Yarn Quest

My fellow gardening and knitting friend Ardie, and I decided to have a Yarn Quest this last Saturday. Our goal was to visit as many local yarn shops as possible within an hour or so drive from home.

We planned on stopping at Needle in a Haystack.
We found out that Needle did not open until 11a, we had alot of ground to cover and had to move on.

So, our 1st stop was a old favorite Lizzie Ann's Wool Company.
Imagine our surprise when we walked in to this.



Carding machines, bats of roving, bags of roving, drafted roving, handspun yarn, and 9 very nice, gracious, helpful, fun spinners!

You might guess what came next.....



Yep, I'm spinning in heels! (cue Carrie Bradshaw).

First you learn to "treadle" which sounds and looks simple, but not so much. You have to pedal with both feet to keep your wheel spinning the same direction and not back upon itself.
The easiest way to describe this is; Your right foot does most of the work and your left foot holds the tension.

Note to self: easier without the 2" heels.

Then you learn the important terms; pinching, drafting, predrafting, orifice, feeding, bobbins, and many more I am sure I have forgotten.



See how that wheel is turning!

The ladies were most encouraging and after 2 hours,I ended up taking home a pitiful little skein of my own spun yarn. Unusable, but a memento all the same.

Many thanks to Lindy, CJ Kopec Creations, and Yarn Hollow.

Onward to our next stop Threadbender.
We found Threadbender to have many nice yarns, but a rather dated feel to the shop.

I did indulge in 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden.

Still working on our spinning high we head further north to City Knitting in Grand Rapids.



City Knitting being just within our parameters of 1 hour 10 mins from home is well worth visiting!

Ardie and I spent the rest of the day there and picked up several wonderful yarns.

We finished our day with a late lunch/early supper at The Green Well, and a stop at my friend Amy's shop, Art of the Table.
A wonderful wine and tabletop giftware shoppe.

I came home tired but oh so happy, and ready to plan the next excursion.

Next time we will head south and west so we can be sure to fit in my very favorite LYS, The Red Purl.