knitting in philly

Hiya!  How have you been?  We've been good, thanks for asking!  Matt had a conference in Philadelphia this week so I tagged along.  What better knitting project is there for traveling than socks?:

These are the Hedgerow Socks by Jane Cochran from Knitter's Review (Ravelry and Non-Ravelry link) which I started as the plane took off from Seattle, and finished just as the plane was touching back down in Seattle.  This was an easy, mindless project and I love how the pattern continues down the heels:

These were knit with US #2 circular needles.  The only modification I did was to change the toe pattern to create my favorite kitchenered toes:

This is another Project Spectrum Earth contribution from me since I used Sundara Sock Yarn in the perfectly named colorway of Mossy:

I love using my daughter as a hostage sock model.  She has cute feet, is seasoned in sock-modeling, and chats with me about her day as I shoot photos, especially since I really missed the kids this week:

We had a fun time in Philly though.  Here are a few shots of the historical sites we saw:

But I know you'd rather hear about the yarn stores in Philly.   While Matt was in his conferences, I wandered around to the yarn stores where I got totally shy about pulling out my camera and taking pictures.  Sorry!

I first went to Sophie's Yarns, which was a cute little store.  I then went on over to Nangellini's, where the owner, Nancy, was so dang nice to me and had me join their Tuesday night knitting group.  I had a great time since it was my first experience knitting with a bunch of other people.  I met some friendly knitters, but aren't knitters friendly everywhere?  I love that I could just plop down and pull out my knitting (you know I had it in my bag!)  The next day I went to Rosie's Yarn Cellar where I fell in love with how jam-packed the store was with yarn, lovely, lovely yarn!  Then I strolled over to Loop, which was quite possibly the most beautiful knitting store ever.  Of course I had to go next door to Spool, another beautiful store, which made me miss my first love, quilting.  Being on not quite a diet, the goodies I purchased was just a bit - I was limited by the size of my carry-on luggage:

I did purchase some Hiya Hiya needles.  Just look at how incredibly tiny these US #2 9" circular needles are!  They were so cute I had to buy them:

I only wished I had more time to visit the other yarn stores.  I loved walking around Philly, even in the rain, since this Seattle girl can handle a little drenching!

Comments

[Phoe]

Gorgeous socks! I just love that green.

[adrienne]

BEautiful socks! WOW that needle IS small!!!

[Vera]

Lovely socks. Still need to get some Sundra yarn.

[Chris]

Love the socks - the color is perfect! And what a nice trip - philly is about an hour and twenty minute drive from me - give a shout next time your around!

[Theresa/t does wool]

So glad your trip was a good one...and you got to go for yarn, too...the socks are wonderful...love the color!

[Lucy]

Hey, you were over here!! Glad you had a great time and a knitting fix! Isn't it funny how you get a place/city the first thing you ask is "which way is the knitting store?" Lovely green socks by the way, perfect for travel knitting.

[Kirsten]

Those socks look like they just grew there in the garden next to the ferns! Lovely!

I'm so glad you had a good time in Philly. It is the city where my husband and I first started dating, so it is a special place to me.

[Dorre]

Your socks are lovely! You made Philly look like soo much fun ;)

[jenn]

hey! you were in my 'hood! if i had known, i could have stalked you! hope you had a great trip. the socks are gorgeous and make me want to cast them on immediately!

[Heather]

What a cute little needle!

Those are EXACTLY the socks I am working on right now. Hedgerows in Mossy. I'll be turning the first heel tonight I hope.

[Meredith]

Love the socks! I live in Philly! Isn't it the best town? We definitely have some great yarn stores! Did you guys get to treat yourself to a cheesesteak while you were here? It is something you must experience Philly style!

[bea]

The socks are gorgeous. I love that pattern. Its been in my queue for a bit. I may have to cast on for it soon! Yours are so pretty.

I love investigating yarn stores in other towns. I like those teeny needles. Very very cute. I think you got good stuff while you were out!

[Opal]

I adore those socks. What a great pattern! Thanks for turning me on to them. :)

[Dave]

The socks are, as usual, gorgeous. The colour goes perfectly with the pattern. A 9 in circular? I find 16 in too short. What would you use that for, and can you actually knit with it?

[Stacee]

Sounds like you had a nice time and got some great socks and booty, too. Welcome back!

[Jill]

Phildelphia is my parents' favorite city. I haven't made it there yet. Yes, I find knitters are nice everywhere and how lovely they invited you to knit with them. Sounds like a wonderful trip!

[Diane]

Sounds like the perfect "conference"...I love those little needles...that's how I make my socks, cause I don't like dpn's...I just got a pair of #2's to go with my #4's that I use all the time!

Great socks! Have a Happy Memorial Day!

[MrPuffy]

Let me guess - the blue yarn is Koigu? What a fun mini-break and what a lot of nice yarn stores to visit. I think that is so cute having your daughter model the socks and chat about her day - a win win proposition! They are gorgeous socks and love the mossy colorway.

