We’ve got great deals on two session summer seminars.  Join our email list and find out about great deals for subscribers

Tourists and Out Of Towners: Come to Gotta Knit on any Tuesday, now through Labor Day, show us your driver’s license (or other proof of residence), and we’ll give you 15% off your total yarn* purchase.

Buy a project during the hot summer months; we’ve got lots of cool ideas, air conditioning, and a comfy spot to rest your tired feet!

*offer may not be combined with other discounts or promotions

Sunday, September 6,2009

Yesterday, I tried on a sweater which I designed and knit over the summer.  It is a funky tunic that looked great in my mind’s eye, but I wasn’t sure that it would translate to a wearable garment.  Once on my body, the feeling was exquisite!  I don’t need to explain this to you.  You all know how it feels to spend hours and hours of total relaxation and pleasure which result in a product that feels great and looks great on.  I turned to Martha, a loyal customer, good friend, and regular knitting angel ( she teaches sick kids and their families to knit at Memorial Sloan Kettering, helps out with Gotta Knit’s FREE knitting lessons in Bryant Park, and occasionally opens and closes the store for us in an emergency)  and asked “how many other hobbies give a person this sense of satisfaction?”  In fact, other than giving birth to a child, earning your doctorate, and possibly baking the perfect cake, few things in life are so satisfying.  And anyway, the perfect cake will have disappeared in a matter of hours. Still wearing my luscious sweater out of Meunch Yarns silk and merino Mood, I yearned for cool autumn days and nights by the fire.

I was also reminded why I wanted to open Gotta Knit! in the first place.  I wanted to share this feeling of pure joy with others.  I felt that if everyone  learned to knit or crochet, the world would be a better place.  I often fantasized about taking out my knitting on the subway, and looking up to find that everyone else in the car was knitting as well.

Here is where you can help my fantasy become a reality.  With great pride, Gotta Knit! has been nominated as an inspirational small business in a contest promoted by American Express called Shine a Light.  We have the chance to win $50,000 worth of marketing by American Express.  By going to the link below,registering and logging on to endorse our store, you can help us win the chance to share our love of our craft with those not yet familiar with the joy it brings.  Over the years I have noticed how our customers have been eager to share their knowledge with others.  Now, here is a great opportunity.

Just follow these instructions:

1. Go to SHINE A LIGHT on “Life is Too Short for Crummy Yarn”
2. Register
3. Search for gottaknit in the nominee section
4. Click on ENDORSE THIS STORY NOW

We thank you in advance for your support of Gotta Knit! and the knitting and crocheting community.

A terrific time was had by all at our first NEW YORK STASH EXCHANGE held in May.  It was fun and inspirational for Gotta Knit! customers and most surprisingly, extremely educational for us.  Being a project driven store (ie: we sell the right amount of yarn and suggest the perfect pattern for a specific project) we were amazed by the duffel bags full of stash that people arrived with.  We’ve been thinking about this alot since then, and have a few events in mind as a result.

We’d like to take this time to announce our first annual STASH BUSTER CLASS

what: a class in which those of  you who have so much yarn, but not enough for a complete project; or just a bit of this and a bit of that, will learn some interesting techniques to combine different colors, textures, and weights.

where: at Gotta Knit! of course! 14 east 34th street, 5th floor

when: Thursday, July 23rd 2009

how much: $15.00 bring your own stash and needles

So learn to make a beautiful garment using all the yarn in your stash, (and make room in your closet for that new pair of shoes) Call GottaKnit! 212 989 3030 to register.

click on http://community2.myfoxny.com/_A-Small-Business-Story/blog/216989/6475.html 

• to read about Gotta Knit’s commitment to  finding ways for our customer’s to continue knitting with the highest quality yarns at affordable prices

• We’ve got great ideas for small and large projects that wont bust your budget.

• Ask us about summer garments  that will cost under50.00 to knit

• register to receive emails that will inform you of BLUE PLATE SPECIAL PROJECTS  every two weeks and receive up to 20% off all the yarn for the entire project.

Customers who have knit with us for years are familiar with our unique service of custom design and free pattern writing. They also know that this is the time of the year that we make our annual pilgrimage to Pitti Filati (Florence, Italy) to see the knitwear fashion trends for 2010. Here are some of the things we saw:

BEADS AND SEQUINS!!!  This is the most important trend for 20010.  Gotta Knit has been designing garments with these beautiful embellishments for more than one year.  Lets give ourselves a pat on the back, as well as salute Art Yarn’s Iris Schreier, for our fashion forward thinking.

