Enabling

Karabella Aurora 8

As I put my yarn stash into storage (again), I am reminded that I have plenty of yarn to work with and don't need to acquire much more. Mom, on the other hand, has been knitting and crocheting much of what I've destashed at high speed. Last week I handed her a bag of oddballs of Karabella Aurora 8 that had been sitting in a box since 2007 (because it had turned into two complete balls and a small heap of small balls of only a couple of yards each) and this week she showed me the hat she knit up from the full balls and then topped with a dense, squooshy, carefully hand-snipped pom-pon made out of the small balls.

Hat

Well, that kind of productivity ought to be encouraged, especially when it means I can help support YarnStory, a brand-new yarn shop that opened just a few weeks ago in Honolulu. The shop hasn't had a Grand Opening yet (the owner is waiting on several boxes of yarn), so I'm holding off on a full review, but here's what I picked up today for Mom:

Kaleidescope
Brown Sheep Co. Kaleidescope, 80% cotton, 20% wool. Pink/red dominant is color KAL-20 ANAHEIM, Paintlot 0310, and Blue/purple dominant is KAL-10 BELIZE, Paintlot 179.

Sari Yarn
Yarn spun from recycled silk sari fabric

Kaua’i yarn shopping (Hanalei Strings & Things, Ace Hardware & Crafts)

Hanalei looking out over Hanalei, Kaua'i

I spent a recent weekend on Kaua'i and did a little yarn shopping while I was there. First stop was Hanalei Strings & Things, a little shop in the Ching Young Village Shopping Center in the middle of downtown Hanalei. It's a very touristy area with lots of shops and restaurants, and parking can be a little challenging during lunchtime on a weekend. Strings & Things combines yarn and ukuleles - Amy Singer would plotz.




Hanalei Strings & Things, Kaua'i Entrance to Hanalei Strings & Things



Hanalei Strings & Things, Kaua'i Guitars, ukuleles, and yarn

Hanalei Strings & Things, Kaua'i Books, notions, and yarn (including Kauai Botanicals hand-dyed yarns)

My visit was brief. You may have had a similar experience while vacationing with someone who is not into yarn? "Do you want to eat lunch first?" "No, you can do your yarn shopping first" - and then about 1o minutes later, it is clear that the person not into yarn is about to fall over from a combination of boredom and low blood sugar (I finished up my browsing, bought two skeins of Kauai Botanicals hand-dyed sock yarn, and we went across the street to Bubba's Burgers. By the way, Bubba's does old-fashioned burgers that remind me of In 'N Out). I did note that they have a pretty substantial inventory for a small space - lots of high-end yarns, some novelty yarns, books, patterns, needles, hooks, notions, and a cozy corner to sit and stitch at. Prices - like pretty much everything on Kaua'i - tend to be high. I'm sure the owner has heard plenty enough complaining about that - and it's an issue that they likely can't do anything about (welcome to the flip side of "life in paradise"). The Kauai Botanicals hand-dyed yarns were nice to see - there's a demand for souvenir yarn but not much available. These are yarns dyed with hibiscus, 'olena (turmeric), and red dirt (which Kaua'i is famous for). Various weights and fibers are available, and there was a lovely sample of a drop-stitch knit scarf done with pinky-mauve hibiscus-dyed ribbon yarn. I chose wool/bamboo blend sock yarn, one dyed with 'olena and one dyed with 'olena and hibiscus.

Kauai Botanicals hand-dyed yarns Kauai Botanicals hand-dyed wool/bamboo sock yarns

To the best of my knowledge, this yarn is available only at Hanalei Strings & Things.

Hanalei Strings & Things
5-5190 Kuhio Hwy
Ching Young Village Shopping Center
Hanalei, HI 96714
(808) 826-9633
Yelp (map and reviews): Hanalei Strings & Things

Later in the week, we stopped by Ace Hardware & Crafts. Yes, a combination hardware and craft store! Half of the store is your typical Ace Hardware, and the other half is your typical Ben Franklin Crafts store.

Ace Hardware & Crafts, Lihue, Kaua'i Ace Hardware & Crafts, Lihue, Kaua'i

 




Ace Hardware & Crafts, Lihue, Kaua'i Lily Sugar & Cream yarn, crochet cotton

 




Ace Hardware & Crafts, Lihue, Kaua'i Red Heart

There are yarns for making crochet leis with as well as a lot of Red Heart, a selection of crochet threads, Lily Sugar & Cream kitchen cotton, and Cascade 220. Needles, hooks, and notions too. This store is located in a more industrial part of Lihue, so not a lot in the immediate area for other attractions. Lihue is small, though, so it's a short drive to the beach and other businesses.


Ace Hardware & Crafts
4100 Rice St
Lihue, HI 96766
(808) 245-4091
Yelp (map and reviews): Ace Hardware Lihue

Craft Supply's Ribbon and Yarn Store

Craft Supply of Honolulu's King Street branch has closed, and Craft Supply's Ribbon and Yarn Store has opened upstairs. Specializing in ribbons and yarns for making leis with, Craft Supply's Ribbon and Yarn Store offers crochet and ribbon lei making classes, free with purchase of supplies. Classes are offered twice a day every day (except Sunday, when the shop is closed); for details on classes and times please call them at (808) 942-5044.

Yarns for sale include standards like Red Heart, Sugar 'N Cream, Bernat (Baby Coordinates, Cotton Tots, Baby), and novelty/eyelash yarns from Crystal Palace and Trendsetter.

A small parking lot with free parking for customers is located behind the building; if you are driving east on S. King, the entrance to the parking lot is before the building. Nearby bus stops are served by routes 1 and 6 (check with TheBus for times and other possible routes).

1960 South King Street
(808) 942-5044

Monday - Friday 9am - 3pm
Saturday 9 - 12
Sunday CLOSED

Yarn: Tasted!

So the yarn-tasting at the Hawai'i State Library downtown this past Saturday went well - but I didn't take any pictures, and when I realized that, immediately thought "great, now nobody is going to believe me." I had capped attendance at 25, figured we'd be lucky to get 20, and then 30 people signed up (and I think a couple more showed up).

Fortunately for me, Nadine Kam from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin was there, took photos, and blogged about it (thanks Nadine!)

Yarn 'Tasting' at the library (Fashion Tribe)

There were a couple of things I wish I'd managed to do differently - I'd wanted to talk more about knitting/crocheting for charity, and I also wanted to chat more with the attendees! I did get to talk briefly with a few people, but I wanted to hang out with *everyone* who attended - I hope I'll get to see some of them at an Aloha Knitters meeting, 'cause like I said at the tasting, you people are the ones I need to talk to - you don't need to be listening to me. Seriously, you should have seen some of the gorgeousness being kipped/cipped in that crowd! Thanks to all who attended, and for reals, I want to hang out with you all.

Most of the yarns in the tasting came from Isle Knit. The Maui Yarns came direct from Sara, and the Peaches & Creme came from Wal-Mart (and as I mentioned at the event, Wal-Marts nationwide are closing their craft departments - Ben Franklin has Sugar 'n Cream; if they don't have Peaches & Creme you might want to ask them about carrying it).

Oh, and someone had asked about a knit clothes hanger cover pattern in a book - I knew I'd seen at least one.

Twinkle's Weekend Knits by Twinkle Chia, and Glamour Knits at Home by Erika Knight both have a pattern. However, the library doesn't have those books at this time. There's a free online pattern by Sara Golder (Easy Coat Hanger Covers), though!