I had the opportunity to stay at Brighton for a work related travel. Though my hotel was at Brighton, due to my office hours, I didn’t get to do any yarn shopping in Brighton itself. I made up for it by visiting some yarn shops in Lewes, which is where my workplace is located. When this travel was finalized, I knew I had to buy some yummy yarn because who visits UK and does not buy yarn? Especially when there is such a dearth of pure wool yarns in Bangalore.

The Needlemakers

A lovely, not-so-serious knitter at my work suggested that I visit the The Needlemakers where a lady sells yarn on the first floor, or so I was told. I took a trek up the steep hill and reached this place and landed in a beautiful fabric shop. The cheerful fabrics displayed everywhere and the sewing supplies almost made me buy some, but I reminded myself why I was there. The very helpful lady at the fabric shop was very surprised when I asked her about a yarn shop. She had no idea there was anybody selling yarn in that building and that cannot be because she has been in that building since many years. After going back and forth, she suggested I visit ‘the art and crafts store, just down the station road’ where I will surely find some yarn. My colleague who originally suggested this place is very sure there is yarn in this building and the fabric shop lady is equally sure there isn’t any, so I leave it to you to decide whether to visit this place or not.

Tash Tori Art and Crafts Store

This cosy, little store is quite close to The Needlemakers, so if you can do both on a single visit. This is mainly a sewing, embroidery supplies shop which also stocks some knitting yarn. I found some Debbie Bliss, Sublime and some acrylic yarn. They have supplies too like needles, tapes and knitting books. I bought two balls of yummy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Pink. I have no idea what I am going to make with it, but wanted it in my stash. The lady at the counter was very helpful in letting me know they don’t stock much yarn and I am lucky I found some that I liked.

The Knitting Basket at The Stitchery

This leaves us with the best place to shop yarn at Lewes. The Stitchery is a crafts store on the first floor of The Riverside building. This is a prominent place on the very popular High Street. This street has cafes and pastry shops on either side of the street and you can see people enjoying lunch or a beer out in the sun. The Stitchery is run by the very charming Saira who knows what good customer service is (more on that later). I saw so many varieties like Rowan, Sublime, Wendy, Robin and many more, that I felt dizzy. I bought some Rowan Tweed which will become a sweater/jacket soon for my son. The Stitchery has such a dizzying collection of buttons, fabrics and other sewing supplies and they often have items on clearance. I had such a great time chatting with Saira, as if I was meeting a long lost friend. More on Sarah in my next blog post.

Hope this post helps in your yarn shopping adventures when you are in Lewes!