Chicago Yarn Shops

As promised, today I want to share the fantastic experience of visiting two local yarn shops in Chicago last week. I did some research before I left on my trip and found a great list on the Windy City Knitting Guild's website, part of the American Knitting Guild. First up was http://www.haveeweanywool.com/ in Elmhurst.

I wish I took pictures because this shop was crammed with amazing stuff! I have never seen so many patterns and magazines in one place. This shop stocks hundreds of back issues of many crochet and knit magazines and have a special back room with patterns. The ladies love making handbags, many of them felted. There were several completed examples hanging around the shop and they were eager to share recently completed projects and WIP's. They stock a great selection of Brown Sheep yarn. I drooled over the most beautiful cashmere yarn I have ever seen, but bravely stuck to my shopping list. Love the little brown paper bag she put my purchases in!

Next up was the greatest experience of all. Juanita took me to Knitche in Downers Grove. Wow! This is a yarn candy store of note. Here is the link with a photo of the shop - http://www.knitche.com/. Love, love, love the personalized bag my shopping was put in! They have a stunning coffee shop and the shop was buzzing, even at 7pm. Friendly, helpful staff and the biggest collection of Cascade Yarns I have ever seen!

I have never seen this fabulous yarn before. This is Cascade 200 bulky (Magnum), which is a 100% Peruvian Highland wool with 123 yards on one skein. It comes in the most gorgeous colors and I purchased this lime green and the lovely bright pink in the background. Not a lot on each skein but I am planning some more of those small crocheted bags I recently made, or maybe a crocheted hat for winter.

My mission was to purchase some dark grey and chocholate brown yarn, and this is what I found. On the left a lovely dark grey yarn by Brown Sheep Company called Lanaloft. This color is called Smoke and one skein has 160 yards of 100% worsted weight wool. On the right is a lovely chocholate brown yarn by Berroco called Peruvia.

There was also a small selection of suede bag handles and I selected this black pair. So soft to the touch. I cannot wait to use these handles on a bag. The shop also boasted a lovely selection of accessories such as knitting needles, buttons, books and magazines, etc. The displays are unbelievable, colorful and inviting you to buy lots. Well worth a visit and first on my list for a future trip!