FULLER AND LONGER SHAPES  The garments we saw for 20010 were either very tiny(little boleros and shrugs) or easy luxurious tunics

DEEPER ARMHOLE and fuller sleeves

SOFT PASTELS that are reminiscent of warm sandy beaches (not sweetsy baby clothes)

Best of all: PURPLE, PURPLE, PURPLE

Come to Gotta Knit and take advantage of our unique design sense.  We can write a sophisticated looking pattern for even the most novice knitter. This is what we are known for.  This is how our experiences can benefit you!

Laura is knitting Madame DeFarge’s “register” of
names that  appears in the new Broadway Musical “A Tale of Two Cities”.

Some of you may have noticed that Gotta Knit was closed this past weekend. We went shopping!

We are so excited about what we saw (and bought) at yarn market, we just needed to share a little with you.

Many of you will be happy to hear that FAT IS BACK.  We found many more fabulous, fun, and fat yarns than we’ve seen in the past few years, and this will also be reflected on the runways and in fashion magazines.  So for those of you who need immediate gratification (and who doesn’t) there will be lots to choose from starting late August.

At the other end of the specrum is the ArtYarns mohair and silk glitter yarn; whisper thin, but easily knit on a large needle to create a gossamer like fabric that feels like heaven. You may have seen GottaKnit!s  SOME ENCHANTED EVENING JACKET published by artyarns and advertised in the spring issue of Vogue Knitting magazine.  We will have more colors to choose from in Splash and as always, when you purchase the yarn for the project at Gottaknit! we don’t charge you for the pattern.

As most of you know we have always had the best selection of cashmere anywhere. This year, there will be even more choice.  For those of you who love Classic Elite’s luxury collection, we just received the last bit of their gorgeous cashmere with shimmery metallic thread. So if you’re into a limited addition item to add to your collection, or have admired the sample tunic in the store, you need to purchase this yarn fast, as there’s very little left in the country.    Also, there will be more colors of GGH cashmere than ever before. For those of you that must have a little cashmere on your feet, we will be stocking a wide selection of Artyarns cashmere sock yarn.  This also makes a wonderfully luxurious baby garment as it’s machine dry-able as well as machine washable.  And don’t forget our annual Kashmir trunk show in late July.

Everyone adores Alpaca. And it really is the MOST affordable luxury yarn available. We’ve noticed over the years that alpaca just gets better and better. We’ve ordered it in many weights, styles and colors. You’ll find it at Gotta Knit! in solids, hand-dyed, and for those who are ecologically conscious, no dyes.

Choosing an eco friendly yarn does not mean relinquishing luxury. Gotta Knit will be stocking all the ECO-LUXE yarns we can find.

We have noticed that some of you simply must use acrylic. We have never stocked it because, frankly, we were never pleased with the quality. Now, however, we have found a yarn that we can actully describe using acrylic and luxury in the same sentence. For those in need of an acrylic yarn for babies that can withstand many machine washings, and still be extremely soft and not acrylicy, this is for you. For adults who can’t wear wool, we will have a beautiful chenille like yarn that is extremely sophisticated. Better yet, there is a new ultra fat chenille which will be great for hats, scarves, and even fingertip length coats.

We already have many more sock yarns  than ever before. By early August we will have a sock yarn with a small amount of silver glitter.  In these tough times we can all use a litter extra glitz.

The trend this fall is to work with the most beautiful, soft and luxurious yarns that money can buy, and which also show excellent value. Our customers have found that working with high quality yarns that last forever, and having custom patterns written to fit just right is the smartest way to shop.  All of the cashmere, alpacas, and merinos at Gotta Knit!will be perfect for these projects. To top it all off we will have the most amazing hand dyed merinos, and merino cashmere blends from Claudia Hand-painted, and Prism Yarns respectively. Look for an announcement of our Prism trunk show in early October.

We hope that you will be as excited by our purchases as we are; we chose with you in mind. The yarns will be starting to arrive in mid July. If you can’t wait that long come see our bulletin board with all the newest yarns.  Bring a copy of this article and we will give you a copy of our favorite stitch pattern. See You Soon!

Laura and Goldie

Entrepreneur magazine’s article “What’s Up With These Docs?”, profiles former doctors who found the best treatment was to take two aspirin and start a business in the morning.

Gotta Knit’s own Laura Eackloff, a former Podiatrist, is profiled.

Read about it here