Wednesday, May 16, 2007

the Knitting Room

Yesterday I went to The Knitting Room in Arlington. I've been in there a bunch, and Jackie (I believe she is the owner) was fabulous, as always. She was great at recommending needles and yarn - based on my needs, and not just what she wanted to sell. And what really impressed me is that she took time with me to talk about knitting like I was an intelligent knitter. I'll admit I am not as talented nor as prolific as some, but I'm definitely a solid intermediate to advanced knitter (thinking that people like Brooklyn Tweed are Masters)It made me start thinking about LYS's.
First of all living where I do means that I have about 12 or more yarn stores that are within a 20 minute drive of my house. I am REALLY lucky. There are 2 that are about a mile away from me in opposite directions. The first is Island Yarn in Waltham. You wouldn't think it was much. Ruthie's shop (Island Yarn) is in The Colonial Plaza. A strip mall sporting a laundromat, a swap book shop and a hearing aid place in addition to a pizza place and tanning beds. You know the type of place. Island yarn is actually pretty nice. She has a huge assortment of stuff, and a great variety. I always say that Ruthie's is the place that I go, when I know exactly what I need. I usually buy a little more to support her, but I am not usually inspired by her stuff. The first LYS I talked about (Jackie's store) is inspiring. The other LYS near me is not worth a mention. I have heard more horror stories from beginning knitters that go in there. When we get a newbie, and they tell an awful story about these pushy store owners we all say was it _____ and it always is.

Rain out tonight, but that is o.k. - I needed to make up the final exam for my seniors! Summer vacation is coming!

P2K

2 comments:

sherriknits said...

I do have a little shop (tiny) and I think we need to treat EVERY knitter as intelligent! I loved hearing your thoughts!

NH Knitting Mama said...

I know what you mean about the way some shops treat newbies. I can't stand yarn snobs, it gives all of us bad names.