This year I decided to use the time I had and complete my "crawling" in 3 days. After hitting the 2 LYS's I outlined in previous blog posts, I was on a mission on Day 2 to knock out as many visits as possible. Life can get hectic and I had an open window, so I topped off my gas tank and hit the road.

ALL of the stores I visited were lovely, welcoming and stocked to the rafters with delightful yarn and accessories. It does get a little overwhelming after a bit and while I have another blog post drafted to address this, by the 3rd or 4th location, all the yarns have become a blur, and I am not clear on what I want (never mind "need" - which is an interesting word when it comes to yarn!).
I feel a particular "responsibility" to make a purchase at each shop, even though it is not a requirement and I am aware that there are crawlers who do not feel this same way. And to be clear, I am not suggesting that I am right and they are wrong - just my perspective on how I feel.
More on all this in a future post. Now let's get to the summary of my Saturday crawling!
I hit Sewickley Yarns first because they remain closed on Sundays and Mondays throughout the crawl and close before I get out of work, which means that I have 2 days to make it there: the 2 Saturdays included in the crawl. I tend to plan my route based on distance (going to the furthest shops first and working my way back) and then I sequence those that have more limited hours.
I was disappointed that I did not see the woman I chatted with last year (sister of the shop owner?), but enjoyed perusing the yarn selection and found some yarn that will make a lovely shawl that I plan to gift to someone special.
I left Sewickley and headed NORTH to the newest (I think!) LYS around here, Chicken Knitz. I knew from the name that I would like it there, and I was not disappointed! Not only is Harmony, PA a lovely small town with a lot of historical sites to explore, the shop reflects the small town warmth and love of yarn. This will be on our (my sister and me) list of day trips later this Fall or next Spring (maybe both!) due to our Swiss/German heritage and love of these kinds of small town getaways. That there is a YARN SHOP there doubles the fun!!
I left Harmony, PA and headed to Valencia where I found Yarn Bits & Bobs - a very innovative - and MOBILE - yarn shop! I enjoyed selecting my purchases, chatting with the owner and found out we have some career commonalities, then I left to head to Oakmont where Yarns by Design was "crawling" during a very busy community day celebration. It was hard to just visit the yarn store and not stay for the other festivities, but I steeled my resolve. At YBD I found some beautiful 100% wool yarn and shopped some adorable heart-shaped stitch markers (progress keepers?) from Sassafras Knits .
I was determined to complete as much of this crawl as I could that day, so I headed out out to McWalker Yarns in Millvale. Once there, the skies threatened to make my retreat to my car - which I parked a couple blocks away so to enjoy a few extra "steps" - a wet retreat, but that wasn't going to stop me. One thing I want to point out about McWalker Yarns is that they had KITS made up specifically for the crawl, and these were positioned in a straight line in from the front door.
After several shops (4) that day already, combined with the navigating/parking and browsing; my brain had begun to shut down. It all runs together and my ability to critically assess things (like what yarn I might want for which project) retreats. Here's where the easily-accessible, CRAWL-themed, all-inclusive kit comes in handy! Check out that kit - see below (aren't those colors delicious!!??!?!)

I made my purchase and left the store, walking right into a downpour that soaked me good. I decided that the last 2 shops would have to wait until the next day, so I turned my car toward home.
The previous week at work had been rough, so I very much appreciated the ability to think about much more pleasant things: yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, notions and yarn bags (I love me a cool yarn bag!). The diverse shops participating in the Steel Valley Yarn Crawl were more than nice places to shop. They were therapeutic and healing islands for me at a time when I really needed a positive distraction.
I settled in at home for the evening, worked on a project that was in progress before I began "crawling" and took breaks to paw through all the yarn I had purchased (there's something fun about that, too). I had 2 more shops to visit, and knew I would get those done the next day.
Why do you do the crawl? What motivates you to buy the passport and head out each year? I'm sure we all have different reasons and motivations, and I will be exploring these in a future blog post. I hope you'll keep reading!
(C) 2023 Stitch 'n Dish
Comments