Yarns of the City – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Yarns of the City – 27 August 2009

For the fiberholic on a road trip through the central coast area of California – north of Santa Barbara – the Village Spinning and Weaving shop is a must-do. This summer, John and Marsha, the proprietors, celebrated their eighteenth anniversary in the same place by being able to more than double the size of their store by expanding into the retail area next door. When Josh and I visited them in June, they had just broken through the connecting wall.

Some of our closest friends, Stephanie and Jay, were living in Solvang at the time Village Spinning opened. Stephanie is a full-time weaver, and I primarily a spinner/knitter – of course this was heaven for us! And Solvang is always good for a lazy day or a short trip if you live nearby, or need cookies or chocolate or cutlery, or you are on your way to the wine country. (I recommend the large cookie boxes at Mortensen’s Bakery, Ingeborg’s Chocolate, and Nordic Knives, if you need to satisfy some other vices.)

Anyhow!

As you walk in the main door – which will probably still be the only entrance to this fiber wonderland – you enter the current store, filled with yarn, fiber, weaving supplies, looms, spinning wheels, roving, bats, books, dyeing supplies, knitting needles, and on and on. You want it, they probably have it. (Notice, I did not say “need“!)

Getting extra space at Village Spinning & Weaving will benefit everyone. The new space has a lot of lighting, both natural and installed. All this will allow better display of looms and spinning wheels, which is really important if you want to check out how an item looks, or feel how a wheel spins. There will be room for knitters. Some lucky group will get to sit around the fireplace, but the sunny windows are not a bad place to be either. As you can see below, there is a lot to look forward to – at least there was in June. I hope they are all moved in and ready to go!

The service you get at Village Spinning & Weaving is wonderful. And they have a lot of stuff – dangerous! This is what they say on their “About Us” page:

Solvang’s Village Spinning & Weaving Shop was started in 1992 by John Novak and Marsha Mullaney-Novak. This shop grew out of our desire to simplify our lives and provide the best possible service and products — something we find lacking in much of today’s world.

Whether you are looking for a new loom or some cochineal for dyeing or maybe a new tatting book, check here or give us a call.

We carry much more than we can possibly list here, so… we have several different print catalogs – you can download a pdf file from this website for many of them. As things change, sometimes too quickly, prices in our printed catalog may not always be completely up to date.

John and Marsha are very knowledgeable about the products they sell. Inventory includes so many books you think you have died and gone to heaven, wheels to test drive, looms both large and small. John takes a lot with him when he does shows such as the Black Sheep Festival, Stitches, or Convergence. Many of you may have met them at one of these events.

For those unfamiliar with Solvang, it is a small town off the 154 and 101, about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara. The Sant Ynez valley is a beautiful place, and as you come over San Marcos Pass into the valley on the 154, the view is breathtaking. This valley, toward Santa Ynez, is where the movie “Sideways” was filmed.

I’m looking forward to my next trip to Village Spinning & Weaving, to see how the expansion is going, to finger fibers, play with wheels, peruse books I have never seen. My pocketbook may suffer a bit, but it sure is worth it!

See you there, and tell ’em I sent ya!

Yarns of the City – 27 June 2009

Anacapa Fine Yarns

This weekend Anacapa Fine Yarns celebrates its 5th birthday. And what a party it is! On Saturday, Judy (my MIL) and I wandered over, planning on some damage occurring to the budgets. We got in a bit later than the 10:00 a.m. opening – not much later, just 30 minutes – and the place was packed!

Lois started this store after working in a large accounting firm for years, and the years of “taking care of the books” certainly showed in her foresight. Anacapa has been able to grow with the business. Lois is a cheerful, friendly person – sunny and funny – and greets many of her customers by name.

The store has a lot of floor space, natural light, good artificial light, and cosy feel. In the front is most of the yarn, with plenty of room for new shipments, books, buttons, needles and notions. There are knitting bags, bits of fluffy wool for spinners, and yarns for all budgets and tastes. In the far corner are the books, with a small, circular table where you can sit, knit, chat, and look at patterns. In the back is an even larger room, for classes, and more yarn (what else?). Lois has had trunk shows, authors, teachers, as well as monthly and on-going classes.

As the years have gone by, more yarn has come in, wonderful employees, and a group of friendly fans make this a great place for knitters to congregate. Customer service is always available, and I have never had a bad moment here – until I look at all the woolly seduction! Then – well – you know how that is! Choices! And some – just some – self-control!!

And the sale? Well, you can see how crowded it was. The line was verrrry long! Judy and I each got sock yarn. Judy got some grey-green-blue Koigu, and I got some ocean-blue-green. Judy also got a lovely sock yarn that was creamy with other colors dispersed through it. I also picked up a nice ball of manly Tofutsies for the esposo, and some – finally! – Mini Mochi in greens.

Anacapa is a gem of a yarn store, and if you are up in Ventura, California, don’t forget to visit. They are open 6 days a week – closed on Monday. The newsletter is published regularly – take a look and see what’s happening and who is showing up.

Happy 5th, Anacapa!

Yarns of the City – 30 May 2009

Eva’s Needlework, Thousand Oaks, CA

People of talent are found everywhere. In particular, I like Eva Wiechmann of Eva’s Needlework. She’s a creative designer, having a number of books out. She has a series of books out called Pursenalities – lots of purse patterns, knitted, crocheted, and felted. Her newest one is called Simple Stitches, which contains sweaters and tops. You can purchase these books at her online store.

If you are in passing through Thousand Oaks, check out her store. It’s the kind of yarn store I enjoy – jammed with stuff. She has an excellent selection of pattern books (in addition to her own). Samples from her books are on display, too, which gives the knitter a chance to see what they really look like.

Yarns of the City – 27 May 2009

Fabric Town USA, Ventura, CA

I love this store!

I’ve been shopping here for years. This is an old-fashioned, family-run store, located in the middle of Main Street of Ventura, CA. There are fabrics, sewing and knitting supplies, upholstery materials, patterns and buttons. Everything is beautifully displayed – the plain exterior belies the inside, trust me – and the service is superb. Many people who work at Fabric Town have been there a long time, and the service provided is some of the best by staff who know what they are talking about. Change is counted back to you, too, so no one is dumping a bunch of bills and coins in your hand. There is a courteousness here which dates back to earlier days.

Fabric Town carries high quality fabrics, if you sew. Silk, cottons, wools. Patterns include Vogue, Butterick, McCalls, and Simplicity, and some of the newer firms as well. Notions for sewing are all over, with a good button selection, zippers, pins, and whatever you might need. All is very reasonably priced. If you quilt, you won’t be disappointed, either.

Yarns and knitting supplies include acrylics made by Red Heart and Paton’s, as well as the good wools, cottons, silk blends, merinos, bamboo and such by Cascade, Berocco, Trendsetter, Crystal Palace, Knit One Crochet Two, and others. There are sock yarns, DK, sport, aran weight. The yarns are divided into categories, such as sock, and then nicely displayed on glass or wooden shelves. The book selection is not large, but the ones they have are nicely chosen. They also carry Clover knitting notions and my favorite aluminum needles, Susan somebody! They do not have an extensive class schedule, but have some knitting classes posted here and there.

Here is where they are located:
2686 E Main St
Ventura, CA 93003
(805) 643-3434

Although the address is on Main Street, you have to go around to the back, next to the BofA teller area. Check them out! They are open 7 days a week, too.