Heartstrings Yarn Studio

On my way out of Chico on Friday I stopped by this little yarn shop that I had walked to one of my first weeks at Chico State.  It is called Heartstrings Yarn Studio.  Honestly, I have to say I wasn’t overly impressed during my first visit.  Although the selection of yarn is INCREDIBLE, there is a lack of local yarns.  I know I went in with expectations of tons of local yarns because this is an “Ag” county and therefore there has to be more local spinners and fiber suppliers.

Even though I wasn’t completely awed my first visit, Heartstrings is one of the (if not the) only yarn shop in Chico.  And I wanted some “good” yarn.  After 10 years I have grown tired of Red Heart Super Saver acrylic yarn.  I was in the mood for some sock yarn, I want to learn to knit socks two at a time on circular needles.  

I think I chose a good day, there was no one in the store (okay one other person) and the sales lady was so kind to help me.  It was awesome.  I told her I was looking for some sock yarn, she showed me the selection.  I picked out a nice merino wool and an alpaca/merino blend.  Both are delicious!  

Then I told the sales lady I was looking to make some crocheted potholders.  She showed me her selection of 100% cottons as well as the sales bins that I could dig through to find some cotton yarns.  It was great fun!  

I came away with my two sock yarns, a new set of circular needles, and some great information about the local spinning group.  I even applied for a job there!  Boy it would be great if I could work there!

On my second visit my mind was changed regarding this quaint little yarn shop.  I quite like it. The selection of yarn and needles is quite extensive and the staff is very knowledgable.  I will someday be a supplier for high quality fiber rovings and yarn to shops such as Heartstrings Yarn Studio.'

Check out there website at http://heartstringsyarn.com/ 

KnitPicks Podcast

I have recently become addicted to the Knit Picks Podcasts.  I’m not exactly sure what the appeal is, since I don’t knit very much.  It must be all the chatting about yarn, dying, spinning, and interviews with authors.  I checked out the website and they have so much amazing yarn.  The only downfall is that I can’t snuggle with it before I commit to buying.  Their prices aren’t bad either.  I really love that (at least for now) there is FREE shipping for order over $50!  And that is not a hard number to hit!  

I was listening to an old podcast from July 3, 2008, it was an interview with Gale Zucker the photographer for Shear Spirit.  I have yet to check out the book but I loved the interview!  Kelley, the podcast hostess, asked Gale if she could have any livestock in on a little farm what would she have.  Her answer to my great delight...alpacas and goats!  I was pulling some bread out of the oven and when I heard that I started laughing out loud!  I thought I was the only one on this planet that was that crazy to pick that combination of livestock.  I was happy to hear I’m not the only crazy person on the planet.  

I will eventually buy some Knit Picks’ yarn, but until I have some disposable income, I will be content with what I have and enjoy listening to the podcast.  www.knitpicks.com

Loom Knitting

I don't know if you have ever been in the yarn section of your local craft store. But many of them carry this "new" fangled product to make knitting "easier". My younger sister and I went in on a set of round looms a couple years ago (okay, it was more like six or seven) and never really got too far with them. She wasn't into it and I was more into crochet. I also didn't find the instructions too clear. So the looms got lost at the bottom of my wicker chest only to be seen on the rare occasion that I clean the chest out.

On a more recent occasion I purchased the KB Sock Loom. I really love how knitted socks look and all the different patterns you can use. I don't really like how crochet socks look and I'm not to hot at knitting so I turned to the loom. It came with a DVD which I was really excited about. I got home, pulled out an extra skein of yarn, put in the DVD and got to work.

The first complaint I have is one of the pegs was put in the board backwards so the groove the knitting tool slides in to pull the yarn was not there making it extremely difficult to grab the yarn on that peg. I was slow going, I made the tube for the leg and proceeded on to the heel. I got through the heel with only a little trouble. Then the DVD stopped instructing! It just said the foot was just like the leg and the toe was just like the heel. I gave up. I don't like admitting it, but it is true. I was too frustrated to continue, ripped it out and turned the rest of the skein (which was a bright blue) into a floppy eared crocheted bunny rabbit.

Another complaint I have about the sock loom instruction was they didn't really explain sizing. In other words, how many pegs to use to make a sock for a baby, child, or adult. And it would be nice to know the number of pegs to use to make a sock to fit a certain size foot.

I'm sad to have to write a bad review for this product. I really wanted it to work. And maybe someday I'll drag to loom out of the bottom of my wicker chest and try again. But for now I'm going to stick to crocheting and maybe attempt sock knitting in the round.