Yarn shop hopping on the West Side.

The Slipt Stitch, El Segundo. This is my idea of a LYS. A long, narrow space lined on both side with tall cases filled to overflowing. Beautiful yarns and lots of knitted samples, mostly miniature versions of grown up sweaters. Plenty of the currently hot scarves. The shop opened an hour later than their posted time so we just walked the main street and had coffee at the Fantastic Cafe. I had decided not to buy any yarn on this trip. The one yarn that caused me to almost break my promise was not in stock as yet, so I was saved.

Wild Fibers, Santa Monica. I had been to this shop several years ago when they were having an artist's sale and show. This shop has the feel of a community center where all kinds of fiber crafts are done. The space is quite large by comparison with most yarn shops I've seen. The knitting yarn selection is not huge but is of the best. More Rowan and Noro than I've seen in a long time. Met the owner, Mel, and had a nice chat. It would have been fun to sit and dish but we were running late, due to the late opening of Slipt Stitch, so we didn't stay as long as I would have liked.

Needle in a Haystack, Montrose. This small shop has more needlepoint canvases and supplies than knitting yarns. The knitting yarns are at the back of the shop and would easily be missed if you didn't know they were there. They don't have much in the way of trendy stuff but there are some ribbons and furry things. Just not a lot of depth. They do have Canadiana and some of the other mid-price yarns that I don't see anywhere else. I did buy some yarn here but since it was on sale it doesn't count as breaking my promise.

All in all it was a good trip. We even managed to find parking close to the shops. We could have stopped at La Knitterie Parisienne in Studio City but that shop is so congested and intense that it would have spoiled our day. I don't know where we'll be going next week. There are a lot more shops than I thought, but you have to be willing to drive some pretty long distances to get to them.