Sitka, Alaska and its LYS

Sitka via a tender from the mother ship

On the cruise we docked at Sitka, Alaska, a city of approximately 9,000 people located on the south side of Baranof Island. That population makes it the 4th largest city in Alaska.  There were three cruise ships at the docks the day we arrived adding another 9,000 tourists to the population.  The city was a busy place.

First a very, very brief  history, Sitka was the Russian capital of Alaska until 1867 when the entire state was sold to the U.S.  It still has Saint Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral with its characteristic onion dome.

Paul pondering in front of Saint Michael's

As you can see by the way Paul is dressed, it was cool, in the 40F, 8C degree range cool, with an on again off again drizzle.  But we weren't deterred by the weather, hey we live in Vancouver where on again off again drizzle is the norm.  After exploring the cathedral we move on to Castle Hill a short climb to a very important overlook.  This is where the Tlingit, First Nations people, fought off the Russians, where the Russians built the Baranof Castle and where the transfer took place to change the city as well as the Alaskan territory from Russian to U.S property.  Here's the perspective of our cruise ship from that hill, in a rather heavy rain.

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Although this city exploring was great, a local yarn shop (LYS) located about a block from where we disembarked from the tender, was what caught my eye.  The name of the shop is Knitting with Class run by Laura Ramp.  She was kind enough to give me a brief history of her building.  It is and has been owned by the local women's group for nearly 80 years putting her shop in one of the more historic buildings in town.  In addition to carrying lovely yarn she sells locally produced honey, jams and jellies.  We talked for several minutes as I gathered information to take away for this post.  Laura also introduced me to this ball:

The Braided Ball in Knitting with Class

You too can make this simple project using a free pattern from Ravelry; just look for the Braided Ball by Marlene Hartog.  I have one nearly ready to sew together.  It is quick, fun and looks much more complicated than it really is (like much of life, right?)

So Laura, thanks for taking time to discuss your store and your work with me.

Me in front of Knitting with Class in Sitka