to look forward to finally getting some things knitted for myself soon.