Serendipity, Buena Vista

Stop 14 on the Colorado Yarn Tour was Serendipity in Buena Vista.


Wow, what a store! Serendipity is a combination yarn store and gift shop.


It is a beautiful older house that has been converted into this wonderful welcoming shop where every room reveals a beautiful array of 'treasures'. There are goodies spread throughout the 2 floors. I could have spent hours brwsing, oohing and aahing over everything.


I think all of my favourite yarn brands were there in abundance too. (Joe is grateful it's not too close to home. ;o)


One of the ladies at the store described it as a destination yarn store. And I'd agree -- definately worth making a trip to go see. And if you do happen to be in the area, we had lunch at a lovely cafe called Mothers. Delicious food in cosy surroundings.

Oooh and before I forget, I picked up this skein for the 'myth' that is my Colorado blanket.


My sister and I toy with the idea of owning a yarn store back in the UK, and Serendipity is exactly the kind of place I'd love for us to run. Maybe with one of the rooms converted into a tea shop. 'Cause knitting can be thirsty work, right!

The Colorado Yarn Tour continues...

This summer Joe and I took Ian and Jessica up to Durango to see Mesa Verde. On the drive back to Denver we made a number of stops to add some more Colorado Yarn Stores to my 'Colorado Yarn Store Crawl'.

Stop 12 was Knit One on Pearl Street in Bayfield. Bayfield looks to be a tiny town but kudos to any small town that sees the need for a dedicated yarn store to serve the local knitters (and passers by :o). And don't you just love that they were able to secure a location on Pearl Street!


Knit One couldn't have been a friendlier store. The owner was a delight! She told me about other stores in the area I might want to visit; shared her current project with me; asked about Denver stores. All in all, a joy to hang out with. And then there's her trusty 4-legged friend who also seemed very happy welcome you... and get a little attention ;o) If you are in the area, I'd recommend swinging by.


It's a fairly small store, but has a nice selection of yarns, some of which I hadn't seen before -- I picked up some lovely Colinette Taos (it's a silk yarn - yum) for the Colorado blanket. (Which I'm thinking about renaming my Diva blanket because of the luxurious fibers that are going to be in it!)


Stop 13 was Edelweiss Needlework Chalet in Pagosa Springs. If you happen to be enjoying the hot springs in Pagosa then by all means wander over the street to see Edelweiss needlework chalet.


This store caters to a variety of needlearts -- in truth it feels a bit like a quilting store that has expanded to offer some cross stitch and knitting supplies. Nothing wrong with that of course.


What I'm trying to say is that there's probably more appeal for a quilter rather than a hardcore knitter. I found a great Irish linen yarn that though. It's not the softest, but I do love the fine, but slubby, texture on this one.


I'm avoiding the topic of the blanket's progress. Let's just say there's a miter square baby blanket, and an overdue ravelympics project, hanging in the wings first. Thing is, aside from the new job, I've had my nose in a book most evenings. I need to figure out a way to knit and read... I was thinking of bringing my cookbook stand out and seeing if that would do the trick! Ha can you imagine? Nope, I decided to stay consumed in my book and let the knitting sit to one side for a change.

More like a marathon, less like a sprint

As you can see from my last post, I've signed up for the Ravelympics 'Sweater Sprint'. My chosen project is Rowan Geno. In 4ply Rowan Soft.

That's right: A 4-ply sweater. In 2 weeks.
Am I nuts?

In fairness, I got off to a good start. My bum has been firmly rooted to the sofa whilst my eyes have been glued to the box, and my hands busily knitting away.


The good news is that the back is now complete, and the left front.
I've just started the right front. So there's that, the sleeves, the button band and the finishing. Doable by closing ceremony? Probably not. But a valiant effort? I think so. ;)

Let the Games begin

I've signed up to join the Ravelympics:

• My team: Team Colorado of course!
• The event: The Sweater Sprint -- I'll be attempting to start and finish Rowan Geno by the closing ceremony.

Don't you just love the Rowan model's look -- utter disbelief!
(And she could be onto something ;)

Here's to ambitious goals... now please excuse me while I get settled to watch the opening ceremony, and cast on.

Yarn, Durango

Stop #11 on the Colorado Yarn Store Tour was Yarn, Durango.


As we were in Durango the other weekend visiting nearby Mesa Verde, I took good advantage of the trip to spend a little time checking out the local yarn stores in the area (and en route).

The first stop was Yarn in Durango. This has to be one of the most stylish yarn stores I have ever visited. And it has a Tea Bar to boot! (That's right, what Brit isn't going to be happy with a yarn store that'll offer you a nice cuppa at the same time as you browse through the good stuff.)


It is located in the historic downtown area, in a beautiful location where you are greeted by sculptures, and then you turn the corner and see that colourful wall of yarn through the glass doors. Stunning.

The store stocks an abundance of Noro, including the new silk garden sock yarn. The Be Sweet products are stocked here too. There were also a lot of other brands that I like -- Lornas Laces, Manos, Mission Falls, Shibui. And some handspun yarns which I rarely see for sale in yarn stores.


I happened to visit when there was a trunk show for the Interweave Knits book 'Felt Forward'. I'm not big into felting but there were some cute projects including some felted table place settings. I might have to check the book out.

As for the yarn selection for the Colorado afghan, I opted for the Be Sweet Bamboo in a lovely olive colour. Yum!

World's Largest Sock

Jessica and I headed to Knitted Peace in downtown Littleton today to meet up with Ruth and Donna. The reason: we wanted to contribute to 'BigSock' -- an effort to create the world's largest sock.


That's right we could be famous (LOL), with our names entered into the Guiness Book of Records (along with the bajillions of other folks that are going to work on this before it gets to it's desired length). I'm thinking that fame won't happen any time soon though - this bad boy has been on the needles for a couple of years already, and I'd say it's probably still on the 'cuff'.

Check out the Big Sock Blog if you want to learn more, or participate.