LYS Tour - 2013 Part II

My post yesterday left off with Tena and I leaving Beach Basket Yarns in Birch Bay, Washington. It was time for lunch and I had done some homework before we left using Yelp, Urbanspoon and TripAdvisor to see if I could find an interesting place to eat. My top selections included the following types of restaurants: Thai, Mexican, fish, and Peruvian. We went with the Peruvian called Cafe Rumba in Bellingham, Washington.

Cafe Rumba

There I had a yam, roasted tomato, spinach sandwich called the Peruvian with emoliente, a purple/blue corn juice all for just over $7. (If you click on the link you'll note that sandwiches are $5 all day Thursday.) Tena had a Pollo sandwich which included rotisserie chicken and peppery greens. We agreed the sandwiches were unique, tasty and helped us feel as if, at least culinarily, we had headed somewhere different. I strongly recommend checking out Cafe Rumba if you're in Bellingham.

Then we took the very short drive to Apple Yarns in Bellingham. This bright and cheery shop located in a small strip mall is owned by Andrea. Andrea's booth was our first stop in the Vogue Knitting Live as well so it was a real treat to see the shop. This shop has a lot of natural light, something most knitters covet, and a large separate area for knitting classes.

In the knitting room there was a sample wall that caught my attention due to its creative presentation. My photo doesn't capture the design very well, but the arrangement clearly outlines a tree.

Tena found a knit baby cocoon, something I've been looking to find for years. (This will be a separate post, later.) Here she is contemplating the purchase of a lovely yarn, but alas she resisted. (Note the tour brochure she's carrying. You get it stamped at each yarn shop and put your name into a drawing for prizes.)

Oh, and I made a purchase here as well. It was four hanks of Seda Rustica, a silk/baby lama yarn, at 40% off in the brown/charcoal family. This will be used to make something, perhaps a vest, for me. Andrea wound them, using her ball winder and swift, see below. (One hank is already in the bag!)

And our last stop of the day was NW Handspun Yarns in downtown Bellingham. The shop is located on the corner lot of what appears to be a one-time department store. The wooden floors and large windows make it a very pleasant space. On the second floor knitting and spinning classes are taught. This shop also carries a range of spinning wheels. Both Tena and I purchased circular needles that were much less expensive here than across the border.

I also purchased some unique buttons in black. See the block in the lower right-hand corner of the photo below. Although it is hard to see, these black buttons have an egg-like shape with a slightly concave top. Again very unique and affordable.

I have 6 of the buttons in the lower right-hand corner just above.

It was now 4 pm and we decided to head north for home. Unfortunately our timing was bad and it took three hours to make the drive during rush hour. However, once home, I still had energy to relish my purchases and think about what a lovely, creative, active day I had.

Tena, thanks for joining me on the journey. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without you.

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing. I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away. Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close. Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening. As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend. Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration. I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms. (BTW

Yarn Barf

It's back to quirkiness and time to step away again from the cuteness for a while. But as you see I'm someone who slips from one to the other without much effort so anticipate this back and forth to be my new normal. A dramatization of me in the midst of my startitist frenzy Yarn barf . I'm willing to bet you hadn't thought of putting those two words together, had you? It just so happens yarn barf can be a reoccurring pain for those of us who use yarns that come in a skein instead of a hank. (No pun intended regarding the current Noro virus, well maybe a little pun.) Skeins of yarn wound by the manufacturer These are hanks which need to be wound into balls If you look closely at the picture on the right you'll see the start on the millet yellow skein at the centre right of the photo. Its start can easily be seen coming from the centre of the skein onto the violet skein to the left. Easy to find, right! Sure but what about the remaining 4

Flagel Knitting Files

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