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It’s been too long since our last post, but SOOO much has been happening. Rebecca is working on her next design of the month, and I’ve taken over the blog. Speaking of our own Rebecca . . .spending so much time amongst the yarn company folks and all those folks who have made yarn their biz (more about that later), I sometimes feel like a dilettante. Like everyone is better at knitting than I am. I was recently amazed, impressed, inspired, and many other adjectives to find out Rebecca, The Point’s own designer, the woman who has brought us some of our favorite patterns (Sophia tank, Super Slouchy Beret, 2 in 1 Hat, to name but a few) had never knit a sweater before working at the Point. How’s that for inspirational? You all can do it too.

In other yarny news . . . There will be lots of new goodies coming in this season. I spent a crazy 48 hours in Long Beach last week at the National NeedleArts Association Trade show. Two thousand one hundred and fifty vendors in 48 hours. I walked my feet off for you all to bring back the best in the world. In the coming weeks and months we will be announcing, one by one (got to keep the suspense!) the new vendors we will be carrying. Helane and I have been ordering as fast as we can.

Many of you have already enjoyed our new e-mail feature “Out of the Box”. This will keep you all up to date on the deliveries, so you know when you need to call in sick to work and get on over to the Point.

If you haven’t already signed up for our e-mail list, it’s not to late. Get on over to our web page and join the fun!

Here’s a sneek peek at what showed up today . . . MANOS

CASHMERE!
Santa said you’ve all been so good knitting gifts for others, that we need to save something special for January.

As knitters, we mark anniversaries differently. Meaning, we have a different set of milestones that we recognize, unique to those who love fiber.

Personally, I can remember the completion of my first sweater as vividly as my 16th birthday. Even more so, because it was a goal that I set for myself that I met and celebrated with an overwhelming sense of personal accomplishment. Not simply a birthday that would have come whether I wanted it to or not, but an obstacle that I chose and that I conquered.

My first sweater, my first pair of socks, my first mittens (one of my fondest), they wouldn’t have been possible without the knowledge and support of knitter friends more experienced than I. I was fortunate to have around me, a caring support group of people who would answer questions and give guidance. Fortunately for you, The Point has anticipated your knitterly needs and put one in place for you.

This winter we are offering a series of classes dedicated to helping you take that next step and making something that, maybe, you didn’t think possible. Take a look:

Spindle Spinning
If you spin it, you will knit! Learn the basics of spinning, how to draft, spin and make a yarn that you can be proud of in no time!  Once you start spinning you won’t be able to stop.
(All Materials included)
2:00-5:00pm, $65
Sunday: December 23
Sunday: January 6
Sunday: January 20
Saturday: December 29

Yarn Dyeing
Once you learn how to spin it, you gotta learn how to dye it! It’s easy and fun to do. We’ll have a selection of wool yarns and will describe the process, from natural fiber to gorgeous hand-painted yarn. Imagine how incredible you can make your next project, with your very own color-way!
(Materials not included.  Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
10:00-1:00, $65
Sunday: December 2
Sunday: January 20

Chunky Mittens
To keep your hands warm during those cold winter nights, learn how to make the most simple mittens that you can embelish and make your own in so many ways! Now you can have matching mitten for all those scarves! In this class you will learn how to work with double pointed needles, work in the round, decrase stitches and increase stitches.
(Materials not included.  Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
12:30 – 2:00 pm
$75/2 weeks
Wednesday, January 16 and 23

The Falling Leaves Scarf
This beautiful scarf class teaches a flat i-cord and how to knit leaves. Very cute. Can be done with chunky yarns as well.
(Materials not included.  Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
2:00 – 5:00, $65
Sunday: January 27

Hairpin Lace
Hairpin Lace is a decorative braid created using a frame of 2 parallel rods and a crochet hook  You will first learn the technique of creating a strip; everything starts with this way. Then learn how to control the loops, how to finish the edges and the multiple ways to join them together. Knowledge of how to make a crochet chain and single stitch is recommended. However, these basic skills will be taught if you need. Scarf pattern included.
(Materials not included. To download materials list, go to barbarakerrknits.com.  Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
10:00-4:00, $75
Saturday: January 5

