When knitters go to new places, either on holiday or just to a meeting somewhere exotic (Birmingham too), the first question that comes up is "are there any wool shops?" When I said I'd be going to London, the response was almost unanimous: "ooo, Loop"
One of the surprising things about London is its short supply of yarn shops. I've added a special "yarn" search to my places app and it keeps coming up empty. But Loop is probably the most prominent knitting destination in London and I can't quite believe it took me two days to realise that it's just up the street from where I've been staying.
After a bit of getting lost that resulted in me buying two books in Waterstones, I found Loop tucked into a little alley-way. At first glance it looks likes small but eclectic shop but it turns out that the downstairs houses only laceweight, 4ply and (first time I've seen it in England) sport weight. Upstairs there's a lovely selection of heavier yarns and a range of books and leaflets that eclipsed anything I've seen before. And they gave me a canvas bag inside a plastic bag so my stuff wouldn't get rained on. Lovely people!
Calling Loop a knitting destination sounds a little like a marketing line and it is, a little. But comparing it to most knitting shops is also unfair. Like most modern shops they run classes and offer great helpful advice but this is also a shop that has its own pattern book and that slight air of exclusivity is also apparent.
In my little town, knitting shops serve one purpose: they sell cheap wool to fairly uncreative knitters (lots of acrylic, lots of baby sets). Get Knitted in Bristol has a foot in both camps: they stock some fabulous small-scale yarn for addicts plus enough mainstream acrylic to satisfy traditionalists. As I walked into Loop I felt that they may as well have set up security detectors to alert them to any attempts by man-made fibres to gain a foothold in the shop.
And that's great, Loop is very definitely serving a different need to my local shops. Different and, without a doubt, more affluent. At one point I found myself lovingly stroking some cascade 220 as I realised it was almost twice what I'd pay in Bristol.
So, onto what I bought (pictures will have to follow, phone camera in a cafe doesn't do it justice). I fell in love with some breath-taking Yarn Collage in rich browns with silk and sequins woven in but I convinced myself that it wasn't really justified when I've not done anything with my Pixie Dust yet. So instead I bought two skeins of THE softest chunky alpaca that I've ever felt. Walking back from the udderbelly last night I was dreaming of a scarf/hood that would warm my neck and ears, so I think it'll be that. I also bought a German stitch dictionary with some of the most unusual lace patterns I've ever come across. Logically, this can only help me make more stuff. Therefore it can only result in a smaller stash. Therefore, I deserve more yarn. Scientifically proven.
One of the surprising things about London is its short supply of yarn shops. I've added a special "yarn" search to my places app and it keeps coming up empty. But Loop is probably the most prominent knitting destination in London and I can't quite believe it took me two days to realise that it's just up the street from where I've been staying.
After a bit of getting lost that resulted in me buying two books in Waterstones, I found Loop tucked into a little alley-way. At first glance it looks likes small but eclectic shop but it turns out that the downstairs houses only laceweight, 4ply and (first time I've seen it in England) sport weight. Upstairs there's a lovely selection of heavier yarns and a range of books and leaflets that eclipsed anything I've seen before. And they gave me a canvas bag inside a plastic bag so my stuff wouldn't get rained on. Lovely people!
Calling Loop a knitting destination sounds a little like a marketing line and it is, a little. But comparing it to most knitting shops is also unfair. Like most modern shops they run classes and offer great helpful advice but this is also a shop that has its own pattern book and that slight air of exclusivity is also apparent.
In my little town, knitting shops serve one purpose: they sell cheap wool to fairly uncreative knitters (lots of acrylic, lots of baby sets). Get Knitted in Bristol has a foot in both camps: they stock some fabulous small-scale yarn for addicts plus enough mainstream acrylic to satisfy traditionalists. As I walked into Loop I felt that they may as well have set up security detectors to alert them to any attempts by man-made fibres to gain a foothold in the shop.
And that's great, Loop is very definitely serving a different need to my local shops. Different and, without a doubt, more affluent. At one point I found myself lovingly stroking some cascade 220 as I realised it was almost twice what I'd pay in Bristol.
So, onto what I bought (pictures will have to follow, phone camera in a cafe doesn't do it justice). I fell in love with some breath-taking Yarn Collage in rich browns with silk and sequins woven in but I convinced myself that it wasn't really justified when I've not done anything with my Pixie Dust yet. So instead I bought two skeins of THE softest chunky alpaca that I've ever felt. Walking back from the udderbelly last night I was dreaming of a scarf/hood that would warm my neck and ears, so I think it'll be that. I also bought a German stitch dictionary with some of the most unusual lace patterns I've ever come across. Logically, this can only help me make more stuff. Therefore it can only result in a smaller stash. Therefore, I deserve more yarn. Scientifically proven.
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