And the winners of the prize drawing are...

$400 prize: Robin Love

$250 prize: Christina Olsen
Congratulations, Robin and Christina!
And we'd like to thank everyone who participated in this year's event.

Feedback?

Now that the Shop Hop is a year away, we want to hear your comments and suggestions for next year's Shop Hop. You can post them to this blog, or email lysshophop@gmail.com.

Thank You!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in making this year's shop hop a success! We hope you all had as much fun as we did. Good luck to everyone who visited all 11 shops and turned in their entry for the prize drawing. The winners will be posted in a week or two.

Final Day!

It's the last day of the 2009 Shop Hop, so make sure you get all of the stamps and turn in your passport to be eligible for the prize drawing.

Good luck!

Day One Report

I know that at least 3 people have turned in completed passports after just one day! And everyone seems to be having fun. Two days left!

Start your engines! Or get on the bus...

The shop hop starts tomorrow at 10am sharp! We're all ready with our best yarn and project ideas.
Go to all eleven shops, get your passport stamped, and turn it in (signed and addressed!) at the last shop you visit to become eligible for the drawing and a chance to win a $400 First Prize or a $250 Second Prize gift certificate for the participating shop of your choice.

Are You Ready?

It's the final countdown...the hop starts Friday. Get your friends together and plan your trip through the South Bay and Monterey Bay areas. The shops are ready with their patterns and yarn. We can't wait!

Get your map and check out the pattern gallery.

Check out the Gallery pictures

Photos of the afghan squares are being posted almost daily now! Take a look at the Gallery and see what we've got so far.

Remember, there are knit & crochet squares that can be combined in a myriad of ways. Plus, each shop has an animal fiber and non-animal fiber that the squares have been designed for.

The Countdown Begins

Well, it's September and we're just a few weeks away from the shop hop now. Time to round up your friends and start planning your route. You can download the "official" map on the Map page.

You can probably visit all of the stores in one day, but why not spread it out and take your time browsing through each shop's variety of yarns and other products. There's no prize for being the first one finished!

Get Around on Public Transportation

You may prefer to take the bus, light rail or train to get from shop to shop. Here is some public transit information to help you plan your routes:

• San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties
• Santa Cruz County
• Monterey County

Revised directions to The Continental Stitch

Monterey Highway will be closed in Morgan Hill during the shop hop weekend due to the Taste of Morgan Hill festival. Please use this detour to visit The Continental Stitch - use the Cochrane exit off of 101, right on W. Main, left on Del Monte, left on 2nd Street and right into back parking lot to reserved parking spaces.

More About This Year's Patterns

As previously noted, this year's theme is a "quilt" or throw. Each shop will have a pattern for a 12-inch square so you can combine all of the squares to make a quilt. There will be knit AND crochet patterns for these squares.

Each shop also has selected an animal fiber yarn and a plant fiber yarn to use in the pattern. So many options!

Shop Hop Hours

All of the shops participating in Peninsula to Pier will be open the same hours for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the shop hop. Friday hours are 10am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday hours are 10am to 6pm.

PS The shop hop map is now available on the Map page, so plan your route now!

Theme for 2009

In years past, we have had exclusive one skein patterns at each store. This year it's a bit different. Each shop will have a pattern for a "quilt" block; you can create your own throw or blanket by combining the squares from each shop. The blocks will be designed for a specific yarn -- actually two yarns: Since many people are sensitive to certain animal fibers, you can choose to knit the entire project from plant or man-made fibers. Each shop will have one of each types of yarn to choose from.

Who's in?

As I'm sure you know, we have lost several yarn shops in the area since last year's shop hop. But we have one new shop, Chic's With Sticks in Santa Cruz, as well as 10 of members from previous years. The list, in short:

1. Nine Rubies
2. Bobbin's Nest Studio
3. Green Planet Yarn
4. The Knitting Room
5. The Continental Stitch
6. Yarndogs
7. The Swift Stitch
8. Chic's With Sticks
9. The Yarn Place
10. Monarch Knitting & Quilts
11. Knitting by the Sea

Dates Set for 2009 Shop Hop

And it's coming up shortly! This year the shop hop will be three days long: Friday, September 25; Saturday, September 26; and Sunday, September 27.

Shop Hop 2009

We have been getting some emails asking about this year's shop hop. Yes, we are planning on having the Third Annual Peninsula to Pier LYS Shop Hop. Keeping checking back for more details...