Yarn Traveler

You’d think Matt would chill out and take some time off after the big re-programming of Knitmap, but that’s not the case. He’s been plugging away at several new feature, the latest just launched yesterday.

Yarn store owners can now sign up to manage their own location on Knitmap! This means that they’ll be able to directly update their store’s features, address, hours, and notes as often as they’d like. I envision that they can use the notes section to post about upcoming sales, classes, or new inventory. Hopefully updating often to keep the information fresh. They’ll also receive notification whenever a comment is left for their store.

I’m also really excited about the store-specific badge, but I always like anything with the little yarn guys on it!

I’d like to make a bunch of different ones that people can put on their blogs, just for fun, but I don’t want to distract Matt from the next feature he’s working on (it’s gonna be a good one!).

I’ve also caved from my personal anti-Twitter stance for the sake of Knitmap marketing. Knitmap is now on Twitter. Please follow us so that I don’t feel like such a dork! I promise you won’t ever have to read about what I’m eating, plan to eat, or just ate.

Filed under: KnitMap on May 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

Loop

When I first visited Loop (on our last trip two or three years ago?), I had been looking in knitting forums (most likely Knittyboard as it was pre-Ravelry days) for yarn stores as I planned our trip to London, and Loop was one of the most recommended stores at the time (and still is).

I’m very lucky in that I have a very indulgent significant other who is generally happy (or at least willing) to be led around to various yarn stores when we travel. Still, there was much to be seen all over London, so I was trying to narrow our yarn stops to just a few, choice stores. If I remember correctly, we focused on Liberty and Loop. We tried to find one other store that was reported as having a large stock of cashmere yarn, but it had gone out of business before we arrived. Anyway, I don’t remember being impressed that first visit. For some reason I only remember a number of multi-colored thick/thin yarns (which I dislike immensely).

This time around, Loop is the nearest store to my Islington flat, and I found myself in need of a circular needle in a size that I didn’t pack with me. Since Loop was close (relatively), and is known for their good prices on Addi needles (my favorite) I decided to give them another try. I’m so glad that I did.

The shop is small, but so are all the stores in London. They stock some standard go-to yarns like Debbie Bliss, Cascade (although that’s less common in the UK than in the US), and Rowan. They also have a very nice selection of what I would call luxury yarns such as Fleece Artist, Habu, and Blue Sky Alpacas. They are also the only store that I’ve found Colinette in stock.

Loop carries a large selection of Addi and Addi Lace needles, as well as Lantern Moon and others. There is a modest selection of buttons, but they are very nice, classic buttons. The store owner was friendly (so rare in London!) and was happy to help me find the needle size I was looking for. I left the store with my needles, a skein of orange alpaca (I couldn’t help it, it called to me), and a smile on my face.

If you’re looking to visit Loop on vacation, I recommend planning a stop on a Wednesday or a Saturday to take advantage of the Camden Passage Market on the way.

SUMMARY
Pros: Nice selection of quality yarns, warm friendly atmosphere, good selection of Addi needles.

Cons: A little bit out of the way for most casual tourists.

How to Get There: Angel Station. Turn right leaving the station in the direction of the Camden Passage Market, walk approximately 10 minutes up Upper Street or Essex Street to Cross Street.

Filed under: Yarn Store Reviews, London Yarn Stores on April 6th, 2009 | No Comments »

Knitmap!!!

Matt has been working so hard on the complete redevelopment of the site. It’s been an ongoing project for MONTHS! Up until just recently though it had all been in his hands, and other than my minor inputs here and there I didn’t have much to do with it, and it was very much an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing. Then, a few weeks ago, Matt let me play around with the beta site, and I got really excited. The new site makes everything so much easier for me to admin, and even lets me indulge in all of my OCD, perfectionist tendencies. Once I knew how cool it was going to be, I started bugging him all the time like a sweaty kid in the back seat of your parent’s station wagon in the middle of that long, hot family vacation. “Is it up yet? Is it up yet? Can we put it up yet? Can we stop for ice cream?”

He either snapped, or just put it up to keep me quiet; either way it’s live!

I’ve already spent the last four hours grooming the database and playing with all of my new toys. Go check it out!

Filed under: KnitMap on April 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

IKnit

This is the hardest review for me to write objectively, because I really, really wanted to love this store. I wanted this store to be my London LYS, my yarn home away from home.

Planning our move to London, I did some research online and I found IKnit’s blog and later their Ravelry group, which I subscribed to immediately. On paper (or screen) they sounded perfect; they have a license to sell beer and wine in the store, they have two weekly knit nights, they host a monthly Sunday knit roast at a local pub, they have a loyal and rabid enthusiastic group of fans, and they seem to be the driving forces behind every knit-community event in the greater London area. However, from the very first visit (and I have gone back multiple times, thinking that my first impressions were wrong, or that it would grow on me) I just didn’t love it. I didn’t feel comfortable in the store, no one was engaging, and my attempts to start conversation with the store owners/workers were met with apathetic replies at best.

