Loot
I had such a great time on Sunday on our unofficial yarn shop tour. The weather was beautiful. I went with my two friends Melissa and Kate. We took the ferry over to Kingston and drove to the very picturesque historical town of Port Gamble. I think I have mentioned more than once my love for old houses. I was in heaven in Port Gamble. It’s nothing but beautifully restored houses from the mid to late 1800s. It has a cute town center with old shops, a mill, and an old firehouse. The old firehouse was our first stop. It’s the home of The Artful Ewe, the studio and shop of the very talented Heidi (also, check out her blog for a super cute picture of a newborn lamb in her shop). The Artful Ewe is my kind of store. It’s full of spinning fibers, many of them hand dyed by Heidi. She also sells spinning supplies, knitting supplies, and beautiful hand crafted things made by her fiber artist friends. Check out my purchases. I got some good stuff!
I got a wonderful hand woven cotton/linen hand towel (for a certian MIL I know), a lavender wand thingie to keep my stash smelling fresh, some hand dyed bombyx silk (the blue package), hand dyed mohair locks, and in the center is 1 oz of bison fiber.
I want to talk about this bison fiber a little. I know there has been a little controversy about the high price of this fiber, not to mention the weird patent on the process. I normally wouldn’t buy into crap like this. But here’s the thing- my father was really enamored with the bison as a symbol of freedom in the wild west. He loved to paint and sculpt bison, and he owned a few Native American artifacts made from buffalo hides. I remember in particular a pair of beaded moccasins with the soft, thick wool on the inside. I have always wished that I knit my dad a hat or scarf out of bison yarn. He would have loved something like that. He died several years ago, before I ever got the chance to knit him anything. So now I’m going to spin this bison fiber into yarn and think about my dad while I spin. I’m going to knit something special for myself with the yarn so I can remember my dad when I wear it.
Our next stop was Church Mouse Yarn and Teas. Um, wow. That is a fabulous yarn store! They had a great selection, and lots of stuff I’ve never seen in a LYS before.
I’m disgusted with myself for buying a skein of STR. Honestly, I’ve always felt kind of “meh” about the colorways. I don’t even like the one I bought all that much. It’s your basic neopolitan-colored yarn. I thought it would be cute for baby knits (NOT THAT I’M PREGNANT, THOSE OF YOU WHO WILL READ THAT AND EMAIL ME TO ASK 
). The base yarn is pretty darn amazing though. I got a skein of medium weight. They ain’t lying. It rocks. It’s really soft and round and squishy. Love the base yarn…don’t really get the whole frenzy thing. But whatever. On to the next item. I got a Habu merino & silk stainless steel scarf kit. I’ve seen these on Flickr, but there’s nothing like seeing/feeling one in real life. Wow. I had to have it. I didn’t care how much it cost (luckily it was under $30!). I am SUPER excited to start this. It has totally renewed my interest in knitting. You may have noticed I’ve been a little obsessed with spinning. Well, I’m telling ya, I think this scarf will have me staying up late to knit just like I used to when I first started. Oh, and I got some ginger-pear tea too, which is really yummy. I love ginger anything, but there’s something about ginger tea that I find really soothing and comforting. It’s really good with a dollop of organic raw honey. Mmmmmmmm!
Our last stop was this fantastic fabric store, Esther’s Fabrics. I think I’ll let the picture do the talking. My first fibery-love was fabric. I can’t wait to find a little time to sew.
So, it was a fabulous day filled with fun and loot. It was nice to get away from the yarn for a few hours…even if all I did was hang around other people’s yarn. Have a great Monday!!!
Amy Artisan wrote:
Looks like a fun weekend of fiber & friend fun!
Love the introduction to the bison fiber - sounds like the process and the project will be very special for you.
Posted on 20-May-07 at 6:22 pm | Permalink
Nell wrote:
I’m jealous of your Habu kit. I might have to call those Church Mouse ladies on Monday. Maybe they can ship me one….
Sounds like you had a great weekend!
Posted on 20-May-07 at 6:36 pm | Permalink
Trish wrote:
Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend filled with lots of fibery goodness.
Posted on 20-May-07 at 7:14 pm | Permalink
heather wrote:
holy crap! What a great haul - it will be quite fun at your place for a while. The bison fiber looks interesting, enjoy spinning it, you shouldn’t feel like apologizing for your personal connection with it - it is a good story.
love the fabric, looks like an excellent shop!
Posted on 20-May-07 at 7:21 pm | Permalink
minnie wrote:
i gotta ask. what’s the big deal about bison? i spun up some bison blend for a friend, a while back.
and i love all your goodies. i need to find a good yarn crawl, i’ll tell ya!
Posted on 20-May-07 at 7:41 pm | Permalink
kellie wrote:
I totally agree about confusion over the whole STR frenzy. I was deeply disaapointed by the ugly pooling in my first pair of socks with this yarn but I have bought a couple more to give them fair trial, lol. Now the YP frenzy that i do get! After missing out 3 updates at three different shops in a row I finally got a skein at The Sweet Sheep after the lovely owner pulled one from inventory for me (cause the international shipping wasn’t working and everyone else was stealing ‘my’ yarn lol). The only skein I could get was ‘Blackwater’ (probably cause the photo in the shop made it look totally black, lol) so I went googling for a photo on flickr and discovered not only was it a BEAUTIFUL colourway but that it represented important memories of your dad - brought tears to my eyes and I thought you might like to know that othr people will also be thinking of your dad whilst they knit.
