visiting new LYSs and expanding the knitting library

Over the weekend, Jeremy and I trekked down to Prince Street for some cold beers in a dark pub, some overly-priced denim trying-on, and some Purl SoHoing. It was my first time to the little storefront, and wow, is it small! About the size of my bedroom, but packed with goodness. I was determined to use up a gift certificate my lovely old knitting coworkers had given to me as a going away present, but I went in Purl in the wrong frame of mind.

Jeremy's requested a special item for fall- a chunky knitted scarf in an over saturated cadmium. That's my description of the shade he's after, at least. He's very precise when it comes to color and the clothing he'll allow near his body. In trying to understand this very exact shade he has in mind, I've trained my eye to fixate on any and all varieties of yellow that pass me. When I went to Purl, it was all I could think about. Upon entering the store, I immediately snapped up a swatch of Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky in Gold. I showed it to Jeremy, and low and behold, he was impressed! BUT, it was just a tiiiiiiiiny bit too ochre. Argh! So close. After that, I just couldn't focus on yarn, although The Fibre Company's Road to China offerings did hold my attention for a few seconds. I thought I deserved a treat though, and ended up getting myself a few distrations pictured below.



Today after work I decided I'd walk home rather than take the subway. It's slightly cooler today, and there's a nice breeze and big fluffy clouds in the air. On the way home I realized I was just two blocks from School Products, which I've read about on many a New York knit blog. So I stopped in. This place is not easy to just casually fall into. It's in a non-descript building in the middle of the garment district, on the third floor. You have to show your ID to the security guy in the lobby and get buzzed into the shop. Oh, and from the outside, the only sign I saw indicating a LYS was a yellow sign in an upper window reading "Yarn (212) 679-3516". But boy, do they have some luscious stuff. Worsted Cashmere for $4.50/oz, dudes. But AGAIN, I found myself out of sorts, and left only with a book (though it's a book I've been looking forward to owning and reading for some time now).



Hmm, what else to report? The new job is going just fine for now. I work with a bunch of really terrific women, have a sweet view that includes the Empire State building, the Flatiron Building, and many a rooftop garden, and am finding my work interesting and challenging.

Oh, the day before my first day on the job I knitted up a quick SnB Kitty/Devil hat, only I left off the ears/horns. I used two different worsted weight yarns- Cinnabar Handpainted yarns for the stockinette and Mulled Wine Manos for the seed stitch parts. The two colorways are very complimentary to each other. I'm not posting a picture, though, since I'm planning to gift this to someone who may read this blog now and again.