Last week I was in Virginia for two days- well, OK, more like 1 day, with a lot of driving down and back. My goal while I was there was to explore some local yarn shops. I have a book given to me that breaks down the US state by state and list local yarn shops, and there is knitmap.com that also lets you put in your zip code and look up shops.
So I started in Harrisonburg VA. The first shop was closed-permanently. The second was much more a fabric store and had bags and bags of yarn what you couldn't open and feel, or get a good look at, and you had to buy the whole bag- not the way I want to shop for yarn. The Third place seemed like it would be interesting from their web site- but after I got there- driving down a long, unpaved road/driveway- I found a shop about the size of my shed- that was closed- and had no posted hours. Fancy web site for such a small operation.
The fourth place also didn't exist any more, but just a few shops down in the strip mall, another yarn store had popped up, so I went there. I was drawn to a very interesting scarf and after the shop owner explained to me the pattern and technique (shibori), I bought a skein of yarn to try this for myself. I also got two sets of circular needles so I can try socks a new way, since in my last swap on Ravelry, my partner sent me a pattern for socks on two circular needles.
That was it for the first day. I had driven around more of Virginia than I had expected to and it was time to do some more research.
The next day I found the needle in the haystack- Cestari. what a WONDERFUL place. I drove there thinking that it wouldn't exist and as I got farther and farther into what felt like no man's land- I really worried that my trip would be in vain. But then I came up over a hill and there it was. I entered the large yarn barn and although the hours said it was open, and the door was unlocked, many of the lights were not on. But I poked around and looked at the wonderful yarn and sheep/lamb products they offer. I heard machinery start up in the basement and when I went there I saw that they spin their own yarns right there! Amazing! One of the workers had to shut down his machine to check me out because the cashier wasn't in yet. I bought a wonderful skein of yarn- hand dyed- just lovely.
I was rejuvenated. this is the kind of knitter I want to be. I want to knit wonderful yarns from places where I can see the process and that I know I am supporting a local economy. I want hand spun, or at least hand dyed, from independent artisans that don't just do fiber- they live fiber. It was invigorating to find such a place, really, almost by accident.
I went to one more yarn store on the way back, sadly after my last experience, everything seemed drab and commercial...I just couldn't bring myself to make a purchase- nothing inspired me.
So next time you travel, go ahead, do a google search, look for "yarn" in your GPS, go on knitmap.com- see what comes up. What you are looking for may not be there anymore- but you are bound to have an adventure:)
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