When we go on vacation, I always like to get some souvenir yarn - something that I couldn't get anywhere else, especially not where I live. So when we were planning our trip to Canada, I knew I wanted to find some local, Canadian yarn that I couldn't find here in Asheville. Our first stop was Toronto, which is filled with yarn stores (seriously, google "yarn stores Toronto, ON" and prepare to be overwhelmed). I asked the advice of some twitter friends who live there, but unfortunately our plans didn't really work out to go to the ones that they suggested. Since we were spending most of our day walking around downtown Toronto, I found the yarn store that was most accessible to our afternoon - Lettuce Knit. I was okay with this, mostly because I feel like I've heard of this yarn store before, through blogs and other various outlets, so I was looking forward to visiting.
Man, was I disappointed. It's not that the store is small - I actually love that! The store has lots of potential, and maybe I just went on a bad day. But I knew as soon as I walked in that it was going to be an unpleasant experience. And that's because when I walked in the door, I was totally ignored by the staff. One thing I've always loved so much about yarn shops is that the staff working in them is usually very friendly and eager to help - I mean, what knitter wouldn't love talking yarn in their work time?? But the two women working didn't even look up from their conversation to greet me. I would have turned around and walked out, but at the time, I thought this was the only yarn store I was going to get to go to on our trip, so I stuck it out to find my Canadian yarn. They had lots of local stuff to choose from, which was nice. I ended up finding some wonderful laceweight wool that looked just like the water of the Georgian Bay (where we were going), and I couldn't resist.
It's dyed by Kathryn of Riverside Studio, which is based out of Quebec. It's just absolutely stunning and squishy, and I can't wait to use it.
Luckily, I found out the day before we left that the little town we were staying in, Collingwood, had a yarn store! I squealed with delight and Jake rolled his eyes and then was excited to find out that they had chairs and magazines - win/win!
This yarn store was also small - even smaller than Lettuce Knit. It's not only a yarn store, but a natural clothing store, too. Grey Heron is located in the cute little Collingwood downtown, and if for any reason you happen to be there, you should stop by. I walked in, Jake sat down, and even though they were with another customer, they greeted us with a smile, a hello, and asked us if we needed any help - THAT'S how a yarn store (or any store, really) is supposed to be!
I loved walking around their space and checking out what they had - most yarns were big name brands, but almost everything they carry is natural fiber, which is wonderful. Here I picked up a skein from The Dye Guy, who is John, based out of Jordan, Ontario. This squishy yarn will probably turn into a pair of lovely socks. I picked this color because it reminded me of all the different gradients of maple syrup (speaking of, I can't believe we left Canada without buying any!).
So there you have it, my Canadian yarn adventures. Some good, some bad. But I definitely got what I was searching for - some awesome Canadian yarns. Definitely couldn't get these here in Asheville!
