Seattle to Portland Train

So here are some of the pics from the Yarn Crawl, I don't really have any group shots but that's because my cousin and I aren't real good crowd people, and have antisocial tendencies.

Union Station



Organizer Lady



Water barrel with Fremont Bridge in back on the walk to Dublin Bay.



Dublin Bay is a really cute store with some great yarns but as it was one of the closest stores to the station a whole bunch of people went there and it was too crowded to really be able to appreciate the selection. I did however their pastries and toffee, I suspect the former came from one of my favorite places St. Honore.

We were headed for the next place when we came across this building



it's home to one of the best pizza places, Hot Lips. I decided to be a little adventurous and try the Ham, Pear, & White Cheddar with a pesto bread-stick & their apple/lemon soda.



I have to say I think the flavor combination on the pizza worked really well, the ham was a kind of salty sweet and the fresh clean sweetness of the pear blended real well with it. The pesto bread-stick was totally awesome, and the soda was not what you'd normally expect it wasn't as sweet, but I think I liked it.

While we were eating in the restaurant we got a couple of cute little visitors, and they were not at all shy about coming right up to your chair.



We even met-up with some of the PDX knitters while we were there.



We also had a taste off between Cupcake Jones the chocolate & red velvet & Saint Cupcake peanut butter cookie.




I know, I know your supposed to use the same flavor but Saint Cupcake was out of Red Velvet if I remember right & I didn't miss it. I have to say though that I personally prefer Saint Cupcake, because the large cupcakes from Jones are filled and with the icing on top it just was too sweet for me, also the SC cupcake was moister.

We hit some other places that day but the best was Sock Dreams, where I got some most excellently off the wall socks.



Oh, yeah and I got yarn too, but only from Happy Knits and I actually bought yarn with a specific project in mind, usually I just get it because it's super pretty and can't pass it up or if I have a vague idea of what I want to use it for. Anyway here's a pic of my crawl booty.

Once in A Blue Moon Sale & Cast-on

So yesterday in honor of the New Year's Blue Moon & Lunar Eclipse, Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts had the Once in A Very Blue Moon Sale and Open House.

At 11:13 Pacific time a magic button would appear on the BMFA site that when clicked, would deliver unto you a choice Air, Earth, Water, or Fire. Now as I was at work at the time and using my break to order yarn(for which my cube mate rolled her eyes at me) I didn't have much time to deliberate, plus my budget is still suffering a bit from Christmas. I picked up 1 each in medium weight of Water, Fire, and Earth.

I can't wait for them to arrive and I know they'll be gorgeous. I also think that since I have a tendency towards blues, greens, and purples having surprise colors that I may not have ever picked for myself, will be fun.

The Open House ran until 10pm and my cousin A-chan and I were able to go visit after work. I was kinda weird for me on the drive out, because my family had lived out there for years, and we weren't that far from Mollenhour Rd. I learned to drive on those back roads, but I hadn't been out there in years, and I just had the most eerie nostalgic feeling, I think it was because I was going somewhere I'd never been but knew the roads(if that makes any sense).

Anyway we made it up the hill and found the place without too much trouble, the GPS did lead us a bit astray at the end but it wasn't too big a deal.

The studio was amazing, there were boxes of wonderful yarn on just about every available surface, and a wall of sock yarn that ran almost the whole length of the barn. It was great fun to sit around and visit with the other ladies, and Tina put the bobbin of yarn she'd just finished up to her nose and started sniffing it, it was the cutest thing. I didn't take any pictures though because it just didn't feel like the place for it, ya know?

It was really hard to decide on what to get without going totally overboard and completely blowing my budget for the next month or two. I did manage, barely to remember that I have 3 skeins on the way. With that in mind I stuck to the rare gems since that's what the sale was all about, and even though I got a lot, only three of the ones from the studio are for me.



The four on the left are light weight, and the 2 on the right and one along the bottom are all medium weight. Trying to get a good picture was a little frustrating, I first tried it outside, usually the abundance of natural light gives a truer color, but since it's winter and I live in NW Oregon, the skies are perpetually heavily overcast. This means the pictures came out on the blue side, a little washed out, and the third skein from the right is too dark to see the color, it's actually this gorgeous dark purple with bits of teal. I tried later that evening inside with all the lights in the vicinity on to try to get a photo with warmer tones and better color.



