Have a ball, unwind at new knitting studio

By Deborah Moon Seldner

article created on:

Tangle Knitting Studio, which opened June 17 in Lake Oswego, is more than a yarn shop.
In addition to selling a variety of high-quality yarns, co-owner Zen Menasche-Slayen said the studio is a cross between an art gallery, creative space and your living room.
"We wanted to create a space where people can come and feel comfortable," said Menasche-Slayen, who co-owns the shop with business partner Alice Burnham.
To that end, the shop features a comfortable sitting area where people can browse through knitting magazines or books and compare the feel of a variety of yarns. On Thursday evenings, knitters are invited to stop by to work on individual projects while chatting and enjoying snacks. Classes are offered for a variety of levels.
Additionally, Menasche-Slayen said, she wants the shop to have meaning beyond selling yarn.
Drawing on her desire for tikkun olam, the shop markets a variety of yarns from Manos del Uruguay, a non-profit group representing 400 Uruguayan artisans whose mission is to bring social and economic opportunities to rural women in Uruguay.
Tangle Knitting also sells "Knit for Her Cure" scarf kits. A portion of the proceeds from each kit are donated to the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. Each kit features the photo of a woman battling cancer, a pattern for a scarf, enough high-quality yarn for one scarf and instructions on how the completed scarf can be donated to a woman undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
"It goes beyond buying yarn," said Menasche-Slayen. "There's a depth that's important to us. It needs to be an overall positive, wonderful experience."
She said knitters put a lot of warmth and feeling into things they knit for themselves, family and friends.
"When people buy yarn and make something for someone, it really means something," she said. "That's important to us."
Menasche-Slayen recently returned to Portland after living in Baltimore for three years. She originally moved to Portland from Israel with her husband Anthony Slayen in 1990.
Slayen is still in Baltimore working as the health and fitness director for the JCCs of Greater Baltimore.
"He's working there so we can be here," said Menasche-Slayen, noting she and their teenagers all missed Portland. Both their children began attending Portland Jewish Academy in Transitional Kindergarten with Ben graduating from PJA's middle school and Gali finishing 6th grade at PJA before the family's move. Both will attend Lincoln High School in the fall.
Before moving to Baltimore, the family belonged to Congregation Ahavath Achim and the Egalitarian Shul.
Tangle Knitting Studio is located at 440 First St. in Lake Oswego and can be reached at 503-636-KNIT. Store hours are 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Monday-Wednesday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Thursday; 10 a.m-5 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.