We did it!

Whew! What a day. Saturday was the official TKG Spring 2007 Westside Shop Hop, and it totally rocked. I took so many pictures I couldn't possibly fit them all in this little post, so I set up a gallery on Flickr (click here to see all the great pics). There are also posts from several attendees about the day, which I've linked to below. If you are a blogger and Shop Hop attendee not listed below, please leave a link to your write-up in the comments!

I will also get the sponsor list updated ASAP (I know you've heard that one before, but I really am going to make an effort!) Our generous shops and sponsors totally made the day. If you were a shop hopper, please go to the sponsors' websites and let them know how great the day was and how much their contributions meant to you. Make sure you also thank them by requesting their products at your local shop! And don't forget to let your shops know how much fun you had visiting them and being tempted by all of their wonderful yarn. Mimosas, wine & cheese, goodie plates and trunk shows - these shops really know how to treat their knitters right!

Thanks to everyone who attended - I really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with all of you, and I know the rest of the Shop Hop committee (Katrina, Donna & Lynette) did as well. If you aren't a guild member and want to be sure to get in on the next Shop Hop (it could be as soon as this fall, although the committee needs to recover from this one first), subscribe to this blog's feed OR (better yet) join the guild to be sure you won't miss out on getting a seat.

Here are some links to reviews of the day:
* My review
* Amanda's review
* Katrina's review
* Cindy's review

Thanks again to everyone for a fabulous day of fun and more yarn than you could shake a stick at!

Chrissy

We are full!

The shop hop is full, and everyone should be getting their confirmation packets in the mail this week. We have been busily gearing up behind the scenes, and last night we got together to assemble the goodie bags and raffle prizes. Just to give you some idea of the scale involved...

Here are the boxes that the goodie bags were packed in:



Here are the assembled bags with all the goodies inside (and we got some GREAT stuff - good thing the bags were so big!):



Finally, here's a glimpse of some of the raffle prizes that will be given away on the bus. We've had such generosity from our sponsors, there will be enough raffle prizes for everyone on the bus. Some of them are absolutely amazing - there are lots of complete kits from yarn companies like Plymouth, Brown Sheep and Blue Sky Alpacas, just to name a few - but everyone will get something great.

I haven't updated our list of sponsors in the sidebar - there are many more than I've mentioned so far. We will get the complete list up very soon, and there will also be a list of sponsors in the folder you'll get on Shop Hop day so you'll know who to thank for the wonderful donations.

Are you as excited about the hop as I am?!?

List of shops & goodie bag teaser...

Hello, shop hoppers! We've finalized the list of stores participating in the shop hop. We will be visiting:

All About Yarn
Molehill Farm
Lint
Knit/Purl
Dublin Bay Knitting Co
Knitting Bee

These are all fantastic shops and they will be offering great discounts to shop hoppers. Come and pet some yarn!

We've also snagged some amazing raffle prizes and goodie bag stuffers. And the bags themselves - oh, my! Would you like to carry your knitting around in one of these?!?

Spring 2007 Westside Shop Hop!

Greetings, shop hoppers! The Westside Shop Hop is coming up next month, on April 21st from 9 am to 5 pm. We will be visiting five or six Westside shops, getting great discounts and petting lots of pretty yarn. Join us and you'll get to ride in luxury on a tour bus from shop to shop and visit all of the new spring yarns in person! It's sure to be a great time (you can scroll down to see pictures of last year's Eastside shop hop, which was a total blast).

The Shop Hop committee is working busily to secure shop agreements, discounts, goodies for the goody bags and raffle prizes for bus riders. When we get new items, we'll be posting them here as appetizers (although we will save some surprises for Shop Hop day). If you're currently a member of the guild, you should've gotten registration info in your March newsletter. If you're not a guild member but would like to join the fun, here's how!

There are 55 seats on the bus, and last spring there was a waiting list, so you'll want to secure your seat ASAP. The seats will be offered to guild members first, and any leftovers will be offered to the general public as of March 22. The best way to get your seat is to join the guild! You can do this at the same time you register for the shop hop by including the $24 membership fee along with your $35 shop hop payment. If you don't want to join the guild, you can still submit your payment right away and this will give you first shot at the general public seats when they open up on the 22nd. If the bus fills before you get a seat, your payment will be promptly refunded to you (minus any PayPal service fees). Seats will be filled based on when payment is received, either in the mail or via PayPal. A bounced check will result in loss of your seat to someone on the waiting list!

