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Baaad Anna's Yarn Shop





This yarn shop is one I have driven by every time I go downtown and back since it opened in 2009, but the words on the logo were a bit off-putting.  Baaad Anna's "Not Your Mama's Yarn Store" as I saw it meant perhaps I could be the Mama they were talking about.  The owner and individuals working in the shop are all 20 or 30-somethings so it seemed apparent, at least to me, I would more than likely be out of place.  So I have hesitated to stop in.  Here's more detail about Baaad Anna's written by Janna Maria Vallee upon its opening.

On Saturday I decided it would be a good idea to actually check this assumption.  And guess what, I may know the Mama because we are about the same age, but I might not be that person.  Here's some quick pics of the shop itself.  It is small, like most yarn shops, but it carries a nice variety of good quality yet affordable wool.















Blocking rods

In addition it offers some inventory other shops don't carry.  Let me illustrate this point.  Little Arrows lace shawl is coming together; it seems either my hands or my mind or both are gaining muscle memory so the knitting is becoming easier as I go.  The shawl should be off the needles within a week and that means I need special equipment to block it into shape.  (Lace shawls like Little Arrow demand blocking because without it they are little holey, uninspired, shapeless mesh.)

Blocking wires/blocking rods are used to accomplish the task of shaping lace, and it seems the terms blocking wires or rods are used interchangeably. They are stainless steel rods or spools of wire that are about .030 inch or .076 mm in diameter (See photo to the right).  This makes them thin enough to be flexible yet strong enough to hold stretched wool or cotton in place during the blocking process. I have seen kits including these wires combined with stainless steel pins costing upwards of $40, so when I found Baaad Anna's had them for $8 sans the pins (I already own a set of stainless steel pins from my sewing days) I made a purchase. For the time being I only need 4 rods, but if more are needed in the future, I know the place to get them.

What I liked most about Baaad Anna's is their offering of unusual types of knitting/yarny classes.  The store rents out all sorts of equipment you might need to take wool from essentially its raw, just off the sheep state, to yarn.  At some point I'll outline all the steps in this process, but for now suffice it to say I'm glad there are yarn companies that do all of this.  In order to encourage use of their rental equipment Baaad Anna's offers classes that focus on how to use it.  I signed up for a class using a drop spindle for spinning roving into yarn.  In my next post I'll outline the class experience and show you the "yarn" I made.  Yarn is in quotation marks because, well just wait and see.

I am so glad I can now add Baaad Anna's to my list of go-to local yarn shops in my area.  Variety is good in these sorts of things.



 



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