Design Your Own Sweater
Ever wanted to free yourself from patterns?  Learn how to make the sweater of your dreams.  In this four week class you will go from measuring, design, to sweater!  You will choose you yarn, your neck, arm, body style and you’ll knit the sweater you always wanted.
(Materials not included. Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
10:00 – 1:00pm
$175/4 weeks
Sunday: January 6, 13, 27, Feb. 10

Gorgeous Gloves
Gloves are stylish and keep our hands warm. These gloves are unique in that they are knit from the fingers to the cuff.. You choose the yarn; then make a swatch while learning to knit circularly on 2 circular knitting needles. Gloves can be knit with fine, medium, worsted or chunky yarns.
(Materials not included. Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class)
1:00 – 4:00pm
$90/2 weeks
Saturday: January 12 and 26

Fair Isle Knitting
It is known as stranded knitting, produces a thick and warm fabric. One yarn is knit while the other is carried behind the work. The knitter holds one of the yarns the right hand and the other yarn in the left hand. It is more satisfying to knit Fair Isle patterns in the round Therefore the vehicle to learn the technique is a hat. Pattern included._(Materials not included. To download materials list, go to barbarakerrknits.com.  Materials must be purchased at The Point.  Receive 10% discount on materials for class.)
Saturday, January 19
1:00-4:00, $65

•Sign up early. To reserve your space you will need to pay for your class in full.
•No refund for missed classes
•You can cancel a class up to a week in advance for a store credit.
•You can reschedule a class up to 48 hours in advance.
•You can register for any of our classes in our store or online www.thepointnyc.com

If your schedule doesn’t work with ours… ask about private lessons. Birthday Parties and Special Events are available. Let us help make your occasion a memorable one.

A 10% discount is offered to students for supplies for classes taken at The Point.

The staff at The Point is still full of amazing gift-y ideas for your fiber-loving friends. Check it out:

Megan: I have to say- the cheaper I get, the more trouble is bound to ensue. I’m sick of carrying around my knitting projects in little plastic bags. Needles poke through, creating holes for stitch markers and darning needles to escape; I mix up my plastic-bagged knitting with my slightly ajar tupperwared lunch and end up with balsamic vinegar residue on my yarn; the handles on a plastic bag aren’t created for over-the-shoulder comfort, especially annoying because of how many other bags i seem to be toting around. It’s time to face facts: I need a Go Knit Pouch, impossible to incise with needles, obvious enough to not mix up lunch with fibrous project, with a drawstring that can either find happiness thrown over the shoulder or can be carried around, fanny-pack style! For the holidays this year, I suggest the ultimate gift to be the Go Knit Pouch, preferably size Large, to accommodate you either way. Let us breathe through simplification!

Helane: My idea is Gold Club ($100) or Silver Club ($75) membership. It is the gift that keeps on giving for our customer. The perfect gift for someone to give them!

Leia: I don’t know how anyone lives without “The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges” and to get started I’d pick Alpaca With a Twist: Baby Twist!

Ana: An Amy Butler knitting bag, “The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges” and “Son of Stitch N’ Bitch” .

Kiana: If it were me, I’d have to say a Gift Certificate from The Point NYC. Then I could choose anything I want!!

This holiday season, The Point would like to offer you a guide to buying gifts for your favorite fiber enthusiasts.  Be careful, you just might discover a few items that you can’t resist getting for yourself!

Here is the first installment:

Patty: Two words… Manos Silk!

(For those not in the know, Manos del Uruguay has just produced a new line of yarn that is 30% silk and 70% wool in beautiful Manos Hand-dyed colors!  It’s not even on their website yet!)

Beverly: Hmmm.  I think I would pick “Stitch N’ Bitch Handbook”/”The Happy Hooker” for a beginner knitter/crocheter. And Malabrigo for the more advanced knitter.  It’s Malabrigo, who doesn’t love Malabrigo?!

Rebecca (myself):  A good book is always in order for inspiration.  I love Twinkle’s new book, “Big City Knits” and the new “Son of Stitch N’ Bitch”.  Also, nothing says love like some luxury yarn - I would go crazy for Claudia’s Hand Painted Silk Lace!

