Good-bye Purl By the Sea-Another Local Yarn Store Closes

Overcast weather on Montauk beach

Despite the forecasts for heavy rain, my husband and I took off Friday and headed out to Montauk for one last visit to Purl By the Sea before Nora Franzetti closed its doors. Ever since we first discovered Purl By the Sea nestled behind the main drag in Montauk, it’s been the bright spot in our visits to the beach. It’s always been welcoming and friendly circle of knitters. Women who live in the area combined with those who vacation there regularly. Further, it had a great assortment of yarns including low priced work horses such as Lamb’s Pride as well as unusual high end specialty yarns. To add to the allure, Nora kept an amazing selection of knitting books.

The vibe in this store is wonderful and it’s closing is real loss to the knitting community. I feel very lucky to consider myself a part of this circle of women. They were very welcoming to my husband who tended to quietly take up residence on their husband’s rocker in the back corner.

We thought that we would be able to beat the rain. But by the time we got to the beach, it started drizzling and after an hour of camping out beneath our rain gear, we decided to head for Purl By the Sea.

Since it was our last visit, we spent most of the day there. It was the beginning of the 50% off sale and stuff was flyingout of the store.

I bought the last two Barbara Walker stitchonaries (Volumes 3 and 4). I also bought a 47 inch Addi in case I make another Hemlock Ring Blanket. Of course, I couldn’t resist at least one more addition to my stash. I bought a few hanks of Blue Sky Baby Alpaca to make a scarf which should be very soft!

Since the weekday trains back to Manhattan are scarce. We walked around Montauk in the light rain and headed back to the beach for a last look at the cloudy sky.

We treated ourselves to East by North East, a fancy local restaurant, which serves pan Asian cuisine. It was a nice way to cap off the day. Of course, our train didn’t get back into Manhattan until about 2.00am…

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Purl By the Sea Knitted Celebrations & Knitting Needle Challenges

 

Montauk beach greetings my knitting

My husband and I trekked out to Montauk to take advantage of the glorious mid-summer weather and to visit Purl By the Sea. 

I am working hard on my Hemlock Ring Blankie since it’s a gift for friends and I need to be finished before next weekend. One of my problems is that it’s gotten so big that I had to switch to my Denise knitting needles and they have a propensity for coming undone. This isn’t a problem when you’re knitting a smaller scale project and you only use one cord. BUT when you start adding cord to cord to cord, the chances of one of the links coming apart in the middle of your knitting increases.

Unfortunately, given the thickness of the yarn, my Hemlock Ring Blankie no longer fits on 36 inch circular needles. Thankfully, Nora at Purl By the Sea stocks longer sizes of Addi Turbos so that I could switch to 60 inch size 11 needles to speed through the last repeats of my Blankie. (Despite her urging me not to, I also bought the 48 inch size as well! They will be tough to find when she closes the store.)

Since my husband has been bugging me for a pair of socks ever since I made him the first set a couple of years ago, I decided to take advantage of Purl By the Sea’s Going Out of Business Sale. I bought some wonderful blues, greens and purple merino from ArtYarns. It’s a manly green and blue mix which I find appealing so that there’s hope that I’ll be able to knit with it.

As friends of the store, we were invited to a special treat. The knitting circle had made a birthday party for one of the women and everyone brought wonderful dishes to share. My husband, who is also considered a friend of the store, and I partook of the great food. 

 

Homemade Chicken Wings

Homemade Tortellini Salad

Homemade Goat Cheese Pizza

Since I don’t have any shots of my knitting, here’s one of my Purl By the Sea friends who is knitting the most wonderful baby blanket. It’s a solid piece with designs knitted into different boxes. What a great way not to get bored!

 

 

Friend’s Baby Blanket with Design Knitted Into It

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Montauk Bound – Beach & Fountain Pen Shawl Knitting

 

Train knitting - Fountain Pen Shawl in Black Malabrigo Sock Yarn

Since Purl By the Sea is closing, my husband and I are heading out to Montauk to take advantage of the great ocean beach and the friendship that we’ve build with the other knitters at Purl By the Sea. 

My husband treated me to a wonderful trio of knitting books including Volume 2 of Barbara Walker’s stitch dictionaries and her Knitting from the Top Down. With Nora’s great array of books, it was a tough choice. 

