Three

It's a magic number. My blog is three years old today. I can't quite think whether it feels like I've had a blog for three minutes or if I always had one. Do you ever feel that way about time? Somehow that first post is forever ago and also yesterday.

Anyway it wouldn't be a good blogiversary without some prizes for t'dear readers would it now? Three years means three prizes in my book and as my destashing efforts have been hurt by my yarn tourism I think I'd better share some stash as prizes and redress the balance a bit. These are all yarns that I'm just not sure what to do with so I hope your imaginations are better than mine.

Excuse the photos from the archives, weathery gloom means these are the best we can get.
1) There are fifteen skeins of this Lana Grossa Piccolo Print, which gives you just under 900 metres of it. It was a gift to me and I've never quite had the vision of what it wants to be.
2) Three skeins of Rowan Plaid, I think this colourway is called Moonwave. I've had fun with this stuff - I've made a scarf, legwarmers and cowl in this so it's time for someone else to love the Plaid.
3) One skein of Manos del Uruguay in colourway 6709 which should be called something like 'An autumn walk'. From the batch of this I had I've made a scarf and a Thorpe.

If you would like the yarn please leave me a comment by say Friday 27th November expressing a preference for the yarn you'd most like - if you're the only one it's yours, if not I'll do a draw for each type. I am happy to send it anywhere. Oh and if you don't want the yarn please wish me a happy blogiversary anyway (even if you've never commented before) won't you? It's nice to know who's out there :o)

Souvenirs

Oh there was yarn shopping a plenty on this trip; I knew to look for yarn stores in Portland and Seattle but even Cannon Beach has its own beautiful store. My pre-trip target was just some Raven Clan Socks that Rock as the perfect local souvenir. Howeve it's rare stuff even in the Pacific Northwest and I didn't find any until the last store I visited and it just seemed impossible not to collect a little something from each shop.

It has to be said that I am a dreadful yarn shop yarn shopper - so indecisive - I like to check EVERYTHING out maybe three times and in the end tend to go for a safe skein of sock yarn I know I'll use. Free WIFI or use of networked PC would be such a great addition to any bricks and mortar store. I hinted to see if the assistant would look something up for me in one place but I think I was too subtle! Aaaanyways, I digress - here's the haul:As well as being too shy to ask outright for use of the internet I am also too shy to take photos in stores but I got shots of the outsides for you all! In order visited first there was KnitPurl in downtown Portland, serendipitously (honestly!) opposite my hotel.
This is me looking at their beautiful Autumn Rose display. As befits a downtown boutique the stock here was very deluxe, high end yarn - Habu, Tilli Tomas etc - not somewhere I'd dare to look for a sweaters' worth, but they stock some lovely, unusual, sock yarns - I went for a skein of Chameleon Colorworks merino/tencel - (maybe) for my Mum (if I can bear to part with it!) - she's quite the sock knitter these days.
Up on Alberta there's a lovely pair of stores - CloseKnit and Bolt - feeding the burgeoning sewing interest as well. Lovely things in both. CloseKnit has more the complete range of yarns - basic up to fancy fancy and I bought a fair bit here thinking I might call it quits at two stores. In Bolt I felt like I did the first time in a yarn store - out of my depth - so I was happy to find a pretty little bundle of fat quarters by a local designer and I'm thinking to use them perhaps in Alicia P's Summerhouse Pillow pattern for a real Portland homage.

Out at Cannon Beach was a gem of a find, Coastal Yarns. A great big shop with a great range of stock including STR but no Ravens. Still there are always other sock yarns.
Up to Seattle and I thought I was done but we managed to find a route that went past So Much YarnThis was probably my favourite store as the ladies there were so friendly and the 1TB settled in with the canine inhabitants, Archie and Belinda, leaving me free to agonise FOREVER! Honestly, truly, after this I thought I was done until we were talking about heading out to Bainbridge Island and we were told that they had a yarn store Churchmouse Yarns who stock STR.This is a BIG store packed with lovely stuff, the teas in the name sadly are only in dry form but truly adding a cafe might have meant I'd never have left!
Here finally the STR was purchased, they only had Rooky so I managed to limit it to one skein, and I can dream of Thraven for another day.