I do feel that my experiences must be out of the norm for the store to have such a vocal online fan base, and I admit that I may have let my expectations run a little unchecked.  My Portland LYS, Twisted (and nearly all of the Portland stores in general), has set such a high standard for me.

But, that shouldn’t stop you from checking this store out while you’re on vacation. They have the best selection of British yarns (either from British wools, and/or spun or dyed in Great Britain) that I’ve found in London so far. This was where I found the Christmas yarn that I sent home to my knitting friends. They also have a large book selection, and the previously mentioned beer and wine. If you stick around for a knit night, come early as space is limited and they fill up quickly.

The store is near the Waterloo Station and the South Bank. It would make an easy stop if you’re in the area, checking out the Tate or the London Eye.

SUMMARY
Pros: Good selection of interesting yarns, especially British yarns; beer and wine available.

Cons: They don’t quite live up to all of the online hype, it can get overcrowded during knit nights (don’t expect to be able to shop or ask many questions during that time).

How to Get There: Waterloo Station. It’s very easy to get turned around inside the station and end up at the wrong exit. The easiest way is to take Exit 1 (by Whistlestop) at the south end of the station. Turn right and cross the road at the crossing, then take the steps down, left and straight ahead. Lower Marsh is the first street on the right.

Filed under: London Yarn Stores on March 27th, 2009 | No Comments »

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m a pretty monogamous knitter. I try to keep myself down to just one project on the needles at a time. It’s the best way that I’ve found to keep me focused on getting everything finished. Usually, when I hit that middle area and boredom sets in, I motivate myself by looking for new patterns to start as soon as I finish what I’m working on. The more excited I am about the new project, the more likely I am to keep slogging along on the old one.

Lately though, I’ve been motoring though projects (albeit small projects). It’s amazing how much more time you have to knit when you give up stupid things like day jobs! This means that I hardly have time to get bored of one project before I’m finished and starting another. So far, I’ve kept up pretty well and haven’t been without something to cast on as soon as I’ve cast off, but today I hit the wall.

The last couple of weeks have been about my new Monkey socks (please excuse the awful photo; it was dark last night, and too cloudy today to get a decent photo).

The yarn is 100% Blue Faced Leicester from Easy Knits in the Pebble Splash colorway. This was an impulse purchase from Socktopus. I went in on a horrible, gray, rainy afternoon with the intention of just getting a circular needle (they were out) and walked out with this instead. It’s totally outside my usual color range since I never wear yellow and only rarely wear blue. I think the weather finally got to me and I just had to have something that gave me hope for spring.

I was even more surprised to find myself casting on immediately for a pair of Monkey socks. I’d seen the pattern make the rounds on Ravelry and knit groups by the dozens, so I perversely refused to make a pair.  But, there was just something about the colorway that said monkey to me, and who am I to ignore talking yarn? Now that they’re done, I can totally see that the combination doesn’t do the yarn or the pattern justice and looks a little like hot mess, but I don’t really care. I finished these bad boys in three weeks (with a week off for our Ireland trip, no less), and compared to the 5 months it took me to finish the last pair of socks I made, I’m calling it a win!

There was even enough left over to whip up a wee pair of socks for an impending arrival. These only took me two (really) bad movies to finish (Airplane II and The Benchwarmers; thanks to basic, no-cable, TV).

So, that leaves me with nothing to knit. I only have a very small stash here with me in London; 2 skeins of Drops Alpaca in red, a skein of Socks that Rock lightweight in Motley Hue, a skein of Malabrigo sock in alcaucil, and a skein of Hazel Knits in Olympic Rainforest. I’m feeling a little burnt out on socks at the moment, but since almost all of the yarn that I have at hand is sock yarn, that seems to be the easy answer.

I thought about making a lacy hat or beret out of the alpaca since my hair ends up all over the place every time the wind blows (and it blows a lot around here), but I can’t seem to find a pattern that I like. Besides, I got a glimpse of Ruth’s Entangled Stitches (Ravelry link) gloves at knit night last Thursday, and I can’t seem to get them out of my head. I think they would be fantastic in red, but just not what I want to knit right now.

