Road Trip!
This Ravelry feature got such a fun reaction when I presented it at the January meeting that, for those of you who couldn’t attend, I’ve made it this month’s tip.
“Souvenir yarn” is a great way to remember your travels. Whether you go by plane, train, or automobile, Ravelry can help you find local yarn stores (LYS) near your destination or along your route. (Reminder – click on the photos to enlarge.)
On the Ravelry Yarns tab, look on the left side for “local yarn shop directory.” You’ll see two search options: a text entry box for a single city or state/country, or a link to the road trip planner.
The first option is simple – type in your destination to see a list of nearby LYS. Let’s try Franklin, TN (an area I regularly visit on business).
Ravelry helped me find Bliss Yarns, a very nice store within 20 minutes of my hotel. Ask to see my Bliss “frequent shopper” card!
Now let’s try planning a road trip. Click on the link to bring up a planning form. If your Ravelry profile includes a home location, it’s pre-filled as your starting point (you can change that, if desired). My husband would like to revisit Pueblo, CO, where he spent a few years of his youth, so we’ll enter that destination. The form defaults to a 5-mile “detour,” but I’ll expand that to 10 miles.
Click “find shops on my route” to bring up the search results. They’re based on what Google Maps determines is the shortest distance, so if you’re taking the scenic route you may need to do some individual city/state searches instead. But these results point me toward some intriguing LYS!
Without this search, I’d never look for yarn inside Elias Shoes. Before making a significant detour, check that the store/vendor is still there, isn’t closed for a special event the day you want to visit (voice of experience), etc.
And keep your eyes out for yarn “in the wild.” When we visited Maui a few years ago, my loving husband spotted a basket of skeins outside the Made in Maui store. Result: several skeins of locally dyed yarn, one of which became Spring Bling!
Ravelry Tip of the Month is an ongoing feature of our newsletter. Have a tip suggestion or a Ravelry question you’d like answered? Send your ideas to Sydnie Wauson at VicePresident@SanDiegoKnitters.com.
