"Unikat" Yarn Shop, Frankfurt

Loved Unikat. Another very small shop, only slightly larger than Lana. It's a few blocks away from the Opera, in the other direction from Lana in a tony little neighborhood.

Michelle and I went there 5 times, the first 3 times it was closed. Don't ask why we didn't call first! We finally got our German friend, Beate, to call to find out what the hours were. We were intrigued by what we could see in the windows, particularly a dark gray tank top.

We were delighted when we finally made it when it was open. Unikat is not affiliated with Unikat yarn, made by Zitron. The owner, Claudia Wende, was warm and welcoming and eager to show us what she had. She is one of the friendliest yarn store owners I've ever met. I'd spend a lot time at her shop if I lived in Frankfurt.

Claudia carried lots of brands we recognized, Including some sock yarn and a variety of yarn that we have here, but again I was intrigued by the lines we can't find here. We had to make some painful choices. I took pictures while I procrastinated. I was delighted with that tank made from Lang "Aura," a new release for spring and summer. It's deep gray with a purplish cast. But she only accepted European Union credit cards, so we had to go back when we had cash. That led to visit number five.

We got there an hour early. (I really don't know what was wrong with us!) We knit that hour away at a place called the Liquid Lounge.

I love that name. It was late afternoon and there were only a handful of people there. I ordered a capuccino and Michelle got a cup of mint tea.

I bought one skein of Schulana "Trevari." Claudia knits up lots of samples from the yarn she carries so that you can see what they look like. She had a shawl made from Schulana "Trevari," which doesn't like much in the ball, but looks great knit up. I bought one skein, hoping that I could find it somewhere here. No luck yet.

She also had a garment made up from this Katia "Glaciar," but it's a winter yarn and she only had three balls left. I bought them all, perhaps for an obi - just the thing to dress up a work outfit for evening. It's black with a bit of silver running through.

She also had a body-skimming dress made up from this Gedifra "Possible." It's a thin black ribbon yarn. She had also worked in a bit of fun fur (yes, Del!) and edged part of it with Katia "Galaxy." It was so elegant. And no, I didn't think to take a picture! Claudia is about 6 feet tall and very slender, so I'm certain it looks fabulous on her.

I was fascinated by this little fastener. Have you all seen any here? I should look at M & J Trimming when I'm in New York again. Or look on line.

I bought this Schulana book that has some beautiful patterns and English translations.

It also contains some stitch patterns new to me, and Claudia showed us a few new ones too.

She’d ask how to say something in English, then when she’d say it again in German, I knew what she was talking about. Wouldn't that be a novel way to learn German!

"Lana" Yarn Shop, Frankfurt

"Lana" is a tiny shop owned by Katja LeJeune in Frankfurt's upscale shopping area near the Opera. It is surrounded by cafes, restaurants, and stores like Prada, Akris, Jaeger, Lalique, Salvatore Ferragamo, and other chic boutiques. Walking space inside is maybe 10x10 feet, yet it is fully stocked with beautiful yarn, knitted garments, knitting booklets, and buttons that Katja has collected over the years. I was intrigued by her storage solutions: lots of drawers, shelves, and built-in cases that show sample yarn on the outside and store stock when pulled out.

We went there at least three times - most of the shops are open until 8 or 8:30 these days - and Katja always wore something she'd made.

In a Noro suit-

In her own design

The last day I saw her, she had on a pair of low slung jeans with boots and mid-calf cardigan. Casual chic.

We would recognize the yarn she carried - Anny Blatt, Lang, Lana Grossa, Gedifra, and Noro, among others - yet I've never seen the selections or lines anywhere in the States. We would call many of them novelty yarns, wool and silk stranded with metallic and/or ribbon yarn, sometimes studded with sequins. When knit up, these yarns are subtle, feminine and glamourous. I will be more open-minded about novelty yarn now.

My colleague and knitting buddy, Michelle, bought Katja's last 11 balls of this:

It's Anny Blatt Odysee in "Lagoon." I love it and can't find it anywhere in the States. Yes, we've Googled it. Gedifra makes a colorway almost exactly like it, and I can't it here either. That it's new for spring might have something to do with it. We'll keep looking.

I bought these to crochet some necklaces like the ones Katja had on display. It's Noro "Daria" and Lang "Lame."

I bought this for a summer shell. Kind of nondescript in the ball, but it knits up beautifully.

It's made like the Anny Blatt above with little pebbles enveloped in mesh.

Finally I bought this Lana Grossa booklet. Click on the link to see the contents.

Next: "Unikat"

Wolle Rodel, Frankfurt

My yarn arrived today! I mailed it to myself from Germany. For those of you looking for these posts: sorry they are late. I wanted to post pix of the yarn along the shop photos!

The first yarn shop we visited was Wolle Rodel, located downtown Frankfurt.

I wasn't completely oriented yet - we had only been there a couple of days - I didn't know exactly where we were, but I recognized YARN - it was sitting outside in bins, as you can see. Apparently they have no problem with theft.

These are felt bags in the picture above. Saw a lot them, including some really nice briefcases. I show you those later.


I don't know if Wolle Rodel is typical or not, as it was very different from the other two yarn shops we visited. Wolle Rodel carries a lot of yarn that we have here: Regia, Lana Grossa, Schoeller and Stahl, Opal, Filatura di Crosa, among others.






There was also a basket of ready-made socks for sale.

Loved these buttons. They are about 1.5-2 inches in diameter. I bought a couple for a shrug or cardi. Would have bought more, but as I said, the exchange rate was excrutiating.


We visited the store a couple of times. The very nice Frau Weubel waited on us and allowed me to take her picture in her beautiful Rowan creation.

My Purchases
Schoeller and Stahl Fortissima Socka for more Knitted Pearls perhaps. This is as close as I've seen to Brooklyn Handspun's Hawaii Joy.

Lana Grossa Furetto for "Dashing" wrist warmers. Love the subtle variagation.

and these two lonely buttons. They are about 2 inches wide.

Should have bought this lovely skein, but I can find Mille Fili here in the States.

Next time: Lana and Katja LeJeune.

Frankfurt

Where do I start? I was on a business trip in Frankfurt, Germany, for the last two weeks, where I found a sophisticated city with good restaurants, world class chocolate, culture, great fashion, and great yarn shops, of course!

I also discovered that one of the four colleagues traveling with me is also a knitter. YEA! A knitting buddy for two weeks. I didn't have to explain why I had to go back to the yarn stores several times!

We visited and bought yarn at

Lana

Wolle Model

and Unikat.

The department store Galleria Kaufhof sells yarn, like some in the US used to.

We also shopped at Wachterhauser, which I can best describe as a notions store. They had boat loads of buttons, thread, material, some knitting accessories, trimming, and purse handles.

We spent our evenings knitting at restaurants. We didn't get a second look from anyone. I didn't get the name of one of our favorite places. It had a row of orange plastic chairs that looked out on a small square so that everyone that walked by had an audience.

I never got the name of the place.

I saw lots of metallic yarn, mostly brushed silver and bronze. The effect was very subtle and elegant. Gedifra, Lang, and Lana Grossa made most of the metallic yarn I liked the most. I bought some of course but not a lot because the dollar hit a new low against the Euro while we were there. Everything was almost impossibly expensive.

Traveling Habu.

Y'all have been busy! Looking forward to catching up on your posts.