Northwest is a staple of the local Bham community and beyond. The space is pure magic with so many…read morekinds of crafts available to you (sewing, spining, weaving, knitting, crochet, tie dyeing, and the list goes on!). Any time I've been you can see various projects in progress around the store. To say the staff is helpful would be an understatement. The staff are all quite unassuming, so you have to go up to them.... but when you do they are super helpful. Each staff person is incredibly knowledgeable and have each helped me with knitting projects and patterns. Thay being said, Heather (one of the owners) is the true star. I know so many people shes taught so much to. I go to the weekly stitch and bitch on Thursday evenings and a dude showed up and sat down with no real direction or plan other that "I want to learn how to knit." The group threw him the ball of learning yarn and some knitting needles. Heather taught him right then and there and used the most hilarious, memorable phrases ("stab your friend" is the one I remeber). He was happily knitting and inspired by the end of stitch and bitch. Their yarn selection is comparable to other stores I've been to, with more eclectic color choices than other places. The fabric is also quite eclectic. So, thats the brand. Eclectic and quirky. I am obsessed. I am moving back to California in July and am so bummed to be moving away from Northwest. There is no place like it! I will surely order yarn from there to keep supporting this local gem.

Since my last review, written at the height of covid when I had to order my cross-stitch kit for…read morecurbside pickup, I've had the opportunity to visit Northwest Yarns a couple more times and am pleased to report that the store has greatly expanded. They've taken over the former (RIP) Black Drop Coffee space, which is now filled to the brim with beautiful yarn. And their original shop space is full of gorgeous, high quality fabrics. They have designers and prints I've never seen in other fabric stores, and they have a great selection of cotton fabrics as well as some knits and other options. Next time I'm making a quilt, I'll stop by and pick fabrics here as I know it will make any project just that much more unique and interesting. Speaking of fabric, last weekend I took an ice dyeing class here with their wonderful owner, Heather. I've never dyed fabric before, and was a little nervous about how it would all work. I also never knew you could dye with the help of buckets of ice! It was a blast and I can't wait to have time to add yet another fabric-related hobby to my arsenal of crafty talents. During this most recent visit, I also noticed they carry embroidery kits, basket-weaving supplies, and even a small assortment of interesting-sounding seeds. If you're the crafty type (or just dream of being one) definitely pop into Northwest Yarns - I'm sure you'll be just as inspired as I am!

I had a wonderful time attending the Flatbreads of Italy class! In 3 hours, we got to make two…read morebreads: fougasse and focaccia. Both turned out absolutely delicious and instructions were very clear - I actually feel comfortable recreating these at home. Our instructor was Cat, who was extremely knowledgeable and kept the class going at a great pace. I also really liked her humor! I found her jokes super funny and she kept me engaged, never bored. We got to sample lots of the instructor's bread at the end of class and took home our own breads, which were HUGE. Plenty to share with family and I froze some too.

Took a baking class with my daughter and a friend. The project itself was engaging, and our cakes…read moreturned out well. The problem was the instructor, Leah Starr, who was consistently rude and condescending. On our way home afterward, my daughter asked, "what was wrong with her?" No idea - no one in class acted out of turn or caused problems. It was very unprofessional. Unfortunately, when I followed up with the school to ask, they said you're not able to find out the instructor's name in advance, which is enough for us not to take a chance on going back.

A must - what an experience! Forging red hot metals and hammering it to form art - who knew it…read morecould be so much fun?! My son gives it a million thumbs up. In the middle of the class he comes up to me - all serious and said "this is so much fun" - but really serious. lol :) We took the beginner class Paul offers once a month on Saturdays. 8am-5pm - bring a sack lunch. He starts off with a tour of his amazing workshop - he's been doing this for 35 years and makes AMAZING stuff. I didn't even know you could do so much with metal - from making functional tools, to beautiful and super detailed works of art! He gives a brief history of blacksmithing, and then a 1 minute scare on the dangers involved. It's really not as bad as it seems. Just follow the safety directions and there's no problem at all. It's really very safe unless you're messing around. We started with an ordinary bolt and hammered the head into a nice design, something you'd see in a fancy hardware store - and we made it ourselves and it was easy! We moved on from there to forming a fancy hook. I have a bum arm so Paul helped me with the hammering and i did what I could. Lastly we made shepherd's knives which are really beautiful - sort of ancient looking, and in fact, these are exactly the same types of knives people forged hundreds of years ago. This was probably the most exciting class my son has ever taken. I had an amazing time as well, even with my bad arm and not being able to do the hard hammering. I was able to do some small side projects that my arm could handle while the others were working on their knives. Paul was very accommodating that way. There were 4 students in the class. He takes up to 6 people, and everyone is working on their own pieces. I highly recommend this class. It would make the BEST present for any boy, any age, and actually any girl or woman as well! Paul told us that of the people in the U.S. that do this professionally, a large percentage are women! :) Sorry for the long-winded review, but the class was THAT amazing! :)

