Treasure Hunting
This past weekend was the Second Annual “Tools of the Trade Twin Cities LYS Shop Hop.” Because I didn’t go last year, I decided to go on Saturday and asked Mom to go with me.
What I really liked about the Hop is that I got to visit five new-to-me stores. The metro area is so big and sprawling, it’s a bit of a drive to go to most places. We started at Zandy’s Yarn in Burnsville, went up to Needlework Unlimited in Minneapolis/Edina, west to Coldwater Collaborative in Excelsior, then north again to Amazing Threads (but we got a bit lost trying to find this shop), east to Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, and south to The Yarnery in St. Paul, and finally 3 Kittens Needle Arts in Mendota Heights. We left the house at about 9:30 AM and got home just after 4 PM! (Christy of Purling Away made a Google map that shows the shop locations.) Of these 7 stores, I’ve visited only The Yarnery and 3 Kittens previously.
I think Needlework Unlimited was my favorite; there was a TON of patterns, and we spent about 20 minutes there browsing. Amazing Threads was smaller than I expected. Coldwater Collaborative was crowded (bad timing on our part). But overall, all the stores were very nice with a varied selection. (The most common overlap I noticed were the new Marie Mayhew felted kits. The Yarnery recently opened their online shop and have them available for anyone interested who doesn’t live in the area. NAYY; I think they’re pretty cute!)
To prepare for the Hop, I researched each store’s website to see if I could find certain brands or items that interested me and might generally not be found at the other shops. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money or buy a ton of yarn, so I made a shopping list. I managed to stick to it pretty well; I found about half the items on my list, plus a few extra patterns. I set myself a budget and didn’t go over, so in all it was a successful excursion.
Holiday Preparation
I stopped by the 3 Kittens (update: link fixed, thanks!) last weekend to get some yarn for the secret gift I’m making. I lucked out because they were having a sale. The yarn I bought was 45% off, and I also got 15 patterns for $1! (The yarn doesn’t break my Yarn Diet, because it’ll be used for a gift.)
Newest additions to my Yarn Family
(About this time now, I’m on a plane on my way to Chicago for Stitches Midwest!)
In June, Dave had a contest, Two Duhs, and I won! The yarny prize arrived last month but I haven’t been able to blog about it until now.
Yarnover 2006 and More
(Sigh… I had over half of this post typed out, then my mouse went bonkers and I lost the post!)
Quick Sockettes update: I have just half of a cuff to go… I aim to finish tonight and post pictures tomorrow.
Yarnover 2006: Mom and I went through all the colorful, fiber goodness this morning. I know some other local bloggers were planning to go, I think I might’ve seen Renee, maybe… There were LOTS of people. :)
