It was sunny and beautiful on Friday, April 14 and the first two shops were fun and wow! How to even start when you're talking about
StevenBe | Minneapolis, MN? Sensory overload? An explosion of color & texture? Eclectic, energetic & engaging - all of the above apply to the shop, and maybe the shop owner as well. We also found Joy W, a friend and former member of CTC, hard at work at StevenBe's, and I ran into a friend from work also enjoying the beautiful weather and shopping.
Steven dressed as King Neptune. The shop was, well, this shop is 2 floors of decadence. From the roving to the finished items, accessories, books, StevenBe has it all. And it's large and in color! Lots of color, texture, this is an "I could stay here all day exploring every nook and cranny" kind of shop. Oh and don't get me started about the Mama Christa's room and the treasures on clearance. The 2023 Yarn Shop Hop crochet pattern is the Crocheted Handspun Wiggle Shawl. Unlike the knit pattern, the crochet pattern does not call for the Sea Nymph yarn commissioned for the 2023 hop (shown in the rightmost picture below). It's always fun to
After Minneapolis, it was time to head The Yarnery
in St. Paul. The Yarnery relocated from Grand Ave to Selby Ave, and the new shop is great! It's bright and airy and chock full of fun yarn, accessories, notions and gifts. The Yarnery offered 4 different colorways for the crochet Berg infinity cowl pattern. Private lessons, classes, workshops and 10 minute Help Labs are offered on-site. Curb-side pick-up and shipping are available at the Yarnery and most of the LYS. The Yarnery also has an innovative One Yarn Collection ( One Yarn Collection – The Yarnery), which supports the community that they have built.
One of the things I was impressed by as we visited the shops, is the variety in the "feel" of the shops. Each of the 12 shops has it's own style and personality and that was reflected in the different interpretations of "Under the Sea" theme. We've already seen the king of the sea, icebergs and mermaids, and we'll see pirate ships and narwhals before the day is over. Only two more shops to go for the day. As we get our passports stamped, gather our stitch markers and patterns and check out with our purchases, we realize it is time for food! Fortunately for us, Gloria is very familiar with the area and is able to direct us to Cafe Latte for our lunch. Since it's cafeteria style, we were able to accommodate those who brought their own lunches and those who were splurging on a lunch out. If you happen to be in the area, I recommend giving it a try! Refreshed & refueled, we head down to Hastings to
MUSE2320 Fiber Co. Check out their website to see the story behind the "2320"part of their name, it's a fun fact about the river. This is a great little shop! *When I say "little" I refer only to the physical shop size, the selection of yarns, tools and accessories is quite diverse and offers many options. Muse2320 dyes their own yarns and feature products from one of my personal (not endorsed by CTC or any other entity, just little ol' me) online shopping favorites:
Online Ethical Yarn & Clothing Store | Darn Good Yarn . This year, Muse 2320 offered 2 colorways for their Double-Crossed Bandana Cowl crochet pattern: Treasure Map/Crows Nest or Kraken/Siren. The Kraken/Siren combination was sold out, but available for special order and the Treasure Map/Crows Nest was available. After we all took care of business it was time to move on to the last shop.
The final stop on the Hop for Friday 4/14 was
Northfield Yarn. It's a bit of a longer drive, but once we arrived, it was definitely worth the trip. Northfield Yarn is not "just" a shop, it's a fiber arts community providing tools, supplies and classes. The 2023 MN Yarn Shop Hop crochet pattern is Sally Sells Sea Shells, a cowl and their custom yarn is called Narwhalicorn a beautiful DK weight yarn by Three Irish Girls. They also had narwhal patterns for felting, crochet and knit. We had planned to be home by 5pm, but went a little long. Still, all in all we had a great time and I am greatly looking forward to (and back on) the Saturday shops.
in St. Paul. The Yarnery relocated from Grand Ave to Selby Ave, and the new shop is great! It's bright and airy and chock full of fun yarn, accessories, notions and gifts. The Yarnery offered 4 different colorways for the crochet Berg infinity cowl pattern. Private lessons, classes, workshops and 10 minute Help Labs are offered on-site. Curb-side pick-up and shipping are available at the Yarnery and most of the LYS. The Yarnery also has an innovative One Yarn Collection ( One Yarn Collection – The Yarnery), which supports the community that they have built. 