I used the train and beach time to work on my Black Malibrigo Fountain Pen Shawl. While the Malabrigo  merino sock yarn is great to knit with (although I would caution against using black. In my defense, it was a choice of black or white since I waited for The Point to put it on sale.) It is light enough to be able to knit on the beach which is good since the sun light makes the knitting easier. 

As a pattern, here are the advantages and  drawbacks of the Fountain Pen Shawl:

• For knitters, like myself who use stitch markers to measure each pattern repeat, the shawl required re-arranging the stitch markers at the beginning of each new set (or every 16 rows.) 
• The patten wasn’t sufficiently interesting after the first set of repeats to keep my attention. Please note that this may be a plus for a new knitter.
• The shawl used nups which are a sign of a hand made piece but do so sparingly for those who dread them or once per repeat.

 

Yarn Harlot Inspired Shot of Black Malabrigo Fountain Pen Shawl on Montauk Beach

Fountain Pen Shawl Detail on Beach - Note how each repeat looks like a pen nib?

 

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Purl By the Sea is Closing

Yarn draped above the knitting table at Purl By the Sea

It was with great sadness that I read Nora Franzetti’s email announcing the closing of Purl By the Sea in Montauk. While it’s difficult to call a yarn store that’s a 3 1/2 hour trip from your home a LYS, Purl By the Sea is such a special place where everyone’s always glad to see you. Further, as a knitting haven, it has a great assortment of yarn for the budget conscious as well as the yarn snob. To add to the benefits, Nora added a broad selection of knitting books, with many that I had wanted to add to my knitting bookshelf.

Since Purl By the Sea is closing my husband and I decided to trek out to Montauk every weekend that we didn’t have other plans this summer to get our dose of beach time and yarn store time.

I hope that other knitters on the east end of Long Island make the trip to experience the warmth of this cozy store.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Botanica Medallion Progresses

Tahki Cotton Classic in white, aqua, & blue-green

Over July 4th weekend, I bought some more Tahki Cotton Classic at Purl By the Sea for the Botanica Medallion Vest from Vogue International. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have sufficient cotton for the edging. In addition, I bought a skien of darker blue-green in case I decide to switch to a different lace pattern for the medallion.

I started the center medallion. After knitting several other doily patterns, this one is relatively easy. Unlike doilies which have a lot of open work lace, this medallion is knit fairly tightly since it makes a flower. The flower is reminiscent of the blue starfish (yes you read that correctly) that we saw in the Cook Islands on our honeymoon. 

Unlike other doilies that I’ve knit, the medallion has created a bump in the middle. I am concerned that it will not block out. 

Medallion in progress - Side view of bump

Center medallion in Tahki Cotton Classic

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Montauk Bound With Knitting

Montauk Sweatshirts for Sale

 

We love the beach in Montauk which can be relatively empty (at least by New Yorkers’ standards) on holiday weekends. It’s a wonderful expanse of beach with rolling waves that make for peaceful rejuvenation. Of course, it’s not every Manhattanite’s idea of a “local” beach but my husband and I make it an adventure and it beats battling the local airport or driving out of town.

The over 3 hour train trip from NYC’s Penn Station to Montauk gives us an opportunity to sleep, read or knit. We enjoy bagels and coffee on the train and are ready to hit the beach by the time we get to Montauk.  There are a variety of local taxi companies that meet the infrequent trains making getting to the center of town a breeze. From there we can walk to the beach, food and Purl By the Sea.

Atlantic Ocean Beach - Relatively Empty at Montauk

Kite Surfers at Montauk Use Strings Differently from Knitters

I always love visiting Purl By the Sea. While most knitting stores attract wonderful knitters and crocheters, there’s always laughter around the knitting table at Purl By the Sea. It sends out such good vibe that my husband likes sitting in the spouse rocker and hearing the joyful chatter.  

 

Entrance to Purl By the Sea with Flowers Blooming

On July 5th, there was a local spinner giving a demonstration and selling her roving and yarn, both merino and alpaca. The spinner’s wares were spread through out the store.

