Welcome, welcome to another addition of CeLinda’s Chatter. This weeks edition finishes up my review of
the 2016 Fiber Love LYS Yarn tour and it may not be of interest to
everyone, if not stop by next time.
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| Seahawks Scarf |
(Weeks until Football
season….. 14) I finally finished my Seahawks
Scoreboard Scarf from last season. The
finishing touches were to duplicate stitch the season year’s on the scarf so
that in years to come I will remember what year this scarf was from. Each round on the scarf represents a point in the Seahawks season; blue for the Seahawks scores and green for the opponent. I have all ready bought one of the yarns I
will use for this coming seasons scarf so I guess I will be casting on another
one on opening day this year.
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| Cucumber & Cilantro |
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| Sesame Ginger Snap Pea Salad |
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| Corn & Black Bean Salad |
In the Kitchen: it is getting to be salad season and for
family dinner recently we had: Sesame
Ginger Pea Salad, Cucumber and Cilantro
salad with a citrus vinaigrette, Corn and Black bean salad with avocado and
tomato, and brown rice pilaf with curried chicken meatballs.
Events and
Happenings, In My Travels and For
Knitters, mostly is continued from last week.
Kristin and I spent 13 hours together Wednesday and she had to work most
of Thursday and Friday. We agreed that
she would let me know what shops she got to as she traveled around Seattle
working and I would hit them separately.
Thursday I only hit one shop and on Friday a friend, Gretchen joined me
for the day and we took the core Seattle Shops at a leisurely pace.
Serial
Knitters; is my very own personal yarn shop that I love and appreciate with all
my heart. Debbie the owner is very
special and she has created a very welcoming environment and she includes almost
every variety of fiber art; knitters, crocheters, weavers, and spinners. She also has a very complete collection of
accessories and trinkets that seem absolutely necessary to a knitter; yarn
bowls and buddies, assorted beads, buttons and bags. The most awesome staff is always helpful and
nice. Annelie Wallbom is the designer of
this year’s patterns; she is highly respected for her talent and wiliness to
help others learn. The pattern for
knitters is a beautiful crescent shawl.
It was the first project from this year’s tour that I wound the yarn for
and am ready to cast on. I think I have made all but one of her tour patterns
over the years and the one I have not made is in my queue to do. The cowl in
Tunisian Crochet is also very clever and versatile piece that I may have to do
some time. I have not done much
Tunisian Crochet. The featured yarn for
these projects was Black Trillium Sublime DK.
I love this yarn and to get 10% off is like a feeding frenzy to me.
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| Imported from Europe Water saving toilet |
Acorn Street
Shop was Gretchen and my first stop on Friday morning. This shop has changed so much over the years. They still carry the yarns they were
originally famous for; lots of Jameison Shetland for Fair Isle work and Lopi
for more rustic workhorse sweaters but they have also added so many other
beautiful lines. They have taken down
tall shelves that made you feel like you were in a cave and opened up the
place. The crochet pattern made me want
to find a needle right away. It is an
amazing Diamond Lattice Scarf that I was sure had been knit, don’t take that
wrong crocheters and the knitted shawl used one of my favorite variegated
yarns, so of course I was drawn to it but the highlight of this shop was the
toilet and everyone was talking about it.
The owner being very water conscience ordered this toilet from somewhere
in Europe. After you use the toilet and
flush, the water at the sink turns on for you to wash your hands. When the tank for the toilet is full the
water turns off and there was plenty of time to wash up. Now that is creative engineering if you ask
me. But my friend Dale had another suggestion
for recycled toilets that is pretty creative also.
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| Option for recycling |
Weaving Works
was the next stop for me and Gretchen,
She was looking for yarn for a particular project as she was leaving on
vacation very soon and this shop did not disappoint her. She went home with a sweater quantity of
beautiful yarn all rolled and ready for a road trip. This shop is really a
treasure for weavers and spinners and if you lean that direction you have to
stop by and check it out.
Right across
the street from Weaving Works is Rain City Grill and it is one of my favorite
hamburger spots in the city. I have a
weakness for hamburgers and I don’t mind admitting it. Gretchen was kind enough to humor me,
actually I think she shares my passion.
The Fiber
Gallery is in the Greenwood area of Seattle.
