I-75 Shop Hop 2020

 Most fiber events have been cancelled this year thanks to Rona.  One that didn't fall victim was the I-75 Shop Hop.  Although, some shops from the past opted to not participate and others restricted to visits by appointment only.  My enabler and I decided we'd still try to see a few shops on Saturday, August 1.  We headed over to the Dayton area to visit some that we hadn't been to before.

First on the itinerary was Tipp City to visit Tippecanoe Weaver and Fibers Too.  I probably had visited Tipp City at some point in my youth, but I don't remember.  My mom had a cousin who had been the pastor at the Catholic church in town back in the 70s.  Tipp City is a cute, quaint town that seems to be thriving while maintaining its small town feel even with the urban sprawl of Dayton to the south.  

Tippecanoe Weavers and Fibers Too is a small shop in an old house a block north of Main Street.  The front two rooms feature yarn while the back is dedicated to weaving.  They offer locally sourced fiber.  I grabbed a few bags of roving, which the cats became very interested in when I got home.

After a quick walk around Main Street, we drove over to Vandalia.  Fiber Fusion is on the road that forms the eastern edge of the Dayton Airport.  The shop is in a house that sits in front of the owners own home.  There are several rooms of yarn to explore, each organized by yarn weight.  The owner says her hours vary because she has another full-time job, to which we replied we totally understood and appreciated because we work full-time also.

At Fiber Fusion I picked up 3 skeins of Leading Men fingering which someday may become a shawl and my first set of Prym needles.  My enabler swears by these needles and I've seen a very positive review by Arne and Carlos.

Next stop was Englewood, which is on the other side of the Dayton airport to visit The Rabbit Hutch.  The Rabbit Hutch is in what looks to be a former bank building; not the old 19th century style, but the mid-century style that I remember.

The Rabbit Hutch features many of the yarns in the Berroco line and had samples throughout the shop.  I immediately spotted the Waverly sample.  The shop owner let me try it on and I fell in love, so of course I couldn't resist.  She helped me decide on the colors and sent me home with the pattern and some of the yarn I needed.  The rest was ordered and I received it last weekend.  This will go into the queue after the Christmas knitting is complete.

From Englewood we headed south and east to Beavercreek to visit Fiberworks.  Fiberworks is in the heart of the commercial district of Beavercreek.  The shop is packed with yarns of all weights and colors.  

I was a bit overwhelmed and tired by this point so I mainly just followed my enabler around the shop. I did by this cute project bag and a Gleaner, which I neglected to photograph.

From Beavercreek we started back toward home, but first stopping in London to visit Yesterday's Ewes.  Yesterday's Ewes is located on Main Street in an old, 19th century bank.  They've maintained the old teller windows and other architectural features.  It is a very nice shop that has a lot of room to expand inventory.

Yesterday's Ewes carries a lot of fibers I haven't seen in other shops.  I picked up a couple skeins of Round Mountain Fibers fingering.  I love the colors and how they are based on nature.  The one on the left is Indigo Bunting from the Ornithology line and the one on the right is Honey Bee from the Entomology line.  Both will someday become socks.

We called it a day after Yesterday's Ewes.

A couple days ago I received a message from Yesterday's Ewes that I won one of their door prizes.  Cindy and I went back there yesterday to pick up my prize.  It was a skein of their 1927 Shetland in the color Fawn.  1927 Shetland is their house brand of yarn, sourced from a local farm.  Fawn is one of the sheep.  The color in the above picture is true.  To go along with this yarn, I bought 2 ounces each of 1927 Shetland roving.  My plan is to spin these into 2-ply yarn and make a hat or gloves.

The owner of Yesterday's Ewes mentioned that she is planning on starting a once-a-month bring-you-own-project event on the last Sunday of the month.  She suggested I bring my wheel and get a little spinning in.  I'll consider it.  Her shop isn't that far from my house and it would be a good excuse to use my wheel.  It's been sitting unused in my living room for quite a while now.  I should plan spending some time on weekends spinning, especially since I won't have any college football to watch this fall thanks to the Big 10 cancelling/postponing their season.