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A couple of weeks ago (I’m always behind on my posts, aren’t I? ) , I went on a Colorado Front Range needle shop tour. The tour was hosted through the Air Force Academy’s Outdoor Rec Center. Intending to take loads of pictures, I took my trusty Canon along.

Meet cute little Maggie – official K9 greeter at The Creative Needle in Littleton, Colorado, the first stop on our tour. She was such a sweetie, meeting us at the door with a happy wagging tail. I don’t sew much, so I spent most of my time petting her before we moved on to our next stop …

… A Knitted Peace also in Littleton, but in the quaint old downtown area. Yeah — this is where I forgot ALL ABOUT the camera. I was in yarnie heaven.  Love that store! My only complaint was that they had me wind my own balls.  They would have sold a LOT more yarn had they done it for me.

By the time I finished winding the 3 hanks of beautiful grey machine washable and dryable Louet Euroflax (at a darn good price, I’d say!), it was time to go. My tour ladies were tapping their feet impatiently waiting for me to re-board the van and head out for the next stop … LUNCH!

After a quick lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Westminster, Colorado, we barreled down the Boulder Turnpike for Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins.  As a CU-Boulder alum (School of Mass Communication and Journalism), I had been to this store many times years and years ago. I was happy to see they were still there … going stronger than ever.

I got three hanks of Classic Elite’s Inca Alpaca — two in a fuschia-y pink and one in black. More time issues here meant NO time to wind it – which is a problem. I don’t own a swift or a ball winder.

LambShoppe in Denver was shop number 4. Now this is a shop I’d love to hang out in, good coffee, beautiful cabinetry filled with oodles of gorgeous fiber and a comfy place to sit to hook or knit.

I had a soft baby weight alpaca in my basket, but Debbie Bliss Cathay was on clearance. I can’t resist this silky cotton blend! I put back the alpaca and got all the Cathay they had left — 5 balls in black and 3 in soft blue.

I also got more of the Louet Euroflax at LambShoppe – in black this time. My tour ladies were super pissed because I opted to have them wound … and it took longer than I thought. Oops!

Do I have projects in mind for each of these lovely fibers? Well, sort of, but not really.   Swatches must be made first to see how the fibers behave.  I am especially looking forward to working with the Euroflax. It feels like dental floss right now. I want to see if it REALLY does get soft after washing.

Oh, I also picked up clearanced back issues of Altered Couture and Belle Armoire at several of the shops.  Some of the Belle’s are from the 90′s.

Pretty fun!