Stitches West 2012 02/26/2012
Stitches West 2012 inspired... as all Stitches events before did. This year, everywhere I turned, we were coming across a designer, yarn manufacturer or publisher and it felt really good to be surrounded by such talents. I look forward to the next event where we can all get together and share our passions. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to put on such an amazing event! 2 Comments Madrona 2012 Recap 02/24/2012
 Madrona 2012 is over and what an amazing time! I arrived on Thursday in Seattle to visit with friends, to see some yarn shops, and to check out the Madrona marketplace. MUCH smaller than Stiches, Madrona's marketplace offers the best of the best in fiber - from wheels and spindles to yarn, books, fiber, looms and accessories. We took our time going through the space, visiting with each booth and getting to kow their product offerigs. We visited with old friends, made a few new ones, and had the luxury of spending a schedule-free day... really taking the opportunity to see what was being offered. Sadly, I didn't take any photos at the marketplace itself, so I had to rely on Suzanne from Slipped Stitch Studios to send this photo of the group. One of the first booths we purchased at, they offer lots of great project storage soultions, including the moustache bag that Michael bought! 
After spending the day at the marketplace, we got together with some friends for dinner... After all those yarn fumes, it was a much needed meal, that's for sure! We chatted, laughed, and spent some good "catch up" time and it was fantastic. However, it WAS a bit rainy and despite the super duper warm and cozy sweater I had on, the obvious lack of a hat and umbrella left me shivering! 
Madrona was a wonderful experience. My only regret? That I didn't sign up for classes. Next year. Next year, I hope to take some classes... my favorite one? -an all day exploration of natural dyeing with lichens (and mushrooms, I think!) December Yarn Crawl 12/28/2011
Today John, Chuck, Kenny, Dewey (the Boston Terrier) and I headed off to a fun day-long adventure with full intention of hitting as many yarn shops as possible. Given our nature of being easily distracted by beautiful yarn, that number ended up being 3 different yarn shops and one farm. The first shop we went to was Princeton Yarns. We arrived shortly after they opened and were intrigued by not only the beautiful photographs and yarn but also by the vintage magazines, including Knitting Traditions (a periodic offering by Piece Work magazine). This place is tucked away in an indoor mall in the Shops at Harbor Village in a cute little fishing community. The place also offers some sort of large format photo printing and fills its "beyond yarn height" walls with gorgeous photographs framed and ready to be purchased. Nowhere to sit and knit in this place... but it's a great spot to shop and find some unique treasures. Princeton Yarns 270 Capistrano Road #20 Princeton by the Sea, CA 94018 Phone: (650) 712-1440 http://www.princetonyarns.com/ Our next stop was a hop, skip and a jump to Half Moon Bay and the home of Fengari Fiber Arts. Chocked FULL (to the rafters), this shop was buzzing with activity. The folks working here were busy answering questions and making suggestions to the customers about yarns, needle sizes, and project ideas. It's a bit of a tight squeeze in this place, with an overflow of boxes full of yarn being stored on top of the shelves. If you want it, they probably have it! Where did the name come from? The owner, Ann, says her husband (who is Greek) came up with the name, which translates to "Moon" in English. My only critique of this shop? There was nowhere to sit and knit. Not that I was intending to sit and knit today at a shop but it's still part of the ambiance I love to see when visiting a shop. Perhaps their yarn inventory pushed the seating out of this shop.... there is a cute bench outside waiting for someone to sit, knit, and enjoy people watching in this little town. From there we headed to Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero. Restored in 1910, this functioning dairy farm has over 200 alpine goats on nine acres. They offer a variety of dairy products, including framage blanc, feta and ricotta cheeses, as well as local honey and other indulgent items such as hand crafted soaps and lotions. We got some cheese from this beautiful place after visitng with the goats and llamas. Dewey (the dog) was enamored with the llamas... or was it the other way around? There's a cute photo in here of these two saying "howdy" to each other! Harley Farms Goat Dairy 205 North Street, Pescadero, CA 94060 Phone: (650) 879-0480 http://www.harleyfarms.com/  Here's a photo of me with Kenny Chua during our visit to the farm. He's with us for the holidays; from Christmas to New Years! We are lucky to have him visitng us and it's fun to get to hang out and spend a few days knitting with my good friend. Our last stop on this day-long crawl was at Nine Rubies in San Mateo, CA. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is an AMAZING shop. Located on a cute street (not quite as quaint as Main Street in Half Moon Bay where Fengari is) and owned by some really fun ladies, this place is bright and has a gorgeous chandelier hanging in the center of the shop. It was well organized, with what seemed to be "sweater's worth" yarn quantites on it shelves. We were welcomed in (as we were at all the shops) but this time, something was different. They asked if they could point out just one new item in their shop.... of course, we were happy to hear what was new... It was a nice way to learn what the folks working there are finding as their latest obsession. I also noticed something I loved: - a box of "free" yarn - with some "rules" attached... one free ball of yarn to any child under 12... one ball of yarn to anyone else who wants to exchange a ball for one in their stash... the yarns can be from stash, purchased at Nine Rubies or elsewhere... and it's all on the honor system. I found this idea of sharing yarn and stash refreshing - especially in a yarn shop like this. One of the other things I liked about that little box was that it was not hidden in a back corner... it was given prime real estate right by the front door (next to some knittig magazines free for the taking). Nine Rubies is the winner in today's crawl. Bright, cheery, organized, welcoming, beautiful and inspiring, with lots of books, snacks, and smiling faces. Nine Rubies Knitting 28 E. 3rd Ave #100 San Mateo, CA 94401 Phone: (650) 685-6205 http://www.ninerubies.com/ It was a beautiful day spent with people I adore. We finished it off with some local Indian food and then I spent a few minutes looking at the photos from the day. What a lucky person I am to have people in my world who are interested in going from yarn shop to yarn shop... indulging me in my need to talk with the owners... to find out a bit about them and to document bits of the visit for myself and those who read the blog. Now it's time to get to knitting on some projects that are calling my name from the other room... asking me to give them some much needed attention.  Yesterday, a friend and I went to Building RE Sources - a non-profit business offering a place for eco-conscious folks to donate and/or purchase recycled building materials. We had a great time wandering through the aisles of doors, windows, plumbing fixtures and tiles, and spent some time thinking creatively about what we could do with the different items. We were hunting for something specific (and didn't find it) but DID find tumbled tile and glass that is produced by The Red Shovel Glass Co.; a division of the same organization. They offer tumbled terra cotta, random tiles and a variety of ten different colors of glass. These repurposed mini-gems could be used in planter beds or flower pots, and the glass versions look very similar to sea glass...  The textures and patterns in these salvaged objects are inspiring to me - the cracked paint, worn out and bent metal railings, broken tiles, antique doors... drawer after drawer of card catalogs filled with cabinet hardware... inspiration for knitting patterns is everwhere; we just have to look! Our field trip was great fun and while there is no major building project happening currently, I think that visiting places like this from time to time is helpful to show what's available within the community. It's also a great place to consider recommending for those in the area who are doing major remodels - how nice to donate (and get a tax deduction) for the old windows, doors, lighting and plumbing fixtures in a home instead of sending those things to a landfill! Salvage centers such as this are located all over the United States. Search online for one in your area! Like what you see? Click the "like" Facebook button or share this post on Twitter with your friends. Thanks! | Sign up for the
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