My other option is to finally stop dorking around and start the fingerless gloves that I promised Matt ages ago. These have a long and whiney history. First, I bought two skeins of Koigu in San Fransico (holy cow, two years ago!?) with the intention of making him socks. But, the Koigu didn’t want to be socks, it wanted to be fingerless gloves. Due to laziness/day job/bad-girlfriendness they still haven’t been made. In the craziness leading up to the London move, the Koigu didn’t make it into the ‘to take’ pile, and now sits in my basement 5,000 miles away. Then, Matt asked for the Bubble Bobble fingerless gloves and I embarked on a colorwork adventure (documented here and here). One day I will post my final MegaMan swatch, but the short story is that I really didn’t like the yarn. I knew that I would put in all of the work for the gloves and the colorwork and still be dissapointed. Matt would love them anyway, but I would always wish I had used better yarn. Life is too short for yarn regrets, so I ditched that plan (temporarily, until I can get back within KnitPicks shipping range). That leaves me with the Malabrigo sock yarn that I have on hand, that I did buy with him in mind. My only hesitation is that I am planing on using the Knucks pattern, and I am pretty sure that the Malabrigo is a finer yarn than the recommended Rowan yarns. I just don’t feel like fiddling with patterns at the moment.

So, this is my current angst (I know, I know, it could be so much worse). I should just swatch and start the knucks, but I can’t help wanting some flashy new pattern to sweep me off my feet. Isn’t the spring Knitty due out soon?

Filed under: Finished Items on March 10th, 2009 | No Comments »

All the Fun of the Fair
This little store is a pain in the ass to find. You’ll need directions from the site, an A to Z guide, and persistence. You will not just stumble upon this store, you will need to seek it out.

They have a tiny yarn selection; mostly baby yarn and acrylic with the odd ball of novelty yarn. The photos on their site exaggerate their stock. What they do have is a lot of quirky buttons and pre-knitted or crocheted toys. As I knitter I can appreciate a knitted camera or a knitted cake, but I would rather buy the pattern and make one myself. Unfortunately, they don’t sell the patterns, just the toys. I did take a fancy to some knit-covered tape measures.

As a tourist, you’ll have to decide if this is worth your time or not. If you’re looking for Big Ben buttons to finish your sweater, then this is your place. This may also be a good shop to visit if you’re traveling with someone who doesn’t knit. They’ll be entertained with the toys while you can get a little bit of yarn squishing in.

This would also be a good store to visit if you’re traveling with teenagers. The nearby streets (Carnaby Street in particular) are prime big name retail (Puma, Diesel, Gap, etc.). Give the kiddies some cash and tell them to meet you in the courtyard at Kingly Court in an hour. After your stop at All the Fun of the Fair, try some tea and quiet at Camilla’s World Teas before throwing yourself back into the din of central London.

This store is walking distance from John Lewis and Liberty if you want to try to combine all of these into one big shopping trip. Just be warned that the Oxford/Regent/Carnaby Street areas are very busy on the weekends, and just navigating the throngs of people can be exhausting. I suggest making the trip mid-week, during the day.

SUMMARY
Pros: Lots of unique buttons and knitterly gifts.

Cons: Small yarn selection, hard to find location.

How to Get There: In Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street; look up for the arrow sign directing you down the alley (Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus Stations).

Filed under: Yarn Store Reviews, London Yarn Stores on March 4th, 2009 | No Comments »

Liberty
Liberty is also a department store, my all time favorite in fact, but it’s not a chain of stores. It’s a department store in the Harrods or Fortnum & Mason sense. Liberty has style! They also have a haberdashery department, including the fabulous Liberty fabrics made just for them. They’re definitely worth a look if you sew or quilt. The yarn selection is comparable to John Lewis, mostly Rowan and Debbie Bliss; certainly nothing to write home about. However, the store itself is; with it’s Tudor style exterior, old-world luxury interior, and classic elegance.

I would suggest browsing the main floor gifts (I love the displays of leather gloves and silk scarves), then head up to haberdashery to make a few souvenir purchases in the yarn and fabric departments, and then splurge on lunch or tea in one of the cafes while pretending you’re one of the more privileged classes. It feels a bit like a grown up tea party.

SUMMARY
Pros: Interesting and elegant building in the prime shopping area of central London, large selection of Rowan yarns, other uniquely London gifts are available.

Cons: While the yarn prices are comparable, everything else can be a little expensive.

How to Get There: On Great Marlborough Street, just off Regent Street (Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus Stations)

Filed under: Yarn Store Reviews, London Yarn Stores on March 1st, 2009 | No Comments »

I’ve wavered and waffled (mmm…waffles) about writing this series of reviews. On one hand, I hear my mother’s voice in the back of my head, “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” On the other, what if I can help steer a traveling visitor in the right direction; to help manage their expectations; or to save them valuable vacation time? That would be worthwhile right?

