Purl Soho (Manhattan, NY)!

Hello from New York!

As we speak, my MIL is on the West Coast enjoying the 2013 Yarn Crawl and she started in the South Bay again this year.

 

Meanwhile, El Hub and Peanut and I are on the East Coast

enjoying one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world!!!

 

Since we were in the neighborhood (Soho), we thought we'd pop into Purl Soho!

You know I love their blog and follow it religiously!

 

I was dying to buy something but it seemed silly to do so since I live about

20 minutes from their warehouse in Tustin!

 

If you are in NY, this shop is a must!

Even El Hub commented on how nice it was in there!

:)

Gotta Knit! (Murray Hill - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I went over to Gotta Knit!

This is by far one of the more unique shops I've been in!

It's on the 5th floor of a building on 34th Street and to get up to the 5th floor, you open that door below and get into an elevator!!!

I love it!  I felt like "Get Smart"!

(I know... I'm from California, ok?!  We just don't have these kinds of things there...)  :)

 

This space looks like maybe it's two offices on a small floor.  One office is Gotta Knit! and the other is an acupuncture office!

  

Even though this space is small, they did a great job with organizing it. 

  

These yarns are organized by size (weight) but for some reason, it's the way the had the colors grouped that really caught my eye!

If you are looking for specific color or 'colorful' color, then this is the shop for you!

  

  

The gal was very nice and she was helping someone who was looking to start a cowl project!

They had a sample vest that I really liked and she said they will give the pattern, with purchase of yarn.

The cool thing about them, though is that they set themselves apart by customizing patterns to your specific sizing!

And/or, if you have a pattern idea in mind... if you buy the yarn there, they'll help you with the pattern!  They'll help you make the pattern!

I love it!

 

The yarn that I saw the most there was the Trendsetter yarn.  I didn't see pricing on any of the tags so it's hard to say if it was expensive or not. 

They had a nice sized selection of notions (needles, etc) and the way they had it organized was cute.  They have them hanging on a bamboo-ish wall separator.  Cute!

I really liked this store.  I like their concept of customization.  :)

Gotta Knit! is at 14 East 34th Street (between 5th & Madison Ave) in the Murray Hill area (right down the street from the Empire State Building!)

Knitty City (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

My last stop today was at Knitty City.

I have to admit (and I know this is gonna sound nuts, but...) I was so excited about this one 'cause the shop name is sooooo cute!

 

I didn't dislike this store.  It just wasn't my favorite.

This shop is packed!  Every inch of space has been filled with something.  Anything!

The store was packed with people, as well (which is nice to see).

They were as busy as all get out!

They have a table up front (can kinda see below) where two mothers were teaching their kids how to knit (cute).

In the back, there was another table filled with a class or a knitting circle.

I wanted to ask about the mohair and a customer ended up helping me out!

It was a bit chaotic in there.

Oddly enough, this is the one store that sells the Twinkle! 

$20.00 bucks is by far one of the better prices I've seen for this yarn.  Unfortunately, I'm so turned off by it now, I didn't buy any (after searching for it all this time!).

They also had the Cascade Magnum which was $22.00/skein.

It was so tight in there, I didn't stay long.

They do have a pattern book section but it was so hard to get to, I didn't even try.

Knitty City is located at 208 West 79th Street (between Amsterdam & Broadway) in the Upper West Side.

Annie & Co Knitting (Upper East Side - Manhattan, NY)

Next on my tour is Annie & Co.

This is one of the larger shops I've seen and even though it's in a big of disarray, it has to be one of the funnest shops I've been in!

I know... how can a shop be fun...???!!!

But it was!

 

First of all, the place was packed.  There were a ton of ladies in there looking for yarn and projects.

I can't tell you how much I love the New York accent.  It's just absolutely fabulous!

Not only how they talk but what they say?!  I love it!

This is the shop you'd go to with your project to sit with fun gals and talk & drink coffee ALL day!!!  (or at least I would, anyway...)  :)

 

Ok, so the shop itself...

They have a TON of yarn!  It is organized by weight or size (ie - chunkiest yarns to smallest light weight yarns).   Each skein's tag is marked with a price tag which is nice and makes it easy to see how much what is.

