Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Not only are there good yarn shops in downtown Portland, but there are good shops on the east side of the river. Once again, there were more shops than I could visit. I was not able to get to Gossamer, Yarnia, or Knittn' Kitten. While the downtown is readily served by the train, the east side of town is served primarily by bus. I probably should have made an attempt to visit Gossamer (a little over a mile from my hotel), but Yarnia and Knittn' Kitten (both about 4 miles away) were just too far afield. Since I was staying at a hotel near Lloyd Center, I was able to walk to Twisted . Go to the north side of the Lloyd Center Mall and walk a couple blocks north to NE Broadway. There are lots of delightful shops and places to eat on this thoroughfare. Twisted is about six blocks east at 2310 NE Broadway St. As I walked in, a copy of Respect the Spindle was set up on a table, front and center. While this is primarily a knitting shop, there was a Schacht Ladybug wheel and locally d...

I spent last week away from the searing heat and sunshine of the Atlanta summer. This was my first trip to Portland, Oregon, and I must say I won't mind an excuse to visit again. The Cuddly Hubby was attending a conference, which meant I got to enjoy three days without adult supervision. In that time, I visited six yarn shops. Let me say at the start that one of my rules was, as much as possible, not to purchase items I could buy in Atlanta. Also, I was looking more for books, especially Japanese pattern books, than for yarn. I love yarn, but I am trying to keep myself on a yarn diet until I can get the stash to fit back in the boxes. If you are attending Sock Summit, be aware you can easily take MAX, the light rail, from the airport to the hotels. It will set you back all of $2.35 -- you aren't going to find cab fare at that rate. Plus, from the Sock Summit hotels, you can ride the train into the city for free. In the downtown I followed a three-shop hop up 11th Avenue ...

Here's how to generate a shop-hop map using the resources on Ravelry: Choose "yarns" in the main tabs. Then type the city in the box for "local yarn shop directory" and press "enter" on your keyboard or click the "search" button on Ravelry. Choose the "location map" tab in the upper right. Use the controls on the left to zoom in and out on the map and to adjust what portions you see. When you like what you see on the map, choose "Print" from the "File" menu on your computer. You may also wish to choose the "list" tab and print the list of shop names, addresses, and contact information.