Well, M and I had our trip to Seattle's knitting stores more than a few weekends ago, but we've been remiss about adding a post about our adventures! To our two readers and our mom, we apologize for the delay - we know you've been waiting on the edges of your seats for this.
We had high hopes about hitting several stores, but ended up spending a lot of time in each and were able to visit only three. Maybe we can try some other ones next time.
S: Our first stop was Hilltop Yarn & Needlepoint Shop in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. It is located in a neat old house and each room is dedicated to different types of yarn. We were sidetracked examining an old kitchen sink filled to the brim with balls of yarn, an ingenious ironing board that folded out from a thin closet door, and other clever secret cupboards. They just don't make houses like that anymore! I thought they had a large selection and several of their own patterns on display. We were particularly impressed by a large collection of cute kids' hats near the door.
M: This place is definitely worth visiting, even just to snoop around all the corners of that neat old house. As a yarn store I was really impressed by the great selection. It seemed like everything there was something that I would buy (translation: no excessive novelty yarns). The knitted examples were also very tasteful and appealing.
S: Our next stop was Tricoter, out by the arboretum. It was a little hard to find and we had to drive around a bit like tourists with our map before we spotted it, because it is tucked away in a little shopping center and its sign looks like all the other stores' signs. Tricoter's claim to fame is that it has the largest selection of luxury and designer yarns in the country. I believe it! Most of the yarns were far out of my budget! Tricoter organizes its yarns not by type or brand but horizontally along two walls by color. It's an interesting approach, and it would definitely help if you were a "from-scratch" designer looking for inspiration. It could be frustrating if you were just wanting to stop in to grab something specific, but I suppose the staff knows where everything is. Tricoter also has its own books and patterns, with sample sweaters in the shop so you can see what the finished project will look like. Not a huge book selection but tons of magazines and pattern books.
M: Everything in this store is $2-3 dollars more that everywhere else, but they do have a very unique approach. They are all about experimentation and creativity here. Everyone is invited to just take yarn off the shelves and sit down to swatch. I don't know of any other yarn store you can do that in. They also were very open to helping people on projects, or even to learn to knit. There were several people sitting at tables doing just that while we were shopping. Also noteworthy is the collection of beautiful buttons they have. S and I were actually planning projects in our heads to accent single beautiful handmade buttons.
S: Last stop was The Weaving Works in the U-District. It's one of the only places in town that carries spinning and dyeing supplies. M and I ended up making several purchases there and both walked out with large bags of yarn (M is shown here holding her loot). They have fair prices, and they carry a good selection of Shetland wool colors. They also have bin after bin of all sorts of fibers, plus weaving and basket-weaving supplies.
M: There definitely was a little bit of everything here. Some weaving, some spinning, and a lot of great knitting yarns. The collection of fiber and spinning and weaving supplies wasn't as complete as you can find at some online suppliers, but it was a well chosen selection. I really liked the feeling of this store, which has been around since the 1970's. Very down to earth and unpretentious, which is hard to find now that knitting is getting so trendy. It's also a great place for knitters to be introduced to other fiber arts.
