Happy 3rd Birthday Knitty City-Upper Westside Yarn Haven

Knitty City-NYC Yarn Store

Happy 3rd Birthday Knitty City from an UWS Knitter!

Knitty City has been a great addition to the NYC Yarn Store market. It has a diverse collection of fibers and books with options for every size pocketbook. In addition, they have one of the best collections of needles and other knitting equipment around. The friendly staff is always willing to help with project and yarn selection as well as knitting help when you hit those inevitable bumps in the process. There’s a big table that’s always filled with knitters in the back.

As part of the celebration, there was a 10% off sale. Since I’m on my stash diet and I  have 2 projects from Knitty City in my WIP queue I didn’t participate. The projects are my sister’s Grey Angora Ribbon Lace Shawl and my mother’s Black Shetland Lace Scarf. Both projects are making slow but steady progress.

Death of a LYS-Yarn Connection NYC

It is with great sadness that I note that a friendly New York City yarn emporium is going out of business.  Since it is located on 36th Street and Madison Avenue, a neighborhood I rarely frequet, the second floor shop isn’t one of my usual yarn haunts. Nevertheless, it’s always a source of inspiration.

By coincidence, I was in the neighborhood and stopped by to get a pattern for an Elsebeth Lavold sweater that I had seen in the shop before my wedding. At the time, they didn’t have a copy of the pattern. It is the “Hild” sweater which is an interesting variation on a ribbed pullover that works in Lavold’s viking inspired cables. Since the store was going out of business, I bought the store copy of “Designer’s Choice-Book Nine”. It has a couple of other patterns that I’m interested in.

Death of a NYC Yarn Store - Yarn Connection going out of business

Knitty City’s Second Birthday – NYC Yarn Store

For their second anniversary, Knitty City had a store-wide sale and a large cake! For its loyal knitting fans, everything was 10% off! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Knitty City, it’s a great addition to the New York City yarn stores. It’s a small treasure nestled on 79th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway. Pearl, the owner, stocks a wide range of fibers in terms of content and price!

The place was packed and it looked like the entire family had pitched in to help. Despite this, there was a line that was practically out the door.

 I used the opportunity to stock up on some smaller size circular needles to help my new lace habit. My big purchase was Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby in hard cover–the photograhs are amazing. It’s been difficult to get since it’s out of print and there’s a paperback version on its way. I rationalized (as knitters are apt to do) that I needed it for additional direction on making my wedding shawl.

As a bonus, every buyer received a Knitty City tote!

Engagement Celebrated With Yarn

About a week after we announced our engagement to our family, I decided to celebrate the occassion with my Saturday knitting friends at The Point. Over the past year or so, the women I knit with have asked me in varying ways whether Larry and I planned to get married. To this I had replied, “If my mother doesn’t ask, then neither can you!”

To go public with the news, I persuaded Larry to meet me at The Point near closing time so that we wouldn’t take away from anyone’s precise knitting time. Larry appeared about 5 minutes before closing with a bottle of champagne hidden in a cloth bag.

Due to the last minute shopping frenzy which tends to happen every Saturday, it took a bit for Larry to get the floor. He finally announced the news. That got people’s attention and I was able to show off my unconventional engagement ring.

Larry (in a Heidi orignal) and Heidi at The Point

Once the gates were down, we opened the champagne and everyone toasted us. It was a very warm and welcoming feeling. I want to thank my knitting friends for their good wishes.

Heidi raises her champagne at The Point

 

Heidi and the Carols at The Point

Everyone’s celebrating Heidi & Larry’s engagement at The Point

BTW, Patty, the new manager at The Point (bottom row right) has already blogged about the event.

P.S. I’ve kept this post in draft for a while so that the rest of our friends and family could hear the news in a more personal way!

Reward = Yarn Shopping

Despite being the last week of summer, the lull before the serious back-to-school, summer’s over mentality returns, I’ve been busy with work. Since we’re staying local this holiday weekend, I wandered into two  NYC yarn stores on my way home as a treat.  Though the city was hot and humid, the streets were filled with employees leaving early for their 3 day weekend.

My first stop was School Products. I used to find this store a treasure trove of unusual yarns. It’s a great location when you can’t find the Karabella yarn you need elsewhere since they manufacture it and carry the full range of their offering. But the extremely unfriendly staff who are more interested in selling another ball of yarn than in establishing a relationship means that I rarely go there. But I wanted to see what they had in stock for this fall.  Thankfully, a phone call cut short my visit so I didn’t have to deal with the unpleasant staff!

My second stop was Habu Textiles, the distributor of wonderful, unusual fibers. Hidden on the 8th floor of an offfice building on 29th Street, their showroom is more oriented to retailers than consumers. If you’re looking for well versed staff who can help you with your knitting dilemnas, this place isn’t for you. The mostly Japanese staff’s English isn’t very good. That said, it’s well worth your visit, especially if you’re the type of knitter who is inspired by out-of-the-ordinary fibers. Further, the staff lets you wander around and you have to ask to be served. Be warned though, these precious treats can be pricey!

Being over my stash limit, I allowed myself a small treat anyway. I bought 170 yards of silvery gray fiber made from pineapple. Can you believe that you can knit with the fiber from a delicious fruit? It has a thin ropey texture which will make a great little shopping bag.