I’m not a shopper, really. When I go to a store I go with a list of things I need and I don’t mess around. I thought I was like this because I budget well, I’m very determined to spend wisely, I try to be very practical, and don’t buy things I don’t need.

I found out Thursday that I have just been going to the wrong stores my whole life.

Button Store!

Grisel, a friend of mine from Chicago, is in New York City for a while and she was my perfect excuse to finally make it to a bunch of crafty stores I’ve been wanting to go to since I started knitting. She knits, sews, and even has a interest in cross stitch, AND she lived in New York for years so she knows her way around.

It was the perfect storm!

Buttons as Far as the Eye Could See

We started at Tender Buttons because Grisel needed buttons for her finished Baby Sweater Buffet and I lost the button off my red skirt. I didn’t pack a lot of clothes so loosing that skirt was a big hit to the wardrobe.

Button Obtained!

Lion Brand Yarn Studio NYC

Once our buttons were obtained we were off to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, which had the most amazing window display I’ve ever seen! A big beach and carnival display and, of course, everything was knit or crocheted.

Knitted Elephant!

So yeah, I was kind of sold on the place before I even got through the door.

I Need This in My House

Exclusive Yarn!

The Lion Brand Studio has every kind of Lion Brand yarn displayed beautifully and priced reasonably. They have yarn that isn’t available anywhere else, too! I picked up a skein of their Superwash Merino in Dijon, a color I’m going to be obsessed with this fall.

Purl SoHo!

Next up was Purl SoHo, the store portion of the blog I absolutely love.

Fabric! And Yarn!

I have never been to a store that had something I’m passionately interested in occupying every inch of it until now. Every book, ever bolt of fabric, every skein of yarn I loved.

Yarn Things! Embroidery Floss!

I could easily pack up one of everything at Purl SoHo and be happy rolling over it all laying in a big pile for the rest of my life.

We spent an embarrassing amount of time looking at everything EVERYTHING everything in this store.

Look Familiar?

One of the fun parts of being in the store was finding all of the projects she has featured on her blog placed around the shop. Like this needlepoint canvas!

Wall of Blog Projects!

She had a lot of them displayed in bookcases around the shop.

Final Stop! Brooklyn General

Our final destination was Brooklyn General Store and, I’m sad to say, this is the only picture I took. I was still in store shock from Purl, I think, and we had been running around shopping for like seven hours at this point.

I will be back, though! They had these cute turtle buttons I haven’t stopped thinking about and an amazing price on Cascade 220 I want to take advantage of.

The Days Bounty

Sadly, just because I visited these places doesn’t mean I had a ton of money to burn or, more importantly, any space whatsoever in either PT’s apartment or my suitcases. But I did pick up some essentials. That skein of dijon at Lion Brand, my skirt button from Tender Buttons, needles and thread from Purl SoHo to attach the button and do a couple other mending jobs I’ve developed since living here, and one of those fancy tiny measuring tapes I’ve always wanted, also from Purl.

A HUGE thanks to Grisel for being the best crafty shopping partner an out of town girl could ask for. I had the best time and could do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that!

~~~

PS: I totally got accepted into the DIY Trunk Show this year! Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20th because not only is the DIY Trunk Show really fun and full of amazing crafty vendors, this year I get to be one of them!

Do you want a chance to win a Sweatshop knitting pattern? The lovely Amy at @threadpanda is hosting a giveaway! Go show her some love!

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