[Stacey]

I love the hedgerow sock - I need to queue this - it is perfect in the Mossy!

[Karen in Toledo]

Welcome home! The socks are lovely, and I am happy you found lovely places to shop and knit. I have a 9" circular and love it! (different brand) My LYS can't keep the smaller sizes in stock.

[Kath]

Great looking socks, I've added that pattern to my list. (Which is getting longer and longer!)

I'm such a solo knitter it's hard for me to imagine just plunking myself down and knitting with a bunch of other people. That would be a very odd experience for me.

[kv]

thanks for the heads-up on the great stores--now i just have to have an excuse to go to philly!!!

[Marianne]

It is good to get away with these men isn't it? I go with Barry when I can.

I adore those tiny needles, and what is that lovely blue yarn for?

[Jeanne B.]

Teensy needles! What will you be using them/it for? I was wondering where you went. Philly, eh? It's nice you were able to go with.

[Trish]

Sounds like you had a great time. The socks look great. I do believe those tiny needles would kill my hands. :~)

[Zonda]

Love the socks! The tiny circulars are too cute.

[Amanda]

Oh I love how those socks look photographed in the ferns! Sounds like you had a great trip too!

[Carrie]

Great socks! I think that these are already in my queue, but if not I'm adding them immediately. Glad you had such a nice trip to Philadelphia.

[sue]

Those socks remind me of ferns, the color and the texture. Very pretty. How great to have a nice holiday with your hubby and to visit so many great stores too.

[irishgirlieknits]

Such pretty socks! The colorway and pattern look perfect together! Glad you and Matt had a great trip :)

[Pat K]

I've been thinking about getting some 12" circulars, but hesitating because I can't imagine how anything could be accomplished on something that small. And these are 9"! What would you use these for, and is it more difficult to use a needle that short? BTW, I love those Mossy socks, the colors are gorgeous.

[kim]

Your socks are, as usual, quite lovely. I love visiting yarn shops I've never been to before. Sometimes it can be a little intimidating though... Those little needles are too cute; I'll be curious to see if they are difficult to work with.

[schrodinger]

What a productive trip - I can't get over the size of those hi-hi needles.

[Miss Scarlett]

What are you going to make on your adorable needles?

I love your socks - and I love their photos. Mossy logs surrounded by ferns? Ideal.

Seems like half the knit blogs I've read this weekend were in Philly! How nice for you and Matt to get away together. Sometimes working holidays are the best.

[Nora]

I've not seen 9" circs before, now I must have them! [I use a 12" circ for my socks.]

[gilraen]

Sounds like a lovely trip :) Nice to get spend time together too. :)

I love the socks and yarn, your dauhter sounds like the perfect model :)

[Pensguys]

Great socks! I've got that one in my Rav queue.

[stinkerbell]

this only makes me want to visit Phillie (no reason not to actually) even more!!

[J.P.]

What a fun trip! Plus, I absolutely love the socks. That yarn is awesome!

[Kim]

OOhhh....I love those socks! That is my most favorite color!

[Ann]

Your model does a very good job & the socks look so great on her. It's fun knitting in a group & I always end up in more conversation than knitting.

[Nicole]

Those socks against that background? WOW!

Sounds like you had a lovely trip. After visiting so many yarn stores, I really admire your restraint!

[Sue]

I love those socks! I also love that they're "mossy" socks on a log.

[Elinor]

OMG, Tiennie! We are living the same life! Not only did we miss each other in Philly by mere days (DAYS!), I started and ended a pair of socks en route with some Sundara yarn. For reals. I'm with you, baby. Pretty soon, I'll be whipping out those fifteen hats and matching mitts! I'm glad you had such a nice time!

[pamela wynne]

So beautiful, and you did such a lovely job photographing them. (I LOVE this colorway!)

I'm doing a sleeve on a 12" circular right now, and it's not all that pleasant. I'm interested to see how those 9-inchers treat you!

[Lin]

Those needles are teeny! I don't think that I could knit with them. I love your socks, particulary the colour.

[Emily]

Those needles are so cute! And I love your socks. :)

[marjorie]

Those socks are beautiful and look great in that color.

I enjoyed a visit to Philly some years ago when my son was in grade school and studying early US history. But he is not and was not a good companion for visiting yarn stores. You've contributed to my fantasies of hopping on Amtrak just to do a yarn crawl.

[Stacey_CrimsonPurl]

I luv how the pattern continued to the heel too! And wouldn't even noticed if you hadn't pointed it out!

BUT I did notice how you have your lovely model on moss ;o) you are so clever!! FAB pics!
Haha! @ well seasoned sock model!

Great trip! And shame on you for not having any LYS shop pics!

I took at ton at Knitch while I was there this weekened. At 1st she was concerned I was going to steal her ideas (understandable, especially since she already had that happen to her) but once she realized I was a blogger she said go for it! LOL She was wonderful!

[Sourire11]

Beautiful socks!!! The detail of the pattern on the heel is really cool... I need to add those to my Rav. list!