Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Knit Nest & I finished something!


Hi Knitters,
Well, I am taking you back to Key West today to share the little knit shop we found there. First though, I have to share another message I received from Rose at Cakewalk Yarns. Apparently, you all love the Cherry Blossom colorway as much as I do but I also have noticed other colorways flying out of Rose's shop. I have wanted the Smirk colorway in sock yarn for a long time. I saw it pop up in the shop and came back a short while later to purchase it and it was gone! I'll keep my eye out for the next batch. The other colorway/yarn I have been eyeing is called Brooklyn in the worsted weight, that could make a fun knit, too.

Anyway, you can see that I am still not over Cakewalk Yarns yet. Click here for her Etsy shop! Here is Rose's message from last Monday where she is thanking me but really she should be thanking all of you for ordering.


Another even BIGGER Thank You
Sent at 3:13 PM April 15, 2012
Hi Susan!
Whew!! I had to send my husband out for more printer toner so I could keep churning out mailing labels….the orders just keep coming! Let’s just say, your readers are loving your Cherry Blossom socks.
I want to thank you again for being so kind to share your socks & the yarns in your stash with your readers. I’m very grateful for your kind words & your willingness to help along a little business like mine. Its true, knitters ARE nice.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! -- Rose


Now onto to the tropical yarn shop adventure. I didn't even think about finding a yarn shop on our trip to Key West but we stumbled upon the sign in the photo above. Then I had to check it out with TC in hand.


To get to the shop you had to climb some steps where there was a raised row of shops. The shop is called Knit Nest. TC and I asked the owner, Curtis Noon, for permission to take photos. He was very friendly and didn't mind a bit.


The spacious shop had these black shelves with the yarn organized by color. It was pretty and an interesting way to sort through the yarns.


The pattern rack shown here contains the owner's patterns I believe. He was knitting while we were in the shop and from what I gathered he creates a lot of shawls and accessories.


There was some interesting yarn in the shop including this multi-colored hank of yarn. This is actually a kit to make the Bias Shawl. This one big hank is 600 yards of separate skeins creatively put together.


There were different colorways for the kit. I guess you get the pattern included when you purchase the yarn. I didn't see the actual shawl or pattern but I like the idea of this kit.


There was a lot of art yarn and novelty yarn including quite a bit of sequins and beads and fringe but along with that there was plenty of wool, alpaca and even sock yarn.  The art yarns totally make sense in this climate. You would never wear a full-on wool sweater here but light shawls and scarves with sparkle would be perfect year round.


These adorable handmade bags propped up on a ledge caught my eye.


TC enjoyed browsing around. She is one who really enjoys sparkly yarns (hence the sequin butterfly on the back of her shirt) so she was in the right place. We had lots of fun and spent a good chunk of time perusing the shelves.


I ended up bringing home this sweet gray and yellow bag, one of my favorite color combinations. Is this Amy Butler fabric? I recognize it but can't quite place it. I love this new project bag so much. I also picked up a gorgeous hank of variegated green Colinette Jitterbug as a gift for Miss Molly. TC and I debated a long time on what to get her until we found the perfect skein. I don't have a photo of that one since Miss Molly already has her yarn.


I love the inside of the bag and the sturdiness of the sides and the straps. It sits open so well. It is beautifully and meticulously made. I think it could hold a shawl, scarf, baby project, socks... you could fill this one up with a medium-sized project for sure.


The bag is made by Noreen Emmel from Stewartstown, PA. She doesn't have a website listed on the tag but her email is: nwemmel@yahoo.com. You could email her if you are interested in a bag or contact the Knit Nest in Key West.

For the Knit Nest here is the contact information:
Click here for the website!
Knit Nest
Owner: Curtis Noon
218 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida, 33040
Phone: 305.295.7565
Email: info@nestkeywest.com

Knit Nest was a fun little knitterly discovery. While we were in the shop there was a group of British ladies perusing the yarns. They were really fun and quite chatty and kept the owner busy. I think they came off a cruise ship and headed straight for the yarn shop, which I admire. They were into the baby knits mainly.


