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August 12, 2006
Stash enhancement
Yesterday afternoon, my sister and I went to the Ryahuis in Zuidlaren (about 20 km south of Groningen).
The Ryahuis is a lovely yarn shop, situated in a beautiful village. My sister is lucky enough to live there, at a walking distance of about 2 minutes to this yarn shop.
It's a really great place. We spent about 2 hours there, paging through books and magazines, petting the yarns, trying to decide what to buy. My sister doesn't knit, but our mother likes to knit things she picks.
The Ryahuis sells wonderful yarns: the Rowan collection, Lana Grossa, Jamieson & Smith Shetland 2-ply jumper wool, Marianne Isager yarn, and many more. The atmosphere in this shop is very friendly, the owners are expert knitters and willing to help in any way they can. There should be more yarn shops like this!
So what did I get?
I bought yarn to make Cherie from Vintage Style. They didn't have the yarn specified in the pattern (Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK) in a color I liked. After much deliberating, we decided that I could use the Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply doubled to get the same results. I picked color 268, which is a beautiful purplish grey (but hard to represent in a picture). Using two strands together makes a much heavier fabric than I'm used to, but I like it and knitting a sweater in 4 mm needles in stead of 3 mm will go a lot faster. I can't wait to start but I will have to get me some decent circulars in the right size. A trip to Pietronella in Leeuwarden is in order!
Today, I went to the only yarn shop in Groningen, Sajet. I think it's just sad when a great city doesn't have a good yarn shop. I mean, Sajet really is a cross-stitch shop which also sells some yarn.
They do have some okay sock yarn, but the everything else they sell is either cotton or acrylic. This is not a shop you could spend two hours in and still feel like you haven't seen it all.
I did manage to buy some yarn, of course: sock yarn. The lable says: 'Specialy made in EU for Sajet Groningen NL'. I'll have to ask the owners some details about this on my next visit.
Posted by saartje at August 12, 2006 8:41 PM
Comments
What fun to read today's entry! Those two are my yarn shops. The first, Ryahuis, is my favourite. It is always fun to go there! The second, Sajet, isn't my favourite at all. I sometimes go there for some sock yarn or cotton.
I think I am knitting socks at the moment of the same blue Sajet sock yarn you bought. I am using it for the Travelers Stockings from Nancy Bush.
Posted by: Ina at August 12, 2006 10:25 PM
Wouwwww Saartje, wat een leuke winkel is dit. Voor mij niet zo ver weg. Een uurtje rijden!Ook de winkel in Groningen zal ik eens een keer bezoeken. Die tweed wol is mooi die je gekocht hebt. Wat zal je genoten hebben gisteren en ook vandaag in Groningen.
Posted by: Marijna at August 13, 2006 12:14 AM
I think I seriously would have felt like I had died and gone to heaven had I been there with you! Gorgeous fiber and gorgeous knitting!
Posted by: Leah at August 13, 2006 4:42 AM
The shop looks like heaven!
Posted by: Maud at August 13, 2006 5:54 AM
Living that close to a yarn shop sounds very dangerous!
Posted by: Barb at August 13, 2006 8:14 AM
Well, actually, living that close to a yarn shop is even dangerous to me, and I don't even knit!But as Saartje wrote, our mother likes to knit the things I pick. Yesterday she showed me the results of one evening of knitting. She started the second she got the yarn, I suspect, as she had already finished a couple of .....(ahrgh! writing in English is so difficult, what is een bolletje wol in English?) Anyway, for what I've seen, it's turning out beautiful(ly?), the colour is like the sky with clouds. Of course I can't give you all the details, like Saartje can, about the number and stuff. I think it's the same yarn Saartje bought, but a different colour of course...
I can't wait to see this project finished, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait for at least two months, as our parents are leaving for France in a week. I don't think she'll be finished by than/then...
Posted by: Liesje at August 13, 2006 11:11 AM
wow! nice yarn shop
Posted by: anne at August 14, 2006 4:43 AM
Oh my god! I wish we also have some yarn shops like Ryahuis in Toronto! It's beautiful and look very well organized! (or if possible, I wish I could move to Europe and work there in my future life!)
Posted by: Angela Wu at August 14, 2006 4:52 AM
Saartje, have you ever heard of the "Nederlands Instituut voor Handwerken"? It's like entering a treasury shop, filled with all kinds of wool, she has really everything and it's in the provence Groningen as well so not far away from you.
Posted by: Maaike at August 15, 2006 1:09 PM
We (my sister, my mother, my friend and I) like to read your lovely site, Saartje and we tolk about it with eatother ("did you see this?" or "What a nice thing she is making!") So you ceeping us bussy. Now we are planning a trip to Zuidlaren to see for us self that great yarnshop. But we are also interested in the shop that Maaike posted on 15-8-06.
And Liesje.........your not the only one with troubles to write English, its also very difficult for me!!! So don't worry.
When we red your post on 13-8-06 we al had a little smile (niet om je uit te lachen but it was so herkenbaar!)
Posted by: Tijm at August 16, 2006 7:02 AM
Hi Saartje, Did you get the books we bought for you in Bergen Norway? I gave them to your mother, who was quite keen to keep them for you... and is probably trying out some of the patterns...:-)
Loved the wristwarmer book, beautiful butterfly patterns.
Posted by: mariken at August 18, 2006 12:31 PM
Wat een geweldige winkel in Zuidlaren. Dat moet ik onthouden. Dank je voor de goede tip!
Posted by: Berthi at August 20, 2006 11:06 PM
Oh, oh, oh! The inside of that store looks like heaven.
Posted by: say_ivison at August 21, 2006 9:18 PM
Testar, ;)
Fattar du inget, får du maila ;). Den där butiken med alla garnerna, hua. Himmelriket!!! Varför har vi inga sådana butiker där jag bor för, suck. Jag vill också ha kul garner, ju... snyft...
Må så gott... värmländskan... bamseklem, och undrar jag när NL gick ur EU, :p
Posted by: Bim H-D at October 23, 2006 2:25 PM