So quite a tour of yarn shops we've known and loved, and the 1TB was there faithfully at each stage. His one reward was to choose some yarn to be made in to a Koolhaas hat which is the knitting pattern inspired by the architect of the Seattle Public Library (hence its fame in the knitting world for those of you I managed to baffle in the last post). Clearly I'm training him well:
For me I bought yarn for a Bainbridge Scarf, it may be the wrong Bainbridge but the right name is good enough for me. I have an urge to try and map the world with patterns for each area, maybe as a start you can share a pattern that would be a souvenir for your corner of the world? I might have to design one for Oxford as I'm not that excited by these I found on a quick Ravelry search: this jumper Oxford by Martin Storey or this throw Oxford by Jane Ellison.

Anyway I'm off to knuckle down to some Christmas gift crafting, which in the main amounts to finishing some of the many Christmas socks already in progress.

And finally... Seattle!

Today at work I had that "it's as if I never had a holiday" feeling. Definitely time to pick out a sample of the over 300 (!) photos I managed to take in Seattle to share with you and remind myself how fun it was. Oh it was such fun, such a great trip all round.We got the train from Portland up to Seattle, fabulously comfy knitting opportunity ahoy.
We stayed right by Pike Place Market which is a maze of little shops and stalls, quite focused on the tourists but fun nonetheless.
The views from the roof of our hotel out over Puget Sound were wonderful.
I may have become a little obsessed with the view across to the port and the cranes which look to me like some sort of prehistoric monsters standing waiting to feed on the container ships.I think I could stare at this view forever and never tire of it as it changes so much.We did our normal walking, walking, walking around. Loved the sculpture park.
Had to visit perhaps the most famous public library in the knitting world.
Took a ferry out to Bainbridge Island. Great views of the Seattle skyline on the return leg.
We ate pizza at Delancey.
I'm sorry it was too dark and I was too shy for better photos! It was the place to eat in Seattle for sure, we read up and knew to get there at opening time to get a table. By 5.30pm there was a queue and by 6pm it was a BIG queue. It's only a wee place, 10/12 tables, very simply and stylishly decorated though to me it felt a little bare and cold until it was full when the guests create the colour and warmth. The food was of course great: simple salad/antipasti to start, charred, chewy flavoursome pizza and a delicious chocolate chip cookie to finish. It's a real shame you can't see the kitchen from the dining area, but they're hampered by the space which is two smaller shops put together I think. The bar/kitchen/gathering place for the mighty queue is one half and the dining room through a doorway is the other. Molly wasn't there when we were which at least saved me the dilemma of whether or not to tell her how much I love her book!
Ah it feels good to remember.

Thank you all for the lovely comments on stages one and two of the trip, hope you enjoy Seattle too. I need to hear your latest knitting news so I hope I'll be stoppping by and catching up with you all in the next few days and then I'll be back here to have a paw through my souvenirs.

From Cannon Beach, with LOVE xxx

Portland Postcards

Part one of our trip is coming to an end and Portland has treated us so very well we'll be sad to go; though as it's time for the beach tomorrow I'm bearing up. Here are some shots around town.
Pioneer Square, very early on our first morning.
The motto on the top of The Governor Hotel.
Powell's, apparently the largest independent bookstore in the world. We also found a whole shop dedicated to mystery novels today and I am so excited that I bought a copy of one of the last few Christie novels I don't own. I didn't buy any knitting books from this amazing selection in Powell's, too much choice?!
The food here has been great, plenty of vegetarian choice for the Mr - and I can (even though my heart sank when I saw that was where we were going) highly recommend an organic vegan cafe - Blossoming Lotus - the food was delicious.
The Willamette River which divides the city in two halves.
A view back to the south west of the city from the Hawthorne Bridge.
Autumn in the burbs.

One of the more restrained Halloween displays. I could live here :)