Yarn Crawl-ing

On Saturday, May 3 thirteen BLKG members and one friend met in DePere and set off to crawl through a few yarn shops down Madison way.  Kathy Potter organized and arranged the day, and she did a wonderful job.  She arrived at the DePere Park & Ride with a cooler full of bottled water and a box of fresh Uncle Mike's sweet rolls.  Thoughtful and delicious, what more could you ask?  We got ourselves sorted into three vehicles and set off to Beaver Dam and...

Firefly Fibers which opened its doors half an hour early for us.  Kathy had them draw for a little guild-provided gift certificate and they had a little gauze bag with a tape measure and a few pins for each of us.  Alissa and her husband were friendly and helpful, and she showed us the Hitchhiker Bias Scarf pattern that has been popular there this season.  Firefly Fibers has a wide selection of fine yarns and books in a relaxed, modern setting.












Our next stop was outside of Columbus at Susan's Fiber Shop.  This shop is out in the country on a working sheep farm in a newly remodeled building that goes on and on, with a library's worth of books, rack after rack of yarn (Tracy Schuh's Interlacements Yarn, dyed just north of Green Bay in Abrams, was a feature), roving and fleece to spin, spinning wheels, and looms.  Pete welcomed us, drew for a gift certificate, caught a lamb for us to pet (the lamb was not as enchanted as we were), answered questions, demonstrated spinning and weaving, and worked the register.  We were not the only customers; the man was a whirlwind.







Then it was on to Madison for lunch at The Laurel Tavern where we enjoyed luscious burgers, green bean fries, and a restful sit in a hospitable setting.  (My Brewmaster Burger was so tall I could barely get my mouth around it but, man, was it good.)

Across the street from The Laurel is The Knitting Tree, our 3rd stop, where there was a breathtaking selection of knitting bags and interesting sample knits.  This is also where you find Patternology, which they describe on their website as "our passion for the study, concepts and design of knitted garments, inspired by the hip and eclectic knitters of Madison, Wisconsin.  Presented exclusively by The Knitting Tree."

Our last stop was at Stitcher's Crossing, also in Madison, which is (brace yourself) half yarn shop and half quilt shop.  This time there were drawings for two gift certificates and a short lesson on knitting jogless stripes in the round by one of the staff.  The lesson was clear, concise, and well-presented--and there was a handout.  It was hard to decide whether to buy yarn or fabric, so I got some of each.  I suspect a lot of the BLKG-ers did the same.

By then it was late in the afternoon so we tired Yarn Crawl-ers made our way back to DePere and went our separate ways.  I don't know about the other cars but we made a pit stop in Beaver Dam on the way home.  We needed a little treat after our long day of shopping, riding, and talking.

This was my first yarn crawl and it won't be my last.  You should start saving a bit of yarn money and blocking out Saturdays in early May so you can go along next time.  It was a blast!