Saturday, January 16, 2010

Poulsbo and Bainbridge -Grand Day Out

Leaving on the Edmonds to Kingston ferry on our way over to do the "tour de Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island." Our mission: To find the Wild and Wooly Yarn Shop, Amanda's Art and Yarns shop in Poulsbo, then head to Bainbridge to visit Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. And find coffee on the way and get some good nature shots. Our ferry, the Walla Walla had a nice escort across the water by the Coast Guard gunner boats, which we've never had before. They said it was just routine, but it was a bit odd.

Apparently leaving what sun we had behind, we arrived in the fog at Poulsbo. Still decked out in Christmas decor, it felt a bit like Leavenworth and is very Nordic.

First stop was the Amanda's Art and Yarns shop, upstairs in this building.

They weren't open right at 10:00 so I thought maybe I had the time wrong, but they opened soon after. Very friendly people and alot of very nice wools (my favorite). Lots of pretty hand painted yarns and plenty to look at, touch and ponder over, however we had to move the car and move on...so no yarn purchased this time here. Too bad! Will have to come back again.



We stopped at a great local bakery: Sluys Bakery,the home of the famous "Poulsbo Bread", also on Front Street. And I had one of these amazing cinnamon rolls you see in the window with the cream cheese frosting. Not many calories, I'm sure of it....


They have a slogan in the store that is: "Giv os idag vort daglige brod." (Give us Lord our daily bread) AMEN to that! This was the best cinnamon roll I've had in my life!



We were amazed at the quantity and quality of the baked items. Gorgeous bear claws, cookies and anything you could imagine. HUGE doughnuts and of course bread.


If you ever get over to Poulsbo, you have to stop there!

Taking a little walk down to the waterfront. The fog was definitely affecting the view a bit. But pretty just the same.

The Nordic heritage was fairly evident all around us, as seen in this street sign:

As for the Wild and Wooly Yarns, the website is still up online, however the owner retired and the shop is no longer in existence on Front St. This we found out at a local bookstore.
We moved on to Bainbridge in order to find Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. I felt like I was entering a charming, sophisticated and beautiful store right away. And I was!


I knew this place was special when a kind gentleman offered me some tea. How completely lovely! Enjoying my tea while shopping for my Noro Silk garden...

The yarn selection was beautiful. I loved every offering there. Well layed out and the samples were gorgeous. They had such friendly staff and I was treated so nicely. I wish I lived closer to this shop!

I did end up with the Noro silk garden to do the famous striped Noro scarf and some nice Rowan Cocoon for some manly mitts for my Dad.

Included in my bag, they slipped in a free pattern for the Noro striped scarf!


Well worth the trip. I felt like I had a "Yarn Spa" experience! I want to go back!
We had lunch by the waterfront where we could see the Bainbridge ferry and downtown Seattle in the distance. One last stop for coffee at Pegasus Coffee. The service was not the best here. We waited a long time before being noticed, and others ordered and were served who came in after us!

While I wouldn't recommend it for that reason, my latte still tasted pretty good for the ferry ride home.

Oh, but one last stop before we go...and a funny sign written in the bathroom on the hand blower I couldn't resist:

While I did not get any bacon, I got a great laugh...great yarn and a fun day out with my husband!

4 comments:

knitterbeader said...

Loved your little tour tale, especially the bakery. We'll have to check that out next time we're over that way. We used to live in Sequim (almost 4 years ago) and love all the water, ferries, shops, etc.

Jeannine said...

It is a great place to visit. I would go back again to Bainbridge shop and take my mom and sis with me next time for sure!

Sheila said...

I'll go to Churchmouse with you some time-- haven't been there in a while but totally agree it's the greatest shop ever. And I'll have to drag Brian to Poulsbo, with all that Norwegian floating around! Glad you had such a good time, sorry Pegasus' service let you down; I love their coffee!

Jeannine said...

The coffee was indeed good. :) I will go again definitely to Bainbridge, not sure when though but it'd be fun! There is alot of Nordic there!