Jimmy Beans Wool!

Yay!!!

My first Jimmy Beans Wool order has arrived and I'm super pleased!

I have been following this company for awhile now and I've really enjoyed learning about how they've come to be so successful and how they got started in the knitting business.

After my (and El Hub's) sticker-shock of $84.00 socks in the form of four skeins of Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes from Green Planet Yarn, I decided that if I was really serious about making socks for everyone for Christmas presents, then I better find a less expensive yarn!

Enter Jimmy Beans Wool.

What a great website!

Of course... leave it to techies to create an easy-to-use online store! 

Yay!  A FREE pattern on my order bag!

Here's my order! 

Yes... I kinda got crazy.

This is Rowan's Cashsoft Baby DK (in 800 Snowman) which is for the Bunny Hat (from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats!) that I'm making for Peanut for his Easter Hat.

My LYS did not have this Rowan yarn so I can't compare yarn shop price to online price but for me, this yarn was $9.95 (Thank God one skein will do it!).

These are the skeins I ordered for the Blue Sky Socks I'm hoping to make everyone for Christmas!

So this is where the Jimmy Beans Wool is really neat!

I originally went to the Jimmy Beans Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes page to see how much their yarn is, and it is only $2.00 bucks less than what I paid at Green Planet.

Then I noticed that, at the bottom of the page, they had this box:

Like that circle job there?

They suggest more yarn options and that's how I found this yarn!

It's the S. Charles Collezione Tinka Yarn!

They're very similar yarns.  Both fall under the Worsted Weight (4-5sts/in) category.

And both are wool.

But most importantly, the Tinka Yarn is ON SALE!!!!

At $5.60 a skein, it's a nice welcome from $84.00 bucks for a pair of socks!

And El Hub approves.

So here are my color combos!

3 Plum and 1 Raisin

3 Ruby and 1 Brown Sugar

3 Dark Olive and 1 Jade

3 Coffee and 1 Dark Olive

And, they threw in these cute doo-hickeys!

Markers are always helpful and I'm glad to have more!

I'd absolutely order from Jimmy Beans Wool again and, NO!  I'm not being paid to say that.

I really did find exactly what I needed, at a good price, and received it quickly (I placed my order on Monday, March 19th and received it on Thursday, March 22nd!)!

All good things!

Here are some neat articles on Jimmy Beans Wool and their good business!

Forbes article: Goat Farms, Wool and Making a Living at What You Love

Portfolio.com: Keep them in Stitches

Moskatels - Downtown L.A.

Um...

How in the world was I not prepared to buy yarn, especially at 20% off!

Went to the Flower Mart in Downtown L.A. and popped into Moskatel's since we were right there!

This is a crazy big craft store with anything and everything you could want or need in crafting!

Like EVERYTHING!

Decorations, Candles, Stamps, Wedding Stuff, Baby Shower Stuff, Whoozits and Whatzits!

But on a huge scale.  Like for professionals!

Fortunately, I stumbled down their yarn aisle and all yarn (except for Red Heart) was 20% off!

Unfortunately, I had nothing to buy for...

They really do have a nice BIG selection of different yarn and brands.

Everything from Lion to Bernat to Caron.

I'm not sure how long that sale was lasting but I wish I'd had a project to buy for...

:)

Moskatels is at:

738 Wall Street

Los Angeles, CA 90014-2316

(213) 689-4590

The NYC Yarn Crawl 2010

Gah!  A Yarn Crawl!

Why!  Why am I not in New York!!!

Why, God?!  Why?!

Not only am I missing Etsy's weekly craft nights, but now I'm missing the NYC Yarn Crawl in October (the weekend of my freakin' birthday)!

Honestly!  What in the world?!

Came across this from the PurlBee site (which you know I love and read religiously).

This works well in New York cause you can walk or subway it from uptown to midtown to downtown - no problem!

Here (in So Cal), you need your car to get everywhere and let's face it... There are only 3 LYS in my neighborhood and they're all about 20 miles away from each other.  

Arg!!!

Fortunately, I have been to just about all of the shops on the Yarn Crawl.

As you know, El Hub and I were in New York back in January for the whole month and I did my very own yarn crawl!

If you are in NY, please go!  Go and shop for me!!!

And report back!

:)

Urban Knitting Studio - San Francisco (Hayes Valley neighborhood)

Oh No!!!

After visiting this wonderful LYS back in late October last year, I started checking her blog almost daily!

I checked this today and, per her recent post, she is "Binding Off..."

(cute, huh?!)  :)

She's closing shop...

If you are in the area (Fell & Gough) in San Francisco, definitely stop by!

She is super nice and incredibly helpful & informative. 

Her shop is really neat in that, it's like an artist's studio, 

complete with a "Wall of Manos"

I hope she will be ok, whatever her next adventure is.

