Made a Stop at Starlight Knitting

Have you ever traveled through Portland OR before? If you have and you didn't make a stop at Starlight Knitting Society then you are missing out! Starlight Knitting Society is a gorgeous yarn shop on the outer areas of Portland that carries a variety of hand dyed and commercially dyed yarn. 

                                               

We stopped at Starlight as part of our (my Mom and I) trip to Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. We like to make the drive part of the adventure so the whole trip is fun, not just the parts other than the driving. 

Starlight is in a gorgeous building with tons of light and has a very welcoming environment, the workers area always helpful but leave us to explore. 

I think that the shop carries quite a few yarns/brands that I don't find in a lot of other shops. I hope you get to make a stop here soon! 

Another New Shop!

Everyone enjoyed my previous LYS (local yarn shop) post that I thought I would share another with you! At the beginning of the month my mom and I ventured over to Whidbey Island for my 30th birthday! 

We stayed over night at a gorgeous historic lodge that sat right on the water and had a fabulous dinner. Along with staying at a fun spot we were able to visit a few different yarn shops, one of which is Skein and Tipple.

This tiny shop carries mostly their own hand dyed yarn and is about to open a ... bar! Yes! Knit nights in a vintage inspired bar, how freakin awesome. 

Skein and Tipple stocks mainly their own hand-dyed yarn and a select few other brands. It was so fun to speak with the owner and hear about the evolution of her business from dyeing yarn to finding the space for the shop and bar. 

Very similar to my bag making, nearly all of her yarns are one of a kind or small batches with few repeats! That made every skein that much more of a jewell because it couldn't be remade. Just being in the shop made me feel special. I would highly recommend if you're in the Seattle area to come and take a day trip to Whidbey and visit Skein and Tipple. 

Gig Harbor Yarn Shop

Hey Knitters! I visited a new-to-me yarn shop! I dropped my mom (Susan) off at SeaTac and on my way back decided to have a bit of fun for myself. I picked up sushi and made a stop in Gig Harbor, a city across from Tacoma WA. 

Along with being on the waterfront, Gig Harbor has a beautiful yarn shop Rainy Day Yarns & Mercantile, which I was so happy to explore. 

Rainy Day definitely had a boutique vibe about it, faux crystal chandeliers, great lighting, and inspiring displays and samples. 

The range of yarns was great, lots of hand dyed, some from local dyers!, as well as more commercial brands. I felt that the range of yarn brands allowed for lot of different projects and budgets. 

Along with knit samples they also had crochet ones! I do judge a shop on whether they cater to both knit and crochet, there is no need to discriminate between knitters and crocheters. I hope that if you're in the area you make a stop in, definitely worth it to me! 

New To Me Local-ish Yarn Shop!

I've lived in Washington almost a year now (I know right!) and was able to visit the lovely yarn shop on Bainbridge Island! The Lamb and Kid is tucked away on the main street and is just brimming with color and squishy, squishy yarn. The shop was open and airy with large front windows but still full of yarn!

The Lamb and Kid has its own specially spun and dyed yarn that is in an array of luxury bases. I purchased a Merino/Cashmere blend that feels like it blooms under my touch. (I'm planning to knit a solid version of Bump Along, but more on that in another post.) 

The bases run with cashmere, merino, yak, mohair, silk, and a little bit of tweed, all of them were amazing! The shop also carried a few other dyers and lovely notions along with their own brand of products. The staff was helpful and knowledgeable about their product. I definitely recommend making a stop at the shop if you are on Bainbridge or in the area. 

This Trips Fiber Shops

As most have read, my trip last summer to Europe increased my stash by a ginormous amount. This trip didn't include quite as much yarn but I did bring home a ton of fabric.

The yarn and fabric shops weren't quite as prevalent in Spain and Italy as they were in Germany, Austria, Scotland, and England last summer. Although they weren't as prevalent does not mean I didn't come home with awesome purchases.

We hit up a yarn shop in Madrid, Spain: Lanas, El Gato Negro as well as a fabric shop we stumbled upon.