For that purpose, I’ve decided to go ahead with my reviews. I’ve included my experiences when they were notable, but I have tried to provide the straight dope, so to speak, for the visiting tourist. Please note that I do not expect you to subscribe wholeheartedly to my opinions. That’s all they are, my opinions. Everyone’s experiences vary, grain of salt, and all that.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive post, reviewing EVERY yarn store in London. These are just the stores that I have visited, although I think it covers all of the big ones that are most commonly recommended (based on my experience in the London forums on Ravelry and Knittyboard).

So, on that note, here we go!

John Lewis
John Lewis is a chain of department stores throughout the UK. It is virtually indistinguishable from Sears or Macy’s or any other large department store in the US, with the exception that they usually have a haberdashery department that houses the knitting/sewing/craft section. I haven’t been to all of the John Lewis’ (mostly Oxford Street and Brent Cross), but the selection appears pretty uniform. I would say that Rowan yarns make up about half of their stock, with the other half being Sidar, Debbie Bliss, and Noro. This is where you go to buy your go-to, every day yarns while you’re picking up a pair of tights and a new toaster.

As a tourist, I would say this is a miss unless you have unlimited time or there’s a fantastic sale (go early and expect to fight for the good stuff). If you can’t miss the novelty of yarn in a department store, then I recommend a stop at Liberty (see Part 2 for the full review).

SUMMARY
Pros: Lots of locations in London and throughout the UK, good stock of go-to yarns for everyday projects.

Cons: Staff may not be as knowledgeable or helpful as those found in a local yarn store, lacks atmosphere, almost entirely big-name commercial yarn (no local or small batch yarns).

How to Get There: Check the website for locations and directions. If staying in central London, check out the Oxford Street location (Oxford Circus Station).

Filed under: Yarn Store Reviews, London Yarn Stores on February 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »

Admittedly as a child of the 80’s, reading that title immediately brings to mind the Swatch commercials (I wanted one so bad, and you know it HAD to have the Swatch guard!). However, I meant it more in the newscaster “Storm Watch 2009!” voice, but it works either way. I suspect that if you have to explain your title, it’s not a good one, but I’m still not changing it.

In preparation to swatch I read up on fair isle, intarsia, and slip stitch knitting. Eventually, my head started to spin and I felt paralyzing indecision start to set in. You know that feeling? I often get it when I’m looking for a new project. I look at so many patterns and so many new projects that I become unable to actually start anything because there are too many to choose from (Ravelry is a tool to be used for good, not evil). I started to feel that way with the mitts, and I knew that I had to start knitting now or I’d just put the yarn away and the project would languish for days/weeks/months (I’m a really good procrastinator!).

I’ve already explained that this project was wrought with challenges, so the only thing to do is to add more, right? I decided that this would not be just any swatch, but I would practice the colorwork while I work out gauge as well. Also, not just any ol’ colorwork would do for practice either. I want Mega Man. If I’m going to be making a video game themed project, it makes sense that my swatch should also have a game character right? Mega Man is dark and light blue, and I had dark and light blue! Perfect right?

Off I went, confident that someone somewhere deep in the internets had a chart of Mega Man that would work. No dice. I tried making one using KnitPro, but it ended up turning his four easy colors into a whole range of grey scales. F*ck that noise. I have Photoshop and I’m not afraid to use it!

A little fiddling (okay, a lot of fiddling plus some intervention and help from Matt) and I have a Mega man chart! If you click on that puppy for the full size file, you too can have a Mega Man chart for your knitting, cross stitch, or crocheting pleasure.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the Mega Man character. I have created this chart for my own personal use and not for any political or monitory gain. If you use this chart, it is also for your own personal use only. You may not sell it, sell items made from it, or any of the usual copyright stuff. If you bring the wrath of Nintendo or Capcom down on me, then I’m taking you down too!

On to the knitting! I have my yarn, I have my chart, I have a head full of intarsia/fair isle knitting information; I’m ready to roll! Three attempts and an evening’s worth of fiddly knitting, this is what I have to show for it…
Frankly, I think it looks like a load of hot mess, but trust me when I say it is an improvement on the other two tries. Tension is not my friend. But I do not despair, because I have a new plan!

Obviously my problem is trying to knit my swatch flat when the mittens will be knit in the round. Therefore this swatch is null and void, and must be frogged forthwith! My next swatch will be perfect, and all of my tension issues will be resolved because I will knit it in the round (ah, delusion, welcome back old friend!).

At what point does a challenge stop being a challenge, and becomes a vendetta? I think I’m nearly there.

You know, I’ve heard that some knitters actually just grab a ball of yarn and a set of needles and then they just SIT DOWN AND START KNITTING! Can you believe it? Suckers! They miss out on all of the fun.

Filed under: Works in Progress on February 5th, 2009 | No Comments »

I check out the comics at Kawaii Not every now and then, and I liked this one. Especially since I have mittens on the mind.

Filed under: Uncategorized on February 4th, 2009 | No Comments »