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In 2002, I was working as a wardrobe assistant. It was a very glamourous job for someone just 25 years old. I found myself having to travel by airplane at least once a month and though the job was demanding at times, I often found myself waiting around a lot. I was bored.

So, I decided to learn how to knit. It seemed a very sensible thing to do - It was productive and entertaining, right? Great! Little did I know that 5 years later, not only would I still be knitting, but that it would lead to a job at a knitting store! And writing this blog!
When I spoke to Ann Rubin, founder of Afghans for Afghans on Monday night at The Point, she had a very similar story.

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but her story goes like this:

In 2001, just after the 9/11, Ann found herself unemplyoed as a result of the dot com bubble bursting. She was living in the San Francisco area, which has the largest Afghani community in the US. Out of work, and desperate to do something for the refugees of the country which she had visited in 1999 and loved so much, Ann started to organize her friends.

The San Fransico office of the American Friends Service Committee was putting together a container of supplies to send to Afghanistan and Ann wanted to contribute something. “We should make afghans for Afghans,” she quipped to a friend. And a legend was born.

“6 years later, I can’t believe we’re still going!” Ann confided in me. (See how like her I am? Again, I’m kidding. Get it?)

That’s the magic of this world we inhabit. Knitting and crocheting can make a difference in people’s lives. (Tell that to your friend the next time she gives you the stink eye for knitting on the subway!)

To contribute donations to Afhgans for Afghans please visit their website. Their needs change often (could be baby hats one week, socks the next) and they have the most up to date information on their site at all times.

November’s yarn is Soho Bulky Tweed from Tahki Yarns. Soho Bulky Tweed is a thick, bulky, nubby yarn in variegated and heathered colors. Made from 100% pure new wool, it is primarily suitable for sweaters, vests, and afghans.

As always the yarn of the month is 10% off all month!

November’s Pattern of the Month is the Christie Bolero. The pattern is free when you buy the yarn! This is the perfect beginner project for people looking to move away from scarves.

The exclusive yarn and pattern of the month is available at The Point for the entire month of November.

If you don’t live in the NYC area, give us a call and we’ll take you order over the phone.

On Monday, Debbie Stoller vistited The Point to film a segment on knitting groups for Better TV.  Here she is posing with (from left) Patty and the new members of The Point family,  Megan and Cale.

We were thrilled that Debbie chose The Point as the place to film a bit all about group knitting.  (Yours truly even got to sit and knit with Debbie!)  I mean, can you think of a better place?  Not only are we the destination for the knitting group that Debbie herself founded, we are the place that many other friendships founded in fiber love were forged!

At The Point, the staff is a family and when you walk through the doors, we are welcoming you into our home.  Many of our employees are customers who just couldn’t get enough!  You may have seen them knitting at one of our tables and now they’ll be smiling at you from behind the counter.

But it’s the community that has sprung up at The Point that makes it truly a unique store.  The fiber arts seem foster a need for sharing and comminucating more than other hobbies.  The solitary knitter craves the input of others who can understand his or her secret language.  Others, who can get excited (and cheer and give you a standing ovation) when you complete your first sweater!  A new knitter can find that the minute he or she steps foot in The Point.

We often have new customers who ask when are the nights that groups meet at the store to knit.  The honest to goodness answer is every day.  Show up, don’t be shy and pull up a chair.  You most likely will make a new friend and learn something new.  Then, before you know it, you’ll have your very own knitting group and you’ll meet at The Point, where everyone knows your name.

One of the exciting new classes we are offering this fall at The Point is spinning!  As demonstrated here, by our very own Kiana and her mom, you can now learn how to spin you very own yarn.  As if you weren’t already obsessed enough with fiber!

The incredibly talented Alexandra Sarkozy is holding court with the spinning wheel starting, well, right now.  You can call us for a private lesson with the wheel and Alexandra at any time.

Also, there is a drop spindle spinning workshop on the menu.  Sign up for the workshop on Saturday, November 24th from 2:00 - 5:00pm.  The workshop is only $65 and you can sign up right now online!

