If you follow Stitches ‘N’ Scraps on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you already know that I was on vacation in Florida last week. We stayed on St. Pete’s Beach, and enjoyed plenty of beautiful weather, white sands, gulf breezes, magnificent sunsets…and even some fiber fun!

Tuesday morning, we visited a weekly farmer’s market in the nearby Gulfport neighborhood. There were a variety of vendors, including food, art, and gifts, and I picked up some really delicious rum cakes.  On our way there, we stopped at a store called Fab Fiber that was just up the street.

This unassuming red house is actually a fiber lover’s paradise. They have supplies and kits for just about every fiber art you can think of, including embroidery, weaving, spinning, dyeing, knitting, and crochet. The owner, Elizabeth, was there and was kind enough to show us around on a Facebook live video tour.

Wednesday morning was a little gloomy, though it did clear up later, so we decided to spend the morning at the Dali museum near downtown St Petersburg. They are currently showing a very interesting Frida Kahlo exhibit. Afterwards, we headed downtown to get some lunch. While there, I happened upon another yarn shop, called Stash, a Place for Yarn. Isn’t that a nice sentiment on the signboard? It says “Beautiful things come together 1 stitch at a time.”

It was a lovely little shop with a good selection of higher end yarns, and what looked like a cozy work space at the back. The owner (I think) was quietly knitting away behind the counter, and was very friendly, even though we were only there for a minute. We couldn’t stay long as we were hungry and headed for lunch. I did get to look at (i.e. pet and drool over) some local, hand dyed sock yarn though.

If you’re ever in St Pete, take some time to visit these local fiber stores. After all, yarn makes a great souvenir!