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.

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

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

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting. It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008. (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.) See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles. And what about the yarn? It is truly ex-bulky. It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space. Or how about the longest piece of finger knitting that measured 4,321.4 m

Flagel Knitting Files

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