The featured patterns were a crocheted cloche and a knit cowl. The featured yarn for the cowl was a
beautiful cotton/ linen blend by Juniper Moon called Zooey that I know will
make something beautiful in my future, maybe the cowl. It is a new yarn to me and a really good one
for warmer weather, or women with their own personal summers that follow them
around.
The Tea Cozy’s
knit pattern was a poncho that I loved, bought the yarn for and plan to cast on
very soon. It will be a perfect light
weight summer ‘jacket’ with a couple of dresses that I love and was looking for
a jacket to go with.
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| Gretchen Admiring Her future Seahawks Scarf |
Bad Woman Yarn in Wallingford featured a crochet or knit two color cowl but I was totally sucked into a
different hat and cowl that was on display that I want to make. I got the yarn and it is going to happen. The
community of shops where Bad Woman Yarn is located were all offering discounts
to shoppers on the yarn tour and that is a pleasant surprise. The added bonus is that one of those shops is
a cupcake shop. Gretchen and I split one,
wasn’t that something.
Seattle Yarn
in West Seattle was the last stop for the day and we each fell in love with a
new to us dyer. Seattle Sky Dyeworks had
the most beautiful colorways of merino-silk blend yarn. Each colorway was named after a special
Seattle feature. I plan on making a
cardigan in the Ferry Boat colorway but I really loved the Space Needle too, I may have to go back. There was a
really good Mexican restaurant just around the corner from Seattle Yarn and was
just the fortification we needed at the end of the day.
Saturday
morning Kristin and I started our adventure at Makers Mercantile, or rather
Riley’s Bakery which is inside. Maker’s Mercantile
has just finished a remodel making Riley’s Bakery more of the center court with
tables nearby. Our breakfast quiche was
delicious and the yarn assortment plentiful. The crochet pattern was a fun little bag and the knit pattern a cute vertical strip top.
The Knittery
in Renton was next and their pattern was a Stranded Snowflake Hat. I have been doing some ‘stranded’ knitting
recently and it is quite addictive. I
just can’t wait to see what the next row has in store.
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| Baable Hat pattern is free on Ravelry |
Here is the
one I have been working on: The name of
this pattern is “The Baable Hat” . This was the official pattern for Shetland Wool
Week 2015, an event held every year in Shetland to celebrate Shetland wool and its
associated crafts. This pattern has been so popular this year that it has been
knit thousands of times all ready. It is one of the most popular patterns on
Ravelry and it has only been published for a year.
Next
we picked up Kristin’s sister Beth who joined us for the rest of the day. We headed straight north for the border but
then decided we needed a break in the drive and took a turn to Stanwood and a
visit to PinchKnitter Yarns. This year’s
pattern was a sun hat in either knit or crochet and it was really cute. I am not positive, because I didn’t take
notes and it wasn’t on the pattern but I think the featured yarn was Anne, a
new to me cotton yarn. I had not seen
it before and now it is in lots of stores.
I bought enough to do a little girl dress because it was so soft. I think the hat could be done out of strips
of recycled plastic bags and it would even be waterproof. I had a memory of eating a delicious
hamburger in Stanwood before and the ladies at PinchKnitter directed us a
couple of doors down to the Conway Boxcar a bar and grill that did not
disappoint, except that it took longer than we had to spare and we paid the
price later in the day. That hamburger
was awesome and so worth it. If you are
in the area do stop by.
Beach
Basket Yarns was the next stop all the way to Blaine. Their pattern was a circular bag that was
very pretty, but I am not so sure how it would look if you put anything in it
for fear the weight would distort the very nice shape. This is a beautiful stop on the tour, it right across from the water and always
reminds me I want to come back and sit on the beach and knit for a few days.
Wear
On Earth in Lynden was next. This is a
consigned clothing and yarn shop where you can save on clothing and splurge on
yarn and really the featured yarn was Madelinetosh Tosh Sport, so how could you
not.
Apple
Yarns in Bellingham is in a strip mall with a rock garden out front. Many of the rocks are ‘dressed’ in crochet
jackets that someday I am going to do at home.
Really I am. Their knit pattern
was a shaped shawl that featured two
different yarns and the cute crochet hat also featured 2 different yarns. Now I think this was an amazing business
choice; four special yarns at 10% off
each, this is hard to resist and I
didn’t try. The SpinCycle Dyed in the
Wool called my name and it is rarely on sale and the colors are amazing. There was another yarn there that called my
name, a hand dyed squishy goodness that I finally walked away from only because
I have something very much like it all ready.
