life with a chronic disease and a really big yarn stash
Road Trip: My Sister Knits
Every Wednesday I go to a local yarn store to knit with a group of ladies who have become my friends. Okay, let’s be honest, they are one of my main support systems. I love the ladies in this group, and last week we all headed out on a road trip to the yarn stores of Fort Collins, Colorado. We visited three stores and treated ourselves to a fun lunch. It was a great (if a little exhausting) time, and it is always exciting to explore new yarn shops, but one store in particular was a huge hit with me.
My Sister Knits is located in the carriage house behind a lovely home on a street shaded with mature trees. We drove by twice before we figured out that there was a discrete sign under a tree out front; the low profile might be due to its presence in a residential section of the city. I really don’t know about that, but it is totally worth the extra time to locate it! To get to the shop you walk through a bright and inviting gate to the side of the house and…
you enter the sweetest yard with brick patios and walkways, tables and benches for knitting, sparkly lights and lovely plantings. I was struck with envy.Then there were the chickens… these pampered chicks have this lovely house for their coop, and the metal and wire structure to the right (which is much larger than shown in the photo) is their courtyard. So cute! I want chickens for my yard too. I want these trees and the decorations, and maybe that birdbath while we’re at it. Do you think a bee hive would be over the top? I got great ideas for my yard before I even made it to the yarn shop!Oh, there it is. The store is located in a converted carriage house that used to be a two car garage with upstairs storage and an office used by the previous owner. Now it is a lovely yarn shop. Let’s go in…OK, the shop isn’t huge, but everything that is there is JUST PERFECT!! Seriously, I wanted everything. Yarn that is hard to find, too wonderful to ignore, and in a great selection of colors. I felt like I had gone to heaven!and I met Julie, who is the most positive and helpful owner you could hope for. No wonder her shop is so appealing.Upstairs you find all the fingering yarn…Madelinetosh and Hedgehog Fibres in every color and weight you could wish for, along with knitted samples, patterns, and cute kit packaging. There were other yarn brands, too, but I never made it that far. 🙂 This table had kits to make Melanie Berg’s On the Spice Market Shawl along with kits for the shawls you can see. You know I bought the yarn to made one of these shawls… There was a Stephen West The Doodler hanging on the wall, with every color of Hedgehog Fibers yarn lurking nearby just waiting for you to put together a three yarn combination… The shop has a license to sell Ravelry patterns, so anything you wanted, they printed it for you and you were in business.
So I got silly and bought yarn. I bought some of the kits that were shown, the yarn for some shawl patterns that have been waiting patiently in my Ravelry shopping cart, and some yarn that was too beautiful to just leave sitting on the rack. I have put together the kits to make seven new shawls (lucky seven… can you feel a new post coming on?), and launched into some small projects that are rich in color and learning. Here is the one that I started first.
Downstairs on a high shelf these little kits were on display: brioche knit cowls. Hey, I always wanted to learn how to knit brioche…Look Mom! I can knit brioche!! Look at how nice these two colors go together. Even the little stitch marker came with the kit. This is the Hawkshaw Cowl by Kate Burge and Rachel Price. That yarn is a single worsted weight merino yarn. Yum!I even learned how to do the i cord cast on that Julie recommended I use. Thank you You Tube!
Today it is cool, overcast and threatening to rain. The Olympics starts tonight, and I have lots of yarn on hand and visions of shawls dancing in my head. Forecast: major knitting.
I weave, knit and read in Aurora, Colorado where my garden lives. I have 2 sons, a knitting daughter-in-law, a grandson and two exceptionally spoiled kittens. In 2014 I was diagnosed with a serious rare autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis along with Sjogren's Disease and fibromyalgia.
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15 thoughts on “Road Trip: My Sister Knits”
Greyt post! It was a fun day. Can’t wait to see the brioche completed. I started the “Let’s Get Lost” shawl with hedgehog yarn I got at My Sisiter Knits.
Still got kinks! My comment came up as The Greyt Knitter instead of Greytknitter. Also would like to add a pic in icon instead of funny green thing. This is making me crazy. But did solve some of the other issues.
Ooh! I want to go there. What a cute place and love its ambiance. I like how you treated yourself to some fiber goodies.
We really had a good time there. One of the things that made it special was all the samples, the huge selection of the yarns they had and the easy access to patterns.
Wow what an amazing shop! Now I wish I will win the lottery so I too can go to Fort Collins and spend some serious shopping time in this store! And by the way, your brioche cowl looks gorgeous 🙂
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Greyt post! It was a fun day. Can’t wait to see the brioche completed. I started the “Let’s Get Lost” shawl with hedgehog yarn I got at My Sisiter Knits.
I cast on the “Antarktis” shawl with some Tosh Merino Light I had in the stash as a break from the cowl, but the other yarns are calling to me. 🙂
Your blog is looking Greyt!!
Still got kinks! My comment came up as The Greyt Knitter instead of Greytknitter. Also would like to add a pic in icon instead of funny green thing. This is making me crazy. But did solve some of the other issues.
Ooh! I want to go there. What a cute place and love its ambiance. I like how you treated yourself to some fiber goodies.
We really had a good time there. One of the things that made it special was all the samples, the huge selection of the yarns they had and the easy access to patterns.
How fun! All of it – the trip with your knitting buddies, the lovely yarn store, your fabulous haul! Lol! I’m jealous!! 🙂
and a great lunch! It was the perfect outing. 🙂
Wow what an amazing shop! Now I wish I will win the lottery so I too can go to Fort Collins and spend some serious shopping time in this store! And by the way, your brioche cowl looks gorgeous 🙂
Thank you. The yarn makes it look great and it is very soft and squishy. It was a great buy from a wonderful shop!
What a great shop! Oooh…you have some Spincycle. 😍 Yarn crush.
It’s the first time I’d ever seen it, and I didn’t really understand what I was getting. Now… I’m in love!!
Your brioche looks great! I never would have guessed you just learned. Can’t wait to see your finished cowl.
Some mistakes in the first few rows, but no I think I’ve caught on. It helps you see
what’s happening with two colors. 🙂
Green with envy!
It was cool!