Loop in Philadelphia

The third shop I visited in Phila was Loop on South Street. After seeing the shops, I thought they were all much smaller than shops in the Bay Area, but now I wonder...

Some shops here are small, too. I'm not a very good judge of size...Anyway, Loop was clean and bright and full of enticing yarns. The colors really jumped off the shelves. I only picked up some Spud & Chloe Fine and some Louet Gems fingering to make the Matroyska gloves in last year's Knitty.com.

Next door is Loop's sister shop, Spool, which was full of lovely fabrics.

Yarn and Gallery

The second store I visited in Philadelphia was Nangellini on South Street. It is in a more residential area than commercial, although there is a Whole Foods nearby. The store is a split-level shop with hand-knit items and artwork for sale in the front part. The back upstairs part is where most of the yarns are hiding.

I would describe this shop and its contents as "funky". There is a wide variety of textures, fibers, and colors. Nangellini also carries some Kraemer and Plymouth yarns (local PA yarns) as well as Claudia Hand Paint and J Knits. There is even some J Knits hand-dyed roving. I also picked up a "custom blend" of mohair and a metallic.

Week in Philadelphia

Spent a week in Philly and had just one day to shop a bit downtown. So, of course, I had to go to South Street and check out what has been going on there. I only recognized Jim's Steaks, Hats in the Belfry, and the zipper and ants from Zipperhead.

I'm not sure how long it's been since we shopped on South Street...We have been staying in the nothern suburbs for many years, shopping in Newtown, Doylestown, New Hope, etc. Certainly, we haven't been downtown since I started knitting...so it was great to find out that there are several yarn shops right on South Street or very nearby.

First, we went to Sophie's Yarns on 4th Street, which is Philadelphia's Fabric Row. Certainly the majority of the shops were fabric shops, which would also be interesting to investigate, but it will have to wait for another visit.

Sophie's is a tiny shop but it contains a little of everything you would want. There is a good-sized table in the front window for lessons, knitting at, and getting help. In fact, a regular customer came in for some assistance while I was there. I found this shop to be friendly, the owner was helpful, and the yarns were lovely. I picked up some "local" yarns from Plymouth (up in Bristol, PA) -- some Ecco Cashmere and Homestead in natural colors.