I convinced Jess to take Miss Erin with him to class, while I took Connor with me on the Yarn Crawl. I didn't think it would be worth it to go if I had to keep both of the kids comfortable.
We were supposed to meet up with fellow PDX Knit-Bloggers at the Orenco MAX station, but were running about ten minutes behind and knew that there was no way I'd make the train. So, instead we drove to Sunset TC (farther down the line toward Portland, but closer to us) and calculated that the train they probably got on (one listed at 8:55am) would be there at 9:19. I figured that because the rear car is closer to the parking lot, that was probably the one I should check first.
Trimet dieties smiled on us today, as I spotted the group of knitters right after boarding- no car switching necessary. :)
Thank you, Trimet. You can accept the fact that your trains are never on time, so instead give real time updates to the tracking system, which can be viewed on our phones. I love my phone.
After walking to Union Station from the MAX, we waited. We waited, some of us knitted (not me), and I scored some prettily dyed fiber from Abstract Fiber. (Thank you, Rachel!)
After we got going, he fell asleep immediately. It seems no amount of pseudo-bouncing can mimic the gentle motion of actual walking. He had a good two hour nap while his cherubic face and gnomey hat were cooed over and admired. At one point during the day, Kathleen complemented the hat and "what was in it" and I responded, "Oh, it's Alpaca." Everybody laughed "Only a knitter!" and it struck me that she was complementing the baby. Oops.
We visited Dublin Bay first. I bought a skein of Yarn. Yes, I know I wasn't supposed to buy anything. I had to buy something. There were so many pretties and it's not like I have a ton of yarn waiting for me at home.
I ended up buying some Fleece Artist hand dyed Peter Rabbit, which is a blend of 70% angora, 20% nylon and 10% wool. 50 grams of pure bunny love. Mmmm-mmm. Naturally, this little confection will not be used on a project for me. Erin needs a girly bunny hat. Yes, needs.
At one point, there was some confusion as to the price of the yarn. Written in sharpie on the tag was "11.18". I thought this was the price. When it was rung up, however, I was informed that 11.18 was a date and the price was $20. Hmm. Oh, well. It was too late now. My ownership of the yarn could not be denied after standing in line for ten minutes of petting. Speaking of lines... Why is it that people think it's OK to cut? Don't answer that. Karma on you, people. Karma on you.
We petted the sea silk, ate the grapes, and admired all things sheepy. And by "we", I mean me. At the next shop, Knit Knot Studio, we were greeted by a friendly and seemingly harmless wire-haired dog. Interesting... The shop was well stocked, but tiny and hard-pressed to fit so many shoppers inside and I was quick to vacate.
After leaving Dublin Bay, Rachel turned back to the rest of the group to ask if everyone got a sample. Thinking she was referring to the sample of Soak that everyone was supposed to get, I exclaimed "I didn't get one, but Tami gave me hers!" She gave me a funny look and replied "Yes, you did too get one!" and after a moment of thought, I realized she was asking about the fiber samples. Haha... oops. Later on I did end up with more fiber samples. And now I feel bad.
We then made a trip to Cacao for some "drinking chocolate". Yes, drinking chocolate. I don't think I need to explain how that went.
(No, I didn't really give the baby chocolate. Just a mustache. :))
A failed attempt at visiting Button Emporium (they barred us from the store, informing of their attempt to move the shop to the retail space around the corner) followed our short visit to Knit Purl, where I saw a wall covered in the most vast array of Koigu Painter's Palette that I could ever imagined to have seen.
I felt like I was pregnant again all day. The extra weight of Connor strapped to my tummy made it difficult and tiresome to move, but I managed to make it until late in the afternoon. Ohhh, am I sore.
Connor had his own victories today. Not being content to take a first step, he instead surprised us with a two full steps. They weren't faltering or unsure, as baby steps usually are. Since we got home, he has been standing freely for long periods, a huge improvement over the 10-30 second stints he's started this past week.
He also surprised me by using a straw to gulp down some cold water from my thermos during a break at Starbucks this afternoon.
So, I knew I did not want to take my blanky project with me to this whole thing, but I couldn't bring myself to decide on a last minute project. I usually prepare for a project carefully, thinking it over, making sure the yarn and pattern meshes. I tried. I grabbed my needles, some yarn, and emailed myself the pattern for a dishcloth. I assured myself that since gauge didn't matter and I didn't like the yarn anyway, I really couldn't go wrong. I never ended up pulling any knitting out. Every break we got from walking was needed for either taking care of Connor or resting for me. I never felt like trying to rummage through my giant rolling backpack (for which I am very thankful) and pulling out needles and yarn. I did lament the time sitting and not getting anything done, however. But really, it all would have ended badly and with a sour baby. (Well, have you ever been strapped to someone's chest while they were bent over, rummaging through a giant rolling backpack? Really.)
So, that's that. It was a good day. I met lots of nice people and had fun gabbing and being social. I was given info about a spinning guild in my area called "Aurora Colony Handspinners' Guild", and I'm really excited about going to this and other meetings and events.
A good day, indeed.
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