A serendipitous trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada happened to coincide with Local Yarn Store Day and the Woolith Fair yarn crawl. I had a great time exploring yarn and craft stores in Vancouver! In all, I visited eight Woolith Fair stops plus a couple additional stores discovered along the way. I limited my purchases to local, handmade, and/or interesting yarns.
Stops
I stopped at:
- Baaad Anna’s, Vancouver
- Once Upon a Sheep, Maple Ridge
- Trendy or What Knot and The Loom Room, Mission – a bit of a drive from Vancouver, but a Scheepjes stockist where I got to see and touch my favorite yarn brand that I usually buy online. Based on this visit, I added Merino Soft and Wooly Whirl to my list of yarns to try, which I was overlooking shopping online only.
- Wet Coast Wools, Vancouver
- Urban Yarns Point Grey, Vancouver
- Sweet Georgia – we got to walk around their back room where the dyeing magic happens.
- Black Sheep Yarns, Port Moody – in a cute town with a row of breweries and a food truck festival (picture below).
- Fibre Art Studio, Granville Island – surrounded by other craft and local economy stores.
- Silk Weaving Studio, Granville Island – my favorite of my non-Woolith Fair stops.
Purchases
I purchased:
Hand-dyed recycled silk. I met the local artist, Sarah Elizabeth, who was holding a trunk show at Baaad Anna’s.
Hand-spun and hand-dyed yarn by Alberta, Canada-based The Fiber Imp from Baad Anna’s.
Black Cat hand-dyed lace-weight yarn from Trendy or What Knot. Black Cat has their own store that was participating in Woolith Fair, but it was too far away to visit. My Trendy or What Knot purchase (which also included a Scheepjes Whirlette in Grappa I need to finish another project) came with a free pattern. I chose: Scheepjes Yarn The After Party 03 Emerald Shawl.
Another hand-dyed yarn by Vancouver-based Puzzle Tree yarns – I briefly met the artist when I first arrived at Wet Coast Wools.
A hand-dyed yarn cake by Freia Fibers from Urban Yarns Point Grey.
A yarn blend by Zealana that includes New Zealand possum! I was told NZ possums are more attractive than American possums, and that the yarn makes a great natural technical fabric. These University of Notre Dame colors were selected by my hubby and destined for a ski hat for him.
A Sweet Georgia Party of Five hand-dyed yarn pack. I see more Sweet Georgia purchases in my future – for a Lilla Bjorn Crochet Spirit of Life Wrap… 0r maybe a Stained Glass Wonder… or…
A limited-release Sweet Georgia sock yarn blank. This yarn is knitted into a simple “blank” before dyeing to achieve a gradient effect. You then unravel the yarn to use it for your own project.
I haven’t decided how to use all these yarns yet, but I will likely combine them with other yarns and use designs that highlight their special features.