In Rome I visited a huge fabric shop called Bassetti Tessuti was so excited/overwhelmed I didn't actually take any photos. But I bought my first garment fabric to sew! Totally too nervous and inexperienced to sew with it quite yet but I think by the end of the summer I'll have at least one new top, possibly two.

After Rome I made my way to Amsterdam where I was able to visit... Stephen & Penelope!!! I had so much fun exploring their shop and pulling a few WestKnits projects together from their exclusive colors. I actually went back to the shop later in the day (afternoon for me, early morning for my mom) and FaceTimed with her so she could see the shop too! The women working the floor were fabulous and didn't look at me like I was completely nuts.

Right next to the yarn shop was also a fabric shop, two store fronts converted into one giant fabric and notions shop. I found the most amazing stretch cotton with origami birds on it for a skirt! All in all I had a great time visiting new shops in new cities. I will definitely continue on my trend of exploring different parts of cities by searching out yarn shops!

#transformyouryarn

This month I'm participating in Aroha Knits  #transformyouryarn monthly photo challenge. It's been interesting looking at how people are responding to the posts, some very similar to mine and lots completely different. Here are my photos for the week.

1. #mystory

Joining in #transformyouryarn prompts for this month by @arohaknits this is #mystory. My name is Sierra, I'm 24 years old and yarn/knitting is my whole life! I work full time at a yarn shop and absolutely love it. When I'm not at the yarn shop I love to travel! This is a photo of me in Scotland this summer! I loved being able to walk with the sheep #johnogroats and see the amazing sights with my family. I have plans to travel back to Europe this spring hitting up Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands. I will be traveling with my trusty sock projects and waiting to find new yarn! This May I'll have known how to knit for 11 years! I will forever see the knitting class my mom gave me for my birthday as my best gift ever. Who new that my life would revolve around it and we would have an amazing bond over this art. Thanks Mom!

2. #whyiknit

#whyiknit because this is my form of art. #knit #knitting #shawl #newdesign #handknit #stitcheswest

3. #specialplace

This is the shop where I work full time and this is my #specialplace here I help knitters find their confidence, solve problems, and speak the yarny language all day. I am so thankful for my job. #knit #knitting #yarn #yarnshop #LYS#work @arohaknits

4. #dailyinspiration

Walking past my sock baskets every morning is my #dailyinspiration I always want to add more to this amazing display of color. #knit#knitting #socks #handknitsocks #handknit#socktawk #operationsockdrawer#transformyouryarn

5. #knittingmagic

I think a heel turn and gusset are #knittingmagic what brilliant women thought of this!?! #transformyouryarn #operationsockdrawer#socktawk #handknit #handknitsocks #knit#knitting #knittersofig #knittersoftheworld#knittersofinstagram #socks

6. #meditation

I found working on this blanket a great form of  #meditation#transformyouryarn #yarn #knitting #knit#miniskeins #sockyarnblanket #sockyarn#operationsockdrawer #socktawk

7. #selfcare

This is my #selfcare I know myself, every six months I start to resent my job a little. I know that I need to take a little time away for just me, get out of my norm and explore. That's why I'm one month I'll be in  #Malaga #rome and #amsterdam for three weeks! #reservationconfirmed #transformyouryarn #travel #europe #europe2017

SLO Yarn Crawl

I'm very lucky as a knitter that I live within 5 hours drives of about 30 yarn stores! My knitting group and I joined a formal Yarn Crawl and drove down the coast to San Luis Obispo CA! See ya later 100 degree temp, hello 72! I was able to wear a shawl!

We stopped at a few yarn stores that weren't part of the crawl on our way down. If you ever have a chance to visit Monarch Knitting in Pacific Grove, do it, what an amazing shop! It will be one of my visit a few times a year shops; I would move to Pacific Grove just to have that as my local yarn shop.

We spent the night in an amazing hotel and had a knitting sleepover. This was a great prep-trip for Rhinebeck next month (24 DAYS!) sidenote: my sweater just needs the last sleeve and ends woven in!