To pay via PayPal, use this button for members:

TKG Member - $35 + $1.32 PayPal Fee = $36.32

Use this if you're not a member, but would like to join along with your shop hop registration:

Membership + Shop Hop - $59 ($35 for shop hop, $24 for membership) + $2.02 PayPal Fee = $61.02

Use this button if you're not a member and just want to sign up for the Shop Hop:

TKG Non-Member - $45 + $1.61 PayPal Fee = $46.61

Please make sure you include your correct e-mail address along with your mailing address and phone number. If you don't include this stuff, you will not get a spot on the bus until we can confirm your info. We need your info in order to communicate with you about the shop hop! It won't be used for anything else, we promise!

If you are not a current member but would like to pay by mail instead of via PayPal, please e-mail me at knittinmom at gmail dot com and I will e-mail you a registration form.

We can't wait to see you on the bus!
Your Shop Hop Committee,
Katrina, Donna, Lynette & Chrissy

All of the planning and hard work finally paid off when we all went on the shop hop. What an exciting and fun day!

Here's Shelley, showing off this beautiful yarn.


Hmm...decisions, decisions. I know where the wild things are...they're in line!
Here's Norm searching for patterns in Cozy Ewe. I don't know about Ewe, but I sure felt Cozy in this store!
This is Marta McCall. Marge of Wool 'N Wares had her come in to talk to us about her patterns. Chances are, if you've seen a cute bag design in Interweave Knits, she's designed it.
Our first stop was Cozy Ewe. Lindy surprised us and had made needle holders and a bag with tea in it for every person!

Our second stop was Wool 'N Wares. We had a surprise guest....Marta McCall! She is an incredible designer, and pretty photogenic, too! Marge had a table in the back with pastries, fruit, and cheese. It really was quite a treat!

The third stop was Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks. This store was huge! I really think you could probably find anything you were looking for here. Well, maybe not, but it was still very large.

The fourth place we visited was Yarn Garden. I loved their selection of sock yarns, it was large and varied.

Our fifth stop was The Naked Sheep Knit Shop. Cheryl and Brad had some goodies set up in the back, but sadly, I never got back there. I was too busy drooling over all of the Lorna's Laces they have!

Our last official store visit was Close Knit. Sally had some signed copies of One Skein by Leigh Radford on hand, and a gorgeous Karabella Gossamer wrap on display. I know this because I chose a chair next to it and people kept stopping to eye it, so I had the tag memorized. (psst...one skein Karabella Gossamer and size 17 needles) After shopping, they came on the bus and gave us the leftover coffee, lemonade, and doughnuts they had there for us. How unexpected and thoughtful! They also had the cutest napkins you've ever seen.

Then back to Cozy Ewe for yarn winding. Thank you so much to Lindy, who let me set up my winder on a shelf. As I was winding, all of the balls of yarn that were displayed on the shelf kept falling off. I hope I was able to put them back correctly!

Just a note to those who weren't able to go due to our overwhelming response: We tried so hard to make it so that everyone who wanted to go, could. We just didn't have the room to put anyone on the bus we did have, or to get another bus. For the next shop hop make sure you get your registration in ASAP to be sure you can come with us on the trip.

Also, don't forget to use your coupon at Two Swans Yarns! Karen has some incredible deals, free shipping on orders over $25, and a rewards program! If you have any problems or have questions about her stock, just email her, she'd be more than happy to help you! Karen has supported the Shop Hop for two years in a row now, so let's show her some support in return. To use your coupon, when checking out, put in the coupon code TKGSHOPHOP[shop hopID here] For example, my shop hop ID is 1401. So, I'd put in TKGSHOPHOP1401. (and I did...I already ordered) Your shop hop ID is on the front of your passport. If you have any questions about your shop hop ID, or if you don't know your ID, please email me and I'll help you out.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, vendors, manufacturers, stockists and guild for helping us make this such a wonderful day. Without everyone pitching in, we couldn't have pulled it off. So, please accept a huge thank you from everyone who had the time of their lives!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

We've been contacted by local and international news media to cover our shop hop!

The local media, is of course, The Oregonian. The international media is a famous knitting podcaster. I don't want to give away too much yet, since we don't know how this is going to work yet, and if we can get it arranged by Saturday, but just being acknowledged is incredible.

We do want to put this challenge out to all knitting guilds. It is a day of great fun, and a way to support our favorite stores, manufacturers, stockists, and vendors. It should be self-supporting and non-profit. Every dollar raised should go right back in to the Shop Hop.

The participants receive goodies that value at least twice what they paid to help defray the bus cost, the manufacturers get visibility for their products, the stockists get advertising, the stores are delivered knitters hungry for the newest yarns in their shops, and the guild has benefited from getting new members who pay a reduced price for the shop hop if they also purchase a guild membership. It truly is a win-win situation all the way around!

