Crafting Body Appreciation

It has been a crafty couple of weekends around these parts. Let me share some highlights.

Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop

The first weekend of April I took part in the annual Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop. My last hop shop hop was 2017 or 2018. It was interesting to see the number of local yarn stores that have closed, opened, or changed ownership since my last go around and the ones that have remained more or less the same were like visiting an old friend. I visited shops during the first and second days along with hundreds of others (based on chatting with a few of the shop staff). It was great to see so much support and interest in small local businesses!

Each local yarn shop in the hop features a custom dyed limited-edition yarn and a free pattern you can make with the yarn. The theme this year was In the Garden, as a fan of all things plants, I was excited to see what each store would come up with. I remembered past patterns being a lot of shawls and cowls, which are not really my thing.  I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of patterns this year including bags, socks, mittens, lavender sachets, trivets, and, of course, shawls (because, of course, I am in the minority on this one).

Campari Sweater

A couple of non-hop related things really caught my eye including this Campari sweater sample at Amazing Threads. I love everything about it – the color, the texture, the style. I am not likely to start knitting a sweater in the summer, but I will revisit it in the fall and winter.

Crocheted Pickle

Second, the world’s cutest Pickle Crochet Hook Holder by Alt Knits featured in store at Muse2320!

Relearning Granny Sqaures

There were several crochet things that piqued my interest this year both during the shop hop and when looking though some crafting books and magazines. I am not a confident crocheter, but I have made a few little things in the past.

I decided to give it another try and started by making a basic granny square with some scrap yarn. It took a few tries to get used to reading the work enough to understand what was going on, but at the end of the evening I did successfully complete a square. It is fun to have another craft option to play around with.

Textile Center Garage Sale

This past weekend I made my first visit to the infamous Textile Center Garage Sale. Since I didn’t know what to expect or have anything super specific in mind to look for, I went on Sunday when the admission was free and everything was 50% off. I love a sale!

I arrived shortly before opening to a line around the block. Thankfully, the line moved quickly once the doors opened. It was busy and crowded in spots (ahem, not to be that person, but maybe it’s not the time/place to bring your completely uninterested partner or a baby in stroller) but with some patience and a lot of “excuse me, I’m sorry” it was still possible to have a good look around. I think I found some great stuff at amazing prices.

When I was a kid, I loved going through the tins full of buttons at my grandma’s house. I am not sure what ever happened to that button stash, but the garage sale was a great place to start my own. I picked up a few bags of assorted buttons for a dollar.

My big purchase for the day was from the fabric by the bag section. Essentially you are given a paper bag that you stuff it full of fabric of your choice from shelves and tables in a backroom for a flat price. The regular price is $15, but since it was Sunday, my bag of fabric was only $7.50.

I had vague notions of hoping to pick up some knit fabrics. Now that I have a serger I am more open to sewing with knits and they seem a bit harder to come across in a thrift store setting. I would say most of the fabric I picked up at the sale was in the 1–2-yard range which should be perfect for tee shirts and tank tops.

The garage sales happen twice a year – spring and fall, but the center is also opening The Stashery, for year-round for secondhand textile shopping. I am excited to make use of this new community resource both for buying supplies and for donating things I no longer need.