My best kept secret… or…. Where I do my shopping

As a spinner and knitter I do not require a lot of materials to work with. Give me a handful of cotton buds, find me a sheep with thick fleece or even a bunch of hemp and I’ll convert them into usable yarn ;o) However, with yarn easily accessible in my local yarn shops (LYS) there’s no need to chase after sheep or any other hairy animals to be able to knit!

Galway, where I’m based at the moment, offers a nice selection of yarn in 4 local yarn shops. Most people won’t pay much attention to these places, but for me they’re essential and a visit in them always puts me in a good mood ;o).

Lola Rose aka Yarn is located at the hart of Galway, on Middle Street, and is a great place to start shopping. The shop is lovely with inspiration lurking from every shelf, wall and corner. You’ll find there a nice selection of yarn, starting with Kilcarra, through Debbie Bliss and Louisa Harding to Rowan, Colinette and Japanese Noro. My all time favourite Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Noro Kureyon Sock yarns, which I use to knit my scarfs and shawls, are most likely purchased in Lola Rose. Apart from yarn and knitting notions, you’ll find felted accessories, knitting books, tons of beautiful fabrics, buttons, ribbons and many more. Your kids (and you too!) will undoubtedly fall in love with the Ugly dolls, custom made blankets and funky T-shirts. Lola Rose is open Monday-Fri 9:30am-5:30pm; Sat 10:00am-5:30pm and Sun 2:00pm-5:30pm or 24/7 at http://www.yarn.ie/.

Feanor Crafts, another of my favourites is located 5 minutes from the busy city centre, on Bohemore Road. The shop inventory is organized in sections corresponding to many crafts, from decoupage, painting/drawing, candle, jewellery and card making to needle work, knitting and felting. A vast selection of ribbons, stamps and beads can be found there, and their selection of Kilcarra tweed yarn is the best in town. I, however, especially love the felting section, offering rainbow colours of fibre suitable not only for wet or dry felting but also great for spinning! If you’re planning a birthday party for your child, if you’re looking for an inspiration, something creative for the children to do, Feanor Crafts is a place you simply can not afford to miss. The shop is opened 7 days a week, Mon-Sat. 9:30am-7:00pm and Sun 12:30pm-6:30pm. Alex, the shop owner (who btw is Polish too!) can also be spotted at the indoor market at Lower Dominic Street. For further information, log onto http://www.feanorcrafts.com/ or http://www.feanor1.etsy.com/ .

If the above shops do not have what I’m looking for (which doesn’t happen often) then I may pop into Hickeys (1^st floor of Eyre Square Shopping Centre) or Anthony Ryans (Lombard Street, 1^st floor). Both shops offer a selection of cheaper yarns, from Tivoli, Kilcarra and Patons to Wendy and Sirdar. Mega balls of wool/acrylic blends, great for warm and durable jumpers and blankets/afghans/throws are to be found there. Besides yarn, you can purchase knitting patterns, buttons, ribbons, pins and brooches. Both shops are open Mon-Sat from 9:00am to 6:00pm.

And if that’s not enough…. There’s always internet and ETSY, my most favourite place to buy handpainted spinning fibre ;o)

love,

Jagienka of http://www.lysulka.etsy.com/

Edited to update the link to LolaRose shop.