A visit to the LYS!

A new yarn store has opened fairly close to me - yay! :) Actually, they moved locations, but since I have never been to their previous location, it's new to me! It's called Artisan Knitworks and I couldn't wait to check it out.

They hosted a soft opening and so I met up with my husbands cousin and took a peek. It's a small store and was stuffed with yummy yarns. We were greeted by one of the owners, an older gentleman who seemed very excited by all the new visitors to the store. He offered us a Mimosa, which I was happy to accept. :)

We spent over an hour in the store, sipping on a mimosa and exploring the shelves, cubbies and hooks that were filled with various yarns. Our gentleman checked in on us periodically as he made his way to the various customers. The one thing is that he has reached the age where there are slightly odd remarks or jokes that could border on being slightly inappropriate, but he could get away with it because he is older and he wanted to be funny and friendly. It just makes you a tiny bit uncomfortable, because you weren't completely sure what he was going to say next, but it was harmless flirting. I run into a lot of that at work, both with some of our retiree staff/volunteers and guests. There were also quite a few women in the store who were chatting about the yarn, another owner who was excited to tell us about some of the future plans she has for the space (they have an art student who works there who is planning to paint a mural in the staircase leading downstairs where there will be class space), and a group of friends happily knitting and chatting away in the couches that are set at the front of the store looking out onto the street.

In the end I came home with a bit of yummy yarn. I bought 3 skeins of a Michigan made yarn called Shepherd's Wool by Stonehedge Fiber Mill. Its in the colorway "Great Lakes" and is a gorgeous deep teal/jade color. The price was pretty reasonable too and I love supporting a local company. I'm using it for a "Trillian" shawl by Martina Behm, which I have just cast on.

The other treat I bought was a skein of 100% mink...Oh. My. Goodness. I am still looking for a pattern to use the entire skein...something like a short scarf or cowl. Right now, I just pull it out of the bag and pet it now and then. It's incredibly soft and a beautiful light gray color. I love it.

On my wish list is some lovely Alpaca yarn that I would love for a scarf or shawl. Next time. :) My cousin did buy a skein of that and I can't wait to see what she ends up making with it. So far, she plans to make a hat, and I bet it will be lovely!

The shop didn't have a lot of brands I recognized. They had Noro, but I don't like how Noro feels...it always seems so scratchy. I liked that the shop had yarns from new companies and a variety of weights and fibers. They even had a skein of yarn that had feathers spun into it, and although the owner kept teasing me that I would look good in feathers, I passed. A conversation starter for sure, I couldn't imagine what someone could make with that! :)

I hope that the shop really succeeds...they are setting up a class schedule, and I look forward to seeing the offerings. I also would like to see more store samples made from the yarn in the shop. There were very few and it would be helpful to someone like me to see how some of the more creative yarns could be used. I expect that will come as they settle in to the space and get their stock in. Then they will have a chance to make a few things with them. Overall, we had a lot of fun checking out the store and I can't wait to stop in there again!

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