San Francisco LYS

As hoped, I did make it to two LYS while in San Francisco last week.

My first stop was Noe Knit located at 3957 24th Street.



Click here for an interior photo.

Super cute shop with lots of yarn, notions and books. I was immediately drawn to some beautiful sock yarn, but I saw that it was from a company in New York. I didn't want to buy New York yarn while in San Francisco, so I continued looking at the rest of the yarn for sale. The shelves were organized by yarn weight which was very helpful and the selection was quite extensive. I found other yarns I liked, but I kept thinking about the sock yarn. I finally asked the sales associate (who was super-friendly) if they carried any San Francisco based or made or dyed yarns. She said they didn't and I was super excited about to hear it. Why??

Because it meant that it was okay for me to buy the New York sock yarn!!!




It's Anne sock yarn by Schaefer Yarn Company. So fabulous! I bought just the one skein but I wanted to show both sides of it. The oranges and greens melt into the slate blue-gray. It so reminded me of a pumpkin patch I had to have it.

With more sock yarn, I guess I really have to sit down and start learning how to knit socks, huh?

Next, I walked the less than one mile to ImagiKnit located at 3897 18th St. (18th and Sanchez).



The entry to the store is under the sign on the right of the photo. I was absolutely awed by what lay inside that door. Two large rooms with shelf upon shelf, from floor to ceiling, of fabulous yarn. From expensive yarns to specialty yarns to yarns I'd never seen before. It was a bit overwhelming but oh, so fun. Click here for some interior views.

I must've been in the store for a good 45 minutes, all told. The store was quiet for a Thursday afternoon so I wasn't competing with other yarniacs. The store staff was quite friendly, too. I found so many yarns I wanted and, as usual, they were all quite expensive. I finally decided on just two skeins - not for lack of selection, but for the sake of my wallet.

I got a skein of Crystal Palace Panda Silk yarn in these gorgeous fern tones. I thought it might be perfect for knitting some booties to go along with the Shades of Irish Green baby blanket. I also bought some bamboo knitting needles size 6 (also in this picture) which allowed me to do a quick swatch of the yarn. I :heart: it!




This was my other purchase that I just had to buy...it's hot pink yak yarn!




Okay - technically, it's 75% yak and 25% bamboo and the colorway is called Strawberry. But it's hot pink yak yarn to me!

The company that makes it is Shokay and the fibers are hand-combed from the yaks by Tibetan herders. In addition to being a beautiful color and suprisingly soft, it's socially responsible yarn! As per the company website,

"By introducing luxury yak down to the global market, we hope to create a market for yak fiber, thus increasing the value of the raw fiber to provide herders with long-term employment and a greater sustainable income."

I have absolutely no idea what I'll make with it...though this little stuffed yak seems appropriate.




While ImagiKnit had more yarn selection, I still loved Noe Knit and it's zen atmosphere. I'd highly recommend that if you're in San Francisco to check out both of them. And if you can get your hands on some Shokay yak yarn, I'd highly recommend that, too!