Last weekend I did a little field trip with a couple of fellow knitting enthusiasts to check out two new shops in the southern metro (we live more north by northwest, so we don’t get that way very often).
The shops were both wonderful. We first stopped at Unwind in Burnsville. So cute, very well stocked and the owner (?) extremely welcoming and helpful.
Next up: The Twisted Loop, located in the Prior Lake Library. Again, the shop was beautiful, well stocked and the staff could not have been nicer.
We went to lunch at The Artisan Bistro because that is the place that everyone mentioned whenever we asked where we should eat. They were absolutely correct!! I had Mahi Mahi tacos and they were fabulous.
So, what did I buy. Not much and too much. I have been looking for yarn for a shawl called Strandwanderer for months. You need yarn dyed in sections with specific spacing. Friend Kim is my “yarn whisperer” so I texted her a picture and asked, “Will this work?”
The good news: yes. 🙂 The bad news: Buy two. 🙁
Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Boheme
The reason the yarn is so specific is the way the shawl is knit. When you knit with these hand dyed yarns, as the item gets wider (like a shawl) the pooling continually changes. With this pattern, you knit plain rows that do that, but you also knit sideways sections with a fixed number of sts. The sideway sections pool identically throughout the piece because the stitch count never varies.
What you should see are little repeating boxes in the sideway sections. I have the little repeating boxes. What I don’t have is a color that I like. The brown-pink combo just isn’t doing it for me! Oh well. I may continue my quest for the perfect yarn for this project.
PS to my Commenters: Wollmeise is the yarn used in the pattern itself, but it is not always easy to come by nor easy to judge the colors from a picture. I did try that route but thought I would be better off seeing the yarn in person. Maybe my mistake!!
PS to Kathy: according to the pattern I am about 22% done, not even close to being finished!! This project is a slog on size 2 needles, and all the sideways rows are much slower than normal rows. I don’t know when I will get this thing done. I may make it smaller and just use one skein.
IMHO, The perfect yarn for Strandwanderer is Wollmeise. You can’t go wrong.
Comment by Selma — June 3, 2015 @ 8:37 am
I love it! To think you already have it completed! Sounds like a fun knit, too! So sorry to have to miss the “field trip!” I’m still hobbling around on crutches! See you Thursday!
Comment by Kathy W. — June 3, 2015 @ 10:06 am
Wollmeise in Pure or Twin.
Such a wide variety of colors there is sure to be something that strikes your fancy, and wonderful base yarn. And the yardage (150g skeins with 575/510 yards, depending on base) can’t be beaten. And the price is right too – right now, buying directly from the store, it comes to less than $24 a skein including shipping. (Thank goodness for the great exchange rate right now.)
(Not affiliated with them, just love the yarn.)
Comment by Sivani — June 3, 2015 @ 10:48 am
love it so far. more than willing to take it off your hands. 🙂
Comment by Janetcc — June 4, 2015 @ 9:12 am
Being a big Sweet Georgia Yarn fan, I have to point out that they have other colourways that will space the same way that Boheme does. See their website and the colour options for pictures of how they all look knitted up. http://www.sweetgeorgiayarns.com/colours/
Warning (too late – you looked!)- the colours are addictive. Lots of nice blues and greens, as Felicia is very much influenced by her West Coast location. I am with you on the pink/brown, but desperately need the Sitka and Rockwater, and Spruce and Woodland, and and …
Comment by Barb — June 4, 2015 @ 9:32 pm
What is your favorite yarn shop in Minneapolis ? All your knitting is inspiring ! Thanks….
Comment by nancy — June 5, 2015 @ 1:40 am
I was planning a trip to Minneapolis to visit various yarn shops. I read this post and copied down the 2 yarn shops along with the restaurant. Well, we did visit the 2 yarn shops along with the restaurant. Enjoyed all 3 places. We visited a total of 6 shops last weekend. We are now on overload with projects. Fun, fun weekend.
Comment by Karen — June 30, 2015 @ 3:35 pm
Hello Susan! I miss you at United Hospital! Wanted you to know that I am leaving Children’s Hospital Oct. 2, 2015. Have received many beautiful shawls from dear people who learned of the need for shawls to give to mothers experiencing the dying and death of their newborn infant. The shawls have given so much comfort to them. I will not be here to receive them and so could your blog inform your readers that if they do make and send shawls to the Wrapped in Care program — to send it to the Chaplaincy Department, Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, 345 North Smith Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102.
Thank you!
Comment by Dee Moore — August 25, 2015 @ 4:43 pm