Spinning demonstration at Purl By the Sea

Spinner's Wares at Purl By the Sea

 

Local Spinner's Roving at Purl By the Sea

Additionally, Nora Franzetti, the owner of Purl By the Sea, had been to TNNA and stocked up on new yarns and wonderful books. She brought back samples of yarns and books that she’s considering. She showed me a stack of signed knitting books to make any knitter jealous.

Since I am still swatching and testing the Botanica Medallion from Summer 2009 Vogue Knitting, I bought more Tahki Cotton in aqua and forest green to add more color to the top.  I was lucky that I picked a color that many of the Purl By the Sea knitters don’t like!

For me, the entire day was a knitting adventure. I had time to work on several projects including the Fountain Pen Shawl and the Hemlock Blankie which has been a great beach project. 

Hemlock Ring Blankie on Montauk Beach

 

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Shiri Mor’s Botanica Medallion Sweater from Vogue Knitting

   

 

Shiri Mor's Botanica Medallion on Vogue Knitting Cover

When I started knitting lace doilies, one of my friends suggested that I check out the pattern on the cover of Vogue Knitting Summer 2009. It’s an unusual pattern by Shiri Mor. It’s more of a vest than a sweater. It consists of a center circle knit in the round like a doily and a separate border knitted with a variety of lace stitches so that it is larger at the outer edge than the inner edge. 

 

Interestingly, the sample is knit in Blue Sky Skinny Dyed Cotton for summer wearing. Given the way that the pattern is knit, it is a strong candidate for a Noro type yarn which would add a wonderful pattern to the center and stripes to the outer circle.

When I first thought about doing the top, I wanted to combine several colors. I wanted to use the watery blues and greens that have been showcased in Eileen Fisher’s windows on Fifth Avenue this spring.

Due to the fact that I’ve been on a yarn diet (of course, those of you who are regular readers know that I allow myself yarn treats and occasional splurges like MDSW and Webs Tent Sale.)  Therefore I decided to use some Tahki Cotton Classic from my stash. The 4 1/2 balls of white Tahki Cotton Classic (or 432+ yards) that I got at a yarn swap  wasn’t enough to make the top.  Combined with one or two other colors, it was a good start.

Tahki Cotton Classic in White, Aqua and Blue-Green

After studying the Botanica Medallion pattern, I realized that it was difficult to adapt to multiple colors in the way that a vintage doily might be. Therefore, I bought 5 skeins of aqua at Purl By the Sea (or 540 yards) in Montauk.

Flower Medallion of Shiri Mor's Vogue Cardi

32 rows of Botanica Medallion in Tahki Cotton Classic

While it’s a rare event that I get gauge (of course, I was using needles that were 2 sizes smaller), I set out to knit the  medallion centerpiece of the sweater. After knitting about 34 rows of the 54 rows needed, I realized that, while my gauge was on target, the piece even after blocking was way too small to work for me.

Given that the centerpiece of the Botanica Medallion consists of close stocking knit and reverse stocking knit, I chose not to increase the needle size to make the piece larger. Also, I am using 100% cotton which should be knitted tightly for garments. Therefore, I decided to look for another doily to use in lieu of the flower / starfish pattern medallion of Mor’s piece. 

Having made several different doilies, I estimate that I will need a pattern with about 70 rows. Although a pattern which allows me the flexibility to add more rows to reach my goal is optimal. Further, it’s important to take blocking into consideration. For example, my Heirloom Doily Placemats grew from 15″ to 17″ in diameter when they were blocked. I assume that the piece will grow about 10-20% due to blocking the lace (which is different from non-lace blocking.)

While some of you dear readers might be upset at this change, I am thrilled since it will allow me to use a variety of colors and to have a unique design at the center. I am thinking about making the border striped but I am not sure that I will like the color changes. I will need to test knit them.

P.S. For those NYC based knitters, Shiri Mor is teaching a class focused on making the Botanica Medallion at Knitty City.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns-Editor-in-Chief

Memorial Day Means Montauk & Yarn

Montauk-The End

As beach-loving New Yorkers, My husband and I have ready access to numerous beaches including famous beaches within the city’s boundaries and those along the southern coast of Long Island and the eastern edge of New Jersey. Given our penchant for relatively empty beaches, an oxymoron in New York City in the summer, we like to take a day trip to the land’s end otherwise known as Montauk. Of course, the three hour plus train trip isn’t everyone’s idea of heaven but I bring knitting and my husband brings reading.

