A Knitter’s Paradise!

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As I’ve mentioned before, I am a knitter.  I am borderline obsessive….I LOVE yarn! Yes, in all caps, because I am yelling it from the top of my lungs!  I can’t make it in and out of a knitting shop without a bag filled with goodies and at least two new projects!

Well, recently I went back home to WI to visit my Mom and Dad.  It had been WAY too long since my last visit, and I was so full of anticipation…for a few reasons….Of course I was SO excited to see my parents and be back in that warm comforting home, where I grew up.  But, I also had a 4 hour flight in each direction.  That was a total of 8 uninterrupted hours of KNITTING! I happen to be working on a pretty major project (that did turn out BEAUTIFULLY!)  I would love to put a picture up and show you, but it is a gift for someone who reads this blog.  So pictures on this one will have to wait.  That being said, I knew I would be able to almost complete this project on the trip, and I was ready to begin the quest for the NEXT big exciting project!  Yes, I do still have the other 6 projects that I planned and purchased yarn for, but they are small easy projects…I wanted something BIGGER, something more challenging, and I wanted to make something for MYSELF!

Before I flew out to WI, I looked online to see what yarn stores were near my parents home.  Well, about 5 minutes from where I grew up, there was a cute little knitting store called Knitch.    It is located at 608 Milwaukee Street in Delafield.  The yarns were beautifully displayed, very nice selection and variety, and their samples were inspiring.  Here, as I obsessed over the amazing kaleidoscopic display, I decided that I would move away from my love affair with chunky yarns for awhile and go with superfine mohair/silk. (Although, I was VERY tempted with the LOCAL yarns they had.  I thought it was so cool that they had yarns that were both made and dyed right there in WI!) After taking in the entire shop, and admiring their very large group knitting area (which was about the same size as the sales floor itself) I purchased some new needles, (to replace the ones Samson, my Doberman, mistook for his chew sticks) a book of patterns and two skeins of mohair/silk yarn.  I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it all quite yet, but I was in love with the yarn!

One thing that many people know about me is I like to knit with multiple yarns together at the same time.  I love the multidimensional look it gives to my creations.  And it is an extra bonus when I find the perfect yarn with some form of bling! (Yes, sparkles make everything prettier!)  And, I decided that I wanted to find the perfect touch of sparkle to add into my new silk yarn.  And so, the search began!

Mom and I together (with my Dad waiting patiently in the car, reading) hit Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics, and as I expected, they had the same yarns as they had out here in CA.  Nice, but not what I was looking for.  But then, as we were leaving JoAnn’s, Mom asked one of the ladies if there were any other yarn stores around.  (You see, I found the one up the street from Mom and Dad before my trip, and I didn’t think to explore the surrounding area….)  The lady was nice enough to tell us that there was a store by a frozen custard shop up the street, but she didn’t think they had a very big selection.

Well, we drove around looking for it, and just when we resigned ourselves to just heading home for dinner,(it was St. Patricks Day, and we had a corned beef in the slow cooker waiting for us) we saw the frozen custard shop.  I don’t know if poor Dad’s ears have recovered from Mom and I  yelling “There it is!” in unison. River Boutique & Yarn, located at 18900 West Bluemound Road in Brookfield.  (262) 641-7427.

So we pulled into the lot, Dad pulled out his book and as I was getting out of the car, I said, “We’ll be back in about 5 minutes.”  I was not prepared for what came next! Little did I know I was about to die and go to heaven!

Check Out Their Website! –>(When you are done reading and you leave a comment!)      MAP

When I walked through the doors, I could feel the “goosies” all over! Pure joy! Knitting Mecca! The atmosphere was so warm and inviting.  A very Shabby Chic, eclectic, unexpected surprise!  Everywhere I looked, I saw something so different, unusual, and completely wonderful.  Intricate hand made scarves, made with the superfine mohair and silk (WITH the sequin thread I was looking for), a HUGE selection of buttons, pins and one of a kind fasteners for projects, the most wildly wonderful mannequin named MiMi, and unique jewelry made by local artists. Bes, the owner, and Taffnie, who was working there that day, were just about the sweetest people you would ever want to meet!  Not only is this a knitting store, but they also sell many of the items that they have patterns for in the shop.  Beautiful, handmade sweaters, shawls, scarves, hats, each more incredible than the last.

MiMi!

Come say hi to MiMi at River Boutique & Yarn in brookfield, WI.

Oh, and did I mention this was a knitting store? Did I mention the yarn?  It was more beautiful than any yarn store I have ever been in.  The displays were packed full of gorgeous yarns.  I have never seen such a large inventory of so many unique yarns all in one place! Everywhere I looked, I found inspiration for my next big projects! I felt like a kid in a candy store!

Needless to say, poor Dad waited longer than 5 minutes…and I found the inspiration I was looking for my next big project!  I left with 6 skeins of Noro yarn to make a long cardigan vest.  (I will insert here that I changed my pattern so I ended up calling and ordering 3 more skeins when I was back in CA.  They were delivered within 1 week! Great customer service!) As I mentioned earlier, they had that beautiful thread with sequins that I was looking for, so I took home 4 balls of that (Rozetti Cotton Gold), 2 more balls of the superfine spun heaven (Debbie Bliss Party Angel), and I just couldn’t leave without 4 balls of Diakeito, a wonderful multicolored Japanese yarn.

I have to say, anyone who is a knitter and happens to be within a 3 hour drive of this store, YOU MUST go! I honestly wish this store were by me, here in California.  If it were, I would be a regular! I would be there knitting a few times a week!  At least I can look forward to it now being a regular stop when I go back to WI to see Mom and Dad!  So, watch for my next post when I show you some of the amazing items I am creating with this LOVELY yarn! Happy Knitting!

2 thoughts on “A Knitter’s Paradise!”

  1. Wow! What a fabulous gem of a store you stumbled upon. Look at the bright side, at least you won’t go broke since it’s not in your town!! teehee!

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