Shop Hop

I have done informal yarn crawls and today I participated in my second "official" yarn crawl, the I-91 Shop Hop that covers 3 states! My in-laws were kind to take the Lorax for a bit, so I just popped around Connecticut - I went to a LYS, a nearby LYS, a new shop and a shop I haven't been to in years. On the whole I enjoyed it, and I do hope that it turns into an annual event, and that in future years some things are done differently.
A neat feature, when you bought your passport (a booklet that had info on each shop and directions) you also got a tote for your purchases! (Thanks to Jennsquared - I bought her passport since she couldn't go!)

Cute!
A group shot of my goodies:


My first stop was up to Village Wool which was a new find for me. A very sweet shop, nice selection. I was pleased to be able to indulge in some Madelinetosh Tosh Sock and Be Sweet "Bambino Taffy" and some silly knitting cards that I think I will frame.

The next stop was at a shop I haven't been in years. Unfortunately when I stepped in I remembered why - it is a very cluttered shop, and while I appreciate that there are labels of the yarn and prices - most things were shuffled around and not near their labels or were incorrectly priced! The owner also seemed tired and somewhat annoyed but at the same time, gossipy - I had noticed one beautiful scarf and was about to ask where the yarn was when she came over to me and mentioned that she didn't carry that yarn as it was $66. Ok fine. Then she continues, "But you get what you pay for" - well duh, that's part of why the yarn / object was so gorgeous. She had a lot of lower priced yarns (and inexpensive yarn on clearance), but I did notice a few skeins there priced for $80, so I really don't think that a $66 skein would have trouble there. Anyway, I do want to support my local shops, so I picked up some Kollage "Glisten" yarn in red, with some sparkle - I think that will become a Koolhaas hat for me. I was short on time so did not make a big deal, but when I was rang up the price was more than I calculated in my head - I think the price I read on the label was her cost not retail. Sigh. It's fine, but I know I will not be returning to that shop.

I haven't been to Knit New Haven since I took a class there last year, but I am glad I made a stop today - it's a very sweet shop - nicely organized, well lit, friendly staff. I had trouble focusing on a yarn, so I went with a new mug and some stitch markers. Those herdy mugs are so cute!

And last, I made it to my LYS, The Yarn Basket - again I had trouble deciding on a yarn, so I picked up Whimsical Little Knits 2 by Ysolda.

At each shop you could enter your name for a daily drawing; it would be nice to win something! In the future I would love to see the shops do sales to coincide with the yarn crawl - sure there were clearance items (my impression is that they were there before the crawl and would be there after), but a little extra incentive is always nice (and just buying yarn before it is taxed is not an incentive, in my opinion). Also, I get the idea behind the yarn hop where if you make it to all the participating stores you get entered in a drawing for a prize worth more than $1,000 - cool, but for people like me, I can't do that. Maybe I am being selfish with my entry in just the daily drawing... why not turn in my passport at my last stop and be entered for one more prize? Or an extra daily drawing entry?

This was a nice little treat on a Friday - probably the last of my yarn shopping until Rhinebeck. I am expecting some books to arrive next week or the week after as I did online shopping at Interweave's Hurt Book sale and the KnitPicks Summer Reading sale too!