"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!