Saturday, November 29, 2014

Nashville Area Yarn Shops

It’s such a joy to walk into a yarn store in a new city and made to feel like you’re very welcome to be there.  Unlike so many other types of stores that are impersonal, yarn stores are like that for the most part.  Such was the case with Bliss Yarns in Brentwood, TN.  I liked the shop immediately.  It’s friendly, well-stocked and low-key.  Months earlier I had picked my hotel at random and was thrilled to find out that this shop was just a mile away.  What a coincidence.  Maybe it’s a knitter’s sixth sense.


I was first greeted by Tyna who explained to me how the store was organized and asked if she could help me find anything.  

I like the Tennessee-orange table.
I told her about my Travel Afghan and said that I was looking for something that would make me think of this trip to the area, a yarn souvenir.  She lead me to yarn from a local dyer Rain's Obsessive Stitchery, a yarn called Fred Sock in a colorway called “Nashville”.  I use yarns in the DK to worsted range for my afghan.  This one is fingering weight but I doubled it and it worked out fine.  It’s perfect and so pretty.  I love the many colors all working together.  


I met the owner, Deb, and had a very nice conversation with her.  Talking with the two of them was like talking to old friends, even though we’d just met.  It further cemented my theory that when you’re around knitters you’re never with strangers.  She generously gave me a knitting bag with the shop’s logo on it and I’m carrying my current project in it now.  Thank you, Deb!
Tyna, left and the owner, Deb on the right.
The second shop I visited was one that I’d been introduced to a few days earlier while at the Tenntucky Fiber ArtsRetreat.  I knew Haus of Yarn because their yarn bus came to the retreat as one of the vendors. 


When I was back in Nashville I had to check out the shop.  It is another excellent yarn store.  Nashville knitters are well-served with this two shops.


The yarn selection is large and I was mostly drawn to the yarns that I've never seen before.  It's always fun to find something new.


Some of the new-to-me yarns were just too tempting and I'm sure that they'll work with my Talavera Dreams afghanThey certainly aren't subtle but they'll add the pop of color that I want in the afghan.  I was proud of myself for only choosing these skeins as I could easily have bought many more. 

Left:  Jill Draper Makes Stuff - Esopus yarn, color: Habanero
Middle:  Jill Draper Makes Stuff - Esopus yarn, color:  Stretching Sunset
Right:  Mrs. Crosby Loves To Play - Satchel yarn, color:  Toucan
Judging by the two skeins on the left I was in an orangey frame of mind that day!  It's a color I've always been drawn to.  They are very large skeins, 500 yards in each, so I'll be using them for more than the afghan, but what to make?

There were so many temptations at both stores. I liked both shops very much and I’ll be back if I'm in the area again.  Hopefully that’ll be for the Tenntucky Fiber Arts retreat in October, 2015.  If there is a knit night at the shops I’d love to sit in.

Next time…. my Travel Afghan.

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