And I'm bummed to see her go. 

Good Luck to her!  We'll miss your shop!

:)

NYC Yarn Crawl Round Up!

Well... we're home... (boo hoo...)

We've only been home 3 days and I miss it so much already!

Here's a recap of my yarn crawl during the three weeks we were there!

• Some fun and funny ladies at Annie & Co Knitting 
• Good deals at the cute Downtown Yarns 
• Yay Small Business!!! at Gotham Fine Yarn 
• Fun elevator and personalized style at Gotta Knit!
• Gorgeous artistic yarns at Habu Textiles 
• Upper East Side honesty at Knitting 321 
• Busy Busy at Knitty City
• The Doctor is In at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio 
• Their blog is at cute as their shop at Purl Soho
• BIG spools of yarn at School Products 
• String (I'll leave it at that...)
• Super nice and helpful at The Woolgathering  
• Cute UWS LYS at The Yarn Co
• Round it out is Yarntopia

Gotta Knit! (Murray Hill - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I went over to Gotta Knit!

This is by far one of the more unique shops I've been in!

It's on the 5th floor of a building on 34th Street and to get up to the 5th floor, you open that door below and get into an elevator!!!

I love it!  I felt like "Get Smart"!

(I know... I'm from California, ok?!  We just don't have these kinds of things there...)  :)

 

This space looks like maybe it's two offices on a small floor.  One office is Gotta Knit! and the other is an acupuncture office!

  

Even though this space is small, they did a great job with organizing it. 

  

These yarns are organized by size (weight) but for some reason, it's the way the had the colors grouped that really caught my eye!

If you are looking for specific color or 'colorful' color, then this is the shop for you!

  

  

The gal was very nice and she was helping someone who was looking to start a cowl project!

They had a sample vest that I really liked and she said they will give the pattern, with purchase of yarn.

The cool thing about them, though is that they set themselves apart by customizing patterns to your specific sizing!

And/or, if you have a pattern idea in mind... if you buy the yarn there, they'll help you with the pattern!  They'll help you make the pattern!

I love it!

 

The yarn that I saw the most there was the Trendsetter yarn.  I didn't see pricing on any of the tags so it's hard to say if it was expensive or not. 

They had a nice sized selection of notions (needles, etc) and the way they had it organized was cute.  They have them hanging on a bamboo-ish wall separator.  Cute!

I really liked this store.  I like their concept of customization.  :)

Gotta Knit! is at 14 East 34th Street (between 5th & Madison Ave) in the Murray Hill area (right down the street from the Empire State Building!)

Knitty City (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

My last stop today was at Knitty City.

I have to admit (and I know this is gonna sound nuts, but...) I was so excited about this one 'cause the shop name is sooooo cute!

 

I didn't dislike this store.  It just wasn't my favorite.

This shop is packed!  Every inch of space has been filled with something.  Anything!

The store was packed with people, as well (which is nice to see).

They were as busy as all get out!

They have a table up front (can kinda see below) where two mothers were teaching their kids how to knit (cute).

In the back, there was another table filled with a class or a knitting circle.

I wanted to ask about the mohair and a customer ended up helping me out!

It was a bit chaotic in there.

Oddly enough, this is the one store that sells the Twinkle! 

$20.00 bucks is by far one of the better prices I've seen for this yarn.  Unfortunately, I'm so turned off by it now, I didn't buy any (after searching for it all this time!).

They also had the Cascade Magnum which was $22.00/skein.

It was so tight in there, I didn't stay long.

They do have a pattern book section but it was so hard to get to, I didn't even try.

Knitty City is located at 208 West 79th Street (between Amsterdam & Broadway) in the Upper West Side.

Annie & Co Knitting (Upper East Side - Manhattan, NY)

Next on my tour is Annie & Co.

This is one of the larger shops I've seen and even though it's in a big of disarray, it has to be one of the funnest shops I've been in!

I know... how can a shop be fun...???!!!

But it was!

 

First of all, the place was packed.  There were a ton of ladies in there looking for yarn and projects.

I can't tell you how much I love the New York accent.  It's just absolutely fabulous!

Not only how they talk but what they say?!  I love it!

This is the shop you'd go to with your project to sit with fun gals and talk & drink coffee ALL day!!!  (or at least I would, anyway...)  :)

 

Ok, so the shop itself...

They have a TON of yarn!  It is organized by weight or size (ie - chunkiest yarns to smallest light weight yarns).   Each skein's tag is marked with a price tag which is nice and makes it easy to see how much what is.

They have all kinds of yarn from the Berroco to the Rowan and the Sublime, the Louisa Harding, etc.  You name it!

They were incredibly nice and super helpful.  I told them I'm always looking for the chunkiest yarn (I don't even ask about the Twinkle anymore) and these days I'm also looking for a kid mohair.

