Knitting in Massachusetts

Handspun Yarns at StoneLeafMoon

Linda Scharf, editor of the online magazine crochetlab, is now selling handspun yarns and crocheted, one-of-a-kind hats at her site StoneLeafMoon.

Linda will also be selling her yarns at the Brookline 300 Anniversary Event on Sunday, Nov. 13, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Brookline's Larz Anderson Park.

JCA Web Site Launched

Townsend, Mass.-based yarn manufacturer and distributor JCA Inc. now has a full-fledged web site up and running.

JCA manufactures or distributes these yarn brands:

• Adrienne Vittadini
• Artful Yarns
• Jo Sharp
• Reynolds
• Scheepjes
• Grignasco

Artful Yarns and Reynolds are JCA's own brands.

Yarns include Legend, and Museum, and Portrait from Artful Yarns; Andean Alpaca, Fusion, Lopi, Mandalay, and Odyssey from Reynolds; Classic DK Wool, Desert Garden Aran, and Silkroad Aran from Jo Sharp; and Andrea, Nadia and Paloma from Adrienne Vittadini.

On the site, you can browse or search for yarns, as well as for patterns from 2004 and 2005, for all the brands except Scheepjes and Grignasco. Each yarn's web page includes images of and links to patterns for that yarn, and the page for each pattern book links to the yarns used so you can see colors, fiber content, gauge information, suggested needle size, and yardage.

The site includes a News page with updates on new products and patterns. JCA also makes needlework kits and yarns (needlepoint, stitchery/crewel work, and cross stitch). Brands include Elsa Williams and Needle Treasures.

Four New Stores Added to the List

Iron Horse Farm's undyed yarns.

Here are four yarn shops I've found out about over the past month or two and have only now gotten around to adding. Someone sent in comments about one of them, but for the rest about all I know is the contact information.

The Iron Horse Farm Artisans Gift Shop
29 Coolidge Street
Sherborn, MA 01770
(508) 653-3433
ironhorse@ix.netcom.com

Carries store-made yarn and supplies. The yarns are a combination of llama, kid mohair, and sheep's wool and come in dyed and undyed colors.

The Sheep Shack
787 Main Street
Holden, MA 01520
(508) 829-5811
clentz@thesheepshack.com

The owner of The Sheep Shack in Holden wrote in to tell me about her store, which wasn't on the list until now:

I wanted to know if you could alert your readers to my knit shop. I have been in Holden, Mass. (outside of Worcester) for 2 years and recently just expanded to a larger location. I was hoping you could get the word out to them. ... The Sheep Shack has moved and has expanded hours.

The new location is the one listed above — 787 Main Street in Holden. The expanded hours are:

Tuesday and Wednesday 11-6
Thursday 11-7, Friday 11-6
Saturday 11-4

The store also has a Knit Nite,  Thursdays from 5:30-7:00 p.m. It costs $5.00 to drop in. And the store, like most, offers classes. Information on the classes and other topics can be found on the Sheep Shack web site.

Wicker & Wool
4 West Lynde Street
Gardner, MA 01441
(978) 632-8573

Got an e-mail about a month ago from Andrea, who writes:

I've found your list of knitting stores in MA very helpful. I noticed that you don't have the knitting store in Gardner listed. I went there this past weekend to pick up some yarn (I had a gift certificate). They had a nice selection and the prices seemed reasonable.

And, finally, I read about a store called Yarn It All in an article on the Attelboro Sun Chronicle web site.

Yarn It All
425 East Washington Street
North Attleboro, MA 02760
(508) 695-3331

Lion Brand Yarns 20-65% Off Starting March 6

I received a report that the Burlington Building 19 store is going to have a big consignment of Lion Brand yarns coming in. Said the source:

They have signs posted all over saying that they're going to have a truckload of assorted Lion Brand yarns in stock starting March 6. They are advertising discounts of 20-65%.

The yarns won't be offered at every Building 19 location, but they will be in the Burlington store. (I can't swear to the others, but Natick may be among them.)

I suggest you call the store before heading down there.

Local Blogger Reviews KnitPicks Brand Yarns

The Vancouver, Washington, online yarnseller KnitPicks has been a big topic of discussion at the Somerville Stitch 'n' Bitch and on the Stitch 'n' Bitch-Boston discussion board because of its extremely low prices.

Now, Massachusetts-based weblogger Grumperina has posted a review of KnitPicks' house brand of yarn, which (at least right now) is priced in the range of $1.79-$4.99 per skein. How are they able to offer such low prices? This page explains.

(Side note for aspiring designers: At the bottom of that same page, the owners of KnitPicks note that they are looking for designers with whom they can collaborate on magazine articles, pattern packets, and possibly even books.)

Update, 2/10/05: Knitter's Review has posted a review of all the Knitpicks yarns.

Update, 3/8/05: Here's what another local knitblogger had to say about Knitpicks yarns — specifically, about the company's Wool of the Andes.