Hi friends,
My friend Alli rarely meets a yarn store that she doesn’t like. On her recent trip out west, she managed to visit a record five yarn shops, one weaving studio and one indie dyer’s studio – in just over 10 days. Here's part two (read part one here). Enjoy!
Kelowna, British Columbia
Store: The Art of Yarn
Impressions: I may have only visited one store in Kelowna, but oh, what a store! Packed with an insane amount of yarn-y goodness in a small space – I didn’t even make it all the way to the back of the store!
Excuse for being there: Ball of Noro Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge afghan project and to check out their selection of Silken Straw by Alchemy Yarns.
Highlights: Wide range of products from Patons, Sirdar and Sublime right through to a wide selection of Madelinetosh, Alchemy Yarns and the uber-fabulous (and uber-expensive!) Artyarn.
The Art of Yarn also carries its own Mulberry Yarns – “hand-dyed in the sunny Okanagan Valley and reflecting the colours of the area” – dyed by shop owner Sally (above).
Vancouver, British Columbia
Store: Silk Weaving Studio
Impressions: Working studio with gorgeous woven silk accessories and materials.
Excuse for being there: It was next door to where we had lunch on Granville Island and I just can’t help myself.
Highlights: You can buy pre-(hand)-made accessories or the materials to make them yourself. The shop also has carries materials from Japanese maker Habu, which can be hard to find.
Purchases: A tiny dangly earring of a drop spindle charm in sterling silver that I’m going to put on a chain and wear as a pendant.
Verdict: Gorgeous place for inspiration and if you’re looking specifically for silk yarn, the colours were amazing!
Store: Maiwa Supply
Impressions: Smaller shop but jammed with amazing yarn-y goodies!
Excuse for being there: Likely my only Vancouver yarn shop stop and Silk Weaving Studio said they carried knitting needles.
Highlights: International yarns from Peru and Japan and beyond. They also had a to-die-for selection of 100% Quiviut and Quiviut-blend yarns that I drooled over.
Purchases: Two pairs of knitting needles so I could start the Berocco Seduce project, a ball of Noro Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge project and a ball of Noro Silk Garden for a project I’d brought with me but was quickly running out of yarn.
Verdict: Lovely shop and very helpful staff. I wish I’d had more time to spend there but now that I know where it is on Granville Island, I’ll definitely be back!
Alli has another blog post coming up with all the details on her SweetGeorgia Yarns studio tour. Stay tuned!
