When planning my fall vacation for the week after Rhinebeck, I decided to explore some of New England. I’ve always wanted to visit this part of the US and decided to combine fall foliage viewing with yarn shop visits to promote my designs.

Today’s plan was to visit shops in western Connecticut. I knew I had arrived at my first stop of the day when I spotted a yarn-bombed tree.

Nancy O Knitting Studio in Ridgefield, CT is housed on the main floor of a lovely house. When I arrived, a knitting class was in progress in the lounge area of the shop. Nancy O’Connell was most welcoming, happy to discuss her stock and the types of projects her customers like to knit. When I explained my planned “yarn crawl”, she was pleased to provide a flyer from the Western Connecticut Yarn Council Yarn Crawl and suggested my next stop.

Once I stepped through the door at Westport Yarns, I immediately understood Nancy’s recommendation. Pam Grushkin, the manager, made me feel welcome and I found myself enjoying a knit and chat with Pam’s daughter (Happy Birthday!) and her sister Nancy (who makes beautiful glass beads, pins and jewelry). In between helping a steady stream of customers with knitting and crocheting questions, Pam very graciously reviewed my patterns. She also offered some further suggestions of shops to visit as I make my way into Massachusetts. After a pleasant hour knitting, I packed up and got back on the road.

My final stop of the day was at Knit New Haven, a bright, welcoming shop in the heart of New Haven. Julia Bogardus, one of the three women who own the shop, introduced me to the lusciousness of 100% mink combined with the colour artistry of Alchemy Yarns. Absolutely divine!

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting a few more shops in Conneticut before heading onto Massachusetts.