The first shop was Yarns & Beads (in Grover Beach) who was having an Anzula trunk show, most of my knitting group is now ready to do a beaded shawl. We made a little beach pit stop first; in our excitement we arrived way before opening.

Then we moved on Yarns...At the Adobe. They also had a few local dyers there for a trunk show and snacks for everyone. Marilyn, in my knitting group, just found out she won their door prize!

The next shop we visited was Never Not Knitting! I'm am so excited that we got to visit this shop! They shop is tiny but stuffed full of amazing yarn and treasures! I didn't buy any yarn but ended up with fun little treasures. And Alana had an amazing gift bag for everyone who visited the shop!

We had two shops left to visit, the first was Ranch Dog Knitting and the last on our fun journey was Ball & Skein & More.

We had a total blast! I really enjoy visiting other shops, seeing their samples, trying new yarn. I came home with a couple hanks of yarn and other lovely yarn goodies. Can't wait until my local fiber fest the first weekend of October! 

I'm joining Ginny for the Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams in their Craft Along this week. I'm currently reading the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone! It's making me so happy to hop back into this world and the illustrations are lovely! Still chugging along on my Rhinebeck Sweater, I'm so close to done I can almost taste it! 

Knitting Across Europe: Part 2

The second half of my trip started off in Scotland with my mom and sisters! There weren't any yarn stores in Inverness where we started!?! That totally shocked me and Mom, we thought there would be multiple LYS in each city so we were a bit bummed about that.

Logan, Mom, Ellie, and Me!

We arrived in Edinburgh and while there we visited Ginger Twist Studio! What a cute shop, just from the outside you can tell this is a bright happy space. We spent quite a bit of time in this tiny shop, the owner has so much of her hand-dyed yarn in the shop it was almost overwhelming. I felt right at home in this cozy shop and so did my family. My Mom and I were in yarn store heaven. We felt a bit deprived of yarn shops because of the lack in Inverness.

Isn't this the cutest open sign ever! 

I hadn't planned to visit anymore stores while in Edinburgh, my mom and I are knitters but my younger sisters (Ellie and Logan) are not. I promised to only search out one shop per city we were in so they didn't feel like their entire trip was stuck in yarn stores. But if we happened to find a yarn store when we were walking around we were definitely going inside to have a look.

And guess what! It happened! We were walking around on our last day in Edinburgh looking for Dean's village (which we didn't find) and walked past a yarn store! Made my entire day!

The shop was McAree Brothers and they had a really great selection! There were so many books and a whole range of yarn types and prices. They had a really large selection of acrylics and baby yarns but they also carried Regia and Rowan. Definitely a shop for a variety of knitters. I was able to pick up the KnitPro Zings I had been looking for! My mom and I were pleased as punch about finding this stop.

The shops in Edinburgh were so clever! 

After our short stop in Edinburgh we headed to London! Of course the main shop that I wanted to stop in was Loop London, who wouldn't want to stop in. Before I made it to Loop I was able to stop into I Knit London! The shop was so open and airy, with tons of hand dyes and beautiful colors. I really wish that we would have been able to make it to a knit night here because I was in heaven. The owner was so low key and easy to talk with, he showed my his magic loop socks out of his hand dyed. Of course I bought the exact same colorway to do a shawl in.

They had a great knit area, alcohol, and sleepy dogs, I don't think our stop could have been better.

Loop London was our last yarn store stop of this trip. Loop is a beautiful two story shop that had some of the most unique hand dyed yarn that I have never seen in person in the states. It was magical, amount of yarn and goodies that were packed into this space. And so many samples! I could feel and see so many of the yarns knit up so I knew what I was getting.

Loop was located in a boutique area of London with antique shops, small pubs, and vintage clothing shops. We had a great time looking around the area after our shopping.

The shop was almost overstuffed with yarn and fiber supplies, not in a way that was overcrowded, but in a 'you didn't want to leave' kind of way. And my mom and spent enough money to fill up a rewards card, so obviously I need to go back and use my 15% off :)

We had such a great time running around and discovering new places while looking for these shops! Thanks for reading my thoughts! Hopefully this inspires you to visit a few new shops in your area and abroad!