Entries tagged as ‘Yarn Store’
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
Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief
Categories: Black Fountain Pen Shawl · Botanica Medallion Vest · Hemlock Ring Blankie · Knitting · Miscellaneous Knitting · Stash Enhancement · Yarn Stores
Tagged: Cotton, Knitted, Montauk, Nora Franzetti, Purl By the Sea, Tahki, Yarn Store, Yarns
Creative Inspiration: Afghans Samples at Knitty City
Before the pain of The Point’s closing could sink in, I dropped by Knitty City to hear Betty talk about her afghan. One thing that Knitty City does a wonderful job is displaying samples of various knitting projects as well as colorful swatches to entice you to use the fibers.
I arrived just in time to see Betty proudly displaying the beautiful piece which now covers her bed. Being late to the presentation, I didn’t get the full details about the original of the project.
While Betty had started with a rough idea of the color scheme, she modified it on the fly and added various squares as she wanted to try new things. There are two squares, one with a B for Betty and one with a D for Dick, her husband. The square that caught my attention was the one with the state of New York. Betty got the graph of the state from a playbill! Since Betty doesn’t like intarsia, the color work is embroidered not knit.
Betty explaining afghan squares in detail at Knitty City
Betty's show & tell afghan at Knitty City
To create a sense of unity, Betty framed each square with a mitered garter stitch border. Further, to create a more sturdy blanket and reduce wear and tear on the seams, she did a three needle bind-off so that it created an artistic border ridge on the good side.
While I find the idea of knitting an afghan daunting and likely to cause me to stop knitting, I think that this approach of creating multiple areas where the knitter can test new formats and/or have a small area to experiment is a great idea. I’ve been keeping my swatches of various sizes and colors in hopes of one day seaming them together.
BTW-There’s a great write up in the current issue of Vogue Knitting about Knitty City.
Categories: Knitting · Yarn Events · Yarn Stores
Tagged: 10024, Afghan, Knitty City, New York City, Vogue Knitting, Yarn Store
The Point NYC's Last Day
It’s amazing how fast The Point NYC went from bustling knitting cafe bursting with color to a shell of a store with white painted bricks. Less than a week earlier, The Point NYC was filled with new fibers such as corn and sugar cane and knitting supplies that arrived daily. Knitters and other fiber enthusiasts occupied every chair in the cafe and worked fueled by caffeine and fiber fumes.
On Wednesday evening, April 29th, the store was the location of celebration among those who considered it a quiet haven from the daily routine of their lives. It was a place where people came together and developed friendships bound together by their love of fiber.
Despite the bittersweet feelings associated with The Point’s closing, Helane, the owner, made it a celebration with wine and fresh baked cookies. The feeling of love for this unusual institution that had been nestled in New York City’s West Village filled the white space that once held wire baskets of yarn bursting with color.
The Going Out of Business Sale announced on Sunday evening was incredibly effective (based on my knitter’s perspective). Much of the inventory was picked over on Monday.
Eat, Knit and Be Happy: The Point NYC
The Carols & friend celebrating at The Point NYC
Megan K serves wine, not wool at The Point NYC
Knitted Yarns Editor Heidi in Swallowtail Shawl and Alyssa, The Point NYC manager
Knitters celebrating at The Point NYC
Doug showing off his latest WIP at The Point
Knitwear Designer & regular at The Point - Connie Chang Chinchio
Knitted Yarns Editor and The Point Staff
Yarnless Walls at The Point NYC
Lone Knitted Sweater hangs on The Point NYC's empty racks
Former Point Manager Rebecca
Wherever we wind up knitting, The Point NYC will always hold a special place in our hearts for my knitting friends and me. Thank you so much for providing this fiber haven for us.
Farewell to The Point NYC for the last time
While The Point NYC may be gone, our memories, friendships and knitting items are still tangible reminders of the good times we had.
Categories: Knitting · Yarn Events · Yarn Stores
Tagged: Closing, Connie Chang Chincchio, NYC, The Point, West Village, WIP, Yarn, Yarn Store
The Point NYC Yarn Store
It is with great sadness that I write this post. The Point NYC on Bedford Street in New York City’s West Village is closing. The news was announced by Helene the owner on Sunday evening at their sale. It was followed by an email outlining their “Going Out of Business” sale Sunday evening. Everything in the store is 30% off.
