Before we left for our vacation to Washington D.C., I made sure to research the local yarn stores. There were several in the metro area, and two actually in DC. I wasn’t sure I’d have a lot of time for yarn shopping, but I hoped. Thankfully, our hotel was only a 15-minute walk from Looped Yarn Works. I can’t remember if it was in Georgetown or Dupont Circle, but I do remember it was full of great old homes and unusual shops. Our second evening there, we had a free evening and I decided to get my yarn fix while I could. We left the hotel at 6:15 and the shop closed at 7, so I knew it would have to be a mad dash.

Thanks to my phone and the Fresh Stitches blog on DC yarn stores, I found the shop easily. We ran up the stairs and turned the handle…the door was locked. It was only 6:45 so I knew we weren’t late, and thankfully someone saw us and welcomed us in with a big smile. We were the only customers in the store, and there was a friendly, chatty guy working that night who showed us around and answered questions. My son liked him because he shared his Swedish Fish. There was one room with the bulkier yarns (worsted to super bulky) and there were brands I could find at home, some I’d heard of but never seen, and some I’d never heard of but coveted desperately. There was a small cozy couch and a couple of chairs in there, and samples everywhere. One of the samples was the Purl Ridge scarf I’d started on the train!

I touched a lot of skeins, but the first one to call my name was this vibrant green wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill. I just love this bright grassy green, and I like that I can use this for felting if I want.

I saw some Manos del Uruguay Maxima, which I can get at home, but this was a gorgeous color.

Then I saw this nifty icy gray yarn, and for some reason, it said I needed two to take home. It makes me think of winter and snowflakes. It’s called Finch, by Quince & Co., and the color name is Iceland. I’d never heard of this brand before but I like it!

I was running out of time so I popped into the other room for a quick peek. It had all the thinner yarns, from sock to DK, plus a big table that I’d love to sit and knit at. I’m not a big sock knitter so this room didn’t tempt me much…until I found the madelinetosh yarn. I’ve read about it, seen pictures, but this was my first personal experience. The colors were vivid and gorgeous, and it felt delightful, but I could resist…until I saw this Iris colorway.

That was all I could do in 15 minutes, though I did find a neat little digital row counter by the register. I figured I was done with DC yarn. But late in the trip, we’d had a long day and I wanted some yarn retail therapy. Because I married the best guy in the world, we went back to the yarn store. They were open until 9, so we had plenty of time. There was a knitting group in the bulky room, and my daughter and I marveled at the women knitting without even looking at their needles. There was a beginner’s class in the other room, and I smiled at the women struggling with casting on, remembering when that was me.

I chose some Cascade 128 Superwash in a great pink called Cerise. I can find this yarn at home but I really enjoy knitting with it, and this was a color I hadn’t seen before. I picked out two skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton because it’s one of my favorite yarns, and I’m collecting different colors to make a fabulous blanket someday.

 I explored the sock yarn room a little more this trip, and found two little prizes in a corner. The first was two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima Fine cotton, and the main reason I snatched them up is because they were only $4 per skein! Plus the cranberry color was pretty.

But my favorite finds that day were these two little skeins of bright blue Urban Silk yarn by Skacel. They’re 80% silk, 20% cotton and feel like a soft, puffy cloud. They were the last two skeins of that yarn, which has been discontinued, and at $8.50 they seemed like a good deal. They should make a lovely little cowl or scarf, maybe a shawlette if I can find the right pattern.

Thank goodness my addiction is yarn, because otherwise my suitcase would have been overweight coming home. I had yarn stuffed in every nook and cranny of my suitcase. But what a treat to come home and get to take it out and play with it again! I really enjoyed exploring that store; I wish I’d had time to visit others but can’t imagine any other store being better!