Posted on 20-May-07 at 9:30 pm | Permalink
melissa wrote:
i look forward to seeing what you make with the bison fiber. it sounds like a really nice way to remember your dad.
and i love all of your fabric, especially the owls (of course!).
Posted on 21-May-07 at 8:05 am | Permalink
gabriella wrote:
wow, nice haul! btw - that tea is available as far east as the supermarket dynamo wegmans, in western new york state (though if i recall properly it’s made in maryland, right?), and the ginger pear is my favorite! (i recommend honey with it.) enjoy all your new goods. ~gabriella
Posted on 21-May-07 at 8:19 am | Permalink
Scribbles & Bits wrote:
Woohoo! Thanks for letting us check out your booty! (I’m sorry. I really couldn’t resist!) I loved reading about your plans for the bison fiber. I think that’s a really beautiful thing to do! Also, I’ll have to send you some honey sometime that a guy down by New Orleans makes. It’s raw and delicious and Mr. says it tastes just like the raw honey his grandfather used to make when he was a beekeeper.
Posted on 21-May-07 at 9:51 am | Permalink
Adam wrote:
“I’m disgusted with myself for buying a skein of STR”
Hahahaha! That’s such a funny line
I’m with you, the base yarn is amazing, but the colors really don’t wow me all that much. And the craze? I think it’s about akin to the craze over Furbies or Tickle Me Elmo…it’s not terribly rational, but then again, that’s why it’s a craze.
And I think the Bison fiber will be a fitting tribute to your Dad!
PS: Ginger is my fave too! Mmmm! I’m absolutely hooked on Ginger Peach tea, and Ginger Pear sounds super good too.
Posted on 21-May-07 at 10:15 am | Permalink
Karen wrote:
I bought some STR recently and got rid of it. I don’t get it either. The colors don’t make my heart go pitter-patter, so I have skipped that craze. From a fellow fabric junkie, the fabrics are fabulous! Makes me want to go buy fabric. Must.not.buy.fabric. What a fun weekend!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 10:33 am | Permalink
stacey wrote:
I love the STR that you chose - even though you dye your own yarn, it must be nice to sometimes buy something someone else made - like going out to eat:) I love your fabric - funky prints and japanese - looks like I need to go over and introduce myself to Esther! Thanks!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 1:52 pm | Permalink
Stephanie wrote:
I *love* your fabrics. Those birds…..those Owls. GAH! I can’t wait to see what you make with them.
Posted on 21-May-07 at 7:57 pm | Permalink
Joan wrote:
Eh, I was also underwhelmed by some of the STR I got. The colorways are really different compared to the website photos, and it seems like they basically shrugged and said “Too bad” when I commented on it. I like my two (”Socktopus” and “Scottish Highlands”), but was disappointed in “Thistle” for my mom and “Pink Granite” for my sister. I love the feel of the base yarn, but there’re others that I also like. Don’t think they’ll get repeat business in a hurry from me.
Too bad I didn’t have more time in Seattle to go shop-hopping!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 10:27 pm | Permalink
Madge wrote:
Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard over that awesome pink skulled fabric. Oh my stars, over the top scorage this weekend!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 10:46 pm | Permalink
Becky Cook wrote:
Oooo, lovely loot! I just love shopping trips like that. I’ve been wanting to try Bison fiber and I’d love to try the ginger tea. I’m VERY fond of ginger. Enjoy!
Posted on 22-May-07 at 4:33 am | Permalink
mel wrote:
Church Mouse, I miss that shop so much. When I came to visit friends on Bainbridge a couple of years ago I think I made at least 5 visits in the 10 days I was there and 2 of those were on the same day. I did convert the friend I was staying with to try a little knitting. Seeing your post brought back so many lovely memories.
Posted on 22-May-07 at 3:08 pm | Permalink
Sarah wrote:
I have the bird fabric, but in different colours! It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Can’t wait to see what you make out of it.
Posted on 25-May-07 at 6:02 pm | Permalink
jeanie wrote:
what great loot! and what a wonderful way to remember your dad by spinning fiber! lovely yarns you sell… i will aquire some someday *sigh* i love that you are local to me ( i am in spanaway
)
Posted on 29-May-07 at 6:59 pm | Permalink
Jeanie Barrett wrote:
Hello,
I just found your site. How strange to hear that others are GINGER addicts, as I am. I carry the very best ginger items in my knitting/quilting shoppe in Enumclaw WA. Fortunately, I have gotten others addicted.
About the bison down, wow, it is wonderful. As is Yak down. They are pricey but in the end well worth the price.
Enjoy your day,
~jeanie
Posted on 12-Sep-07 at 7:06 pm | Permalink