Head Uptown to Passionknit

The people of Passionknit are always so welcoming to The TTC Knitalong. Continuing a tradition started last year they have announced that, “A brand new original pattern will be unveiled in the shop that day, and will be on special as a kit for the day.” Last year’s pattern the TTC Mitts by the store's Patti Waters, was a huge hit among several of the Knitalong captains.

Once inside this lovely knitting boutique, the stunning array of store samples are sure to inspire any knitter. The Passionknit team all have crazy skills and awesome colour sense. Thinking of making a Color Affection shawl? They can put together combinations of  Koigu Solids (a shop favourite), that you wouldn’t come up with yourself but are so obviously perfect when you see them. They’ve recently added Handmaiden and Madeline Tosh to their stock as well. There are a wide variety of classes to take from beginner knitting to more advanced techniques such as cabling and magic loop. They also offer project specific workshops. Care to try your hand at a top down baby sweater?

Passionknit is the Knitalong’s most northerly destination. It’s  on a lovely section of Yonge Street, north of Lawrence where many pretty shops make for a nice stroll. They moved to their current address four years ago but the store has existed in the neighbourhood since 1993.

Closest TTC: Six blocks north from Lawrence Station or transfer to the 320 Yonge bus.

Knitting Bold: Knitomatic.

photo courtesy of longyarn

Nestled in a small storefront on Bathurst St., a short walk south of St Clair West, Knitomatic has been selling yarn to a loyal following for the past nine years. At the center of this cosy shop sits a kitchen table that invites you to sit and knit while surrounded by shelves stuffed with luscious chunky, worsted and sock weight yarns. Find a pattern from one of the many books and start something new or choose a store-assembled kit for a satisfying project. They often have beginner kits for children as well.  No, there are no knitting machines. Knitomatic is just a really cool name.

Knitomatic hosts Knit Nights on Wednesdays and also has monthly swaps where knitters can de-stash and pick up new treasures. Any leftovers are donated to charities like Street Knit, Sistering , and the Hospital for Sick Children by the store’s owner, Haley Waxberg.

“We love knitting, crochet & felting, and we want to share that love with you and help you enjoy it as much as we do”, she says.

Right now Hayley is excited about the “whimsy, beauty, and occasionally dark sense of humour” in her stock of Studioloo Handspun Art Yarn & Sock Yarns. She has also recently put the discontinued Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK on sale. Get it before it’s gone forever!

To find out more, visit the store blog.

Closest TTC: The  #7 Bathurst Bus stops right outside or walk down a block from the 512 St. Clair West streetcar.

It's A Colour! It's A Store! It's The Purple Purl.

Purple Purl Turns 5 custom MCN Lace from Indigodragonfly
photo courtesy of The Purple Purl on Facebook

Yes, it’s the store named after the favourite colour of its owners. According to them, “Purple is the best colour in the world!”.  On the occasion of The Purple Purl’s recent fifth anniversary, indie dyers including Indigodragonfly and Sweet Georgia, created custom celebratory colourways just for them. A fine tribute indeed.

“The Purl” as it is known, is a home away from home for many knitters. Delicious refreshments and comfy armchairs make this east side LYS a great place to drop by during a day of antique browsing in the Leslieville neighbourhood. Or after playing in nearby Jimmie Simpson Park, buy the kids a cookie and browse for yarn while they eat it. Many of you may already know the Purl as the hosts of past Knitty.com Yarn Roundtables or from taking part in one of the store’s KAL’s. (Check out the current KAL contest on the website). Along with the yarns already mentioned, they proudly stock many other Canadian hand dyed yarns like Dye-Version, Turtle Purl and Tanis Fiber Arts. Their great Purly Points rewards program will help you acquire more of them faster.

Closest TTC: The 83 Jones bus from Donlands station stops right around the corner and the 501 Queen car has a stop directly in front of the store.

Go West to The Knit Cafe

photo courtesy of The Knit Cafe blog

Among the art galleries, cafes and cool clothes of West Queen West sits the The Knit Café. Founded eight years ago, this shop may have launched the cool factor of the neighbourhood.  The store’s large display window is always beautiful and intriguing. One can’t help but want to go inside and drink in all the colour and texture. Welcome to the most westerly point of the Knitalong route.

