Knitting News

Knits Landing: Yarntopia Opens In Manhattan Valley. Partially. | The New York Observer

Knits Landing: Yarntopia Opens In Manhattan Valley. Partially.
The New York Observer - November 24 2006

The storefront mannequins were only half-dressed and the lower level was unfinished. But the shelves were stocked with yarn and knittings of all colors and kinds -- as promised -- during the Friday grand opening of Yarntopia, located at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 108th Street.

Not to be confused with Yarntopia of Katy, Texas, Upper West Side designer Dona Flam's store has been in the works for nearly three years, now occupying the former Botanica La Luz & Gift Shop site.

"It took me forever to find space because rents are so expensive," said Flam, who claimed to have registered the stitcher's utopian trade name long before her Texan counterpart ever appeared online. [more]

Swedes hooked on knitting | Sweden.se

Swedes hooked on knitting
Sweden.se

Knitting needles and crocheting hooks, stuffed away in closets for years, are re-appearing in Swedish cafés and homes. And its not just grandmothers who are putting them to use – a couple of professional free skiers are twisting yarn into very modern headwear.

A few years back free skier Sverre Liliequist spent some time in the Rocky Mountains, USA. Traveling from one treacherous ski slope to another, he started passing the time with a needle and yarn.

For his active, outdoor lifestyle, he wanted warm headwear that also suited his personality. Finding nothing of interest in the shops, he picked up a crochet hook and started doing what his mother had tried to teach him over the past Christmas holidays. “I’m left-handed and my mom is right-handed so it took a little while to figure it out,” Liliequist says of his crocheting debut.

From pastime to business

His first attempt is still one of his favorites – a beret inspired by Jamaican Rastafarian hats. “It was a big hat – green, yellow and red,” he says. A couple of hats later and his friend and skiing buddy Kaj Zackrisson was also hooked, and they came up with shapes that were more suitable for skiing.

The new hats, or beanies as they are called, were fun and colorful and attracted attention on and off the slopes. Eventually, requests started coming in from other skiers and the pair began making more hats to give away as gifts or even pay the rent with. [more]

Hobby-knobbing | St. Petersburg Times

Hobby-knobbing
St. Petersburg Times - November 22 2006

Sometimes there are so many people looking to get their yarn on, they're knitting in the aisles at Needles and Knobs.

"It gets pretty crazy in here," said Audrey Dantowitz, who, with her husband, Eliot, opened the yarn and hardware store in September at 7213 Central Ave. Thursday nights are open-knit night and the couple often runs out of couch space and extra chairs.

The shop has about 1,000 different kinds of yarn, as well as dozens of varieties of upscale cabinet hardware. The odd mix makes perfect sense to the Dantowitzes, who say customers shopping for one are inadvertently attracted to the other. [more]

Knitting Factories | LA Weekly

Knitting Factories
LA Weekly - November 15 2006

We’ve all seen the pictures of Julia Roberts in those sweaters she knits herself. We know that Kate Moss darns during photo-shoot downtimes. No one needs to tell us that knitting is a hot hobby. What they don’t tell us is that knitting can get really monotonous. Every year, I get the brilliant notion to knit my holiday gifts. I get out the yarn and needles around Thanksgiving, then knit and purl until the whole thing becomes so boring that I throw another half-made something onto the pile and head out to buy mass-produced presents. If only I could wrap up my unfinished mitten with a little note that says, “It’s the thought that counts, right?”

Here’s where the whole knitting-is-hip trend has some benefits. Yarn shops now offer classes and group knitting sessions — “stitch ’n’ bitches” — with wine tastings, poetry readings... and men. And some shops, knowing all too well about the many half-finished scarves in the world, offer quick-gift workshops, so at the end of the evening, you’ll actually have completed something more than a thought that doesn’t count.

Here are a few good shops where when you knit, you don’t knit alone. [more]

Knitting up a storm in Jordan River | Sooke News Mirror

Knitting up a storm in Jordan River
Sooke News Mirror - November 15 2006

Doreen, Joan and Ruby love to knit. In fact, Joan McLeod would rather knit than garden or do housework. Joan McLeod, Doreen Poirier, (McLeod's sister) and Ruby Wade all live close to each other in Jordan River. They get together each year to sell their knitting at the All Sooke Arts and Crafts Fair, and they have been doing this for more years than they can remember.

Doreen said they probably spend more money on yarn than they ever make at the fair, but money isn't the point.