The Point NYC was a bright spot among the New York City yarn stores. It was a small shop with baskets of yarn hanging off of the walls with a cafe and free wifi. It was a mecca for knitters as well as locals to stop have a snack in a colorful, creative environment.
Knitted Yarns Editor at The Point
Knitted Hats at The Point NYC
From a yarn perspective, The Point NYC tended to have a more upscale selection of brands with a fondness for smaller producers such as Brooklyn Handspun. As a knitter, its strength was its warm, inviting environment. It was filled with tables where groups of knitters could gather on a regular basis or just drop in to look and meet new fellow knitters. This open knitting environment will be missed.
While I have always had a project with an interesting yarn from The Point NYC on at least one set of needles, looking back, it’s not the knitting that I remember but rather the friends that I spent hours knitting with. Over the years, I’ve met a group of fellow knitters at The Point NYC who I might never have met otherwise. We have become friends and I looked forward to seeing them each week. I am filled with tears as I write this.
Most special for me was the fact that I announced my engagement at The Point NYC with a bottle of champagne after the store closed in September 2007.
Engagement announcement at The Point NYC
Heidi and the Two Carols at The Point NYC
The Point Engagement Celebration September 2007
The Point NYC will always have a place in my heart. It was a very special environment where there was always a smiling face. I will truly miss my regular visits and the welcoming staff. Goodbye!
Categories: Knitting · Yarn Stores
Tagged: Closing, LYS, NYC, The Point, West Village, Yarn Sale, Yarn Store
When it comes to Bs and knitting, there are lots of choices. Living in a New York City apartment where space is at a premium (even with a stash-friendly husband), balls of yarn, baskets of yarn and bags of yarn rule. They are more of an organizing principle which is critical space is limited and stash enhancement just happens.
B is for Balls of Yarn. I have learned over time that it’s important to keep the last remanent ball of yarn for any completed garment in case repairs or changes are needed. It can be a snag or total restructuring when the garment grows in unanticipated ways. I keep these colorful balls in an old glass jar/vase which doubles as a decorative piece next to our non-functional fireplace. Old swatches are also kept here since they can be unraveled in case of emergency.
Balls of Yarn stored in large glass jar as decoration
B is for Baskets of Yarn. Baskets are another great way to store yarn in a decorative manner. Since they are out in the open, I keep some of my non-wool cones in baskets. I find that the serving baskets from catered events can be reused to create useful ways to store excess stash. (Please note that there wasn’t room to show the indoor tree.)
Baskets of Yarn-Another way to decorate with yarn!
B is for Bags of Yarn. One lesson that I learned from the Carols with whom I knit that it is important to have nice places to store your knitting projects. They were upset with me for carrying my projects in plastic bags from the grocery store. (Mind you, I did use the green twistees to allow the yarn to be pulled from the balls.) Enter the project bags and supply bags. Here is an assortment of bags that I use.
One of my favorites is the metric tape covered bag where I keep my knitting tools such as tape measure, scissors, crochet hooks, stitch markers and needles. It’s hard to believe that I got it at Filene’s Basement!
Metric Ruled Tape Measure Knitting Tool Bag
I am attached to the bags given to me by stores that I have visited when I have been out of town. Among my favorites are the off white bag from Loopy Yarns in Chicago’s Loop where I store one of my current projects and Loop’s the light blue bag from Philadelphia where I store my WIPs near the couch.
Loopy Yarns bag - A Chicago Yarn Store Souvenir!
Loop's Blue Shopping Bag - A Philadelphia Yarn Store Souvenir!
Then there are the cloth bags that my friend Vere Halstead made for me. I was lucky to get the yellow and orange island print. Vere works in the design department of CUNY and hopefully will set up an Etsy store to sell more of these great bags. I keep my special projects here!
Vere Halstead's Knitting Bags - Where I keep my special lace projects!
Lastly are the big, extra thick plastic storage bags where I keep my unwound stash which aren’t worthy of a photograph since they’re stored at the bottom of my closet.
How do you store your stash? Is it beautifully displayed or hidden from view?
Written by Editor-in-Chief – Knitted Yarns
Categories: Knitting · Ravelry · Stash Enhancement
Tagged: ABC Along, Bag, Basket, Chicago, Filene's Basement, Loop, Loopy Yarns, Philadelphia, Storage, Yarn, Yarn Store
