New Orleans: The Quarter Stitch

I caught a plane to New Orleans, checked into my room, fluffed myself up for a celebratory pre-wedding dinner, and set off on foot down Chartres Street. I’d never been to New Orleans before, but everybody else in my life has been there, and they have all sent me a photo of The Quarter Stitch, the French Quarter’s yarn shop. I was nearly at the restaurant when I looked up, and there it was:

The shop was already closed, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop anyway. But 36 hours later, with less than a half hour before I had to go to the airport to catch my flight home, I dragged the mother of the groom to the Quarter Stitch, which had just opened for the day.

The sign is correct: knitting AND needlepoint, joyfully sharing space. The walls are covered with an incredible selection of needlepoint canvases. The tables and shelves are piled with great yarns, with focus on color and bayou-friendly fibers such as linen and cotton. Some lovely lightweight wools, too.

And some lovely not-lightweight wools, from Loopy Mango. If the climate is too hot to wear wool, you can always knit for the floors.

File under: things I would like to needlepoint on a cushion—and actually could.

Miraculously, I made it to the airport on time.

People in my life who visit New Orleans: please don’t stop sending me pictures of the Quarter Stitch. I’d like to go back, next time with enough time to shop.