What time is it?

I can barely keep my eyes open and it's not even 9 pm. Aren't I supposed to be on West Coast time? So isn't it still happy hour? I guess not when you got up at 3 am (West Coast time)!

Anyway, this is all to say that the detailed update of knitting in many time zones will have to wait, as will photos. Here are the highlights, though:

1. I finished sleeve #2 on the flight out (took me 4.5 hours, but it's done).
2. I took a Knitting 911 phone call from Kristina re the Must Have Sweater shortly after arriving in Seattle. It's not good. I'm afraid to look at my back and fronts to see if I have the same issue.
3. I finished sock #2 of the undulating rib socks for my mom.
4. I cast on for another pair of undulating rib socks for myself. Finished sock #1 and got halfway through #2.
5. I never needed the spare sock project, but it felt good to have it.
6. I visited the yarn shop on Bainbridge Island, which was absolutely lovely, but surprisingly, did not buy anything.
7. I had a blast at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard. I made a new friend and it was even more fun to go with another knitter-librarian. I bought some books and some roving.

And now, to bed with me!

Planning yarn fun in Seattle

I am very fortunate to be traveling to Seattle for a conference soon. I've never been there before (heck, my entire West Coast experience consists of half a week in San Francisco over a decide ago), so I decided to go one day early to be a tourist. As it turns out, I also have another half day to be a tourist, as we couldn't get a flight out on the afternoon that the conference ends. So I will have a full day Wednesday and a Sunday afternoon to explore the city.

Naturally, my thoughts turned to yarn and anything fiber-related. First, I read the recent Knotions article A Knitter's Tour of Seattle. I also listened a second time to the Stash & Burn podcast about Seattle yarn from July 2008.

I was intrigued by the yarn shop on Bainbridge Island, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, thinking that the 30-minute ferry boat ride to an island in the Sound would be as much fun as the LYS itself. S&B's Nicole mentions that Churchmouse is one of the few retail shops to carry Socks That Rock yarn (which I've knit with and wasn't hugely impressed, so that's not a big draw for me). The main town on Bainbridge, Winslow, is known for eclectic shops and an arts community. Could be a fun place to hang out.

The Fiber Gallery sounds really neat (lots of organic and earth-friendly yarns from unusual fibers), but my Seattle sources tell me that it's located in a largely residential area. Might not be the best place to focus my tourist-y activities.

More downtown-adjacent (and therefore conference attendee-friendly) is So Much Yarn. It looks as if they might be moving, though - I should definitely phone before going there.

I was intrigued by the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard, which is sponsoring the second Nordic Knitting Conference the same weekend as the library conference. I won't be able to go to the knitting classes, but the museum is hosting a Knitting Along the Viking Trail exhibit that looks yummy. They will also have knitted pieces from their permanent collections on display, so it sounds as if there will be a lot to look at. My Seattle sources say I'll need to think about transporation, as this neighborhood isn't walkable from downton. Still, they are open Sunday afternoons 12-4 - this could be my venue!

Nicole and Jenny also talked about Hilltop Yarn, which sounds like a great shop - but it's definitely a bus trip from downtown. Still, can you resist if there is a link to a trip planner right on the LYS site? My Seattle friend told me there is also a phone number you can call to get help figuring out which bus to take.

Of course, there are also non-fiber tourist draws like the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle (luckily I have a reception there one night), the Seattle Public Library (which was designed by Koolhaas and inspired the Koolhaas hat - I knit it a couple of months ago), the Experience Music Project\Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (this is the site of the all-conference reception), and the Seattle Art Museum.

If anyone has Seattle recommendations for a newbie, please share!