Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Yarn Crawling: Guest Tour!

Yarn Crawling: Guest Tour With Guide! And Pitstops!

Lizbon has not only fantastically offered up this well-written tour, but has offered to TAKE YOU WITH HER on this tour. She will be going on either this Friday 3/23 or this Saturday 3/24. Email her at lizbon AT girlwich DOT com if you’re interested and let her know which day(s) you are available.

Also, Lizbon's Knitter's guide to New York Restaurants (many in the path of this yarn crawl), available as PDF by clicking here.

Lizbon’s Tragically Hip (Soho and E/W Village) Yarn Crawl

Meet at Le Gamin (132 W. Houston, just west of Sullivan, on the north/ uptown side of the street) to fortify for the trip with caffeine and croissants and crepes. Cross Houston and walk half a block down to Purl Soho, at 137 Sullivan St. Gawk and finger and buy. Don’t miss Farmhouse Yarns’ or The Fibre Company's new Terra line – oh the colors.

From Purl, walk east along Houston (Crate & Barrel, on the corner of Houston and Broadway, has publicly accessible restrooms upstairs, if needed) to Ave. A (one block east of 1st Ave.). Note that on the south side of Houston, Ave. A will be called Essex St. Turn left to walk north (uptown) on Ave. A. to Downtown Yarns, located at 45 Ave. A (just north of 3rd St.), on the west (left) side of the street. It is tiny, so look sharp or you’ll walk right past it. Lots of pretty things crammed in here.

Then wend your way westward and northwards to Knit New York, on 14th St., just east of 2nd Ave., on the north (uptown) side of the street. Optional stop on the way is Magry Knits, at 80 E. 7th St. at 2nd Ave. Knit New York has a café in front (lavender chamomile tea, yum!), and yarn in back and along the sides.

Next, you can either walk west along 14th St. to 6th Ave. (bathrooms available on the way in Whole Foods, on 14th St. between Broadway and University – go to 2nd floor, bathrooms are in hallway to the left of the juice bar. Also in Barnes & Noble, at northern side of Union Square, 16th St., between Park Ave. So. And Broadway) or hop on an M14A or M14D bus heading west, or walk one block east to 1st Ave. or west to 3rd Ave. and get on the L train, heading toward 8th Ave. Get off the bus (or subway) at 6th Ave., and walk one and a half blocks downtown (south) to Gotta Knit, at 498 6th Ave., 2nd Floor, between 12th and 13th Sts., on the east side of the street. Look up for the sign in the window.

From Gotta Knit, you can either walk downtown and westward to Bedford St. amid the tangle of streets that is the West Village, or take the F or V train (at 6th Ave. and 14th) downtown one stop to West 4th St. At West 4th, follow signs for the West 3rd St. exit, which will dump you unceremoniously onto 6th Ave. at W. 3rd. Cross 6th Ave. at this intersection, then walk downtown (against the flow of traffic) along 6th Ave. till you reach a kooky intersection of three streets on your right (it will look like more than 3). Look for Bleecker and Carmine streets on your right. There is a little square with a lot of pigeons in the center of it. Amble to your right along Carmine St. (or on Bleecker a very short distance to Carmine where you will be turning left to get onto Carmine). Walk one block along Carmine St. to Bedford St. and turn right onto Bedford. The Point will be on your left, at 37a Bedford. Whew! Stop and refresh yourself and marvel at how tangled a web the West Village can weave.

If you are so inclined, you can, after leaving The Point, walk back to Bleecker (head west on Bleecker, away from 6th Ave.) and enjoy the lovely smells of Aphrodisia (spices, natural bath products), the fantastic cheese at Murray’s Cheese Shop, or have dinner at Home Restaurant or Cornelia Street Cafe - both on the tiny Cornelia street, which is just off Bleecker, about a block west of 6th Ave. At its other end, Cornelia runs right into 6th Ave., and you can cross 6th and walk up a block or two to the West. 4th St. subway station again (here you can pick up F/V or A/C/E trains). If you need an N/R/W train, walk east from here, passing through or just above or below Washington Square Park to 8th St. and Broadway, where the R and W trains stop (you can transfer to an N or Q train if needed at 14th St., one stop north, or at Canal St., two stops south).

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Amber, just wanted to let you know I don't think Magry Knits is in NY anymore -- you may want to double-check before you head over there.

3/20/2007 12:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FYI, I called the number for Magry Knits, and it's now a private residence, so I believe Johanna is correct, and Magry is no longer in business.

3/21/2007 12:07 PM  

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