This afternoon I decided to check out Newbury Yarns, a new yarn store in Boston, located on Newbury Street (go figure!). I was actually in the area last weekend and was wondering where it was, but I totally missed it since it is located in the back of a building. So armed with the address this time, I thought I'd go check it out. =)
It's a cute little store, brightly lit with big windows, very neat and uncluttered, and they have a ton of pretty yarns. I didn't buy any (yay yarn diet!), but I did pick up a Vogue Knitting Quick Reference book, and some Eucalan woolwash, which is supposed to be fabulous for washing handknits. Since I was the only person in the store at the time I spent a long while talking with Aldrich, the owner, she is one of the nicest LYS ladies I've ever met. The store is organized mainly by colour instead of by weight/fiber, which took some getting used to, but it really looks fantastic and it's great for inspiration cuz you are immediately drawn by all the different colours. I have a feeling the current organization will be difficult to maintain once she starts having lots of customers pawing and pulling out the yarn haphazardly, though.
The store has only been open for 2 months, so she doesn't have all her yarns in yet, nor are there any price lists posted around the store (!!), but it looks like it will be a great place to shop. A lot of her handpainted yarns are taken from her personal stash right now, and she's got a ton of sweaters that she designed on a shelf in a corner. We were talking a bit about the cost of good quality yarn, and she pointed to 2 cubby-things filled with yarn and was like "this is $2,000!" Holy crap. If you think about how much all the inventory in a yarn store must be worth, it boggles the mind.
Anyway, I will definitely be heading back there in the future. They had the Noro knits book that you bought, Karen, and I was OH SO VERY TEMPTED to pick it up too. But I knew that if I bought it I would start looking at yarn, which would not be a good thing. =)
2 comments:
YAY! It's always fun to find a new LYS. How do you find that Vogue Quick Reference book? I was thinking of getting it too, but have heard mixed reviews of it.
It's neat that Aldrich (why is it that I immediately think of chemicals when I hear that name? :P) organizes things by colour, but I also think that's going to get confusing soon. Not that I know a lot about running a yarn store, but I get the impression that a lot of people might be looking for a particular brand of yarn, making that kind of set-up a tad more difficult. But I guess that's what the store owner is there for. *shrug*
I'm counting down the days until the Knit Wit book party! I'm so excited!
I pointed out that organizing by colour might be confusing for people too, but she said that she wants people to get inspired and think "out of the box", and traditional yarn store organization drives her crazy. She's been designing her own knits for something like 30 years and I guess that's the way she approaches her designs. Which is cool, at least it is different and makes her stand out among the crowd.
I will let you know re the Vogue reference book. I like the way they do their illustrations, though. I bought a different knitting reference a while ago (I forget the name now) that is just god-awful, I totally hate it. So anything is better than that right now!
btw, when do you want to start our kitty hat-along? My yarn is wound and waiting whenever you are ready. =)
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