Hill Country Yarn Crawl

Hill Country Yarn Crawl

I decided to participate in the 2nd Annual Hill Country Yarn Crawl, but not in any organized way. My knitting group (the Knit Knackers) didn’t have a plan to do it and I had a commitment on Saturday that precluded going with others (see below). So I wasn't sure if I could visit enough stores to compete for the Grand Prize but I tried anyway.

The Yarn Crawl is when yarn shops cooperate to offer discounts, freebies, drawings for gift certificates and a chance to win a $250 Grand Prize basket of goodies. This year there were 10 shops participating in 5 different towns around San Antonio and Austin. The event began on Thursday and ended on Sunday. For $10 I got a booklet with maps to all of the shops and a tote bag. To get in the drawing for the Grand Prize, you had to visit 7 of the 10 shops by Sunday.
At each shop I had to get a stamp on the back page of the booklet which I turned in at the last shop to be eligible for the grand prize.
Also each shop devised a “scavenger hunt” consisting of several questions specific to that shop. People who completed the scavenger hunt could then be entered into the prize drawing for the individual store ($25 gift certificate).
Here is the run-down of the shops I visited and the freebies I got at each:

San Antonio:
Yarnivore: Samples of scented fiber soaking soap.
The Yarn Barn: A ball of ribbon yarn and a pattern to make a sachet.

Boerne:
Ewe and Eye: A ball of Idena Kos yarn; very thin and sort of shiny. Made of viscose and polyester.
Rosewood Yarns: 3 small stitch markers made with glass beads.

Austin:

The Knitting Nest: Yarn and pattern for the Black Widow Headband, complete with a plastic spider. This is a newer shop on the south end of Austin.
Hill Country Weavers: A ball of organic cotton yarn and a pattern booklet of washcloths. This shop is the grandmother of all knitting shops-see below.
Gauge Knits: A coupon for one free open class. This is another new shop in Northwest Austin.

Fredericksburg:
Stonehill Spinning: A pack of safety pins

I did the San Antonio shops on Thursday, the Boerne shops on Friday, the Austin shops on Saturday (thanks to Maggie Magellan) and the Fredericksburg shop on Sunday. It would have been possible to do them in 2 days, I think, but it would have been a LOT of driving. I didn’t get to the 4th shop north west of Austin (but I’d been there before) and one in the town of Paige, abut 50 miles east of Austin (never been there, but it would be a fun trip, I think.)

More about Hill Country Weavers: It is in the hip part of Austin called SoCo, named for South Congress Ave. The next time TFOT visits, we’ll definitely go there. The shop is in an old Victorian house that is a rabbit warren of rooms, each one packed to the ceiling with yarns, threads, notions, books, you name it. I don’t know how they can keep track of their inventory. They’ve also taken over the house next door and opened a knitting room and a small café. I had a nice conversation with Trish, a yarn spinner and knitter from Oregon visiting Austin and conducting spinning workshops. She had beautiful yarns, inspired by the colors of the Pacific Northwest. I wanted to buy some of her yarn, but it was way out of my price range…..
The cupcake trailer, “Hey Cupcake”, was right across the street. This place has been featured on TV as one of the quirky food businesses and I would have succumbed and gotten a snack for the road, but they weren’t open yet- I was about 20 minutes too early.
Luckily or unluckily, depending on how you look at it. I decided I was lucky they weren’t open yet. Especially since I had stopped for lunch AND dessert at the Bear Moon Bakery in Boerne on Friday.

Saturday my time was limited as I had to be in Llano at 2:00 for the annual neighborhood homeowners association meeting, so I skipped the 4th shop in the suburbs north of Austin and made my way west. Made it just in time for the meeting. Drove about 175 miles in all.

In Llano, I enjoyed seeing a bald eagle flying over the river and the wild goats out for exercise.

Headed back south on Sunday, stopping in Fredericksburg at Stonehill Spinning. It’s a smallish shop but has lots of fiber arts and crafts. All in all, a great yarn crawl!