Those guys also gave me another store pattern for a cowl designed to use
the Dyed in the Wool yarn that I plan on making also.
NW
Handspun in Bellingham wants to be your
local, fresh, home grown source for yarn and fiber arts. They had two hat
patterns; one featuring Kraken the giant ‘sea monster’ and the other also in
honor of the squid. We were here about
4pm and the guy at the counter was telling people they closed at 6. We had to break his bubble and remind him
they would be open until 8, LYS tour rules.
I think he was quite exhausted, actually we were too. No time to stop now, I handed out snack bars to Kristen and Beth
and ate one myself because we were off to Mount Vernon.
Wild
Fibers is a really nice yarn shop and Mount Vernon is really lucky to have this
shop. They carry lots of traditional and
contemporary yarns. She is connected to
Melissa Goodale of stick chick Knits and they always have a cute kit with a
pattern, a very special bag in colors that coordinate with the yarn, by dancing
sheep (check out her shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/dancingsheep/items) and a Hazel Knit yarn. I love these kits and have been in her ‘clubs
a couple of times. They were always
over-the-top well done. Lucky me there
were only four kits left when I got there.
Fidalgo
Artisan Yarn Company is new in Anacortes which was severely lacking since Ana-cross
had closed over a year ago. I would
never have found this shop if I hadn’t been looking it was down and alley and
around a corner. The knit pattern was a
lovely Evening shawl and the crochet pattern was an equally lovely wrap but my
oh my, the yarn was heavenly. It was a 51%silk, 29% wool and 20%Sea
Cell SeaCell, a
cellulose-based material that is mostly made up of the fiber from the
eucalyptus tree and processed through the same method as Tencel. The eucalyptus fiber is combined with seaweed and
turned into a fabric that contains numerous benefits for human skin. With a
fiber structure that facilitates active exchange of nutrients between the skin
and fabric, SeaCell releases nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamin
E onto the wearer. I don’t know if I buy that part but it is
soft, beautiful, shiny and luscious. Now
is is getting late and as we anticipate our timing it looks like we won’t make
it to the next stop until after eight pm.
Perfectly
Knotty in Arlington couldn’t have been nicer. We called ahead and begged and she was so kind, she told me on the phone to come on in, and when we got there she ask if
this was “CeLinda’s late arrivals”. She
saved us two hours off of the next days travel and we were so grateful and
appreciative. So this is the yarn shop
to come to if you have wool allergies and even sensitivities to dyes. The owner is a knitter and crocheter
extraordinaire and is a most talented designer.
Kristen was so happy to see the crochet hat pattern that can also be
worn as a cowl because she had been telling me about this type of pattern for a
couple of days now. One of the featured
yarns was the softest Peruvian alpaca and I can’t wait to make a shawl with
it. When we finished here is was 8:45 pm
a very long day indeed. We all went home
tired and after a cup of yogurt I was fast asleep. Not Kristen though she knit for a while
because she had made awesome progress on her Snuggly Snood from Port Townsend
by the next morning. I didn't take a photo but that was knitting up even more beautiful than the store sample.
Country Yarns in Snohomish was our first stop
on Sunday and they had a really pretty
lacy scarf that could be knitted with or without beads. This shop is warm and inviting and seems like
the perfect gathering place for the community’s knitters.
At
Quintessentialknits in Duvall, I finally got to meet the owner, I have made several stops there over the past
few years. She started this shop in an
out building on her home property and outgrew it quite fast, so she moved into
town. She has several good designers
that work with her. I loved the boot
cuffs pattern from last year and I bought a great collection of headband
patterns the first year. This year the
featured pattern was a cute hat and who can’t enjoy making one more hat.
The final
stop was Tolt Yarn and Wool. Their knit
pattern was a wrap, that can be modified for a more masculine look or change it up with a softer look and a lovely pair
of crocheted mitts that are especially practical also. Tolt was celebrating each finisher with
cheers and greetings that made you feel like you had really accomplished
something, which we had. They had “finishing buttons” to add to our bags
and a little project bag with their name on it for each finisher as well. Turns out it is important to pick where you
finish the tour as well.
So 28
shops, four long days, lots of fun times with friends and a car load of yarn
later we ended our 2016 Fiber Love LYS Tour.
I hope each shop was happy they participated and I have a lot of knitting to do.
