Vancouver 2010 - 1

Vancouver is the end of the world from Boston on the Least Coast.  Six hours to SF, three hour layover, 2 1/2 hours SF to Vancouver, arrive at 10pm.  My body whines quietly that it truly is 1am from her point of view.  We cope by ignoring her voice. 

Mr. Etherknitter is curious about what I am doing next after we check into the hotel.  I rip the sheet off at the head of the bed to inspect the mattress and the mattress pad.  I look at the headboard. When I tell him what I am seeking, he is horrified.  He had no idea.  (He reads no news.)   No stigmata can be found, so I cross my fingers and leap into what I hope is a bedbug-free sleep. 

Serendipity ruled most of my Vancouver fiberfinds.  Maiwa Supply had a rustic shop full of yarn, fiber, tools, dyes, weaving materials, felting things, books, and wonder.  I came home with indigo/thiourea/lye, after being talked out of woad. (She had strips of fabric hanging on the dye cabinet that showed the hues resulting from successive dips.)  That the shop is not closer to my home is both good and bad.

A department store with a unique display told me to stop taking pictures.  I liked the imagination and execution of the fiber person who developed this use of yarn. 

We walked and walked and walked to a LYS.  On the way, as we trudged through alternating seedy blocks and trendy areas on Main Street, my foot-weary glance to the right revealed hand-painted fiber braids in a window.  The detour into the shop was predictable.  What was inside was not.

Birkeland Brothers sells yarn, fiber, and wheels.  In the back room, visible from the shop, is a ~120 year old carding mill.  The history is here, and it is entertaining.  Mr. E chose two skeins of Quebecoise wool for colorwork mittens.  (Despite the yarn diet, I cannot resist small doses of souvenir yarn.  Please don't tell me I'm the only one who does this.)

We added the Aquabus to our mass transit options.  During the last trip, I had taken pictures, but had not appreciated the utility of the cute little bathtub-toy boats.  A short trip inches above the waterline, I was vastly entertained by the shoreline, and the 20-something captains who pilot the boat.

Little knitting was accomplished.  Anne recommended a book (Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen) that substituted for the productive fidgeting that is knitting.  Read it.  Yes. 

More to come.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[margene]

You will be sharing your dyeing stories, right? The department store display is a wonderful play with fiber. You have a way of finding what is unique. The old machines with the new, bright fibers creates quite a story of its own. The last picture tells a story...it's quite a view.

[Carole]

I'd be checking for bedbugs these days, too. Sounds like a fun trip, cool fiber store!

[Caroline M]

I have happy memories of Vancouver, we said we'd go back when I'm confident I can survive the flight without killing a close family member.

[Manise]

Died laughing at the bedbugs and the news oblivious spouse of yours. Our last night at the hotel DH started to reflexively scratch which prompted him to inspect the bed and scratch some more. Fortunately it was totally in his head. You forgot to mention the gender of said bathtub toy pilots. :-) Love the shot of her feet dangling. Very cool carding mill and story too!

[Peg in Kensington, California]

I almost always buy souvenir yarn. Qiviut in Fairbanks, Alaska; possum in New Zealand; hand-dyed on the Isle of Skye; and alpaca at El Gato del Negro in Madrid. That required the help of my Spanish-speaking son as they only sold it by the gram/kilo. Sometimes it isn't exotic, but just yarn that I haven't seen elsewhere. It is easily packed.

[Julie]

I had the best apple dumpling on the face of the earth in Vancouver many moons ago as well as a fantastic shopping trip (US dollar was strong then). May your trip be bug free and fabulous!

[Marcia]

Yes, I am now totally airline and hotel phobic, thank you very much, although we are off to B'more for the weekend and will be staying in a hotel. As for the dye....oh, sweetie. Why didn't you ask me first. That indigo pot is evil....and then you have to get rid of it. I did it once with the freeze dried stuff and will NEVER do it again. Ever. Good luck, though....you are a scientist and may have good luck with it.

[Catherine]

I always buy souvenir yarn.

Remember to put your luggage in the bathtub until you've done the bedbug check.

[thea]

very cool trip. I like that you were scolded for taking pics in the dept store! ha

[Judith]

Add me to the list of souvenir yarn buyers.

And also those who drag our spouses to yarn stores while traveling. He's a good sport about it. But he doesn't come on my vacations to Stitches or Taos Wool Festival.

[Anne]

Looks like a good trip, although that time change thing is a rough one.

Glad you are home safely with your new yarn in tow! :)

[Charlene]

Sock yarn makes the perfect souvenir in my opinion. Carry on doing what you're doing!

[gayle]

Buying yarn is a well-known remedy for jet lag. Ask anyone.

[Judy]

what fun!

[Melissa G]

I was out for the summer in many ways and now catching up.

Not always do I get to shop for fiber souvenirs (family trip vs adult trip), but special places, like Vancouver, deserve such. Many of our travels are by car, so instead my "souvenirs" are projects I take on whatever trip so the memories are knit in.

[Sharon]

All these articles about bedbugs lately are making us all paranoid. I wonder if it is as widespread in Canada? At any rate, I am jealous of your visit to Vancouver. Keep the details coming. :)

[elizabeth]

Sounds like a great trip! I read Water for Elephants summer before last, it is very good. I should check out her other book(s).

[Hillary]

Looks like a great trip. I like the decription of the litle bathtub toy boats. Perfect.

[Teyani]

wow. what a trip...
You were so close, yet still so far away (about two hours from me). Great photos.
and yes, a skein or two for memories is normal to me too.

[claudia]

I love the Water for Elephants audiobook. Which reminds me that perhaps I should try audiobooks again.

The bedbug search made me laugh.

[kmkat]

1. Yay for no bedbugs!
B. Souvenir yarn is required on nearly every trip (even if it is only a couple skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun, available pretty much everywhere).
iii. My book group read Water for Elephants last year. It is a dear, dear story.

[Chris]

All the bedbug talk makes me glad I'm only 2 hours from Rhinebeck, so I can just drive back and forth if I want.

Water For Elephants is a great book!!

Souvenir yarn is a must.

I got chastised for taking photos of the olive bar at Whole Foods in NYC. Made me laugh.