I'm back from my journeying, and have news of two lovely yarn shops that I visited. First up is Yarn in Chilwell, Nottingham. We were staying with friends not far from this well-stocked shop, and following a delicious lunch at the Victoria Pub in Beeston (this pub is worth a journey - the food and beer are amazing), I persuaded Jim that it would be rude not to go and check it out.
The lady working behind the counter was just the right combination of friendly and helpful, while leaving us to browse. I had a good old look through the yarn - they stock a very wide range of Rowan yarns, and I was able to fondle some of their newer ranges that I hadn't previously met in person. I hesitate to say that they stock the full range, but they must come pretty close. I was quite restrained though, and only picked up City Retreat - a pattern collection by Martin Storey all using their new Creative Focus Worsted yarn. I love the colours in this range, as well as the wearable shapes of many of the designs in the book. I think I know what I will knit from it, but it might have to wait a few months as I work my way through my queue!
The second shop that we visited was one that we stumbled on completely by accident. I know that this seems unlikely, but it really is true. We were visiting my godmother in Stone, Staffs, and arrived a bit earlier than we had expected. So we parked up in the middle of town and wandered towards some shops, thinking that we would pass a half-hour with a cup of coffee. What should we see as we turned the corner though?
Yes! A small but perfectly formed yarn shop - Yarn Gathering of Stone. Jim's heart must have sunk as he hopefully suggested that perhaps it was shut! Happily it wasn't and we passed the time looking round and chatting to Jeanette, the shop's owner.
Here I gave in and had to purchase some yarn (I had to, really I did!).
I picked up a copy of Ysolda's new book, Saturday Treat, which uses her special colours of Fyberspates Scrumptious Yarns. It's a lovely collection, and there are a few patterns which will make it onto my queue in the coming weeks, I feel sure. As well as the book, I also picked up a ball of sock yarn for socks for Jim. I have a fair amount of sock yarn in my stash, but most of it really isn't suitable for boy socks, so I asked Jim to choose his own. He went for this Regia 4ply which will knit up mostly in blue with little flashes of green every so often. I think it will make some great socks (but maybe not untile Christmas! :-D). Yarn Gathering has a lovely selection to choose from. She has quite a few more unusual yarns, with plenty of Natural Dye Studio, some Artist's Palette, and a good selection of basics from Rico as well. A particular highlight was the wide range of independent designers' patterns. Jeanette has all of Ysolda's books, but also single patterns from the likes of Gudrun Johnston and Alana Dakos. Again, if you are in the area, then this is a shop that's well worth finding.
So, that's it for me little treats from my travels. Have you been to any nice yarn shops recently?