They have all kinds of yarn from the Berroco to the Rowan and the Sublime, the Louisa Harding, etc.  You name it!

They were incredibly nice and super helpful.  I told them I'm always looking for the chunkiest yarn (I don't even ask about the Twinkle anymore) and these days I'm also looking for a kid mohair.

She showed me everything she had and also offered that if I didn't see a color I liked, that there might be more downstairs and she would go and look!

Very nice gals.

They have a HUGE selection of patterns and pattern books.  You could sit there for hours looking at it all!

I sat there for awhile talking to a nice fun gal about my Marian cowl (which I was wearing and got lots of compliments on).

She was getting back into knitting after a long time and was nervous and exciting!

She thought the Marian cowl would be a good way to get back into it and I agreed!  :)

If I lived by this shop, I'd absolutely go there (all the time!)  :)

Annie & Co is located at 1323 Madison Avenue (at 93rd Street) in the Upper East Side!

The Woolgathering (Upper East Side - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I headed back up to the Upper East Side to The Woolgathering.

This cute shop is on a beautiful quiet street on the Upper East Side.

Upon entering the shop, I was greeted in an incredibly friendly manner. 

She was super nice and told me to let her know if I needed anything!
(ie - She let me look around without hounding me, yet offered if I needed help.  Nice!)

They have a nice selection of yarns from Cascade to Rowan to Debbie Bliss.

This shop is long and narrow but it is incredibly well organized.  It's easy to see the pricing and yarn type.

She also had a great selection of knitting mags like Vogue Knitting, Debbie Bliss & Knit Simple, as well as a nice wall of notions (needles, etc).

We got into a nice conversation about the Twinkle Soft & Chunky and she confirmed what two others confirmed, which is that the Soft & Chunky isn't the greatest yarn (esp. for the price) and that it does pill. 

She said she would have to sell it for $25.00 a skein in order to make any profit.

Her other big beef with it is that it doesn't come in a ball.  :)

She doesn't carry the Cascade Magnum either as she feels it's also too pricey.

Her substitute for these is the Rowan Big Wool and one skein there sells for $10.00!  (A nice price!  I wish I'd bought a skein!)

I liked this little shop and would absolutely go back (if we lived here!)!

The Woolgathering is located at 318 East 84th Street (between 2nd & 1st Ave) in the Upper East Side!

The Yarn Co. (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

Up next, I popped into The Yarn Co.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the inside of the store.

They were having a knitting circle and I didn't want to bother them with my pics!

I'll try to describe it as best I can.

Let's see... Tiny!  :)

This shop is a small cozy space on the 2nd floor of a building (above a Linens store).

They had a nice selection of yarn. 

They had the Debbie Bliss and the Berroco.

They have Sublime and Classic Elite but no Cascade.

Oddly enough, while their store is a bit in disarray, their website is incredibly organized!

I can see this being a cute little LYS for the Upper West Siders.

Their prices seem average.

They do have a small wall of notions (Needles, etc) and then a little corner with sale yarns in baskets.

The Yarn Co. is located at 2274 Broadway (at 82nd Street) in the Upper West Side.

Yarntopia (Upper West Side - Manhattan, NY)

After School Products, I met my good friend P for tea in the Upper Upper Upper West Side.

Actually, I don't even think it's considered Upper West Side.  She works up on 168th and Broadway, which I think is technically "Washington Heights".

Anyway, on my way back down, I stopped at Yarntopia, which is in the Upper West Side.

Unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures of this cute shop.

It is a really nice shop and it is very well laid out.

I really like how she has her yarn organized by yarn type and she has the pricing and important info (weight, etc) clearly displayed.

I will say, I did find these yarns to be a bit on the pricier side. 

I know yarn can be pricey in general but this shop just seemed even more so by a bit.

Having said that, she certainly does have a very nice selection. 

She's got the Cascade.  She's got the Berroco.  The Blue Sky Alpacas and some Debbie Bliss!

Yarntopia is located at 974 Amsterdam Avenue (at the corner of 108th St. and Amsterdam) in the Upper Upper Upper West Side.