She showed me everything she had and also offered that if I didn't see a color I liked, that there might be more downstairs and she would go and look!

Very nice gals.

They have a HUGE selection of patterns and pattern books.  You could sit there for hours looking at it all!

I sat there for awhile talking to a nice fun gal about my Marian cowl (which I was wearing and got lots of compliments on).

She was getting back into knitting after a long time and was nervous and exciting!

She thought the Marian cowl would be a good way to get back into it and I agreed!  :)

If I lived by this shop, I'd absolutely go there (all the time!)  :)

Annie & Co is located at 1323 Madison Avenue (at 93rd Street) in the Upper East Side!

The Woolgathering (Upper East Side - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I headed back up to the Upper East Side to The Woolgathering.

This cute shop is on a beautiful quiet street on the Upper East Side.

Upon entering the shop, I was greeted in an incredibly friendly manner. 

She was super nice and told me to let her know if I needed anything!
(ie - She let me look around without hounding me, yet offered if I needed help.  Nice!)

They have a nice selection of yarns from Cascade to Rowan to Debbie Bliss.

This shop is long and narrow but it is incredibly well organized.  It's easy to see the pricing and yarn type.

She also had a great selection of knitting mags like Vogue Knitting, Debbie Bliss & Knit Simple, as well as a nice wall of notions (needles, etc).

We got into a nice conversation about the Twinkle Soft & Chunky and she confirmed what two others confirmed, which is that the Soft & Chunky isn't the greatest yarn (esp. for the price) and that it does pill. 

She said she would have to sell it for $25.00 a skein in order to make any profit.

Her other big beef with it is that it doesn't come in a ball.  :)

She doesn't carry the Cascade Magnum either as she feels it's also too pricey.

Her substitute for these is the Rowan Big Wool and one skein there sells for $10.00!  (A nice price!  I wish I'd bought a skein!)

I liked this little shop and would absolutely go back (if we lived here!)!

The Woolgathering is located at 318 East 84th Street (between 2nd & 1st Ave) in the Upper East Side!

The Yarn Co. (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

Up next, I popped into The Yarn Co.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the inside of the store.

They were having a knitting circle and I didn't want to bother them with my pics!

I'll try to describe it as best I can.

Let's see... Tiny!  :)

This shop is a small cozy space on the 2nd floor of a building (above a Linens store).

They had a nice selection of yarn. 

They had the Debbie Bliss and the Berroco.

They have Sublime and Classic Elite but no Cascade.

Oddly enough, while their store is a bit in disarray, their website is incredibly organized!

I can see this being a cute little LYS for the Upper West Siders.

Their prices seem average.

They do have a small wall of notions (Needles, etc) and then a little corner with sale yarns in baskets.

The Yarn Co. is located at 2274 Broadway (at 82nd Street) in the Upper West Side.

Yarntopia (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

After School Products, I met my good friend P for tea in the Upper Upper Upper West Side.

Actually, I don't even think it's considered Upper West Side.  She works up on 168th and Broadway, which I think is technically "Washington Heights".

Anyway, on my way back down, I stopped at Yarntopia, which is in the Upper West Side.

Unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures of this cute shop.

It is a really nice shop and it is very well laid out.

I really like how she has her yarn organized by yarn type and she has the pricing and important info (weight, etc) clearly displayed.

I will say, I did find these yarns to be a bit on the pricier side. 

I know yarn can be pricey in general but this shop just seemed even more so by a bit.

Having said that, she certainly does have a very nice selection. 

She's got the Cascade.  She's got the Berroco.  The Blue Sky Alpacas and some Debbie Bliss!

Yarntopia is located at 974 Amsterdam Avenue (at the corner of 108th St. and Amsterdam) in the Upper Upper Upper West Side.

School Products (Garment District - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I started my knitting shop tour at School Products in the Garment District.

This store is on the third floor of a building on the corner of Broadway and 29th Street (and right around the corner from our hotel!).

Much like Habu Textiles, it's not so much a store front or shop as it is a space or show room.

I finally realized the reason why this poster of the book Runway Knits is ALL OVER the store is because the owner of School Products, Berta Karapetyan is also the author of this book.

This space is HUGE and it has a TON of different types of yarn.

You name it, they have it!

This place is perfect for knitting in bulk or if you want a one-stop shop for something specific you're looking for.

They do have some beautiful textiles from French Lace Mohair to their own version of a chunky yarn.

I found the prices to be on average.  This was not the most expensive place but it did not have the best deals so far.

It is a nice place to wander and especially if you have a specific pattern in mind, it would be a good place to go and try to get your yarn!

And the name of the business is cute!  :)

School Products is at 1201 Broadway, between 29th & 28th Street in the Garment District!