In other Shop Hop news, the Shop Hop Committee met last night and worked tirelessly for four hours on the bags, passports, and beaded wristlet kits. We laughed and cried (those beads really do love to jump out of the way when you're trying to gather them up!) but mainly I must admit I was so proud of the efforts we've all put in. This is truly going to be a monumental event; we even talked about how we'd top this next year...frankly, I'm not sure it's possible!

Update

Well, there were so many people who wanted to go, and we tried to find a way to make room for you all. We really do feel badly that not everyone who wanted to go can go. Unfortunately, we are full and just cannot find room for anyone else. We are terrribly, terribly sorry. This gives us ideas for the next shop hop though! We may be able to make it a weekend thing, where we have two busses going to the shops on two different days. This would also allow us to have smaller groups go.

I have to tell you, this shop hop is a lot of work. Please take a moment to thank the volunteers who really worked so dilligently to make this a day of knitventure for us all. Our volunteers are:

Diane, Michelle, Marguerite, Shelley, Judith, Laure, Wendy (treasurer), Juanita, and Heather (me!).

I had a goal of getting a raffle prize per person, and never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd do it, but we did! Some of these raffle prizes are just amazing too...they vary in value from $20 up to $200. I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored us. All of the raffle prizes were donated. I will include in your bags a brochure that has their names, websites, addresses, and phone numbers. Please support them in return if you can.

Last year we had the people who received the raffles send thank you cards to the donator. This year I will be sending the thank you cards to the donators myself, because I had no idea that we would get this many contributions!

I look forward to seeing you all on the bus!

Kindred Spirit Studio

A local glass artist has generously donated 3 pairs of handmade glass stitch markers for raffle prizes. She is the talented woman behind Kindred Spirit Studio. (the website will be up shortly) Her stitch markers feature sterling silver, gold plating, swarovski crystals, dichroic glass, and of course, the handmade beads.

If you aren't lucky enough to have your name drawn for the raffle ones, there will be some for sale on the day of the shop hop. They are normally $28, but Shop Hop participants will be given a 15% discount, which would make them $24. Cash and checks accepted. For more information, you may email her.


A few that will be available for purchase:







The three chosen to be given away as raffles:

Registration is closed, however.....

Registration is closed, but if you'd like to be put on a waiting list, please email us. If we do have room for you, we only have a certain number of yarn sample packets, but if we find any extras you will be able to have those.

Participating shops, manufacturers, and designers

I've really been trying to get as many shops and manufacturers to get involved in our shop hop. The response I've seen so far has been amazing, and it's only been two days since I started my email and phone campaign. Besides our local vendors we have the following shops and manufacturers participating:

*Note: Please keep checking back, I have been adding to the list*

Two Swans Yarns - Yarn samples, book raffle prize, and 20% off coupon for one week past shop hop, and 15% off the entire month of June.
Knitpicks - $10 gift certificate raffle prize
Kindred Spirit Studio - 3 sets of hand made glass bead stitch markers featuring sterling silver and swarovski crystals for raffle prize and 15% off of purchases
Wendy Knits - Free pattern
Boogaj - Free pattern
Fluffy Knitter Deb - Free pattern
Marguerite Hills - Free pattern
Simply Socks - a large, 8 ounce skein of Interlacements Toasty Toes yarn in the colorway 407-Tapestry, which retails at $38.00
Eucalan - Samples of their woolwash
Berroco - Mystery raffle prize
Straw and Crystal Palace Yarns - Yarn samples and several raffle prizes
Dale of Norway - Mystery raffle prizes and mystery treat bag goodies
Schaefer Yarn - Free patterns and mystery raffle prize
Halcyon Yarn - Mystery raffle prize


The ones that say Mystery raffle prize means that either the company hasn't decided what to send yet, or I haven't chosen out of their options what would be best for us. Isn't this great? This isn't even including our wonderful local vendors that we will be visiting, so this should be a very exciting day!!

Nearing full!

We are almost full for our knitventure, so if you want to be included, please let us know ASAP.

I am having talks with Crystal Palace Yarns and Dale of Norway to donate treats for our event, so this should be a really fun day!

We have a local glass artist and bead designer who has donated some items for the shop hop as well, and will have some stitch markers for sale at the event. I will include photos and more information soon.

Two Swans Yarns and KIDSILK HAZE!

