Over the past few months, I've been fortunate enough to find several awesome LYS (local yarn shops) — this post is about three of my favorite recent discoveries. These stores are located in different cities across the country, and I encourage you to check any/all out whenever you happen to be in those areas. I think these stores would appeal to a range of knitters (as well as aspiring knitters), particularly because all have friendly owners/employees and generally good "vibes". I hope that I'll be able to blog more about the yarn shops I visit, especially because I've found like my knitting and cooking projects, I often forget what I think about stores after I haven't been to them for awhile! If anyone has any ideas how to create an interactive geographic map for me to organize reviews by location, please let me know!
Churchmouse Yarns & Teas (Bainbridge Island, WA)
I went to the Pacific Northwest (Portland and Seattle) in August, and decided to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island after reading that it is one of the "must" Seattle experiences. In my guidebook, I read about a popular local ice cream shop, so when Andy and I wanted a snack, we went there to pick up a cone and eat outside. I had never heard of Churchmouse before coming to Bainbridge Island, and didn't even notice walking past it on the way to the ice cream shop. But thankfully, Andy did notice it and after we had finished our ice cream, he pointed it out to me and recommended that we go in. Upon entering the store, I was just HIT by how many amazing yarns and patterns they had, as well as the friendly, informal manner in which the yarns were organized. It was such a challenge to prevent myself from buying half the store — I ended up settling for a shiny brown Habu silk for a future scarf project and a skein of some brown Rowan baby alpaca and buttons for a lovely, lovely Churchmouse fingerless gloves pattern. Although its unclear if I will ever be back in Seattle/Bainbridge Island in the future, I did get a frequent purchase card just in case I come back in the future 🙂 So if anyone wants me to come visit them in Seattle, I'm looking for an excuse!
Looped Yarn Works (Washington, D.C.)
Looped Yarn Works is a much-needed addition to the D.C. yarn scene, which unfortunately is pretty horrendous. Prior to Looped opening, there was only one yarn shop in D.C. (previous locations had shut down at various times) as well as just a few in the suburbs. Given the population of the metro D.C. region, it's really shocking that there aren't more stores, but at least that has been changing with not only Looped opening, but also newer stores like FibreSpace in the suburbs. But of course, with my luck, Looped opened its doors only a week before I moved out of D.C.! I am definitely happy though that I visited the store before I left. The owners are incredibly friendly, helpful and personable, and their space is really well done. The store has the feel of a D.C. townhouse, with lots of natural light, fireplaces, and hardwood floors. There is a lot of open space in the store, and its very conducive to stress-free browsing (unlike some stores where you really feel claustrophobic!). And yes, the yarns there are more than enough of an attraction on their own to spend an entire afternoon there. I highly, highly recommend that D.C. residents and visitors alike check out the store!
FAB Yarn (Tivoli, NY)
It seems like it's raining yarn stores! No matter how improbable, it seems I am finding great yarn stores everywhere I go! The most recent yarn store find I've been over the past month has been FAB yarn in Tivoli, NY. Tivoli is a village north of Rhinebeck, NY (home of the annual NY Sheep and Wool Festival, one of my favs). And to be clear — it really is a village (no stoplights that I can think of, etc.)! So imagine my surprise when I saw a sign for it on a recent trip to nearby Bard College. I finally went in two weeks ago, and the store was great — it's somewhat small but packed full of interesting (and some local!) yarns. It also is well-arranged given its size, and the owner(?) was very friendly. I purchased a very fresh green Be Sweet cotton/bamboo yarn to make my vegan sister another scarf. I definitely look forward to visiting it again the next time I am up there, even if it is during the fiber explosion known as the NY Sheep and Wool Festival next month!
In addition to these stores, I've been lucky enough to have visited many other wonderful yarn shops across the country that I highly recommend, including: Nina: A Well-Knit Shop (Chicago, IL), Uniquities (Vienna, VA), Habu Textiles (New York, NY), and of course my first LYS, Elaine's Yarn (Davison, MI; just outside of Flint). Hopefully I'll be able to blog more about my LYS experiences once I figure out the technology end of this effort — there are so many more great places to describe!
