In conclusion...

Sunny, sunny Seattle and points east...
Yes, I know Seattle is grey and rainy all the time. Or, at that's what people tell me. I wouldn't know personally. It's always beautiful and sunny when I'm there. Perhaps they ought to import me every few weeks...hint, hint.
We hit the usual high points, Pike's Market, the original Starbuck's, the houseboat village. We got lost a lot and I saw (very quickly and accompanied by frenzied ranting from the Man Of The House And Appointed Driver) a number of points of interest and neighborhoods that I'd read about/seen in movies. Seattle definitely deserves more time to explore (perhaps via public transit?) We stayed in Eastlake, a lovely neighborhood (Eastlake Inn, web address on the sign, but link didn't work) and ate at 2 favorite places, 14 Carrot Cafe and Serafina. Wonderful eating and lovely ambiance.

The second day, we drove around the coastline and over the bridge to Bainbridge Island. I'd read about Churchmouse Yarns and envisioned a tiny, well..., mousy kind of place. Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

This is probably the sleekest shop we saw on this trip. This is perhaps the sleekest yarn shop I've ever seen. The elegant exterior is certainly deserved by the amazing interior. Knitters from all over the country were in awe. There was quiet classical music playing, people sitting and knitting, people petting the luscious fibers and gazing glazed eyed into space (seeing possible creations in their minds?). True to its name, there is a tea shop in the back. There are also comfortable benches in front where non-knitterly escorts can enjoy a beverage or an ice cream from across the street and bask in the pleasant weather.

My favorite part of this shop? Samples! They had samples for everything. They had current shop designs for many yarns. When I read their newsletter, they have classes incorporating many of the shop designs. In fact, a newsletter from another shop I visited on this trip referred to a shop pattern from this store! What a wonderful community they must create! And, look what I found...

The highly touted Socks That Rock! STR to the initiated. I confess, STR is one of the yarns I was really, really hoping to find on this trip. I can't wait to swatch with it and see what all the fuss is about.

After dinner in the marina, we took the ferry back to Seattle. Not quite as romantic as it appears on Gray's Anatomy...

From here on, TMOTH was focused on getting home. The mad dash across the country was about to begin. When we were driving around in circles trying to get on the freeway, he casually remarked, "I'm surprised there aren't any yarn shops in Seattle." Wherever did he get that idea? Apparently, since I hadn't dragged taken him to any, he assumed there must not be
any. We happened to be only a couple blocks from So Much Yarn (I spotted it in the circling process), so I suggested we stop and check it out. TMOTH was willing, parking was readily available, so we made one last stop before the freeway.

I think that this is a relatively new shop - it seems like there was something about a second anniversary coming up. They had some really luxurious fibers here along with the novelty yarns that it seems new shops always have. There was a seating area in the back, where a woman was finishing an afghan and a table for classes. I don't know if it was the getting to the freeway mood, but I didn't see any yarn that called out to me. I did find something to add to my collection of...

Harmony books. I'm just missing 1 and 5.

After this, we just dashed across the country towards home. We stopped for the night in Boise and Moab and finished with over 6000 miles in 8 days. The Man Of The House was very patient to fit in all those yarn shops on his vacation!

In Boise, we looked in the windows of Drop A Stitch. They don't open until 11 AM, and we had to hit the highway. They have an interesting arrangement. This picture is of the front window to the right of the entrance hallway (if you look carefully, you can see TMOTH reflected in the window). From this room, they have a stairway to another, lower, level, also opening off the hallway. Then, across the hall there is a duplicate of this layout. The hall is open to the general public and is the entryway for the entire building (there are offices behind the store and upstairs). I wonder how this works for them?

Peeking in through the window in one of the doors (4!).

The marina on Bainbridge Island.