Hey Knitters! Just got back from NYC and thought I'd share some (goofily excited) pictures of my adventure to Purl, the knit shop in SoHo.
The exterior is nondescript—we actually passed it the first time up the block—but the interior is brilliant. Skeins of all colors and compositions line the walls of the tiny shop, and a table for knitting classes runs up the middle. The shop is really small, with only enough room to squeeze by the table (muttering "excuse me, ma'm" [as I was the only guy in the store] every few seconds). Imagine the back room of Loops packed with its entire inventory, a table, and a check-out counter. There were a dozen or so people in the store when I came in, and about half those were seated and knitting.
The stock is amazing, and reasonably priced. I found a few brands I recognised, but the diversity of materials was what really 
surprised me. Can we get linen yarn in town? I've seen buffalo at Loops, but never bamboo or soya. I didn't even know soy could be made into fibres, but there it was, IN THE DISCOUNT BIN! Oh yes my friends, the discount bin is a magical place where all our half-priced-yarn dreams come true. I bought two skeins of the Savannah Bulky in slate grey (pictured right, under my grinning visage), out of which I hope to make a pair of winter socks. (Has anyone here made socks before? I may need some pointers.)
All in all, it was a great trip. It was good to meet the people behind the website, and see how people up north get together to knit. It is wonderful to know that people from very different parts of the country come together in much the same way: to knit, to talk, to laugh, and to moan in unison over a dropped stitch.
I would like to crochet or knit a footstool/beanbag chair, but I am unsure where to find cheap material. Worn climbing rope would be perfect, but again, I wouldn't know where to look. 
