So why haven’t I blogged for a while?
<insert excuses here>
It’s all been happening – A horrible cough & cold that has knocked me sideways (6 weeks and only just over it), a massive revamp of the bathrooms and loo in our house (plumbers all over the house for 5 weeks) and two back to back work trips…one to Birmingham and one to New York!
Imagine my delight (and gratitude!) when my boss asked me to go to New York to meet with him the week the boiler was being replaced – the house was cold, no hot water and I was in New York.
I was so excited – for all the good work related reasons, because I’ve not been to New York before and because we fly on a Saturday (massively cheaper) and have the Sunday free to get over jet lag and go sightseeing. Ben was not so excited. Having to deal with plumbers in a cold house with no hot water, 3 demanding cats and no wife for a week – poor Ben.
Purcey tried his best to stop me going too – poor Purcey.
Can ya see Ziggy too?
So there I was. In New York, the whole day free, sat nav on my phone and a list of knitting shops in hand and determined not to let the nasty cold I had, get between me and knitting nirvana 🙂
I’m guessing you really want to know about the NY Knit Shops?
I was staying near the bottom of Broadway in the financial district (near work) so I walked up Broadway to the nearest knitting shop – Purl Soho.
OH MY GOD!
I cannot rave enough about this store. It was a crafter’s paradise full of beautiful yarns and wonderful quilting fabrics (I don’t quilt but still spent 20 mins drooling over the fabric lovelies). The staff were great too – attentive, helpful and knowledgeable without being pushy.
I took a couple of snaps of the store but they don’t do it justice…
So did I buy anything? **Chuckles**
Ha! I took a huge suitcase just so I could be free to shop!
I went a little mad and bought yarn to make a (badly photographed ) funnel neck sweater in light blue Purl Soho’s own yarn…
And, because I wanted things I couldn’t buy in the UK, I also bought this Louet wet spun linen yarn…
Inspired to make this lovely top which I tried on in store…
Happy Happy 😀
But one yarn shop was not enough…I carried on up Broadway to Union Square and stopped for a very touristy pretzel…
Yum! (although I could taste the traffic on it!)
Next stop – The Lion Brand Yarn Studio…
OHHH yarn!!!
The staff were equally as friendly and helpful – and you were encouraged to take a seat and play with the yarns. Needles and samples were there for you to try 🙂 Fabulous.
More purchases…
Stainless steel “yarn” to make this cutie
This is stainless steel and wool(!)
weird huh? Don’t Habu do something like this?
And who could resist a key ring needle gauge?
American sizes though …
And lastly, how could I resist Lion Brand’s own take on Kid Silk Haze…
Such pretty colours – especially together…#
I put all my goodies in my free bag…
And suddenly realized how horribly tired and ill I felt with my cold. So I had to call my knit-shopping spree to an end (my bank account was relieved).
But I had had a fabulous day. All I had to do now was get through a week at work in New York, finish all my outstanding WIPs and I could get on with knitting my new stuff.
Hmmm…well the week at work went well – but finishing the WIPs …. that’s another blog post!
So there you are again!!! I’ve already told my husband that I was wondering what happened to you ’cause you weren’t posting, but I’m sooooo happy you’re now ok. It’s so great that you were at NYC at Purl Soho, I just love it!!!!
When I first read this, I thought, :Cold bathrooms in New York?”…..:)….glad you were able to got to Purl Soho, it’s a great shop….
Sounds like an amazing day! Your purchases are of course, as usual, gorgeous.
Am very jealous and will think of a way of bribing Purcey to actually stop such wonderful yarny travels in future :). Looks amazin – my daughter went to NY a couple of years ago and actually made a special trip to Purl Soho to get me a couple of skeins of yarn. She is the only one of my three girls who doesn’t knit and her choice perhaps reveals this fact – two skeins of ‘Fanny’s Farm Fingering’ in wildly variegated colours! Well, she tried, bless her! But really, Fanny really needs to rethink that yarn name…
What fun! I love purl soho’s blog – it’s only a matter of when I can go and visit for real!
Lovely yarn choices – glad you had fun 🙂
Oh I am seriously jealous!! Looks like you had a fabulous time!! I bet Purcey and the girls were glad to have you back home again (and Ben too of course!) I think you were most restrained with your shopping!! 😉
WoW!Looks like a very profitable trip…. in more ways than one! ROs
Wow what a fabulous day in such a fabulous place. Looking forward to seeing all this yarn made up!
Fantastic!
I’ve tried the steel wool before. It has fantastic body! (doh! obviously.sorry).
Hope bathrooms all fixed now.
Was beginning to worry what had happened to you and it turns out it was Ben I should’ve been worried about!
I love the v shaped purl detail on the lovely top! And the rust colour is fab.
Looks like you’ve been very restrained to me.
That shop is my idea of “heaven”….I could spend hrs and an awful lot of money there!