xirles

Hi All,

Having just found out I am going to be a grandma, I have this strange urge to have a go at knitting. Does anyone know of any wool/knitting supply shops around Benidorm/Albir/Altea areas?

Thanks in anticipation!

big wheels

Congratulations.

My wife buys all her wool from the local Chinese "multi precio" shop here in Sevilla. She tells me that it's of surprisingly good quality.
I'm sure there must be a few of these shops around your area.

Rosemary

I found that the wool in the Chinese shops around this area to be of very poor quality. With baby things needing to be washed so much I would advise that you buy good quality wool or all of your hard work could be ruined in the first wash.

Rosemary

me me

Hi xirles,

Congratulations

So you are a knitter, I am a bit of a "hooker" myself.

There is a small (really tiny) wool shop in Benidorm if you walk along Levante beach to where the old town starts, then walk with your back to the sea, it might be off c/Apollo (I think) the shop will be down a little narrow street.

I have been there a couple of times, but dont know the name of the shop or the street, but I can picture it in my mind.

It could possibly be this shop, it fits the general area and how I found it the first time.

It has a large window, all glass, glass front door, with a lovely display of yarns.

I hope you find it.

As Rosemary said, it is not a good idea to buy the Chinese shop wool, it will be a wasted effort.

A friend of mine knitted a ManU kit, jumper, scarf, it washed terrible, lucky it was only for the DOG

Rosemary

I have sat here picturing the shop that you mentioned and remember that it was a good shop selling good yarn. When we last went to Benidorm (more than 2 years ago) we did not know where any of the crafty shops were and the tourist info place gave us a map and marked them all on it for us and this shop was amongst them.

Rosemary

me me

I went there in the summer, I met friends who were staying in a hotel and needed to do something while lounging by the pool.

I cannot for the life of me remember the name or the address, though, like you the rest is crystal clear in my mind.

Is that a bad sign for the future?

big wheels

All I can say is don't knock it until you have tried it.
My wife has made hundreds of baby items out of this wool over the past 5-6 yrs and sold them all over the world. She has never had any complaints about the quality.
Lots of customers have even returned asking for bigger sizes as their babies grow out of the originals.

No doubt these things get washed frequently.

Rosemary

If you look at my post I have stated that in this area it is of poor quality, I did not say that I thought it might be poor quality, I said it is poor quality, therefore I think that you should have realised that I have indeed tried it. As a professional knitter I would not use their wool and therefore I felt it important to point out to a beginner that they may find that the Chinese shops vary in quality. Glad that you have had a different experience, no need to be so aggressive with your post.

Rosemary

me me

The crocheting cotton for sale in the todo shops, Egyptian cotton is very good and so cheap around 2 euros, but being either 12, 8 or 5 I feel it is too fine to knit with.

I must agree with Rosemary about the quality of the knitting yarns though, knitting is not a cheap hobby, it is more expensive than buying a finished article in most cases.

It would be such a shame to put in a lot of work, making a baby present only for it to be ruined as it does tend to get "balled" with the slightest bit of friction, usually on the sleeves.

Rosemary

Yes, the crochet cotton is brilliant, I have loads of items crocheted by my neighbour prior to her death and all of the thread was bought from the Chinese shop. Out of interest Me Me what area do you live? Maybe you come under the same suppliers as I do and Big Wheels maybe is in a totally different area and maybe therefore a different supplier.

Have you noticed that in some of the chinese shops they have wool with Made in Spain on the ball band. Fancy them thinking that they can get away with printing it in English and trying to sell it in Spain!!!!!!

Rosemary

xirles

Thank you all so much for the replies and advice! Looking forward to wandering around the old town in Benidorm to find the wool shop. Should be an interesting winter as I only ever knit one baby jacket and that was for my son 28 years ago

Rosemary

Good luck with your shopping. Hope you find something nice to knit and that you enjoy doing it again. If you need any help with reading the pattern or anything feel free to PM me and I will do what I can for you.

Rosemary

me me

I am in Alicante centre, to tell you the truth I dont even look at the knitting yarn in the chinese shops.

I would rather pay more and get decent stuff.

The novelty yarn and the fantasia types in the Chinese shops are OK, and a hell of lot cheaper than craft or wool shops.

As for the plain yarn, I even hate the feel of it, I don´t know how to explain it, but is sort of sets my teeth on edge.

Anyway I enjoy it and it keeps me out of trouble.

xirles

Thank you Rosemary. Will let you know if I get stuck! Going to start with something fairly idiot-proof (thought a baby blanket) and take it from there

me me

I hope you find it, and happy clicking over the winter.