Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Yarn Bombing in Bainbridge

One of my favorite recent pastimes (can a pastime be recent? hmmm...) is photo bombing. I have been successful 2 times at sticking my face into a picture not meant to be taken of me. Once was a few years ago in Seattle at a Mariner's game with my co-bomber Laura. The second was at a Dave Matthews Band Concert in 2011 at the Gorge in George, WA. It's definitely a rush when you've committed to the bomb and then walk away as if you did nothing out of the ordinary (and hope that they don't notice until you are out of sight!).  I laugh to think of them checking the digital view finder after taking the picture and notice a smiling face they don't know. HAHHAHAHA!

So YARN bombing has a somewhat similar idea behind it: secretly putting some yarn creation up where it isn't expected to be, all in good fun. But in yarn bombing the specific idea is to creatively & secretly beautify an area with yarn or other fiber creations.

On a recent trip to Bainbridge Island in Washington state, I was able to see a yarn bomb first hand. As a crochet nut, I can tell you that I was particularly giddy to see this "sock" adorning a sign post:
How warm and cozy this once cold metal sign post looked on a blustery day in early April! Not only is it fascinating to see such an abnormally long "sock" on a pole, but all the various hues excite my craze with colors.

It may not be such a shock to find out that this sign was on the corner next to a shopping strip in Bainbridge where this lovely store was located:
ChurchMouse Yarns & Teas is as darling inside as it is outside. I wanted to go through and touch EVERYTHING! The projects they had inside were nearly all knitting work and beautifully arranged to, again, play on my love of colors:
photos courtesy of Tim Denison Photography
Vancouver, WA doesn't have a specialty yarn store, but I know that Portland, OR does so I will be visiting those SOON because the warmth and atmosphere that yarn stores have is much more alluring than the rather sterile feel of Michaels and JoAnns. And of course there's no comparison as far as selection goes. The ChurchMouse boasts of having several goodies to fancy a person's love for tea and sure enough there were darling chinas and teas scattered among the fuzzy fibers and soft silks.

So if you ever are in Seattle and looking for a charming, out-of-the-way yarn shop that deserves your patronage, just hop on the 35 minute ferry to Bainbridge Island and go explore this lovely little yarn shop (you'll know you are close when you see the sign post cozy :)

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