Yarn shop – Flora's Patch

I know I am on to a good thing when I walk into a wool shop and there are colours everywhere from floor to ceiling, with stacks of yarn threatening to collapse with the slightest draft. The Wool Baa is a small shop, but every square centimetre of space is used.

Jill is the proud owner of this lovely and friendly shop. She is colourful, helpful, funny and apparently prone to abuse her customers. There even is an abuse notification pinned on the wall, with a scale that goes from sarcasm to utter contempt. This sets the atmosphere nicely and the customers know what to expect! When I asked Jill if I could take photos to write a review for my blog she guffawed and said “Well that depends on what you’re gonna say!” The shoppers who were in when I went were friendly and happy to chat with me even though I was a newbie in their little community and a far from home, one-off visitor.

The shelves hold a good choice of yarns and I found some Rico cotton at a good price. I very much like the fact that in most yarns many colours are stocked, rather than a few arbitrary choices. I bought 12 balls for my project, in an array of 9 hues, 6 in harmonies of lilac, magenta, purple and lavender, 1 for a base colour of natural linen and 1 golden green for a bit of contrast. I was so excited about this new project that I started crocheting in the car on the journey back to Southampton. It took us 7 hours to get back home (horrendous journey with lots of traffic jams) so I made good progress…

Verdict: a great little shop that looks a bit messy, just enough to make you feel comfortable.

What did I buy: 12 balls of Rico Essentials Cotton DK

Will I go back: yes

Internet Link: www.thewoolbaa.co.uk

PS: Save the Sheffield trees!

If you are around Bristol and you have a car, Get Knitted is worth the inconvenience of driving through a few miles of uninteresting cityscape. The area is not pretty, but the shop itself is pretty amazing.

The first impression getting past the front door is “Wow, this is huge!” I mean huge. It almost has the feel of a warehouse about it. The space is divided by shelves, counters and stands, so the visitors can weave their way through. There is also a coffee corner, which is nice, especially with the large display of magazines (past issues included) and so many patterns to peruse.

A hundred granny blankets are displayed and for sale, all crocheted by the staff, all in traditional heavy-ish yarns and bright colours. I also liked the old prams and perambulators covered in blankets and hosting hordes of crocheted and knitted toys. It looked cosy, especially coming in from a cold grey day on a grey street.

I did weave my way through, starting with the stands of knitting accessories. There were lots of interesting little things I had not seen before, like “Little gadgets that could be useful and I am not going to resist them much longer…”

The choice of yarns was vast, but I had difficulty finding anything without sheep wool in it. I am allergic to wool, which is a bit of a problem for a crochetteuse. I am ok with baby alpaca and cashmere. The modern merinos have yet to be fully tested, especially on my neck, but I have hopes for some of them, as they are really soft to the touch.

At the back of the shop there are a few fabrics but this is clearly not the focus of the business and wouldn’t be worth a sewing trip.

On the shelves against the wall are displayed a good range of gifts, made by local people, which is something I always like to see. The crocheted mice by Button Meadow were really cute.

Verdict: well stocked for yarns and knitting/crochet accessories. I like the fact that they stock locally made goods.

What did I buy: hand-dyed bright yellow lace weight skein (yes, with a hint of glitter!), a little tube of needles, a row counter and a shawl pattern.

Will I go back: yes

Internet link: http://www.getknitted.com

Great online shop

Flora's Patch

Tag: Yarn shop

The Wool Baa, Sheffield

Get Knitted, Brislington, Bristol