L.A. County Yarn Crawl 2014

My Yarn Crawl Passport, Stamped by 11 Shops!

OK, I'm officially yarned-out!  I traveled to 11 yarn shops this past weekend.  Yes, I love yarn shopping, but I love crocheting and knitting more.  Time to get to work.  If I crocheted or knit everyday for the rest of my life, I'd NEVER use all of the yarn that I own.  Phew!

On Friday, Laurie-Ann, along with Brenda and Diane picked me up for our first day of crawling.  We met up with Leah at the Little Knittery in Atwater Village.  Leah joined us for the rest of the Crawl.  

Creative Doily Mobile at The Little Knittery

After thinking about ALL of the shops we visited, I do believe that I liked The Little Knittery the best.  Of course, this was our first shop.  We were all bright-eyed and awake, brimming with yarn enthusiasm.  The Little Knittery just feels hipper than most shops.  It must be the vibe from the high cool-quotient in Atwater Village.  Also, this shop is relatively close to where I live, so I will definitely visit again.

Next stop, Needle in a Haystack in Montrose.  I've been to this shop numerous times.  The Montrose Downtown area is a flash from the past.  It's 1960 again.  Montrose is a charming area, full of restaurants and interesting shops.

Shopping at Abuelita's in Pasadena

We piled back into the car for the short trip to Pasadena's Abuelita's Knitting and Needlepoint Shop.  Abuelita's re-located recently from Mission Avenue in South Pasadena to Colorado Boulevard in the heart of Pasadena.  The shop is located in a picturesque courtyard.  it's a two-storey shop, beautifully decorated.

We zoomed south through the streets of Pasadena and South Pas to yet another adorable shopping village on Huntington Drive in San Marino.   Destination:  A Stitch in Time.  This very large shop is primarily dedicated to needlepoint, cross-stitch and embroidery, but they do have a very nice selection of fine knitting and crochet yarns.

A Stitch In Time, San Marino

We were beginning to feel weak.  All of that yarny goodness was giving us blurry vision.  We zoomed down Huntington to the border of South Pas and Alhambra and had a yummy lunch at Twohey's.  

Notice the George Nelson light fixtures!  Very Mid-Century Modern.

Twohey's is an institution in the San Gabriel Valley.  It started out as a carhop drive-in in 1949.  There has been some remodeling since that time, but the current interior renovations have brought this restaurant back to Googie greatness.  Twohey's is the home of the Stinko Burger (pickles and onions).  I just had a regular cheeseburger.  It was delish.

We then made the long drive to purlSide in Glendora. Their motto is:  "Get Your Knits on Route 66."  Cute.  

Leah, Marie, Brenda, Diane and Laurie-Ann @ purlSide, Glendora

My friend, Marie recently moved to Glendora.  She had been following our Crawl progress on Facebook, so we invited her to meet us at purlSide and then to the HIGHLIGHT of our trip, The Donut Man for FRESH STRAWBERRY donuts!  It was so nice seeing Marie again.  Although we keep up with each other's lives on Facebook, we rarely have a chance to visit.  In years past, we both knit with a group in Montrose.  We will have to make an effort to reunite that fun group!

After our delicious dessert stop on Route 66, we made our way to Claremont.  Driving through the downtown area of historic Claremont is always fun.  The area is filled with craftsman bungalows, arroyo stone fences and other quaint structures.  Colors is housed in such a little building.  This has to be one of the friendliest yarn staffs on the Crawl.  We were plied with freebies, assaulted by the colorful, artful shop and welcomed to hang out.  Next time I'm in Claremont, I will definitely stop at Colors to peruse their stock more carefully.  There are also tons of darling restaurants and coffee houses nearby.  

Colors Yarn Shop, Claremont

Our next to last stop in Claremont was Phebe's Needleart, located in the historic College Heights Lemon Packing House near the railroad tracks.  This is a small shop, upstairs.  They displayed some beautiful samples, knit and crochet.

Although we were all very tired, we were only about 10 minutes from the Hobby Lobby in Upland, so off we went.  I do not agree with Hobby Lobby's politics, but their house-brand cotton and acrylic yarn are excellent quality in a range of colors.  The yarn abides.

After a long freeway drive home on a late Friday afternoon, I was exhausted.  Thank you, Laurie-Ann for driving!  I had a great day!

On Saturday, I just could not bear to visit another yarn shop other than my home, go-to shop, The Knitting Tree in Culver City.  The place was full, everyone was happy and I was glad I stopped in.  I've written about this great shop previously, here.  Naturally, I just had to purchase a sweater's-worth of lovely blue yarn!  Ack!

Leo and Andrea at The Knitting Tree, Culver City

On Sunday, my friend, Nancy and I zoomed out to Van Nuys to visit A Major Knitwork.  Neither of us had visited this shop and we wanted to check it out.  Due to it's proximity to Trendsetter Yarn factory, this is the go-to place for an excellent selection of Trendsetter product.  Too bad I stopped here on the third day of yarn shopping.  I probably would have given this shop more attention if I hadn't been yarned-out. 

Nancy @ A Major Knitwork, Van Nuys.  Notice the gigantic yarn swift in front of the shop!

My very last yarny stop was at Compatto Yarn Salon in Santa Monica to drop off my passport.  This shop is very close to my office.  Wouldn't it be nice if I won the gift basket?!!

I was fairly frugal in my yarn purchases during the crawl.  Naturally, I want to drop all of my current projects and start making something with my NEW yarn.  I have yarn A.D.D.

Yarn purchases from The Knitting Tree, purlSide, Little Knittery, Compatto, A Major Knitwork and Hobby Lobby