What’s that you say?  I can’t believe it!  You mean you haven’t heard about the cool new workshops being offered at The Point this fall?!  Where have you been hiding?!

Please, allow me to fill you in on all the cool happenings.

One of the most exciting new workshops we are featuring this fall is the Yarn Dying Workshop!  In one morning, you will be able to select your custom colors of Aljo Batik Acid Dye and create a one-of-a-kind creation of the wooly variety.  Students have a choice of a sport-weight merino wool or a bulky New Zealand wool.  Buy one skein or buy five - it’s up to you!

We’ve already had one very successful workshop as evidenced in the photos above, but, never fear!  The Point is offering 3 more sessions: October 21st, November 4th and November 8th.  Workshops are run by New Kid on the Block, Megan, The Point’s newest import from Los Angeles.  Trust us, she knows a thing or two (or three) about color.

So what are you waiting for?  Sign up now!

Point is happy to bring you October’s Yarn of the Month!

October’s Yarn of the Month is Cascade Pastaza. Pastaza a wonderfully soft wool blend, chunky yarn. Its composition of 50% Llama and 50% Peruvian highland wool works well for winter outfits like sweaters, jackets, coats and accessories. Also Pastaza is an ideal choice for felting projects.

As always the yarn of the month is 10% off all month!

October’s Pattern of the Month is the Swing Vest. The pattern is free when you buy the yarn!

This is a great transitional piece to ease you into the cool Fall weather and it’s a perfect advanced beginner project.

The exclusive yarn and pattern of the month is available at The Point. If you don’t live in the NYC area, give us a call and we’ll take you order over the phone. View colors online and we’ll place your order!

On Sunday, September 9th, the folks at The Point did what they do best - they threw a party!

Over 20 women converged on The Point to learn how to knit and celebrate the amazing Ms. Gellert and, we can promise you, a grand time was had by all!

Just look at all those people kntting, laughing, eating and having a good ol’ time, The Point-style.  (Oh, yeah.  There’s me in the top right hand corner.)

The party was a first for our new teacher, Megan, and our new manager, Patty.  I do believe they enjoyed themselves as well!

Don’t be sad because you missed out - plan your next part at The Point!  We’ll make sure you get to eat, knit and be happy!!!!

If you happen to stop by The Point this week and you notice something different, that’ll be Patty. She’s the newest member of The Point family and our new manager!

Come by and say “hello” and make her feel welcome!

Can you feel it?  That whiff of Autumn in the air?  Only a knitter can be excited about the end of summer and the coming of cooler weather!

At The Point we are slowly gearing up for Fall knits with the arrival of an enormous shipment of Misti Alpaca yarns.

Misti Alpaca Chunky from Misti International is a thick, plied yarn made from 100% baby alpaca. It is suitable for sweaters, scarves, jackets, hats, and mittens.  And it’s probably one of the most popular yarns available at The Point!  Come and get yours and get a jump on your cold weather knits!

Over the last 6 months or so, The Point has been trying to launch their Yarn Of The Month Program.  The idea is that every month, we will feature a new yarn and offer you a free coresponding pattern.  The Yarn of the Month also comes at a discount, which is a real deal for you all.

You may have noticed the Yarn of the Month come and go and you maybe have not noticed it at all.  Well, we are happy to announce that Yarn of the Month is back with a fury and here to stay!  Check it out.

<>August’s Yarn of the Month is King Tut! Knitting Fever’s “King Tut” is a worsted weight, classic plied yarn. Available in a variety of solid colors. Suitable for making hats, scarves, sweaters, vests, ponchos, blankets, and clothing for children and babies. Made of cotton, it can be machine washed and dried flat.

<>August’s Pattern of the Month is Sophia. Sophia is  It’s a total beginner pattern - all you need to know is knitting and purling!  She’s innovatively knit in the round, basically in one piece and the blousy effect is gained by knitting two strands of yarn together for the top portion - there are no increases!  

<>Sophia is the perfect summer pattern and King Tut is the perfect summer yarn. Get yours only at The Point, 10% off during the whole month of August!