It worked in that I got better color saturation & truer color in all but the dark purple skein, I just don't have a big enough light source right now to get true color on dark items. I should probably look at getting a couple of freestanding adjustable lights with flaps so I can get sufficient light levels for pictures when it's nasty outside.

Oh, I almost forgot the Eclipse Cast On, I decided to go with the Openwork Eyelet Scarf by Jennifer Pace, here's the link for it on Raverly. I'm really liking it so far, the pattern is easy to remember, and it has a cool nubbly look.



I'm using STR Heavy Weight in Rolling Stone, at least I think it is because it's a mill end.

Happy New Year, everybody!

NwRSA Spin-in

Well I'm not a spinner but yesterday I attended my first spin-in. It was pretty low key and there was a rather impressive number of vendors there considering the small size of the event.



I got a couple skeins of Super Sock from Abstract Fiber, the green one is Sweet Pea and the other is a Limited Edition.



It was really something to watch some of those ladies spin, almost like magic. I mean I've tried to use a drop spindle once or twice and to see these ladies pulling a fine, even thread from a clump of roving with extremely deceptive ease, was awesome.



Oh yeah, and a dog named Gladys was there too. She was so sweet!

Knitting Frenzy

I just realized that I really haven't posted anything up in a while, but it's because I've been knitting like mad the last couple weeks. Well ok, and because I got the new Kingdom Hearts game for the DS.

I'm really jazzed about how much yarn I've been able to get through, it gives me hope that maybe someday my stash will really actually fit in it's tub instead of me laying the lid on top of the overflowing bin and telling myself that I haven't exceeded the self imposed stash limit.

Anyhow what's gotten me so motivated is that Relay For Life is gearing up again and the first craft fair that the "P-town Moseying Stitchers" (yep team PMS) are participating in is November 13th.

In the last two weeks I've been able to get six baby hats done. Three of them are for about a 3 to 6 month old, I used the Sweet & Simple Baby Hat pattern by Debbie Bodmer. I made a couple of modifications, I did a little over and inch of 1x1 ribbing and I didn't make the stem long enough to knot.



The other three should fit a 6 to 9 month old, and only have the slightest bit of a nub at the top.



I was also able to get three pairs of booties made, a personal best. I still have another three pairs of booties to make though so I'm not quite done yet. For these I used the Mary Jane Bootie pattern by Lucie Sinkler. Instead of knitting them flat I did a two needle cast-on and knit them in the round. Also instead of using a cable cast-on for the strap I used backward loop.



I also have to sew in the ends on all of this...



Yeah, I kind of tend to put doing it off until I absolutely have to, I really really don't like sewing in ends. I really meant to get started on it this weekend but it didn't happen.

I did however go down to Sellwood for the grand opening party for Sock Dreams.



It was great, there was a stilt walking hula hoop artist, and a dude with a banjo, oh and they had a pretty decent spread too.



I got some really awesome socks.

Greek Festival 2009!

This weekend I did end up being able to make it out to the Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in SE. I'd never been before, but apparently they've been holding the festival for over 50 years, and it started as a way for the ladies of the church raise money to help pay off the old mortgage when they moved to a new location.



I just have to say that it was INSANELY crowded, but first things first, I needed Talents.



Talents are white plastic chips used instead of currency at the food booths outside. I set myself a budget of $15 to start with, because I didn't really know what to expect with regards to food costs.
Now that I had some "money" it was time for one of the most wonderful things in the world Spanakopita.



It was exceptional, a light flaky, crispy crust with a warm melty spinach & feta filling. YUM!

After I had my fix, I started looking around at the other dining options ans settled on something I hadn't had before called Loukoumas, they are a fried yeast dough coated in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. It was very sweet and eye rollingly delicious.



Feeling a little sugared out, I headed for the extremely long Gyros line, and while I was waiting, I was able to get a little work done on my current WIP.


Harmony needles are so very pretty, and wonderful to use, one day I will have a whole set.



Mm, gyro...
It was a fairly simple one, they use the frozen pre-sliced meat, taziki, tomatoes, and onion filling.

After I'd eaten, again I headed over to check out the other side and got to watch some very industrious cooks and live music with dancing.





Unfortunately by this time I was so over stimulated that I was getting close to needing to leave, so I counted up my remaining Talents and started wading through all the people to the pastry counter.



I had just enough left to get one of each of the desserts available, so I got a piece of Baklava, a Kourambie, and a Melomakarona.