The’Café' in the store’s name is not just for show. You can enjoy a frothy latté, or hot tea while ogling the wall of Koigu mini skeins. Nibble a treat at the Tuesday night Stitch ‘n Bitch while perusing their line of exclusive patterns. And did you know they teach not only knitting, but needlepoint, felting and rug hooking as well?

The folks at the shop are excited to be taking part in the Knitalong again this year:

 “We are organizing our summer sale to coincide with the TTC Knitalong.  All yarns and needles and books will be 15% off and we will have our special grab bins out with amazing deals besides.” says Kristen, one of the store managers.

Definitely not to be missed! To get a better feel for the store, dip into their blog.

Closest TTC: The 501 Queen Car goes right there or catch the 63 Ossington from Ossington Station and walk West 2 blocks on Queen.

We Love Our LYS's

photo courtesy of not an artist

Hello Knitters! Crocheters! Yarn Lovers! We're Back!
All the volunteer coordinators of The TTC Knitalong are super excited to be back and planning this year's event. We're working hard to make this event the best one yet. Our participating yarn stores are busy as well, donating prizes and planning sales to welcome you. All your favourite LYS's have returned and some new friends are taking part for the first time.

One of the best parts of our annual yarn crawl, besides hanging with awesome knitters and raising money for a great charity, is the opportunity to visit new shops. We're planning a bunch of routes that we hope will meet a variety of your crafty needs. To help make your choice easier, over the coming days, we'll be posting, in no particular order, short profiles on each of the amazing participating retailers. Check them out. Then on June 3rd when the routes are posted and registration opens, we're sure you'll be able to find a route that's right for you.

TTC Knitalong 2013 - Coming Soon to a Transit System Near You!

The TTC Knitalong team is thrilled to announce that we have finally settled on a date for this year's KAL! Please mark your calendars to knit along with us on the TTC on:

SATURDAY JULY 20, 2013

Registration and route announcements will take place at 12:00 (noon) on Monday, June 3rd so stay tuned!

A big thank you to our sponsors!

This year the TTC Knitalong was even bigger and better than ever. Despite rising temperatures and TTC streetcar diversions, our enthusiastic 80 participants and 13 captains across 6 teams and 8 yarn shops were un-fazed. The event would be fabulous already even if we stopped there, but thanks to some fabulous sponsors, everyone went home with some great tote bags with a few goodies, and about 2 dozen of our participants went home with additional prize bags awarded at the after-party at the end of the day. AND, it gets even better than that - between the proceeds from participant registration and some generous donations from a few retailers, the event raised over $1200 for Sistering which helps women in poverty in Toronto. We'd like to take a moment to thank all the fabulous retailers who donated to this event to make it great.

 
 

 In addition to offering coupons for shopping during the event or prizes for the extra giveaways, Patternfish, Knitomatic, Americo, Knit Cafe, and Mary Maxim all gave charitable donations to Sistering, and we celebrated their above-and-beyond generosity by adorning our event tote bags with their logos.

   

 Great prize giveaways came from several fine folks in the knitting community. Soak (of the well-loved Soakwash) gave us a beautiful Soakbox and a bunch of little Heel cream samples for swag bags. Westminster fibers donated several Rowan pattern books which were highly coveted, and Diamond Yarns gave a whole set of interchangeable needles! A few beautiful skeins of yarn came to us from Tanis Fiber Arts and Indigodragonfly Yarns, pattern booklets and project bags came from Cabin Fever and Knitty.com, respectively, and an entire case of Sweet Sheep brand Soakwash came to us from the Sweet Sheep.

Our swag bags were also practically filled to brimming with patterns from local Toronto-area knitting designers, Natalie Selles, Kate Atherley, Laura Chau, Stephannie Roy, Indigodragonfly, and Glenna C. Phew! That is one fantastic mountain of prize giveaways.

 
 

 Finally, we could not have done the event without the participation (and generous discounts on the day!) from our Toronto yarn shops Americo, Knitomatic, The Knit Cafe, Lettuce Knit, Mary Maxim, Passionknit, The Purple Purl, and Romni Wools. We thank everyone for making another enjoyable TTC Knitalong day and look forward to doing it again next year!