Nationally Known Knitwear Designer Opens Shop In Downtown Manhattan

Manhattan has a new and interesting shop. Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear has opened at 103 North Third Street second floor.

Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear is owned and operated by Kennita Tully, a nationally published knitwear designer and teacher.

Tully said she learned to knit as a child. "My grandmother would knit, my mother would knit and my mother taught me." Tully and her husband Steven have two children.

Tully said she started knitting professionally by having a display at the 1992 Manhattan Little Apple Festival.

Her work first appeared on the cover of "Knitters" magazine two years ago and she has since been published in most other major knitting publications in the United States. Her designs can currently be seen in the spring issue of "Interweave Knits" and "Family Circle Easy Knitting".

After designing an item for a magazine, she must go back and redesign the item for other sizes. "That requires a lot of math." After selling the idea and pattern to a magazine Tully then "contracts" with others to produce the new work.

Tully has two designs in the Spring 2002 issue of Interweave Knits magazine which can be purchased in bookstores. The magazine had this to say about Tully’s Cables and Tulips: "Kennita Tully combined simple cables and tulip lace in this springy A-line pullover. To draw in the waist, she cleverly hid decreases along the sides of the cables. The collar, shaped with miters at the center front, is worked separately and sewn in place."

And for the Checkerboard Mesh the magazine said: "For those days and nights when all you need is a light weight cover-up, Kennita Tully designed this lace cardigan in a comfortable cotton-rayon blend." Each has a full-page photo and a full-page description on how to knit the item.

The shop, located on the second floor of 103 North 3rd in Manhattan, is now open for business. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturdays with a grand opening planned for Saturday, April 27th from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The shop focuses on hand knitting yarns, from natural fiber and luxury yarns to the newest in micro-fibers, and original designs. Machine knitting and weaving yarns as well as a large assortment of needles and accessories can also be found. A class list for May is available upon request. Call 537-1826 for more information.