Of Yarn and Kimonos

July 20, 2013May 10, 2016 | Verónica

It was almost time for my 60-day visa to expire and I had to leave China to renew it. So off we went to Tokyo. My first priority was yarn. I googled yarn stores in Tokyo and several blogs had recommendations. I made my list and went in search of yarn.

My first attempt was a fail. We took a long circuitous route in search of Mother Earth supposedly located at 3-3-39 Minamiazabu Minato-ku. We strolled through some very interesting neighborhoods, but no Mother Earth.

The second attempt was also a fail. I was in search of Avril, which is known as Habu Textiles in the USA. From examining a Tokyo Metro map, the stop was somewhat off the grid. Given that I had some lovely yarn from Habu Textiles in my stash already, I decided to forego Avril.

Attempt #3 was a home run. We took the Tokyo Metro from the Roppongi Station to the Shinjuku Station. According to Wikipedia, “the station was used by an average of 3.64 million people per day in 2007, making it … the world’s busiest transport hub.” I believe it.

Finding the yarn store required navigating the streets with our smart phone map. It isn’t too far from the station, but it is tucked away on a busy pedestrian street. Okadaya is an arts and crafts store. Different floors house sewing supplies, buttons, ribbons, wigs, and yarn. Photos are not allowed but just imagine yarn nirvana. There was Noro, of course, but I selected Japanese brands that I had not seen in the United States.

First I found Sonomono in this natural color. Each ball is 40 grams, 64 meters of 40% Alpaca, 30% Wool and 30% Linen.

After my husband checked on me to make sure I had not suffocated in a crate of yarn (I guess I was up there a long time), I picked up two of these cotton cupcakes by Nicotto. Each cupcake is 30 grams, 50 meters of 100% Cotton.

We also took some time to visit a couple of museums. The Tokyo National Museum was a highlight with its display of beautiful kimonos from the Edo Period (17c-19c). The garments were in glass display cases so the photos may have reflections.

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Finding Yarn in Beijing

May 26, 2013May 10, 2016 | Verónica

Work has pretty much consumed my life. I haven’t had time to knit, read or blog. There have been some very exciting developments though. I am at the starting point of a three-month stint in Beijing. The husband and the boys have been very supportive but I miss them, and it’s only been a week! The plan is for them to visit in mid-June. I hope to know my way around better by then.

On my first weekend here, I ventured over to the Silk Market. The old market has been modernized with each vendor occupying a glass-walled store inside the building. There are aisles and aisles of leather bags, shoes, watches, silk scarves, electronics, pearls, costume jewelry, and the regular assortment of Chinese bric-a-brac. The most important part of the Silk Market experience is the haggling. No matter how high the starting price of an item, go as low as you can and be firm. They won’t sell it to you if they’re not making money off of it.

I have really enjoyed the food. I found a great dumpling restaurant nearby called Dintaifung. You can watch the chefs shaping the dough through a window. Each dumpling is filled with your choice of pork, shrimp, or vegetables and each holds a pocket of delicious broth inside.

I’ve also become fond of these sautéed bitter greens and bamboo shoots.

My next priority was scoping out yarn stores. In my search for yarn, I decided to brave the subway system. I had seen YouTube videos of the Beijing subway rush hour – mobs of people squeezing into the cars. Thankfully it was Sunday, and negotiating the subway system turned out to be fairly straightforward.

I exited the subway at the Dengshikou exit. Initially I walked the wrong way but a kind soul pointed me in the right direction. The Wansha Cashmere store is located off of Dongdan North Street, about three blocks north of Jinbao Street. The address is 14-2 Dengshikou Street. The store isn’t very large and you sort of have to be looking for it. Inside, it was stocked floor to ceiling with yarn. They carry wool, cashmere, mohair, cotton, camel and novelty yarns.

The women were very helpful and let me browse to my heart’s content and even snap a few photos.

Here are my purchases. First, a large hank of cotton yarn. I really liked the green speckled look. It sort of reminds me of a robin’s egg except in green. The price was determined by weighing the yarn on a scale.

I also picked up these bright balls of wool yarn. Some are 50 gram and some are 100 gram balls.

This set of knitting needles cost me 10 yuan or about $1.50 US.

All in all, it was a good first weekend in Beijing. Hopefully I’ll find time to do some knitting soon.

Among the Azaleas

March 22, 2013April 18, 2014 | Verónica

Believe it or not, Spring is almost here. Every March, the Azalea Trail takes Houstonians on a tour of homes whose gardens overflow with pink and white azaleas. Luckily, the former owners of our home planted a few azalea bushes in the backyard.

