Wednesday, January 23, 2008

KnitMap, helping the knitter on the go

(edited from a post on BlogHer)

BlogHer editor, sassymonkey, is headed to Europe soon, and like any true knitting nut, she queried her contacts on Twitter to ask: Are there any yarn stores I need to visit in Paris/Rome/Venice?

Alas, my new favorite knit-store finder only found chain stores in Paris and nothing in Italy. If you know where to find stores in these cities, will you please let Sassymonkey know? I'm hoping it's just a case of the website needing time. I mean, there MUST be great yarn shops in these cities, right? They just haven't been entered on the KnitMap.

What's that you say? What's KnitMap? It's a website that uses a Google Maps application to let you locate yarn shops anywhere. Yep, it can be that simple. Let's say you will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and want to know about shops in the area. Enter the city name, click "GO", and 2 shops pop up on the map. Click on the marker for either one will yield more information about the shop and the opportunity to get directions.

However, you can also try searching for stores with specific limiters. I entered "Oakland, CA." and asked for shops with wifi. There are three in the KnitMap database in the Bay Area!

Matt, the website developer, has also made it possible to have KnitMap on your IPhone.

If you're wondering how you missed knowing about KnitMap, the site just premiered in September and is dependent upon visitors entering shop details. Most large cities in the US seem to be well represented. Outside the US, however, results are more hit-or-miss. There are regular raffles of goodies for those who enter store data, so why not check to see if your LYS is on their list. If not, please enter it.

Especially if you know one in Paris, Rome or Venice.

What other bloggers are saying about KnitMaps:


Katewillknit used KnitMaps while planning a trip to Japan.

Crafting Morrighana is wondering Have You Seen My Yarnstore?

Crafter by Night listed the website as one of her favorite things from early January.

Kim Werker at CrochetMe thought I Must Live Under A Rock.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

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