My husband and I lived in the Seattle area for almost 10 years. I firmly believe that the Seattle area has some of the best local yarn shops in the world. In the area you have shops like Churchmouse, Makers’ Mercantile, Tolt, Wild Fibers, All Wound Up, the list goes on an on. After I became a knitter a friend of mine and I discovered the Puget Sound Local Yarn Shop Tour. We stumbled upon it by accident and for 3 years were devoted participants. We went to as many shops as possible after the school day ended and finished visiting them all on Saturday or Sunday. It was exhausting but so much fun!
Last year, since I had moved to Tucson, my friend went without me and I would have given almost anything to be there with her travelling the Puget Sound area and visiting shops. My husband very thoughtfully bought me a kit from one of the shops made particularly for the LYS tour. This year, for my birthday, he bought us plane tickets and handed over his credit card (isn’t he the best?).
We had four days to visit 24 shops. Never before had I had the luxury of doing the LYS tour while completely free from work. We landed on Wednesday and we off to the first store as soon as we got our rental.
At each store on the tour you get a free crochet pattern and a free knitting pattern. You also get a button, enter into a daily drawing, and get your “passport” stamped. The yarn for the patterns is 10% off, just in case you needed more incentive to buy yarn. At the end of the tour depending on how many shops you visit and “passport” stamps you collect you are entered a certain number of times into the grand-prize drawings.
After travelling on a plane to even get to Seattle, three different Washington State Ferry rides, and hours of my husband patiently driving me to each shop, I finished visiting all 24 shops. My husband also very kindly collected the free patterns and buttons for my friend since she shattered he knee cap an couldn’t sit in the car long enough to visit the shops with us.
I ended the tour with 14 projects that I had the pattern for and had bought yarn to complete. It was…interesting…trying to get all my new yarn home. I think I heard my husband’s credit card sigh a little when we left the last store.
I must confess, that as a stashless knitter, I now have a small stash. As a monogamous knitter I couldn’t decide which project to start next so I put all the pattern names in my sheep bowl and pulled one out.
If you are a knitter or crocheter I highly recommend adding the Puget Sound LYS tour to your bucket list. It is always the third weekend in May and lasts from Wednesday to Sunday. Just make sure to leave room in your suitcase for the trip home. 😉
Dove Call Knits 
What a fun read. I used to live in Washington State many years ago. It was a time in my life I didn’t really knit as I had 6 then 7 small children. I was a Girl Scout leader and sewed most of my children’s special clothes plus canned fruits and vegetables for the Fairs and to eat. There just wasn’t time. But I would dearly love to do such a tour now my children are grown and having babies that I knit for. The concept sounds like such fun in such a beautiful place. We used to venture travel in the Sound and it was so lovely even with all the rain. Your husband sounds like a peach. Mine did this for me (no tour but I did one myself) in Maine for my birthday a few years ago.
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I very much miss living in the Puget Sound area. You are right, it is very beautiful, even when it rains. On this trip we had two days of rain and two days with gorgeous spring-time sun! It is wonderful to have such a supporting husband. I am glad there are others out there who have husbands just as amazing as mine. 🙂
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