 

The beaches are wonderful with their sparse dunes and bent over wind bent trees. We were among the hardy souls who braved the windy weather on Memorial Day. We nestled just below the dunes to be sheltered from the wind which  was too much for our umbrella. We needed to wrap up with hoods to keep the flying sand out of our hair.  The sands buried our blanket so completely that if we hadn’t be laying on it, we would have never found it.

Dunes at Montauk Beach

Montauk Beach - Deserted due to wind

By mid-afternoon, we were ready for a visit to Purl By the Sea. Purl By the Sea is a wonderful local yarn store run by Nora Franzetti  who is also a real estate agent in Montauk. The store is packed with a great selection of yarns from the budget conscious Lamb’s Pride to small producers. There’s a large table in the middle of the store that her husband built. It always has a great of friendly women crowded around with lots of food, chocolate and laughter. My husband who was nestled in the spouse’s rocker said that he felt good listening to the laughter. 

Cotton Color Selection at Purl by the Sea

Yarns burst out to greet knitters at Purl by the Sea

Manos deep color hangs over the knitting table at Purl by the Sea

I bought some aqua colored Tahki cotton to make the Medallion top from the cover of Vogue Knitting Summer 2009. (Since I had 4 1/2 balls of white in my stash from a yarn swap, I only bought 5 balls. due to the fact that  the women tried to talk me into another color, I think that there will be more if I run out.) I plan to make it on my vacation in June.

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2009 Knitting Resolutions…Thinking about knitting and yarn

Since I got married earlier this year, my 2008 knitting resolutions were relatively succient and wedding related. I knitted the Essential Tank Top and started the Lily of the Valley Shawl (which now languishes as a UFO). As for the Silk Ribbed Corset, I decided to frog it after several attempts (and bought a beautiful Jenny Packham wedding dress.) That said, I knit the shawl for my wedding and a few other  tops for the honeymoon. I even have some wonderful pieces that I knit during our beach honeymoon in the Cook Islands. 

2008 was a year of serious stash enhancement mainly thanks to my husband who believes that I should never leave an important yarn establishment with regrets! The biggest contributions cme from the Joan Vass Sales (the knitwear designer decided to retire and sold her amazing yarn collection at $20.00 for box of 10 balls), the Maryland Sheep & Wool Fetival and the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival. Additionally, I visited some new wool purveyors during several trips with my friend Amanda including Tess Yarns in Portand and Loop and Rosie’s Yarns in Philadelphia.  The hubster and I made yarn stops at Chix With Stix, Webs and Purl By the Sea  as well. 

My 2009 knitting resolutions include the following:

1] Cables, cables and more cables. 2009 will be the year that I overcome my cable phobia. I have been avoiding cables since cabled projects caused me to abandon knitting twice in the past. (Of course, it’s possible that I may have moved onto other things without the cables.) I commit to knitting a sweater using cables most likely Elsebeth Lavold’s Hild.

 

2] Expand my lace knitting skills including a wonderful Estonia Lace Shawl for me. Having watched my mother wrap herself in the Triinu Shawl, I want one of my own. My knitting friend Georgia and I are starting a KAL for a pattern that I found online. For anyone interested in joining us, please drop me a line.

 

3] Finish my wedding related knitting. Instead of presents for those who helped with my wedding, I gave balls of wool. I still have one project in process and one to be started. Additionally, I plan to make a variation on a Jean Moss pattern for my husband as a belated wedding present.

 

4] Finally make the After Dark Robe and coordinated After Dark Nightie from Mason Dixon Knits in grey/white linen purchased at the Joan Vass sale.

 

5] Reduce my yarn stash by working with the wonderful fibers that I have acquired. Since I won’t be planning a wedding this year, I should be able to accomplish this. Of course, it will mean curtailing my stash enhancing activities!

 

6] Enhance my Ravelry profile and participation. Despite having been a member of Ravelry for over 1 ½ years, I mainly use it as a source of inspiration and better understanding of potential projects.

 

7] Visit new knitting establishments as well as the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival and the New York Sheep & Wool Festival (aka Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival). Of course, this will involve some level of stash enhancement.

