Friday, September 2, 2016

FMM - California Yarn!!!

I'm back from my trip to California - I had a wonderful time and have so many things to write about, but I started getting a sore throat the last evening I was there, and it's turned into a full-blown cold, so what I mostly want to do right now is nap.  Second to that, I want to knit, because I came home with a lot of yarn!

My first yarn shop adventure was with Debby.  She drove down from her house to Santa Cruz and picked me up - we went to lunch first, naturally.  No pictures because we were too busy catching up, but the food was great...if you are ever in the area, Gayle's Bakery in Capitola is worth a visit.  Then we got back on the road, and I have to hand it to Debby - she did a lot of driving that day and I'm very appreciative that she was so willing to make the trip.  We went to Pacific Grove, which is right next to Monterey, as well as being the home of a wonderful yarn shop along with a beautiful quilt shop.

First stop was Monarch Knitting - we'd been there two years ago and I just loved that store.  It was as wonderful the second time around; the shop is well-stocked with yarn and goodies, and the women who work there are so helpful and friendly!  I had a list of yarn that I was needing for certain baby projects, and love what I ended up buying.  I also bought some sock yarn, and because I have had a gift certificate for that shop, I splurged on some fun goodies that I have been wanting but never buy because usually all my money goes toward yarn.  Here's my fun things:
A handmade clay dish (in stockingnette stitch) to hold my little stitch markers, adorable tiny scissors to snip yarn, and a super cute wooden needle sizer!  I have basics of all of these items, but having such artsy versions makes me happy.

My yarn pictures are a bit jumbled up, because I bought some sock yarn there, and then more at a store in Santa Cruz, but I photographed the yarn together:
The top three skeins were purchased at the Santa Cruz store; everything else came from Monarch Knitting.

I was so happy to find the Carlos and Arne line of sock yarn at Monarch - I have knitted one pair of socks with it and loved how the stripes and patterns appeared as I knit.  I also wanted to buy some solid color skeins of sock yarn for the toes and heels, because I've discovered that changing the colors really seems to pop the socks, and I'm all about making my socks look good!  I bought a navy blue skein, but there weren't any other solid colors that would work with my yarn.  That's OK, they had everything else I wanted.

After we finished with yarn, we moved onto fabric at Back Porch Fabrics - Debby was in heaven there!  I restrained myself from buying any fabric, mostly because I can only do so much, and knitting is my first love.  But I'm telling you, it would be so easy to fall down the rabbit hole of fabric in that store - everything was displayed so nicely and it all looked appealing to me.

When we'd exhausted ourselves with shopping, we drove back to Santa Cruz, where we stopped at Kelly's French Bakery for dinner and some knitting.  Desserts were in order:
Shared and thoroughly enjoyed - we both agreed it was a good thing we didn't have access to this kind of bakery on a regular basis!
Our knitting - Debby's scarf, my sock.
Debby and I - another happy blogger/friend meet up!

Nearly a week later, Barbara, Theresa, and I happened to be driving in downtown Santa Cruz when we passed a yarn shop.  Being the kind of friend that she is, Barbara whipped a U-turn and the next thing I knew, we were parked in front of the shop.  This was a sweet little place called Yarn Shop Santa Cruz; I couldn't believe I'd not been there before, so I asked the owner how long she'd been open - five weeks was her answer!  So yes, a brand new shop, where I found some new-to-me sock yarn made in England, Signature, by West Yorkshire Spinners.  She also had a lot of smaller skeins of solid color sock yarn, which made me very happy!  Here's some of the yarn/color combinations I ended up with (some yarn is from the first store, with the solid yarn from the second store):
These aren't my usual colors, but something about them appealed to me so much that I had to get them.
Accent color is a dark purple; this is going to be so pretty!
This dusty turquoise goes with a lot of my sock yarn; I probably should have bought two skeins, but at least I know where to get more.
All of the solid colors that I came home with.

I had birthday money saved along with some extra stashed cash, which made yarn shopping even more of a treat!  I really enjoy seeing the yarn in person vs having to buy it online; this should hold me for quite a while now as I knit socks to my heart's content. 

Have a great weekend!

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great trip was had. Sorry you caught a cold get better quick.
    Love the color choices of the yarn! Have fun knitting.

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  2. I love all the muted earthy colors you got! Can't wait to see what you make!!!!

    And that needle sizer is TOO FUN!!!!

    Did you get any new SB mugs?! :P

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    1. I already have the San Francisco and California SB mugs, but I did buy a cool Peet's Coffee California mug. :)

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  3. Bah to summer colds! But as long as you don't feel so bad you can't knit...I guess its all good :)

    That was such a fun visit, and I can't believe I didn't write about it. Mmmmmmm....thanks for the dessert reminder--they were so yummy.

    Wow, I can't believe you found that other yarn store just by chance, and that they had all those solid colors that you needed, how super. Can hardly wait to see all your socks. Can you believe that just a bit ago you thought socks were too hard, and now you're a sock-knitter dynamo!!

    It was such a great day, spending it with you in some of our favorite spots--food, yarn, and fabric :) I'm glad we've been able to stay connected over the years.

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    1. Me, too...and I really hope I can get up your way next year and see your beautiful house, garden, and of course, meet the QUEEN!

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  4. What a fun day and lucky to spend it with Debby! I died over those desserts from the French Bakery...

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    1. You would LOVE the desserts at both places we went to!

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  5. Lovely colors and so fun that you could spend a day with Debby and both had a great time.

    Hope you are feeling better by now.

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  6. What wonderful goodies to come home with!!!!!

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  7. WOW!!! Love the yarn finds! Hope the summer cold has left you

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