Yarnia - Saturday

And then on Saturday, I headed up to Blaine and worked my way back down to the city. Marcella volunteered to be my sidekick.

BEACH BASKET YARNS, near Blaine (Birch Bay) - What could be better than a yarn shop with an ocean view (just one block away) and a great cafe next door? This is a fiber art destination to die for. The staff was great. The owner brought out coupons to the cafe next door to all of us waiting for her to open. Lots of amazing yarn, there was that great ocean smell all around, and just a ton of fun. Looking forward to reserving a long weekend in a little spot along the main strip and knitting/crocheting to my heart's content. Super cute bobble stitch hats for both crochet and knit, and I had to buy yarn for both!

APPLE YARNS, Bellingham - Without a doubt, my favorite shop I visited. They immediately won points for giving away a cute pen that fits in my notions pouch, and incorporates a measuring tape in to the top! The owner was just great. You could tell she really loves what she does. I bought yarn for both the felted knit bag pattern and the crochet WIP bag, AND for the shawl the owner was wearing. I cannot wait to come back to this shop. If it was a little closer, it would definitely become my LYS.

NW HANDSPUN YARN, Bellingham - Lovely staff and great yarn. Also a large collecting of spinning and weaving supplies. Had a great time chatting with these gals. Bought this great chunky multi-color yarn for the hat/fingerless gloves patterns they had. Even better, the skein is big enough to do the hat and gloves. Really classy people. I can't wait to go back. This tour may start a little yarn tourism hobby for me.

KNOT JUST YARN, Burlington - Seattle metro area shops can take a note from the shops I visited, including this one, regarding customer service. This shop was rather small and didn't have a lot of yarn I loved, but they were warm, inviting, and pleasant. Got some (more) Mountain Colors hand-dyed yarn to make the chunky crochet hat pattern. This shop likes carrying Mountain Colors because they love supporting this small business from Montana run by two women. I like that sort of principle!

WILD FIBERS, Mount Vernon - This shop was just ok. A lot of amazing yarn, and also a lot of great project samples. But, the service was lacking. I evidently value great service in a yarn shop. I guess I have an expectation that while I'm paying more for the yarn, I'm supporting a small business and expect them to have higher prices, higher quality, and better customer service than a large chain store. But, they had Spud & Chloe yarn for the WIP bag patterns in crochet and knit. I bought some for each pattern. You won't appreciate the saturated color of Spud & Chloe until you see it in person. A must have yarn.

GREAT YARNS, Everett - Great shop, fun yarns. The pattern included a new crochet technique and ribbon yarn, so very unusual to the patterns we had seen so far. Bought the yarn and a new crochet hook thingy. Looking forward to practicing this technique. Definitely a recommended shop.

MAINSTREET YARN, Mill Creek - I was ready to hate this shop. I was biased against it because it's in Mill Creek, and in an upscale shopping area in Mill Creek. Instead, I found the staff warm and friendly, the yarns great, and the free pattern gorgeous. Got the yarn, again. I also found a great circular needle organizer that I had to have. The shopping area had great spots to eat as well, so this should be a return spot for a little shopping and dinner.

VILLAGE YARN & TEA, Lake Forest Park - And finally, we were back closer to Seattle. The staff in this shop were very nice. I had wanted to check out this shop for some time. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me. I wasn't nuts about the patterns. I didn't buy any yarn. The shop had a strange vibe for me that I couldn't figure out. I might try it again sometime since it was the last shop in a long day of shops and at that point I had full on yarn overload.

What a lot of fun! I'm planning to continue trying to get to all 25 shops, hitting a few each weekend here and there. In two days, I got to 13, so not bad. All 25 in four days would be quite a feat, especially if one plans to take a look at the shops while there and not just grab a stamp and run.