Thursday, October 09, 2008

Maybe knitters should sue?

I've been on a walking tour of Dundee - well, a knitter's walking tour. I had a look at the "Local Yarn Store" listing at Ravelry, and went out to the three listed for Dundee.

1. Woolcraft, The Forum Centre

My first wool store in Scotland! Only one problem - there were only four balls of wool there. No, they weren't out of stock, it was all petrol-based. All of it. Four balls of wool total. I ran away very quickly.

2. The Wool Shop, Broughty Ferry

I sat on a bus for this trip. It was raining, miserable, Felix was off at a Magic pre-release (again) and I was off to check out another shop. I stepped in and instantly realised the problem. If the store was set on fire, over 80% of its stock would melt, rather than smoulder. Why on earth is somewhere called The Wool Shop if it has sweet Fanny Adams of stock that has ANY wool in it?!? After being patronised by the owner, I left in a hurry. Yes, people under the age of 60 can knit.

3. Knitting Pin, Dundee

This shop is at the top of a killer hill. KILLER. I took Felix with me, as it was my first day outside after a small cold turned into a mutant virus and wiped me out for five days. On the map it looked flat, and I'm sticking to that argument, alright? Anyway, we finally made it up the hill - gasping due to our complete lack of fitness - and headed in. Knitting Pin is really quite teeny sized, but with a redeeming feature: wool. Actual wool. Carded, processed, spun, dyed and wound into balls. I could have fallen onto the owner's shoulder and wept, but she's teeny-sized too, and I don't like talking to people at the moment, due to some dental accidents (try saying "Leith Path" with no front tooth sometime. Felix laughs everytime.) and my "odd" accent.

The best part? Jamieson & Smith cobweb yarn. I got to touch it. I may even bribe Felix into buying it for me (he still owes me for the airport stuff up on the way to Port Macquarie last month).

The winner? Knitting Pin - the name is accurate, at the very least, and the store has a wider stock range than the other two, carrying, Sirdar, Wendy, Rowan, Patons and - *shiver* - Jamieson & Smith.

Still miss Jo Sharp though, and now the Serenity is coming in new colours for summer...

1 comment:

Neurangel said...

There goes my impression of lots of stores with piles and piles of yummy yarn! But just think of all the exercise you'll get going to the very nice yarn store!