The Yarn Shop Hop

I used to be much more into knitting than I am now, but I still love a good yarn shop and I'm a sucker for beautiful fibers. Knitting seems to be more popular than quilting in Colorado; I suppose because they have such a long sweater season there! Several shops were recommended to me and they were all very nice.
We actually spotted the one in Minturn before I got the recommendation for it. It is a very small shop at the north end of Minturn and has knitting on the first floor and needlepoint on the second floor. It was positively stuffed with woolens and fibers of all types and there were several women knitting together on the first floor. I just love the red chain scarf above and the robins egg blue fluffy kid's robe below. Darling!
It was very cozy and the owner was almost too friendly and helpful. Sometimes I prefer to nose around quietly and can't concentrate if someone is talking to me. I guess I'm just not a multi-tasker! I ended up buying a book on how to use up single skeins of yarn based on the relative weight of the yarn.
It was kind of an impulse buy, but after examining it at home I found a number of projects that should work out really well for my large collection of orphan skeins. Here is a picture of Cathy, the Minturn Shop Owner, (the blonde) knitting at a Rockies baseball game! She and her friend made it into the center of the program just by knitting at the game. You never know where needlework will take you in life. lol
The yarn store in Glenwood Springs was by far the nicest of the four yarn stores I visited. It catered to both knitters and weavers and had woven goods such as placemats, etc for sale. It was a really beautiful store; two stories high and very airy. I didn't take any pictures, though, because the day we visited was weaving day, and all the looms (all over the store) were in use by local weavers who appeared to have some mental challenges and I did not want to do anything disruptive.
Their work was VERY impressive; I wouldn't be surprised if they made practically everything that was for sale in the store. Each weaver was working independently and very intently on his or her project, which were all different. I'm sure my boss would be thrilled if I ever showed that level of industry! I couldn't resist buying a single skein of beautiful, multicolored bulky yarn, which came with an easy hat pattern. I hope to get it knitted up by late fall when it might be useful for me to wear in Texas.
The third store, The Yarn Garden, was off the road to Aspen in Carbondale, which is about halfway between Glenwood Springs and Aspen. We found it in a small strip mall on the main drag. It was a pretty little shop with an amazing selection of natural fibers. As an added bonus, the owner was spinning her own wool at a small spinning wheel that she was pumping barefoot in the middle of the store. I found a skein of wool that should make a hat for my Mom that will match (I hope - since I'm matching from memory) her favorite orange winter coat.
The fourth store, The Yarn Gallery, was on the second floor of one of the stores on the Aspen pedestrian walkway. Another lovely store, but for not being a knitter anymore, I had already exceeded my quota of yarn so I didn't buy anything.
Just look at these incredibly gorgeous fibers! I wonder now that I had the strength to resist buying "Just one more skein!"
I didn't buy anything at the final store (What's Needling U) that we peeked into in Frisco a few days later. After all, I had been trying to decrease my yarn stash, and there I was thinking about buying still more. It was so soft and fluffy and beautiful! It was really really hard to resist. Fibers are perilously seductive!
Gosh but the Frisco store was cute though! It was the first day of work for the woman in the store. She said she had shopped there many times while on vacation, and when she came to stay recently for a longer visit, the owner asked if she would work two days a week. She admitted she was probably working for yarn. I hope she gets a good discount. It's an addiction for which there is currently no 12 step program!
Here are my purchases: from the left my hat yarn, the book, Mom's hat yarn. In retrospect, considering the enormous temptation I was experiencing, I think I really did quite well!