Finishing the Purl visit with their window displays.
How could these sherbet colours not pull you into the shop?
Adorable baby knits......then onto Lion Brand.
Located on 34 W. 15th Street. As the New York streets run one way up and down we were lost for a little bit, even using the GPS, which took us down to Battery Park and proceeded to get us lost. We eventually decided to go all the way up to 5th, turn right, found West 15th and 1/2 way down the block found the shop on the left hand side.
Bill, loved the knitted New York skyline. We arrived about ten minutes early, found a parking garage, wandered around the most adorable toy shop, bought a Topsy Turvy Red Riding Hood doll for newest granddaughters birthday and an adorable sheep for me. Walked back to Lion Brand in the rain to find the shop open and a few customers inside.
Kong hanging from the Empire State Building.
Kitting bulletin board, just like home.
From the back, looking toward the front of the shop.
Walls of yarn, most of Lion Brands yarn can be found at Joann's and Michale's in the US. They tend to use acrylic fibres, some are pure acrylic, others are mixed with cotton or wool. That being said in the past few years they have realized that true knitters and crochers love the feel of natural fibres in their hands when working.
A few of the natural fibre yarns are now being sold in the crafting shops, Fisherman's Wool being one and the Organic Cotton being another. The majority of the natural fibre yarns however, are sold either at the studio in New York or online.
The crafting table in the center of the store.
Studio Yarns are sold under the LB Collection label. These now include a wonderfully soft cashmere, 82 yards for $14, it comes in 6 fairly attractive colours. A superwash merino, $8.00 for 306 yards, in 10 colour choices. A beautiful worsted weight organic wool, that melts in your hand as if it were butter, 185 yards for $10.00, 6 soft and muted winter colours. A wool and stainless steel cone, that is available in four colours, this is 273 yards of fingerling also at $10.00, when knitted it can be molded into a shape that will stay intact until changed. The newest yarn in the LB collection is a Silk and Mohair blend that knits up identical to KSH. The yarn is 231 yards of 70% super kid mohair and 30% silk, I love KSH but at $7.00 a ball the LB Silk Mohair is a steal. It has a little better yardage and is softer to the touch than KSH. The obvious disadvantage is the colour range LB has only 6 while KSH currently produces 30. Once I touched it I couldn't put it down and came away with 3 balls, 2 in Iris and 1 in Sunbeam. I also purchased 3 balls of the new Recyled Cotton in Sunshine, this is the featured yarn of the month and is discounted 15% from the $4.49 price, this yarn is not under the LB Collection label which hopefully means it will be sold commerically. The yarn is 185 yd 72% Recycled Cotton, 24% Acrylic, 2% Other Fiber, it feels stiff to the touch but when knitted softens and has real drape to it, available in7 very pleasing colours.
When we left Bill insisted on a photo of me outside the shop. The rain was pouring down, it was cold and damp, but it was a wonderful morning. I recommend both shops if you visit New York, we were limited by time and would have loved to have seen a few more shops, I am happy to have that wait until next time. Tomorrow, pictures of the new additions to the stash.