I just got the yarns and the raffle prize from Karen at Two Swans Yarns. Talk about lovely yarns, this is really incredible. Thank you so much Karen for being so generous! She gave quite a bit of yarn for the samples, so everyone will be getting enough for big samples. I know you want to see the pictures, so here they are:


Look at the color of this Kidsilk Haze. The color in the photo is pretty accurate, it is a very deep wine color. If you've never felt Kidsilk Haze before, you are in for a BIG treat! As you can see, it is very fuzzy, but not overly so. I specifically requested Kidsilk Haze from Karen for our samples, and she generously obliged! I just knew that if our shop hop attendees could feel this for themselves they'd be in love with this yarn as much as I am.

The color is a little off for the Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, I'm sorry. Karen's Two Swans Yarns specializes in Fair Isle Yarns, and she tells me that she stocks all colors of this yarn all the time. I was able to get on her site to check out the colors, and there are lots of colors of this yarn. In your yarn sample, these two yarns will be on the same card so you can knit these two together in Fair Isle. If you are new to fair isle, the colors of this yarn should inspire you to better your skills. I know I can't wait to knit with them!

This picture is pretty accurate color-wise, but it just doesn't show how interesting this yarn is. I was surprised at how soft and light this is. It would be perfect for spring or summer garments.

Well, time to start cutting the yarns to put on the cards! Stay tuned for more photos!

Cashmere and Silk lovliness!

More yarns that I wish I could've played with forever! Trying to describe these next two was so difficult! Mostly because 'soft' just didn't accurately tell just how soft and yummy these two yarns are. I really think you have to feel these to believe them. I'm glad the camera picked up on how much luster the silk has and just how fuzzy the cashmere is, but you just can't photograph the bliss I feel when I touch these yarns. It is pure heaven.

Yarn Pictures

We are getting in some incredible yarns!

Carding yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

I am really quite sad that I'm done carding this yarn. It was the softest superwash wool sock yarn I've ever felt. I just had to knit a sample up for you guys to see.





Isn't it gorgeous? I'll have more pictures ready for you soon!

Online Registration Form

We now have the online registration form up and running! Go Here, and click on registration form. Once you've submitted your registration, it will automatically take you to our secure Paypal form, where you can input your credit card information. Thanks for your patience!

Meanwhile, I've been cutting yarns and winding them for the sample cards:



Please ignore the pretzels, I've been working on this registration form so much that I have been snacking more than usual :)

I will be putting up photos of the balls of yarn we are getting in for the samples. I must say, they are beautiful and fun!

Gearing up for the Shop Hop!

The Shop Hop Committee is planning some new and exciting things for the Shop Hop participants! The sample yarns are just rolling in, and we've been drooling over them just getting them ready for you. One of my personal favorites so far is a Peruvian Pima Cotton and Angora blend. I will be updating this blog with more information and sneak peeks as they become available. I hope you'll join us on this knitventure, it's sure to be quite a party!

Yarn Samples

Each participant in the 2005 Yarn Lover's Shop Hop received samples of yarn (1-3 yards) donated by the participating shops. The purpose of this was to put samples of the yarn available in the hands of the participants prior to Shop Hop day. Here is a pic of some of the yarns that were donated:

Some shops took the opportunity to use the samples to feature certain yarns. One of the participants knit up each of the yarn samples and made comments based on her experience. See my Yarn Sample links.

A bit of history

Portland is a city of yarn shops - at last count, there are at least 17 within the greater Portland/Vancouver area, add a few more within an hour's drive, and we have a virtual smorgasbord. Let's say 20, as a conservative estimate. Now, imagine trying to visit them all...in one day...and shop. Is your head spinning ? Mine was. As a relatively new member of the Tigard Knitting Guild (TKG), I was challenged by the idea that Guild members went on a Shop Hop that was on their own. From my own experience, I knew that left to one's own devices, a knitter could walk into a yarn shop and not emerge until several hours later. How many shops could a member visit in one day ? From the shop's perspective, how many members would make purchases ?

Instead, I proposed, an alternate "Shop Hop", one that I had previously experienced but for another craft. The organizer had chartered a bus and brought participants around to shops; some of which opened exclusively for us, and let us shop. The focus was on us as participants; the organizer had thought of everything-- raffles on the bus, treats and goodies, and an option for lunch. It was an experience, and a chance to interact with others who shared our interests.
Also, the bus guaranteed that the shops received the same group of participants at their shops.
So, win-win.

What's a Shop Hop ?

A Shop Hop is a knitting tour of local yarn shops by bus. Knitters visit and explore a dazzling array of yarn and accessories at a select group of yarn shops offering exclusive discounts, coupons, and special treats. Think of it as a mini-vacation - come spend the day with fellow knitters; share ideas, tips, and techniques. Explore; Shop; Relax; Knit; Have FUN.