Edith Eig - Mother of Purl: Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Designs at Hollywoods Knitting Circle

FRIENDS, FUN, AND FABULOUS DESIGNS
AT HOLLYWOODS KNITTING CIRCLE

EDITH EIG

with Caroline Greeven
PHOTOS BY Warren Eig

PATTERNS

Because Edith is such a nice and patient teacher, I learned to knit.

Sofia Coppola

I always wanted to knit, but never thought I could until I met Edith. Her patience and kindness has opened a whole new world for me.

Daryl Hannah

Knitting is a nice way to relax and be productive at the same time.

Julianne Moore

I am so pleased that knitting has made a comeback. It is an art, and it is a pleasure, and thank heaven for Edith and La Knitterie Parisienneits a knitters paradise.

Shelley Morrison

I just love to knit and love to knit with Edith because she knows everything in the world about knitting. I remember the first time I went to Ediths La Knitterie Parisienne I went four days in a row. And, if I make a mistake, I cant wait to call Edith or go to the store so she can help me. Knitting is so much fun, and I cant wait to learn to knit ponchos and sweaters for my stuffed dogs because I dont have a real one. My next project is going to be a yellow scarf for my grandmother.

Dakota Fanning

Edith is the Deepak Chopra of knitting. Shell take you from pot holder to cableknit sweaters in no time.

Caroline Rhea

Knitting is a family tradition.

Bridget Fonda

I learned to knit as a little girl but gave it up over the years. Edith helped me rediscover the love and passion I had for this creative hobby and I havent stopped knitting since.

Hilary Shephard

I cant imagine life without knitting, and it has always amazed me that more people dont do it. Edith Eigs La Knitterie Parisienne is the most welcoming knit shop I have ever been in.

Annette OToole

Edith is incredibly helpful and giving of her knitting skills and experience. I wouldnt know much about knitting or crocheting without her. Shes incredibly encouraging and one of my favorite people on earth.

Justine Bateman

Edith Eig is the owner of La Knitterie Parisienne in Studio City, the hottest, trendiest place in town for the young set to gather and knit. Knitting with Edith is the place to be.

KNBCTV

Edith is a master knitter; she is known as the best in the world.

KCBSTV

Hollywoods knitting guru is Edith Eig.

People magazine

La Knitterie Parisienne is Southern Californias largest and most fashionable knitting yarn boutique.

Los Angeles magazine

Mme Eig has emerged as a guru to whom studios and actors turn for practical help and spiritual solace.

The London Times

Edith Eig, knitting guru, takes life one stitch at a time.

Los Angeles Times

La Knitterie Parisienne is run by knittinginstructortothestars Edith Eig.

Los Angeles Daily News

In the hustlebustle, ultrachic world that is Hollywood, one of the hottest spots is La Knitterie Parisienne, where the stars go to unwind, enter a simpler world, and find joy in a pastime that many of their grandmothers practiced.

Costco Connection magazine

Bringing sophisticated knitting to people who never imagined they could be creative, never thought they could make something beautiful, that is my mission. Nothing makes me happier than helping a knitter toward success.

I feel I have been writing this book for over thirty years. After all, knitting has been a part of my life since I was a young girl in France, when knitting was part of the curriculum and I was forced to sit indoors l'cole and knit, while the boys got to go outside and play. This always seemed terribly unfair to meI wanted to go out and play; what did I care about knitting?and as soon as I graduated I threw away my needles. When I turned eighteen, I moved to America, got married, and became a career woman, working in finance at a brokerage firm on Wall Street. Knittingor any kind of craft, for that mattercould not have been further from my mind; who had time?

So, in a way, I guess my knitting life is typical of many women; a craft that we may not think of for years, and then suddenly it starts to make senseone day we find that there is something missing in our lives, and knitting helps fill the void. For me, I began to feel the need to knit when I left the professional world to become a mother; where once my busy days had been filled with conversation and intellectually demanding work, I now found myself alone for much of the day, with just my young children for company, or the occasional coffee klatch, which, to be honest, bored me out of my mind. One day I bought a pair of needles, some yarn, and sat down and knitted a baby blanket. Ive been knitting ever since.

Soon I was showing my friends how to knit their own baby blankets, and as we sipped coffee, I found I enjoyed teaching them, and started to enjoy having a creative circle of my contemporaries. We were friends when we began knitting, and just as our stitches became intertwined, so did the bonds of our friendship over needles and yarn. I found I had a knack for teaching and a love for needlecrafts; a local school invited me to teach there, and when I started ordering supplies for my students, I realized the next step was my own store. The Canvas Pad, which I opened in the basement of my home in Parsippany, New Jersey, was a complete resource for all needlecraftsboth knitting and needlepoint. My knitting circle picked up and relocated to my new business, and gradually more people joined us.

Every night my husband, Merrill, would come home from work to find dozens of women in our house, and more often than not, they would end up staying for dinner as well. The store grew gradually, but it was always a success, and I soon moved from our basement to a store that was so little I had to stand outside the entrance way if I had more than one customer. Over time, the Canvas Pad moved to bigger and bigger locations, finally establishing a more than twentyyear residency in a 218yearold historic Victorian house. The Canvas Pad, which began as a hobby, had evolved into a pretty impressive business. Not bad for something I started on a whim!

Our children grew up and moved to Los Angeles. Eventually, Merrill and I moved too, carefully packing up every last skein of yarn and relocating our business. We found a home in the San Fernando Valley, and soon after that a perfect location in Studio City. La Knitterie Parisienne was born, and the new name for the business was created to reflect my Parisienne sensibilities while clearly establishing the nature of the shop.

I had a brandnew opportunity to reestablish my knitting yarn business, and I wanted to offer my clients the highestquality yarns available on the market. Throughout my career, I had honed my abilities as a skilled designer with a sophisticated flair for style and color. A mother of three, I also found that I had acquired the art of patience and had a natural ability to teachboth novice and expert knitters alike. This was a time before the knitting revival, and my new clientele was gravitating to the warmth and charm of my shop. It was comforting and rewarding; after all, Merrill and I had taken a huge risk in moving our successful business crosscountry, and now new customers were finding a new home at La Knitterie Parisienne surrounded by one of the largest inventories ever found in a single shop: 13,000 yarns and, without exception, one of the best in the market.