I was going to post about the Knit Nest yesterday but I became completely obsessed with finishing the project you see above. The project is the Piper's Journey shawl, designed by the lovely Paula of the Knitting Pipeline, knit in the completely endearing sweetness of Quince & Co.'s Chickadee (even the yarn name is sweeter than sweet). I used the Icelandic colorway, a pretty heathered gray.

I kept kidding myself that I was almost done with the applied lace edging when I really wasn't even close to being done. I was maybe a quarter or an eighth of the way through when I picked it up later on Sunday. Really I had the entire edging to complete. It took me hours to finish the edging on Sunday and Monday but I was on a mission to finish. I could not put it down and I enjoyed every stitch along the way. I was so excited to bind off yesterday, I can't even tell you.

I will have lots more about the Piper's Journey coming up, including blocking and final product photos. It is one of the best projects I have ever knit. You may just want one for yourself.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone.
best, susie

14 comments:

Sally said...

Wow. I have bag envy! Yes I'm pretty sure that's Amy Butler (also pretty sure I have a fat quarter in my stash ;)

madder said...

Can't wait to see your finished p.j.!

Emma said...

Yes, Amy Butler Midwest Modern Martini in Mustard. Love that one!

ypsiknitti said...

Beautiful shawl! I am making myself finish something before I purchase the Podcast Junkie, from Cakewalk. I know it's loud, but I love it!

Sam I Am...... said...

I was one of the many who ordered from Cakewalk yarns on your recommendation! She sent me a sweet note and said it was on its way! Of course, I've never made a sock in my life! LOL! But, I am going to make practice baby socks until I get it right and while I'm doing that I will have the beautiful Cakewalk yarn in front of me for motivation! LOL!
I also love that project bag especially since you said it was sturdy and stood up which you could see from the picture too. I need to start getting some "project bags" as I have "just a few" going right now! Thanks for your pictures. Also, am I the only one that needs to put on hand cream before I knit? The yarn is too slippery for me. I saw some on Knitpicks yesterday I thought I might order as some regular ones are too greasy. Just curious if you use any and if so what? I don't want to stain anything but it's a habit now that I need to apply hand cream of some sort before I knit.

Sam I Am...... said...

P.S. I love the shawl too and I've been taking notes on projects you do that you enjoy and say aren't too difficult that way as I become more proficient I can go back and make those projects. Thanks again!

Susan B. Anderson said...

Sam I Am... I don't use any hand cream or lotion so I don't have any good recommendations for you on that.

Thanks for the fun comments and updates on your progress. I love it.
susan

Stefanie said...

What a fun store. Love the light it gets and how they displayed their yarn. What a great bag find. I love the ones w/flat bottoms.

Sara said...

I have to stop reading your posts here and on FB! I just ordered the pattern for Piper's Journey and Chickadee in Snap Pea. I didn't even check my stash. You are such a bad influence on me. Shame on you, Susan B. Anderson!
Love,
Sara

Brandi Schoch said...

Isn't the hidden gem one of the best finds? I love finding random yarn shops and those british knitters are awesome. They did exactly what I would.

bitten78 said...

what an awesome find. I love that bag, the better I get at knitting the more I want a sewing machine to learn how to sew too! it seems that you gravitate towards all the best talent and beautiful things, they say like attracts like! I'm also crushing on the butterfly shirt, how sweet of an idea. thank you for all the great info and especially the pictures, until my brood grows up a bit more out only 'vacations' are to grandma's house.

Armida said...

That looks like such a lovely tropical yarn shop. I really like the yellow/grey combo too, and your bag looks awesome. And a big congratulations on finishing your shawl!! You much be so excited!

nanasbug said...

I made the Piper's Journey shawl about a month ago. One of the most fun shawl patterns I have knit! I am going to make another one.

Debbie1085 said...

Susan,
I am always checking your blog to see what you are up to... Now that I am a sock knitter, I am going to have to try Cakewalk.

What happened to the shawl similar to HRH Princess Kate's shawl? Is it a WIP or in the works? Anxious to see it... Keep up the great work!
Debbie