I definitely caught up on my knitting over the weekend. It felt good to get back to the needles. Saturday afternoon, Jackie and I hit the knitting stores of the Upper East Side. We hit Knitting 321, Woolgathering and the Lion and the Lamb. Neither of us had been to any of these shops before. It was rather enlightening to see that the same size Addi Turbo Circular Needles (US #4 - 20 inches) cost $15.00, $10.50 and $13.50 in these shops, repectively. It's amazing how going up to the East side can bring prices up substantially.
Here's a little run down on my impression of these shops. Knitting 321 is a relatively new shop. It is small with a large table taking up much of the front of the shop. The woman that runs the store is very friendly and helpful. Jackie was looking for a large number of balls of yarn for an afghan project for her mother. This woman started digging through all of her inventory to see if there was enough of the brand and color Jackie liked. Most of the yarns were very tactile and lush. You won't find a skein of Red Heart within a mile of this place.
The Woolgathering was a bit of a disappointment for me. I had heard good things about this shop. The woman that was "helping" everyone was terse and abrupt unnecessarily. There were only about 5 people in the store, mostly browsing, and she was trying to herd us out. There was a wider selection of yarns here. More acrylic as well as some boutique brands. I don't know if I would go out of my way to go back there.
The Lion and the Lamb was a little more broad in the items available. This is a great place for needlepoint supplies. Back in the yarn alcove, there was another snippy woman "helping" us. Heaven forbid should I notice that the hot pink Jaeger yarn was so far from the palette of colors of the other balls of that brand and think it's funny. Obviously, yarn is very serious.
I ended up getting some mint green seed beads at the Lion and the Lamb for a Barbie tunic and pashmina combination that I had been working on. After this weekend, it is finished, including the beading. I also added a few inches on my alpaca scarf, a pair of Fruity Booties in cornflower blue, finished half of Dad's Holiday gift and started the second half. There, Betsy, have I regained my status of knitting fiend.
Beyond all of that, I spent some quality time with Jackie and Ty, her new dog. We even met his cousin in the park. That's right, there is another giant, mutant Bichon in the city. They were very happy to meet each other. Of course, Ty is very happy to meet most dogs and people.
Here's a little run down on my impression of these shops. Knitting 321 is a relatively new shop. It is small with a large table taking up much of the front of the shop. The woman that runs the store is very friendly and helpful. Jackie was looking for a large number of balls of yarn for an afghan project for her mother. This woman started digging through all of her inventory to see if there was enough of the brand and color Jackie liked. Most of the yarns were very tactile and lush. You won't find a skein of Red Heart within a mile of this place.
The Woolgathering was a bit of a disappointment for me. I had heard good things about this shop. The woman that was "helping" everyone was terse and abrupt unnecessarily. There were only about 5 people in the store, mostly browsing, and she was trying to herd us out. There was a wider selection of yarns here. More acrylic as well as some boutique brands. I don't know if I would go out of my way to go back there.
The Lion and the Lamb was a little more broad in the items available. This is a great place for needlepoint supplies. Back in the yarn alcove, there was another snippy woman "helping" us. Heaven forbid should I notice that the hot pink Jaeger yarn was so far from the palette of colors of the other balls of that brand and think it's funny. Obviously, yarn is very serious.
I ended up getting some mint green seed beads at the Lion and the Lamb for a Barbie tunic and pashmina combination that I had been working on. After this weekend, it is finished, including the beading. I also added a few inches on my alpaca scarf, a pair of Fruity Booties in cornflower blue, finished half of Dad's Holiday gift and started the second half. There, Betsy, have I regained my status of knitting fiend.
Beyond all of that, I spent some quality time with Jackie and Ty, her new dog. We even met his cousin in the park. That's right, there is another giant, mutant Bichon in the city. They were very happy to meet each other. Of course, Ty is very happy to meet most dogs and people.
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