"We've always just gone for the fun. Our husbands tell us we are losing money," said Doreen laughing.

"We are cottage crafters," said Joan. "It's been a fun thing and as soon as it quits being fun we'll have to stop." [more]

Lion Brand Yarn Nabs Exclusive WebAward | MediaSyndicate

Lion Brand Yarn Nabs Exclusive WebAward [press release]
MediaSyndicate - November 15 2006

The Lion Brand Yarn Company (http://www.LionBrand.com) has received the coveted Consumer Goods Standard of Excellent for its own website from The Web Marketing Association as part of their tenth annual WebAward Competition for outstanding web site development. More than 2,300 web sites from 35 countries were adjudicated in 96 industry categories during this year's WebAward competition.

Entries were judged on top web site design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology.

“The web is a critical link between Lion Brand and its family of world-wide customers,” Ilana Rabinowitz of Lion Brand explains.

“We’re excited by this recognition from The Web Marketing Association since we work hard to provide meaningful tools, information and product availability to our customers in a way that makes it easy and inspiring for them to explore the creative universe of knit and crochet.” [more]

Knitting helps woman stitch together life during difficult time | Palm Beach Post

Knitting helps woman stitch together life during difficult time
Palm Beach Post - November 15 2006

Roni DiSilvestro actually enjoys waiting rooms.

She tunes out the ringing phones and the smell of old coffee - and is never so bored that she has to read months-old copies of magazines. Since she started knitting two years ago when her husband, Joe, was in the hospital, DiSilvestro has a creative outlet that keeps her distracted.

Not a fan of waiting back then, she knew she needed a distraction, something to help her keep it together for Joe's sake. So, her mom, who lives a few doors down from DiSilvestro in their Boynton Beach neighborhood, taught her how to knit.

Her new hobby helped her cope during long hours in the intensive care unit at her husband's side - and sparked several orders for her knitting creations from the nurses, who were drawn to her colorful scarves.

It also was the start of Insan-knit-y (www.insanknity.com), where she sells her creations, which include handbags, belts, caplets, tank tops and vests, made mostly of imported yarns. Prices range from $18 to $200. [more]

Cool online crafts market links buyers, sellers | The Ithaca Journal

Cool online crafts market links buyers, sellers
The Ithaca Journal/Gannett News Service - November 8 2006

Melissa and Zach Oat don't make wooden ducks or macrame owls.

Instead, the 20-something newlyweds are part of a generation of craft artists who approach handmade goods with a satirical sensibility that tends toward ironic T-shirts rather than tea cozies.

They've been selling their creations since June on a new Web marketplace called Etsy, devoted entirely to crafts.

“I wouldn't picture myself making anything for people to wear or anything like that,” said Zach Oat, of Suffern, N.Y., who studied fine arts in college. “Crafts was something that your grandmother did or that kids did in school or at camp.”

But the word “craft” has suddenly become cool, thanks to a revival of interest in knitting, beading and sewing among younger people who have an unconventional take on the traditional arts. [more]

Yarn Garden opens on West Pomfret | The Sentinel

Yarn Garden opens on West Pomfret
The Sentinel - November 3 2006

The Yarn Garden is the latest in a series of new shops to open their doors in the first block of West Pomfret Street in Carlisle.

“I’ve always envisioned having a little downtown shop,” says co-owner Jill Rice, “and when the opportunity came up, I thought it would be a unique thing....”

Rice, a teacher at North Dickinson Elementary, paired up with Hilary Albright, a former teacher’s aide at the school, to go into business after noticing the dearth of yarn shops in the area.

“I like the quaint little shop,” she says, “the downtown feel and people there to help you with your project. I was really looking for that locally.” [more]

Building with the Web | Capital Region Business Journal

Building with the Web
Capital Region Business Journal - November 2006

It may be surprising, but knitters are an Internet-savvy bunch.

Yes, we're talking about knitters, the ones that bind-off, cast-on, purr over patterns and ogle the latest yarns.

So for one cozy yarn and needle nook in Verona that also serves a strong cup of coffee, tapping into the world of the Web was probably one of the best business decisions they've ever made.

The Sow's Ear, a yarn store and cafe opened in 2000 by business partners and knitters Amy Armstrong and Melissa Brown, went online shortly after opening.

In the beginning, Armstrong said, the site was just a simple advertising tool, a spot in the ether that would tell customers their location and hours. But over time, the still-quaint site has evolved into something more -- a dynamic Web tool with class calendars, newsletters and a dash of e-commerce. [more]