"Yarnies" in Michigan

Remnants of Summer Mixed with Fall
on my Front Porch

This week we had friends visiting us in Michigan. The wife has a true yarn addiction. I had told her about several yarn stores that I had visited and several that I knew about. We planned our shopping and leaf peeping adventures around where the yarn stores could be found. By day two her husband coined the word "yarnies" to describe us. I think that is like carnies who travel from town to town with carnivals - well we traveled from town to town for yarn stores. We hit Petoskey, Cross Village, and East Jordan - we missed one in Boyne City/Horton Bay.

The weather this week would have to be called spotty at best. The guys declared it good enough to golf so we went shopping and driving to look at the georgous leaves.

In Petoskey, we visited Cynthia's Too http://www.cynthiasyarn.citymax.com/page/page/4076765.htm They have beautiful yarn and fun gift items. N found a number of yarns that needed to go home with her. I  have had good luck there in the past - some of the yarn for my host gift table runners came from there. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at Cynthia's But I did get some great stocking stuffers.

The following day we headed out to see leaves north of Harbor Springs on The Tunnel of Trees - a 20 mile stretch of road along Lake Michigan that goes to the tiny village of Cross Village. An amazing drive - I had never been up in that way before. I will do it again.

When I was at the Fiber Festival in July I saw a fiber artist who specialized in hand dyed yarn. Her business is Three Pines Studio http://threepinesstudio.com/ She was in Cross Village so what a perfect combo - leaves and yarn. When we got there Joann Condino met us at the door offering lattes and cappachinos. She was nearly sold out of her 2012 yarns but she is working on new colors for 2013.So she then proceeded to take us into her studio and show us her Pantone swatches and her experiments with mixing her new shades. It was fasinating. N and I did both find yarn there that needed to follow us home.


Joann Explaining her Dying Process



Joann's First Run of
2013 Colors



Beautiful Pillows Woven at "Loom with a View" -
Around the Corner on lake Michigan

Yesterday I thought we had shot our wad and that we were safe from more yarn shopping but no.... N woke yesterday morning thinking about Alpaca. We had tried to call the Alpaca Store at Maplewood Farms two different days and never got an answer. But she remembered seeing Alpaca yarn at Stonehedge Fiber Mill In East Jordan http://www.stonehedgefibermill.com/. So off we went again with a tour of leaves mapped out to the fiber mill and back. N did indeed find some nice Alpaca and I got several more skeins of Shepherd's Wool to add to my stash. Stonehedge processes wool from all over the country. They process the wool for Three Pines that Joann then dyes.



The Depleted Wall of Shepherd's Wool



Their Alpaca Supplies

Oh ..... and in the midst of all this shopping and entertaining I did get the mohair shawl warped and woven off. It is in the suitcase and the loom has been hidden away. FYI that yarn came from http://www.mohairinmotion.com/ another Michigan fiber source that specializes in dying mohair. I will take pictures once it is wet finished.

All in all a very successful week. I plan to make it to the center to weave on Tuesday. I have a northern Michigan treat to bring with me - smoked fish - YUM!

Be well,
Ann