Everyone loves their Local Yarn Store (LYS), but for me the two shops I most consider my LYS are not in the city where I live. One is Stranded by the Sea in Edmonds, WA (my mother-in-law’s LYS) and the other is This Is Knit in Dublin, Ireland. Today, I am sharing photos and memories from four TIK visits over my 13 years living in Ireland. Then I’ll show you a few of my favorite things from their online store at the moment.
March 2009
My first visit to This Is Knit in Dublin was in March 2009. I was a new knitter, only having learned the previous November. It was fun to see the possibilities. My second visit was to the Powerscourt HQ with my father for my birthday in December 2009. We browsed and he bought me some yarn and a beautiful aluminium needle gauge.
Written on March 10th, 2009:
Today, I spent the day in Dublin and it reminded me of all the places I love in that fair city. I had a wee bit of time to spare so I visited This Is Knit in Blackrock. Their main location is in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre on South William Street of Dublin 2 so I have to remember that for next time I’m up there. After oohing and aahing over all the lovely colors and textures and possibilities, I got down to business and bought a KnitPro Symfonie Wood Interchangeable Starter Set as well as two Louisa Harding Merlettos (Lavender). I had mild concerns it would be hard to switch from metal to wood, but I adapted easily to whatever differences exist. The woman at the store was endlessly helpful and patient. I initially wanted enough Merletto to knit a vest, but at €5.45 per ball I changed my plan to be a lacy cowl instead.
December 2009 – My Birthday Weekend
My dad took my up to Dublin for my birthday weekend. We stayed in the Brooks Hotel and we celebrated with dinner at a little place near Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. We had a dinner for two which included a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and side vegetables. Like home cooking. There was crumble with a candle. It was so relaxing and fun. I’m glad he could be here for it. The next day, we went to a fabric store and bought some quarter meters of cotton fabrics. Then we went to This Is Knit in their HQ shop and he helped me choose a birthday skein and also bought me a beautiful metal knitting needle gauge that doubles as a necklace. The next morning before he flew out, we went to a little fabric shop where I bought a navy dot fabric.
June 2012
My first overnight away after Optimus was born was to Dublin for a cooking class at Saba. It was such fun and taking the class with Chefess Kate was a treat. Of course, the opportunity to pop into TIK is always lovely. But who can resist when I’m nearby anyway, right? I bought a couple skeins that caught my eye, of course.
December 2020 – My Birthday Weekend
Four days after my father passed away, I needed to bring Optimus to an appointment at Crumlin. I was devastated, but Optimus suggested we make the trip a celebration of what Grandpa Bill would have done. He was right. We booked a night at the Maldron Kevin Street and in spite of the pandemic, we made the most of that time together. My friend Aoibh met us at the train station and took us to breakfast. We met several years ago by chance and hit it off. Finding a genuine, intelligent, compassionate, and fun friend is a gift! The appointment went well and I got to see Diane which is always a treat. And fun to explain to the doctor how I know his nurse simply by saying “we both knit.” Explains it fine don’t you think? I’ve known Diane since I was pregnant with Optimus. We then ordered Wagamama take away and feasted in our hotel room watching Murder She Wrote. Then the next morning after a delightful hotel breakfast, we walked to TIK with our luggage just before we’d take the train home to Cork. Lisa helped me choose a special skein of Olann fingering weight yarn. Optimus chose a few little Ricorumi skeins for knitting candy cane ornaments.
From my Instagram post written on December 12th, 2020:
For my birthday in 2009, my dad took me to Dublin and to TIK so I thought we would do it for my birthday this weekend again. Lisa helped me choose a gentle neutral to use with two solid skeins he bought me previously. It will be a special shawl.
TIK Online Shop
Here are a few favorite items in the TIK online shop. I have a few of these and they’re in my toolkit for my knitting projects. Sharing these links is enthusiasm for shopping local. No affiliate linking.
Project Bag #03 | Hide and Hammer
Drawstring Project Bag | This is Knit Shop Front
Zing Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set | KnitPro
This is Knit Needle Gauge | Katrinkles
Townhouse Cushion – Natural Linen | Deborah Toner
Have you visited TIK yourself?
Great post, Evin 🙂 I wish I was with you exploring ‘This Is Knit’, but it’s a little far for me to commute!!!
Yay!! You got your starter set of ‘Symfonie’ needles. Here they are called ‘Harmony’. I also have the metal set, called ‘Options’ here and ‘Nova’ over in Europe. I use my wood set way more than my metal set. Once you work with the lovely wood needles, they are lighter to work with and much quieter.
Hope you are keeping well and health. A lot of flus other winter afflictions are going around here. Tis the season of sniffles and snuffles….
Oh Evin! I’m only seeing this beautiful post now!
Thank you so much for sharing all your visits here – you’ve taken me on a lovely trip down memory lane 🙂
I hope we’ll have a chance to catch up again soon x Lisa