Tag Archives: churchmouse yarns and teas

Treat. Yo. Self.

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This is silly, but I’ve never had a nice shawl pin.

I’ve made some out of wire, and I even made a couple out of clay, when I was working in a ceramics studio (but those broke almost immediately).  And, honestly, if I needed one, I’d grab a pencil or a DPN.  I’ve bought them for other people, and I always admire them when I’m at a yarn store with a good selection.

Anyway, a few weeks ago my husband and I went on a little day trip to visit some friends on Bainbridge Island.  It’s one of my favorite things to do- I love riding the ferry across the sound and spending the day in delightful little shops, drinking coffee and visiting brew pubs.

And, there’s a super fancy yarn store on the island, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (even the name is fancy).  I love visiting there, even though I always feel like I’m not fancy enough to be there.  But that’s how I roll- super casual.

I was at the checkout (getting some yarn that will become someone’s Christmas present- ssh, it’s a surprise!), and I saw a little glass full of silvery shawl pins in the shape of twigs.  How adorable!

I decided to take the advice of two of my favorite characters from Parks and Rec, and one of the shawl pins made it into my shopping bag.

treat-yo-self1Now, I am the proud owner of a JUL Bronze Twig Shawl Pin.  It’s adorable and shiny, and makes me feel very fancy.  It’s perfect for my Stranger Cardigan and Campside Cardi, since they don’t have buttons.img_3539Do you have a favorite too-fancy store?  What was your latest “Treat Yo Self” purchase?

Button Trouble

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It has been well-documented that I have a problem with buttons.  The same way someone with a caffeine addiction has a problem with coffee, or a shopaholic has a problem with shoes.  It won’t kill me or anything (and thank god they’re not too expensive), but, well, I can’t stop myself.

And so, despite the fact that I have an entire jar of vintage buttons, a Zip-loc bag full of sets of buttons I just “couldn’t pass up,” and I find cards of buttons sprinkled here and there around my studio, I “had to” get a new set of perfect buttons for my cardigan.

We had friends in town, and they wanted to ride the ferry and visit one of the islands (they’re from Texas and riding a ferry is a fun, new experience for them.  I’m from the Midwest, and even though I’ve lived here for almost 5 years, I still love it, so I’m not going to argue.)  We went over to Bainbridge Island and spent a day beach combing, shopping and eating.

On Bainbridge there is a gorgeous knitting shop, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (they make lots of patterns that you might have seen.  I love their Turkish Bed Socks.)

And they have a gorgeous selection of beautiful (and super-classy) buttons.

I almost got a set of vintage-looking silver buttons, but changed my mind at the last minute because I was afraid they’d be too heavy and weigh down the front of my sweater.  Instead, I picked out four beautiful gray mother-of-pearl buttons.  They are subtle and classy, and pick up on the beautiful variegated blues of the yarn.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOf course, mother-of-pearl buttons are hard to photograph, so you’ll have to imagine their color being a little less silver, and a little more rainbow-y and beautiful.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat do you keep collecting, even if you don’t need to?