Yarn Day Trip – Bainbridge Island
Caitlyn Wilson
Woolpack Contributor
My bus journey (554 route), began early in Issaquah and friends joined me along the way, so that by the time we met up on the sun deck of the ferry we were thirteen in total. If you’ve never been on the ferry before, it is such a fun experience! The length of the boat is filled with windows, so you have a great view no matter where you sit. The sun deck up top is great on a sunny day, but just a trifle cold on a day in March. No matter, we grabbed some photos before the boat got fully underway and then ducked back inside to the warmth. It was lovely to chat and craft while traversing Puget Sound. After thirty-five minutes we reached the island and walked off with the other passengers. Downtown Winslow was just a short walk from the ferry terminal. It was a sunny spring day, and the sidewalks were busy with others enjoying it!
Our first stop was La Mercerie. This shop is in a space on Winslow Way that was long occupied by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, so if you have that place in your memory, you’ll still find yarn. La Mercerie has a lovely selection, with plenty of European yarns that aren’t always easy to find here in the US. They also have a gorgeous button selection; bring on the cardigan knitting! I loved their samples placed lovingly about the store. Their tulip sweater with a matching kid size made me laugh with delight! It gave me such fun ideas for springtime knitting.
When we finished there, we jumped next door to the Little Island Craft shop. This shop did have yarn, but also had other crafting supplies, like paints, embroidery supplies, and beautiful markers. It’s so nice to have multiple craft spaces so close together.
All this shopping and walking meant it was time for lunch! We split up the group due to differing interests (some friends went to a condo open house!) but I and three others went to Cafe Hitchcock. Their harissa beet soup and house salad was to die for! The atmosphere was lovely and it was a welcome break in the middle of the day’s adventures.
We gathered back up after lunch to visit The Lamb & Kid. This shop is an explosion of color. We got to see a beginning knitting class in progress, and all the shop employees were so welcoming. The star of the show for me was a yarn called Birdie, a fingering-weight suri alpaca/silk blend. It’s only one of a family of Birdies though, joined by Birdie DK and Big Birdie. All of these have the same soft fuzzy effect and the same vibrant line of colors.
We sat on their beautiful couches and knitted for a while before we had to set out to catch our return ferry.
Luckily, The Lamb & Kid is very close to the ferry terminal, so it took no time at all to walk down and load up onto one of the later afternoon crossings. Our sailing was smooth and when we reached the other side, we split up once again. Four gals decided to ride the new light rail connection – they said it was a great time and so fun to be on the first day of this train run!
Coming next month: The Skagit Valley