The sunny weather prompted the husband and I to make a quick trip to Austin, just the two of us. You know it’s love because our first stop was Hill Country Weavers, my favorite Austin yarn shop. The place had expanded since I was last there with an additional two rooms overflowing with yarn. I picked up these lovelies – 300 meters each of 67% silk, 23% kid mohair, 10% nylon yarn by Hand Maiden. It is hand dyed in Canada.

Here’s a glimpse of it catching some rays among the azaleas.

I honed in on this pattern from Malabrigo Book 3. The pattern calls for Malabrigo sock yarn with a gauge of 24 stitches over 4 inches. The gauge for the Hand Maiden yarn is 20 stitches over 4 inches. This should result in a larger shawl which is what I would like. I’ll definitely knit a gauge swatch before casting on.

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Here is one more view of those colorful azaleas. And there are still buds waiting to bloom.

My very own Scandinavian yarn crawl

January 10, 2013May 10, 2016 | Verónica

Before our trip to Copenhagen, I dreamt of yarn stores on every corner. I compiled a list of stores to visit determined to find yarn that was “Made in Denmark.” Here is a recap of my very own Scandinavian yarn crawl.

Ulstedet, Vendersgade 3: The website for this yarn store beckoned with knit and crochet shawl kits, yarn and notions. When we showed up at the address, it simply wasn’t there. Strike 1.

Strikkeboden, Krystalgade 16: We found this yarn store on a pretty corner very close to the Round Tower, a 17th century astronomical observatory. It’s quite tiny but full of yarn in cubbies on the wall, in baskets and in window displays. Unfortunately, I was greeted by a very surly woman who seemed disturbed that a customer would actually enter the store. She practically barked, “can I help you.” I scanned the store, turned around and left. Strike 2.

Sommerfuglen, Vandkunsten 3: Sommerfuglen is located close to city hall and is bursting with yarn from floor to ceiling. It was a busy morning with many customers coming and going. The sales ladies were busy but very helpful. One sales lady explained that most of the fibers are imported since Denmark does not itself have many fiber-producing animals but some yarns are either spun or dyed or both in Denmark. I picked up this nice wool/silk blend. I thought it fitting to take a photo of it in Denmark. Home run!

Bette Design, Klosterstræde 20: I read about this yarn store on several blogs and set out to find it. It was very close to the Church of the Holy Spirit off Strøget, a wide pedestrian shopping street. We found the location, it even had a pretty sign hanging over the entrance, but the store was empty. By the ladder and bare walls, it may have been unoccupied recently. Strike 3.

Our next yarn forage took us to Malmö, Sweden. We rode a train over the 10 mile Øresund bridge connecting Copenhagen to Sweden’s third largest city.

Garn David Hall, Jörgen Ankersgatan 12: We found this store tucked away on a side street near the center of Malmö. Alas, it was closed. All I could do was stare at the fluffy yarn through the window. Strike 1.

Princess Garn, Lundbergsgatan 4: We walked a long way in search of Princess Yarn but it was not to be. We found the address but there was no yarn and no store. Strike 2.

Irmas Hus, Kalendegatan 21: Third time’s the charm. Irmas Hus is not a yarn store. It seems that it used to be and also carried fine fabrics. They had a wall full of little boxes filled with buttons. They now specialize in clothes but in the middle of a sale table, sitting in a couple of bins, I spotted yarn. These giant hanks are hand-dyed by a woman who lives outside of Malmö. And to make it even sweeter, the sale was a two for one! I picked up these two hanks of hand-dyed merino wool. Another home run!

Here’s a street band in Malmö celebrating my yarn find.

Do you know of any Scandinavian yarn stores we should have tried?

Ready for the Cold

December 19, 2012April 18, 2014 | Verónica

My local yarn store, Knitting in the Loop, had the audacity to hold a 50% off pre-inventory sale. 50% OFF! What’s a knitter to do?!

Buy yarn, of course.

This is Debbie Bliss Paloma – 60% baby alpaca, 40% wool. What is very interesting about this bulky weight yarn is that it is already knitted into a tube, aka chainette yarn. This close-up shows the chains of this very soft yarn.

We were getting ready to go on a trip to a much colder climate so I chose masculine colors to make my son a scarf and hat set.

For the scarf, I went with a fast and easy garter-stitch knit lengthwise. The chainette yarn has such a rich texture that it doesn’t need much to showcase it. For the hat, I repeated the garter stitch for the ribbing and switched to smooth stockinette for the rest. I love the way the set turned out. So did the teenager. (Picture a mother’s wide satisfied smile here).