Friday, April 20, 2007

HK Yarn Shops

Today we hit 2 yarn shops, one in Wan Chai and the other in Mong Kok. Yay for souvenir yarn!

The first we went to was Nathan Woolen Co. in Mong Kok. This one took us a while to find, as the sign outside the shop had changed. You needed to go through a dark, narrow hallway to the small, metal lift. We took pictures of both the outside and the "store front" on the 5th floor to forward to the Hong Kong Yarn Guide. There was a lot of cottons and acrylic blends, which weren't what I was looking for this trip. Not a ton called out to me here. Most of their wool seemed to be on sale (due to the changing season?) but they had so little english (read none) that I am not sure. Salvbard says it had more "character" than the other though.

Cheer Wool in Wan Chai was a lot more of what a yarn shop is like at home. Although not everyone spoke english, there was a designated english speaker who stayed nearby in case we needed any help. My only complaint here was that everything was in plastic bags, so you weren't allowed to touch anything. I am such a tactile shopper this probably saved me money though.
Now normally I am not one to buy buttons. Perhaps I am cheap, but there are so many other finishing methods, and buttons often can be pricey especially if you get neat ones through a yarn store. So I was really drawn to the button selection at this shop. I informed Salvbard that the Asians seem to have a monopoly on "teh cute". But how cute are these? They are all plastic ones, so they aren't like super high end or anything, but I can see them as wonderful additions for baby sweaters for my new niece. Plus for the price, you certainly can't complain.
So from both locations this ended up being my yarn hall. I probably won't end up visiting any more yarn shops on this leg of the trip so this is it for my Hong Kong acquisitions: some Jaeger Matchmaker (plans: DK socks), Steinbach Wolle (plans: socks), and some Ruby Campus (um, no plans). The last I just bought because it was something I could not get at home (it is a Japanese yarn) and because the label said this:
If you can't read that it says "Please have a useful knitting time. This yarn is fresh like a gentle breeze." Yup I have absolutely no idea what I will use this for, but that was too great to pass up. It is a little too scratchy for most small yarn projects that I usually do, so I am thinking perhaps a felted something.

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