 

I hope that by limiting my knitting resolutions I will be able to succeed at accomplishing them. Of course, keeping this blog up-to-date is the unstated goal as well.

Best wishes for 2009!

2008 FOs and UFOs

As 2008 draws to a close, I have been reviewing my knitting for the year and my growing list of UFOs. Due to our wedding, much of the first half of the year was focused on the big event. As a result, 2008 was not as productive as 2007 in terms of finished objects (aka FOs).

 

2008 FINISHED OBJECTS:

• Essential Tank Top in pink cashmere/silk bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Lace Style
• Woodstock Sweater in beige mercerized cotton bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Sculptured Knits by Jean Moss
• Wedding Shawl in grey Jaggerspun Zephyr bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Inspired by Victorian Lace Today
• Honeymoon Cami in white silk bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Knitty
• Honeymoon Vest in Noro Sakura in blacks/greys from The Point – Pattern loosely based on The Knitters’ Handy Book of Sweater Patterns
• Leaf Lace Kimono in Noro Lilly bought at The Point – Pattern from Interweave Magazine Summer 2008
• Baby Kimono in yellow cotton bought at Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Mason Dixon Knits
• Warshrag in Rowan pink and black cotton bought at The Point – Pattern from Mason Dixon Knits
• Souvenir Socks in Crystal Palace bamboo blend bought at Colorful Stitch
• Lace Ribbon Scarf in white silk bought at Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Knitty
• Lace Ribbon Scarf in pink/purple Koigu bought at Loop from Knitty
• Saffron Tunic in Beige Jaeger Sienna Cotton bought at Webs – Pattern from Sculptured Knits by Jean Moss
• Purple Chevron Sweater in purple Twinkle Toes from Tess Designs – Pattern inspired by Interweave Chevron Tank Top
• Sister’s Purple Vest in Kyoto bought at ArtFibers – Pattern loosely based on The Knitters’ Handy Book of Sweater Patterns
• Shetland Triangle in Berrocco NaturLin Green bought at Purl by the Sea – Pattern from Scarf Style
• Triinu Shawl in Grignasco Top Print Pinks/Purples bought at Smileys NYC Sale – Pattern from Lace Knitting in Estonia

 

2008 UFOs (Unfinished Objects – a graceful name for knitting that still languishes on a set of needles buried somewhere in the knitting basket)

• Lily of the Valley Shawl in white Jaggerspun Zephyr bought from Sarah’s Yarns – Pattern from Lace Style
• Silk Ribbed Corset in Jaeger 100% white silk bought from Webs(will probably be frogged and used for a wonderful shawl)
• Laced-Front Sweater in white/butter merino/silk blend from Tess Yarns bought at MDSW 2007 – Pattern from Knitted Lingerie
• Apres Surf Hoodie in magenta merino blend  bought at Joan Vass Sale May 2008- Pattern from Interweave Magazine Summer 2008 – Honeymoon project
• Sister’s Lace Ribbon Shawl in grey angora/silk bought from Knitty City – Pattern from Knitty
• Dad’s Classic Ribbed Pullover in Italian wool blend bought from Silk City Fibers – Pattern from Sally Melville’s The Purl Stitche
• Raha Scarf in blue alpaca bought at NYSW – Pattern from Lace Knitting of Estonia
• Dreaming in Orange – Noro Lilly Ribbon Lace Scarf
• Mom’s Black Lace Scarf in alpaca/silk laceweight bought from Knitty City – Pattern from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting

(Not documented is the Navy Mohair Lace Scarf which is still waiting to be finished. Since it is in mohair, it is easier to finish than frog!  It is still left on the needles from last year.)

 

While last year, I was inspired to finish my projects. I found that not having any knitting in the queue can be a challenge if you can’t decide what to make.  I hope to finish many of these UFOs in 2009 while adding new projects with different challenges.

 

My biggest piece of advice is not to knit any part of your wedding outfit. It’s waaay too much pressure and the planning is enough pressure on its own. That said, I was glad to have the wedding shawl and other honeymoon tops to wear.  Also, bringing knitting on my honeymoon allowed us to have souvenirs of a trip to a place that didn’t have lots of touristy trinkets.