These little beauties I got to go and saved for later, and they were also wonderful, I will definitely be going again next year, but I think I'll go on Saturday and try to be there in the morning before it gets too crowded. If I'm feeling exceptionally brave I may even stay for more of the cultural events.

Introducing Happy Knits!

Last night my cousin A, her husband R, their gorgeous little girl S, and I all went to the grand opening for then new yarn store on Hawthorne called Happy Knits.

But first, the food carts. In SE on Hawthorne two blocks down from Yarn Garden and four blocks down from Happy Knits there is a corner with several food carts. It really doesn't look like anything from the street, but you will not be disappointed for going inside.



R stopped at Potato Champion for some fries and was very generous with sharing them, while we waited for dinner. Potato Champion is known for being open late and their poutine, which if you've not had it is fries with gravy and fresh cheese curd on top of them. That being said, the fries with only a little salt on them were awesome! They were perfectly cooked with a crispy outside and a nice soft center.



Now dinner we got from Whiffies Fried Pies, A and I went with the BBQ brisket with mozzarella, and R got the chicken pot pie. Ok, so they hand you this hot, foil wrapped, little thing that looks very much like one of those hostess fruit pies. Luckly, shape is pretty much the only thing they have in common, the crust is flaky and buttery, the brisket was very tender and they used a sweet BBQ sauce with just a little heat, and the melted cheese makes it just perfect. R said the pot pie one was good as well, and I have to admit it smelled tasty.



For dessert I tried the Nutella and banana crepe from Perierra Creperie, and A got a Marrion berry pie from Whiffies (I've had them before and they are delicious).



I'd not been to a creperie before, and I thought it was really cool to watch them make it. The crepe it's self was extremely thin and crispy, and the Nutella and bananas worked really well together, net time I'll have to try one of the savory ones.

After we'd eaten it was time to head up the street to Happy Knits for the opening. The store is really spacious with high ceilings, and a almost bookstore like layout.



They also have a, well a common room for lack of a better word with a giant table, a sitting area in front of a gas fireplace, and a window & access into the classroom & children's playroom.





I think I'm going to call them a working yarn store, I didn't see one skein of the novelty variety anywhere, but they had plenty of felting, sock, and worsted yarns. I saw quite a big selection of yarns from Malbrigo and Cascade, and way more other stuff that I can't remember right now.

Festival Japan!

Saturday was the Japanese festival at Uwajimaya and I almost missed it! If I hadn't been at a friend's party Saturday night I wouldn't have driven by and seen all the booths setup, that prompted a visit to their website to find out what was up.

First stop upon arrival, taiyaki.







This is one of my all time favorite treats, taiyaki is made by placing cast iron molds with fish or round shapes on a griddle, pouring batter into them, let that cook most of the way, and add either the traditional asuki bean paste or vanilla custard on half the molds. Once this is done you flip the griddle cakes that don't have filling on them onto the ones that do, pop out and serve. The flavor of the cake is like a waffle, and with the custard inside it's just perfect, one of these days I'll even get brave enough to try the asuki.

Once I had my wonderfully warm taiyaki, I set to wandering around the booths at the festival and as always there were interesting and informational items on display, but it seemed like there were more information booths and fewer booths with wares for sale than in the past.

I did stop and watch the takoyaki guys for awhile though, I don't eat it but still think it's pretty. Actually I keep thinking about picking up one of the molds made for home use and just improvising my own fillings.





Wandering about I saw quite a few people dressed in Coz play including the soy sauce sample lady.


I would have been making way worse faces, she had some of the most insane shoes on.

There were even some people dressed in yukatas.



There were two stages, one did primarily martial arts oriented things, while that stage I was at for most of the day was more entertainment based. There were several Taiko groups that played one that I'd seen before and really liked was Monmouth Taiko.




Oh, and my knitting made the trip out as well.

Another group that I hadn't seen before was Takahashi Taiko, though I'm not 100% on their name. This group is kind of nuts, but they have great energy and are a lot of fun to watch.



The last thing I watched was the natto eating contest, natto is fermented soy beans so they're a little mushy and they have this really really stringy goop which kinda holds it all together. Now I imagine that if you are a fan of fermented foods, like sauerkraut that it wouldn't be all that bad, but this stuff smells nasty and I wont touch it. This is the only eating contest I've ever seen that the organizers are required to supply barf bags and have a minimum distance from the crowd due to the high probability of regurgitation. The MC for the event did note that of the previous day's contestants roughly half had needed to use the bags.





Luckily for us none of the contestants on Sunday needed the bags.