Yarn Crawl

Wahoo!   My knitting guild, the Purls of Distinction, had a wonderful field trip today – a yarn crawl to two relatively local yarn stores:  The Red Thread in Warrenton and Dog House Yarns in Culpeper.

 

First stop…The Red Thread.   Check out the yarn bombing right outside their front door!

 

 

Inside, we were greeted by our fabulous hostesses – they were very welcoming and we felt immediately right at home.

 

The inside of the shop was very welcoming and full of gorgeous yarns.  On the back wall was a Chinese Proverb….related to the naming of the shop.

 

 

 

In a corner near the window was a cute little “knitting bear”.   There were many cute displays throughout the shop.  They not only carried yarn and various knitting accessories, but also a variety of ceramic knitting bowls all done by a local artist. 

 

 

 

The shop also boasted a very nice seating area with plenty of room to spread out and relax, share knitting “finds”, or to just relax and knit.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see by our smiling faces, we all had a fabulous time and bought lots of luscious yarn!   As a bonus, across the street was a quilt shop…and just on the other side of the shop, the farmer’s market was in full swing!

Next stop was at Mojitos and Tapas for some Cuban food.   It’s a favorite restaurant of mine, but I think we overwhelmed them with our group.   The service was quite slow, but the food was still wonderful!   The Cuban sandwich is absolutely delicious!   (I think the waitress was new as well…which didn’t help when you have a large party.)  DH and I always stop in whenever we’re in Warrenton.   They also have wonderful black bean soup as well as homemade Sangria.   Mmmmmm!!!!!

 

After lunch, we headed on down the road to Dog House Yarns in Culpeper.   My friend Elizabeth met us there, so our group expanded by one!  It was great seeing her again….she lives in Culpeper,quite close to the shop!   (Normally, she treks up to Northern VA to attend one of a number of local knitting groups and guilds, so slipping out to Dog House Yarns to meet up with us was a very easy trip for her!)

 

The owner of the shop was away on a retreat, but her DH had stayed behind to manage the shop (he can be seen in the back behind the counter).   He was an absolute hoot and we all had a fabulous time.   He was quite the enabler as well!   Not only did he help when asked, but he was quick to point out some one-of-a-kind yarns hand dyed by local artisans.   (He also quickly picked up on our favorites as far as colors and types of yarn…and made sure we were able to locate them!)

This shop had a warm cozy feel as well.   The seating area wasn’t quite as big as that of the Red Thread, but it was just as cozy…and you were again surrounded by not only yarn and accessories, but some fabulous ceramics as well – tea mugs, yarn bowls, and lots of other goodies.   You can see some of the goodies in the front window…just to the right of Lisa.

This wall was primarily wool.   They even had Shepherd’s Wool – a personal favorite of mine.   In fact, they had the largest variety of colors that I’ve ever seen in one place!   I was in heaven!   They even had some of the sport or DK size as well…I can’t remember which – I always gravitate to the worsted weight of that particular yarn.      

I fell in love with one of the shop samples, but I have no idea what the pattern is, who wrote the pattern, etc.   It’s just gorgeous.   This was made by one of their customers out of silk (mmmmm), but the shop owner’s husband had no idea what pattern it was.   Hopefully someone can help me identify it – it’s quite lovely.   

Any ideas on what the name of pattern is?  Or who might have designed it?

     

 

Once again, we all had a fabulous time and came away with lots of lovely yarns.  

Then, we were off again…heading home, but with a short stop on the way.   I swear that Pamela knows all the ice cream places in VA.  On Rt. 29 near Remington, there’s a fabulous ice cream stand that features ice cream made from the milk from local cows - “Moo Thru”.   How cool is that?   It was fabulous too!   The portions are HUGE and the prices are very reasonable.   Definitely a “must stop” when you’re in the area.