Home Again, Home Again...

...jiggedy jig...jetlagged!

My week in Vancouver flashed by - I must confess that I did no knitting at all while I was there. I would like to blame this on the horror of my in-flight circulars experience but the truth is that I was just a bit jetlagged and my holiday flew past in a frenzy of activities that allowed no quiet time to sit and knit.

It was a brilliant week and while the emphasis of my trip was about catching up with old friends, I hope that I have opened the door to some new friendships too.

Sadly Rabbitch wasn't able to make it out due to work overload (so I am going to have to stalk her Etsy shop from afar). However, Dotty, the most kind and lovely Yarn Floozy, took me out for a day to look at quilts, introduce me to Toko's noodles and perform a little yarn enablement.

With the result that, I can heartily recommend the following for stashing, if you ever find yourselves at a loose end in Vancouver:


Urban Yarns - where I stopped off early in my trip to make an emergency straight needles purchase, encountering friendly staff, many yarn brands that I am familiar with from the UK and an impressive array of Fleece Artists kits that I wish I had possessed more time to look at properly. However, I was accompanied by non-knitters and I was jetlagged...perhaps not the best shopping frame of mind?!

Birkeland Brothers (Dotty leading the way!) - one of Vancouver's longest established yarn stores, who stock yarn, fleece and batting. They had a whole range of things that I had not seen before. So next time I am there (think positively, Vancouver is a lovely place), I will browse their catalogue and do my patterns and quantity research before I go.

While Dotty and I were there, two sets of customers bought yarn and calmly used the store's swift and ball winder to deal with their skeins before they left the shop. Can anyone think of a shop that allows you to do that in the UK?! I haven't come across one (to the best of my knowledge).

Three Bags Full (with thanks to Dotty for picture of me gurning inanely outside shop!) - this was a really friendly place with a good mix of yarns, both new and that I have heard of but not touched or felt before, such as Indigo Moon, Hemp for Knitting and Yummy Yarn.

Dotty knows the people who run the store well, so I was made to feel very welcome, which resulted in even more yarn purchases...

...I will post pictures of my yarn trophies, once I have had a chance to photographs them in daylight at the weekend! (With the exception of those items purchased as Christmas presents, of course.)

Actually, while we were at Three Bags Full, Dotty opened her Monkey Sock Swap Package.

Dotty has posted all the details on her blog, so I won't repeat it here but I felt very envious about all the lovely things that she received.

[please pause, for a moment of pure knitting gift swap envy]

Okay, it's a fair cop.

You will all know by now that I do not knit or want to knit socks.

But just look at these - something lovely, knitted just for Dotty. It just tells me that I would like to be involved in a swap! Perhaps I could manage a hat or scarf?

Essentially, something of a manageable size that does not involve either dpns or circulars?

Any suggestions? Sigh, I know, Ravelry will have the answer.

Ahh, well speaking of lovingly hand knitted gifts (oh alright then...O.R.K. burnt offerings), I did deliver my blue and grey knitted gifts while I was in Vancouver.

Now that my head is more or less back in its own timezone, I will blog the mandatory Finished Object photos tomorrow evening! Be warned - the results were not necessarily very flattering!