School Products (Garment District - Manhattan, NY)

Today, I started my knitting shop tour at School Products in the Garment District.

This store is on the third floor of a building on the corner of Broadway and 29th Street (and right around the corner from our hotel!).

Much like Habu Textiles, it's not so much a store front or shop as it is a space or show room.

I finally realized the reason why this poster of the book Runway Knits is ALL OVER the store is because the owner of School Products, Berta Karapetyan is also the author of this book.

This space is HUGE and it has a TON of different types of yarn.

You name it, they have it!

This place is perfect for knitting in bulk or if you want a one-stop shop for something specific you're looking for.

They do have some beautiful textiles from French Lace Mohair to their own version of a chunky yarn.

I found the prices to be on average.  This was not the most expensive place but it did not have the best deals so far.

It is a nice place to wander and especially if you have a specific pattern in mind, it would be a good place to go and try to get your yarn!

And the name of the business is cute!  :)

School Products is at 1201 Broadway, between 29th & 28th Street in the Garment District!

Habu Textiles (Garment District - Manhattan, NY)

Yay!!!  Thanks to the nice gal at Gotham Fine Yarns, I ran over to Habu Textiles per her recommendation.

And just as she described it, it is definitely something to see!

 Habu Textiles is on the 8th floor of a building in the Garment District.

 I wouldn't even call it a store so much but, more of a studio or even a gallery of yarns!

The very nice gal greeted me when I entered and asked if I'd been before.

When I told her I had not, she gave me a brief rundown on the 411.

She showed me that some yarns in the baskets were on sale and they'd be marked if they were (on sale).

 Then she took me to the other side of this wall with fabulous skeins and hanging patterns!

She confirmed that some patterns are for sale to just let her know if I needed anything!

 These yarns are wonderful because they are so unique!

They're unique 'cause they're made out of all kinds of interesting textures and materials.

 Things ranging from linen paper to bamboo to even steel!

And I did not find the prices to be overly outrageous.  I thought the prices were very fair for the size of skein and especially for the material!

 I did end up buying (3) patterns (I know... Could I collect any more patterns?!) but you don't understand...

I need them!!!

:)

Randomly...

On my way to Habu, as I was literally walking into their building, I smelled the worst smoke smell ever!

I look over and people are kinda sorta flipping out...

It turns out, there was an electrical fire in the manhole underground right in front of their building!

I called 911 and a gal standing next to me called also.

 We waited for the firemen to come (we love our firemen!) and hung around to watch the action until we realized we probably shouldn't be inhaling that carcinogenic smoke.

Oh yeah... and the fire kept spouting out like a geyser!

:)

 

Habu Textiles is at 135 West 29th Street (between 6th & 7th Avenue) in the Garment District!

Oh and, check out Knit Your Socks Off's nice post on Habu with owner's interview!

Downtown Yarns (East Village - Manhattan, NY)

After my stop at Gotham Fine Yarns, I popped over to Downtown Yarns in the East Village.

Cute!  Cute!  Cute!

Any place that has a old screen door is too cute and alright with me!

They are incredibly nice here and super helpful.

After asking about the Twinkle yarn, she was very honest (in a good way) and said they don't carry it 'cause it's not very good!

(Good for them!)

She showed me their 3 substitutes and so I bought:

The Cascade Magnum (of course...) in a lovely teal!

The Blue Sky Bulky in color 1221 - a moody deep purple

and the Brown Sheep Burly Spun in a GORGEOUS Fuschia

I thought the prices of each were very fair.  Fair less expensive that some of those store on the Upper East Side (and less, ahem snooty-tooty).

I have no idea what I'll make with these but I'd like to make one thing with each and see how they work, wear and wash!

They do offer classes and they have a full schedule already out for from now through Spring! (Jan - April)

I would like to go back to this sweet shop and get some of their Mohair yarn.  The gal was very nice in helping me pick something comparable to the Twinkle Kid Mohair.

I'd love to make that silly Twinkle Mohair Shrug but I dunno how many skeins I need!

I'll figure it out... :)

Downtown Yarns is at 45 Avenue A, between 3rd & 4th in the East Village.

And there is a very sweet Golden Retriever there waiting for you to give him some love...