by bbrazy on Wednesday, Sep 26 2007 at 10:00PM UTC

Good range of needles and needle sizes, and the store is airy so there's plenty of room to view the stash. Has a funky, Berkeley feel to it. Owner Christina Stork created the name as a spoonerism for "practical art." She's also the author of "Viva Poncho," and her cabled poncho Frida is available on MagKnits.

by Anonymous on Thursday, Feb 28 2008 at 04:50PM UTC

I believe the couch is now gone and there isn't a knitting group anymore.

by Laetificavi on Thursday, Sep 11 2008 at 01:23PM UTC

Lots of needles and hooks, usually a good range of other knick knacks. They have a pretty good variety of yarn, and some books, buttons, baskets.

I like the atmosphere, really. It's open and kinda cushiony/inviting. I have had a hit and miss experience with the staff, from indifferent to amazing.

by Anonymous on Monday, Dec 29 2008 at 02:23PM UTC

It's a great local source for my favorite Japanese Noro and Habu yarns! However, my main complaint is the very poor lighting - especially when you need to see colors properly. I don't understand why they don't fix this. I go to Stash on Solano first before Article Pract just because of the lighting.

by saraicat on Thursday, Jul 31 2008 at 07:28PM UTC

Cozy little east bay neighborhood yarn store! Small, but great selection of pretty yarns and wonderful patterns. Staff is always friendly and helpful.

by rs1 on Friday, Oct 03 2008 at 04:28PM UTC

This is a small store. The yarn was neatly arranged in an organized fashion. The sales associate was friendly, but not informative. The inventory was limited, not having enough yarn of any of the selections I made for my project. I left frustrated with no yarn. This seems to be a definite hit or miss resource.

by walshmaryann on Saturday, Dec 20 2008 at 02:10PM UTC

Tiny, but nice. Very organized. One of the sales people has 'knit' and 'purl' tatooed on her knuckles. Now that's dedication!

by paulanina on Monday, May 11 2009 at 03:15PM UTC

They have a very nice selection and the way that the products are organized is really helpfull.

by Crafty_Andy on Saturday, Sep 26 2009 at 04:04PM UTC

The ladies are very friendly and helpful, they have lots of yarn around and a bargain bin that is sure to bust your wallet because you can spend as much with their fantastic bargains. Great Location at the Temescal Oakland Area. Thanks for supporting Men Knitting Retreats.

by Teresa on Tuesday, Mar 08 2011 at 06:34PM UTC

I stumbled into this place after my child was admitted to nearby Oakland Children's Hospital. The location is good sized with a table in the back room that they use for classes. The range of yarn was very good and the prices were on par with my LYS in Santa Monica. The owner was very nice and put my purchases in an environmentally friendly burlap market bag. Thanks!

by 3L3ctricMistr3ss on Tuesday, Apr 19 2011 at 09:03PM UTC

This shop is SICK. In a good way ;)

I missed this shop by about 10 minutes (damn!) when I tried to visit on a yarn crawl, but I peeked in the front window and I knew I had to come back. I'm so glad I made the trip!

This shop was bright, cheerful, well-lit, clean, organized, nicely laid out, and packed with all kinds of wonderful yarn. This was my first time meeting the Alchemy line of yarn and wow... absolutely lovely colors! I also met ShiBui which was equally amazing. There were lots of books, magazines, knitting needles, yarn from smaller yarn companies, and beautifully displayed items in the shop, and the customer service was on point! the ladies working there were absolutely lovely and accommodating - even looking up a pattern for me on Ravelry as I had fallen in love with a yarn that I knew more than likely wouldn't work for a pattern I had in mind (I bought a couple skeins of it anyway!). I left with a few skeins of Alchemy (sock weight) and a few skeins of ShiBui which was a real treat! I'm very happy I made this trip!

Nothing but good to say about this shop. Absolutely a must if you are in Oakland!