Our family has participated in several Camp Fire programs around the Pacific Northwest, and we…read moreattended the Camp Kirby day camp in July 2025. While my daughter seemed to enjoy herself and spoke positively about the experience, the overall setup left me uneasy as a parent. Camp Kirby is located on a small island about 35 minutes from Bellingham. The setting is rustic and remote, and you have to drive very slowly down a long road to reach it. It's an unusual place, quiet and tucked away, but also far removed from anything else. The biggest issue for me was the lack of transparency and connection with the camp itself. Drop-off and pickup were tightly controlled: you wait in a long car line, staff approach your window, and then you're expected to drive off. There was no opportunity to meet the counselors, interact with other parents, or even glimpse the facilities. I asked nicely twice during the week if I could just see where my daughter was spending her day, and was told both times to email the director due to camper privacy. I understand wanting to protect kids, but other Camp Fire locations I've attended have found ways to balance privacy with openness. Here, I left every day with no idea what the camp looked like or what was going on inside. Communication was also minimal. Other camps send daily updates with photos and summaries. At Kirby we received one brief email and a photo album with a single blurry side photo of my daughter. I strongly recommend that Camp Kirby improve transparency by posting photos or videos of the grounds and facilities online. Even a virtual tour would go a long way toward helping parents understand where their kids will be all week. As it stands, I still have no idea what the space looks like. They offer one open house in the spring, but unless you live nearby, that's not realistic. The counselors seemed kind, though a little overwhelmed. And while my daughter's experience may have been positive, I genuinely don't know, because parents are kept completely at arm's length. I wouldn't recommend this camp unless you live nearby or already know someone with firsthand experience. They need to build more trust with parents and provide a clearer window into what's actually happening during the week.

Great,naturalistic camp for kids. One of the few remaining open-water / salt-water summer camps…read moreleft. Our kids love going there year after year. They have waterfront & camp craft programs, tee pees, tree houses and cabins for ages 5 - 14. Would recommend.

We had a couple of hours to kill before our flight home. My wife loves gardens so we came out to…read morethe discovery gardens. Empty parking lot on a Sunday. Apparently, few people come here. A couple of nice volunteers greeted us and told us about the gardens. They're maintained by "master gardeners" all volunteers. There are 20+ immaculate gardens of all types to enjoy. We wandered through the gardens and thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely a hidden gem in Mt Vernon.

While attending the Greenbank Organic Farm School on Whidbey Island, we went on a couple trips to…read morethe WSU Extension. I've been to the Small Grains Field Day, a tomato grafting class, a tour of the facilities, and a community discussion on the Slow Food movement (all different occassions). Anyways, this place is great. Such an amazing place to learn and get connected with the local farming community. You can walk through beautiful gardens, have a picnic on the lawn, attend interesting classes. All-around fun place for the academic, or the family.

This school is everything we were looking for and more. In short, if you're looking for a great…read morecurriculum, fabulous academics, great teachers and nice kids, all at a very reasonable cost, this is a great find. They offer all the activities that public schools have left behind like homework, science fairs and spelling bees. They also have Chapel time once a month. We believe 5 Stars is an understatement and we have a high bar! Thank you to the incredible people who run this school!

The childhood every kid deserves! This place is magic. While they encourage students to grow in all…read moreareas, they also honor how and when each child is ready. Each thrives in their own way. True play based learning (which is sadly rare) throughout every day. Tree houses, sand pits, mud pies, dolls, books, cozy nooks, rope climbing, sewing, carrot peeling, daisy chains...all the best parts of the old days. As a child development specialist, my heart grows every time I observe teachers interacting with students. They are "gardeners, not carpenters". Love, empathy, curiosity, and firm boundaries all shine here. They are as engaged with social emotional teaching as they are "academic" skills. The world would be a better place if every child experienced this kind of early education.

Loving Space is everything we dreamed of for a preschool and kindergarten for our son. The teachers…read moreunderstand children and child development and provide the most magical, play-full, supportive, and loving atmosphere. As soon as our son started as a three year old, we noticed that his play became deeper and richer. As a five year old in kindy, his understanding of himself, compassion for others, and academic skills also grew by leaps and bounds. We are grateful for our time and LS and our only regret is that is doesn't go through 12th grade!

My son started taking piano lessons here. He has 25-minute weekly lessons. It costs $100 a month…read moreand there's an annual registration fee of $50, which helps them hold recitals, etc. Textbooks are extra but very inexpensive. Because he's still a novice, private lessons are great, and $100 a month is so affordable. Initially, I thought 25 minutes would be too short, but it turned out to be a great length for a 10 year old to focus. My son works with Amelia. She is very positive and great with kids. She's also flexible. My son was sick last week and couldn't come in, but Amelia was willing to schedule a make-up session on a Saturday morning. Conclusions: My son enjoys coming in every week, and I'm happy with our overall experience. I highly recommend Evergreen Music Studios, but you may want to keep in mind a couple of thing. Things to watch out for: They send you invoices online, and you can pay them online as well. If you use a credit card, they will charge you a convenience fee of $5.85. I think it's silly to pay $5.85 for a $100 invoice. Also, they will assess you 10% on late payments, which they do not disclose on their invoices. ****************************** If you found something useful in my review, please hit "useful" so that I can improve my reviews. If you love food and traveling, follow me, or better yet, let's become friends on Yelp! Thank you and happy Yelping!

I recently called Evergreen inquiring about music lessons. The dude on the phone was overtly…read moremansplainy throughout the call which was annoying and then was being pushy about how frequent I should take the lessons after I had said that I wanted to meet once a week. I'm guessing this guy doesn't reflect the personalities of instructors or their quality of teaching but I didn't really feel like having to deal with the dude when there are other high quality music schools in town at the same price/less expensive. Maybe this guy was actually the owner? I have no idea, but it probably wouldn't hurt to let someone else speak to the public!