So I've been on a tour of Chicagoland yarn stores. I figured since I was coming to the area I might as well call up some of the yarn stores and see if they'd be interested in carrying my patterns. It's not very glamorous. At. All. I called them first, and, well, it was extremely nerve wracking. I'm pretty sure some of the LYS owners thought I was crazy. Which, when you think about it kind of makes sense. I mean, I've basically been dabbling with being a traveling saleswoman, and my product is sock patterns. Tell any non-knitter that, and they will think I am off my rocker. "Socks? Just socks? Um, no thanks, not interested."
I was very happy whenever I went to a store that caters to sock people because I am a sock person, and it just tickles me. Tickles me! One such store was Fringe: A Knitting Salon in Aurora. (Another was Loopy Yarns in the south loop - they were fabulous and I regret not taking pictures there. And Chix With Stix which I posted about yesterday.) From the outside you would never guess just how fabulous the inside is (okay, the great big "YARN" might be an indication):
Because, you see, there are lots of sock knitters at Fringe, including Sarah. Here is a picture of her taking a picture of me taking a picture of her... (You can see it from the other side on her blog.)
She's working on bpm!
And what I never would have expected from walking into Fringe is that there's actually a huge back workspace for... Dream in Color, their own yarn hand painting production facility. Here's a sampling of their yarns:
Look at the beauty of it. I love the depth of their semisolids.
I might have walked away with some of their Smooshy sock yarn. (It's called Smooshy, how could I resist?!) I can't decide which to knit first. My favorite might be the green one - Happy Forest. (Speaking of green, have you seen all the pretty green socks that have been sprouting up everywhere? I LOVE IT!)
Veronica and Nancy (the owners) are very cool. I was surprised to find a little island of yarny coolness / artistry so far out in the suburbs and only a stone's throw from where I grew up. These gals were a riot!
Today I'm recovering from a very late night:
It was beautiful. (Except for all the annoying talking people. Grrrr.) I might have to buy some tickets from scalpers for the sold out show in SF when I get back.
Oh yes, and there's crazy server weirdness still going on. We're working on it.
OMG, that Smooshy yarn is luscious! Those greens!! Will definitely pick some up when I'm in Chicago this summer.
BG is utterly charming live -- you should go again in SF to make up for me missing the Minneapolis AND Detroit shows.
Thanks for the link!
Yum. That is some gorgous yarn! The colors are so saturated. Really beautiful.
Posted by: Romi at May 5, 2007 1:42 PMWOW all these years in Chicago and I've never heard of Fringe! I suppose it's a trek from the city if it's in Aurora, but I'd say a 2 hour drive (or however long it takes) or ride on the Metra is certainly worth it for YARN! Those pictures are really enticing!
Chix w/ Stix is my favorite Chicagoland yarn store, btw...
Posted by: LEO at May 5, 2007 1:45 PMSmooshy is such a great name for yarn! Your patterns are so freakin' awesome that they should be sold everywhere. I'm glad there are yarn stores dedicated to just sock knitting. We need some here in California!
Posted by: mary at May 5, 2007 3:44 PMCool, I'm going there soon for a conference and can't wait to check out Fringe!
Posted by: Heather at May 5, 2007 4:07 PMThanks, Leo!! ;)
Fringe was VERY nice to my group when we had a knitogether there... they have GREAT seating space!
...and MUCH more than sock yarn, although there selection of sock yarns was FAB. Im workin on more sock fabulosity for Chix!
Posted by: KellyK70 at May 5, 2007 4:09 PMI'm so glad to see that you're enjoying my two favorite LYS's--Chix and Fringe!!!! I got to see your "legs" in person at Chix yesterday. They're all gorgeous, but Rhiannon is STUNNING.
By the way, Leo, Aurora is not 2 hours from the city!! Fringe is barely over the line into Aurora from Naperville. It's right near Fox Valley Mall.
Posted by: Kate at May 5, 2007 4:22 PMGlad you are enjoying chicagoland. Loopy yarns is indeed awesome - I was wondering if you made it over to Nina's on Division (kind of wicker park area?) They are super cool there and I think they'd really dig your patterns. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Posted by: stefanie at May 5, 2007 4:44 PMWow! You hit the 3 best shops in the Chicagoland area! Loopy has the best sock yarn selection in the city, though, because Vicky the owner is a fanatic sock knitter! Can't wait to see your display at Chix - welcome back to Chicago!
PS - I grew up in Western 'burbs too - Naperville.
Posted by: Linda at May 5, 2007 10:56 PMI have the same weirdness trying to sell myself to stores. It's better when Margene is there. She starts it out with "She's a designer, you should carry her patterns" and then I get to swoop in and tell them the details :D Although Icarus really does help. A lot of people remember it, so I can just say that is one of my patterns and people perk right up.
Posted by: Miriam at May 6, 2007 6:04 AM