Travels and Treats

I'm finally getting around to posting a picture of my second fabulous winnings of the year.  I won a book and yarn from Amy Herzog and Bijou Basin Ranch.  The only sad part of the whole thing is that I can't wear animal fibers, so this particular winning will have to be about learning how to flatter someone else's body.  I'll have to combine what I learn with a pattern using a plant fiber yarn to knit to flatter myself.  It's true that I don't love any sweater I've made for myself except one.  I'm excited to learn how to flatter my body and finally get to wear something I make for me!

Brian and I went to Portland last weekend.  We've decided that if we don't get any other opportunities to move out of Reno soon, then we're going to take the plunge and move to Portland, jobs or not.

I have been very good about using yarn from my stash lately.  I have even made 23 more hexipuffs for my Beekeeper's Quilt.  I would keep up with it, but I don't have any more sock yarn scraps to use.  However, I allow myself to buy yarn when I visit other cities.  So, I purchased a few things in Portland.  I have the most awesome boyfriend who willingly accompanied me to four, count 'em, four yarn stores. Brian did complain a little when I made him get out of one of the comfy chairs to help me make a decision. (The photo below is the yarn in order of purchase.)

My favorite of the four we visited this time was Dublin Bay Knitting Company.  I didn't get the fun Lorna's Laces sock yarn Brian wanted (Unicorn Dreams) because I wanted to buy a locally dyed yarn instead. Dublin Bay has an in-house yarn called Solstice that was very pretty, so I got a nice semi-solid blue for Brian.

I also liked Pearl Fiber Arts because they had a great selection of Oregon yarns and local dyers.  I got a new yarn from a dyer called Thoroughly Thwacked.  The owner there was very nice, but a customer was eating something right near the doorway, and the smell ruined my experience just a bit.

The next day we happened upon some yarn stores.  We hadn't intended to visit two more but they were on the street we were exploring so of course I had to check them out.  Yarn Garden was huge (I missed one room entirely!) but I didn't see anything local.  There were a few special yarns but nothing that grabbed me.  I bought a sock yarn, Footprints, that I'd been debating from a yarn store in Traverse City last summer.  Brian liked a self-striping sample but they didn't have the colorway he liked.  Finally, we visited Happy Knits, which was a lovely store with very nice yarns, but I couldn't find anything local there, either.  I prefer to buy local yarns when I'm visiting a place.  It helps the store and the dyer both.  I also dislike when the store's labels are so big they cover some information on the yarn. 

I've now visited at least six of the yarn stores in Portland.  I won't pick an ultimate favorite until we move there.  Then I'm sure it will be whichever one is close enough to visit on a daily basis.