02.26.06
You Must Take the J-Train
. . . to go to Smiley’s Yarns way up in Queens (to the tune of Duke Ellington’s famous A-train song)
If you have never gone to Smiley’s, this is a long subway trip, but once the J-train leaves Manhattan it’s all outside and you get to see different neighborhoods of Brooklyn & Queens. This is one of my favorite elevated subway-line trips. Highlights include going over the Williamburg Bridge, the Broadway Junction, and Cypress Hills Cemetery.
A Bit of Nostalgia: I learned to knit before the knitting-craze took hold. I only knew of one over-priced yarn store and a craft store with a limited supply in the city when a work-colleague and fellow-obsessed-yarn-addict told me about Smiley’s. Back then, I had yet to learn the joys and pain$ of fine yarn, so Smiley’s was just right for a beginner. Try to imagine - a new knitter takes the subway to God-Know-Where in search of yarn and she walks into a store with shelves and shelves of yarn. I was giddy, I did not know where to start; basically I walked around with my laundry basket (this is what they provide to carry your yarn purchases) for probably half an hour over-whelmed by the choices.
The years have made me a more experienced yarn shopper. I know what I want, which store to go to for the right yarn for the project and the right price. (I do not have my digital camera yet so I will do the best that I can here with descriptions and links.)
For my crochet fiber project:
I bought Reynolds Lopi and Lite-Lopi. They are the width of yarn I want but I could not find the right color. I decided to buy white and dye them with Kool-Aid. Now I am on the hunt for Kool-Aid packets (so far I can only find canisters).
Another hat for my guy:
I purchased Patons Canadiana, worsted weight 100% acrylic yarn. This way he can toss it into the wash without worry. The color is called “Flagstone Ombre” - a masculine mix of grays, browns, and khaki. I am going to use Vogue Knitting’s Ribbed Cap pattern.
For a cute spring purse:
Lane Cervinia’s Oslo in blue to match my blue spring raincoat. I am following the pattern, “Half Moon,” from my new “Family Circle Easy Accessories” book purchase.
I also bought a back issue of Knit.1 - the men’s issue and read it on the subway trip back. I think I got the yarn-buying bug out of me for a while. I have enough projects to keep me busy through the spring. This new fiber project is the challenge - dying the yarn first, finding the right-sized metal rings, and then actually making it. It’s all part of the fiber adventure here!