New digs, new yarn, new hat

We’re finally getting settled in to our new home in Colorado. It’s great here, lots of sunshine and beautiful views. From our home we have a great view of the Mile High City, plus a spectacular view of the Flatirons. There are several nearby fabric shops, plus some lovely yarn stores downtown. So far, I’ve visited two: Lamb Shoppe and Fancy Tiger.

The Lamb Shoppe was busy, busy, busy on a Sunday afternoon. They have a coffee bar, serving Illy coffee, YUM! This shop is chalk full of yarn, from floor to ceiling. There were tables and lots of chairs for people to sit and knit, drink coffee, read, and hang out. While I was there, a beginner’s knitting class was in session. I overheard the teacher giving instructions for a long-tail cast-on. All in all, I grade this shop as one of my favorite stores in the USA. I purchased some gift yarn there, a new wool-winder, and some Noro Kochoran. I know, I know, Noro’s really not my favorite yarn, but it was exactly what I was looking for because I am making a Mesi hat to match my blue and grey ski jacket.

As you can see, it only has one pom-pom added, but I wore it on the slopes on Sunday anyway. The pom-pom is enormously attractive to snow and becomes quite heavy after I wipe out on the slopes. So I definitely need a second one.

This hat definitely has some maker’s marks in it, but I am happy with the result so far. The Noro is bulky weight yarn and the pattern calls for DK, so it is very dense and warm.

Next time, I’ll tell you a bit about Fancy Tiger and the yarn and fabric I found there.