I had an afternoon off -- all hail the new babysitter! -- so I decided to visit some yarn shops in Kowloon kid-free.
Took the MTR from Admiralty to Kowloon Bay, changing at Mong Kok -- visited the Telford Shopping Plaza and found these --
Emma Woollen and GB Woollen (sister to the one in Taikoo Shing) -- both bright and rather sleek, with a couple of knitters on stools and a saleslady who looked rather pleasantly surprised to see me -- at GB, I bought some "Maurice" from Puppy Yarns, a silly name but a lovely single-ply wool in deep jewel tones.
Took the MTR back to Prince Edward Station and walked a few blocks to Fa Yuen Street and Double Knit, now open -- quite a big place, to my surprise, with shoppers and salesladies chattering a mile a minute, representative balls of yarn in glass display cases along one side and the rest of the stock in bags and bins along the other side, swathes of samples knitted into scarves hanging from the ceiling, and I found some Jaeger Matchmaker DK on sale for $28 (US$3.60). A ridiculous price, so I bought rather a lot....
Not far away, I found Nathan Woollen, on Siow Chin's recommendation --
(I wish I could say that I got these policemen to stand in the doorway as a reference point, but it was a fluke, and they were too busy writing tickets to notice me.)
Obviously a family-run shop, as there seemed to be a set of parents, a daughter, and a granddaughter, a charming little miss of about three, who said "Hello!" politely, and smiled when I replied "Ni hao!" I bought some scrumptious Noro Silk Garden #82 for HK$49 (US$6.30, retail at home about $10.50).
I got back home in just under my allotted four hours, not too tired or hot, and very happy!
Is this yarn shop in China? If so, where? My husband will be in Beijing for a week. Thanks!
Posted by: empress | July 22, 2005 at 08:56 PM
No, I'm sorry, these are all in Hong Kong. Can anyone else make suggestions re Beijing?
Posted by: Jeanne | July 22, 2005 at 09:35 PM
GB Woollen in Kowloon Bay has closed down! But the one in Taikoo Shing still is open. I am just updating my blog with a visit to a new shop in Mong Kok. Thanks for your list - you made me very happy when I moved to Hong Kong in 2005.
Posted by: Ingrid | June 12, 2008 at 03:40 AM
Thank you so much for listing these shops! I thought I'd share that Mui Tong has moved from Bonham Strand East to 17 Jervois on the first floor. It is on the street right behind Bonham Strand East.
Posted by: Ramie | August 16, 2010 at 01:32 AM