Yarn Train 2011

Saturday was the Annual Yarn Train from Seattle.  This makes either the 4th or 5th year that the Portland knitters have joined the Seattle ladies and it was a LOT bigger than previous years.

I rode into the city with Cindy to her shop, Urban Fiber Arts, and planned to spend the day spinning in her shop.  This was the quiet before the storm:

Since the train didn't come in until 11:00 a.m., it gave Cindy time to get the last few things done in the shop, and I took in my Loose Change shawl to display ToolMan's pins.  

Many of the Seattle shoppers, and some Portland knitters, too, found lots of treasures in Cindy's shop. She specializes in yarns and fibers from local producers. Her motto is: Portland first; if not Portland, then Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Before long, the first batch of locusts shoppers filled the shop; there must have been 50 in the first group.  I didn't get pictures because it was simply too crowded to move!  From then on, it was a steady stream for most of the day, with a few lulls like this one:

In addition to ToolMan's pins, Cindy carries beautiful yarn bowls (the ones on the shelf in the front), great bags from Queen Bee, custom needle books from Graces Cases, abacus bracelets from Monica's Beads, stitch markers from trtlgrl crafts, and knitters jewelry from several local makers.

That's Bethany, one of the gals who was helping Cindy for the Yarn Crawl, unsuccessfully trying not to have her picture taken.

I started out the morning by buying a bump of Polwarth roving from Dicentra in the Sandalwood colorway; the colors were just too pretty to resist.

After that last stash sorting fiasco, I know I don't need any more yarn, and certainly not sock yarn, but somehow, these Crazy Zauberballs jumped into my spinning basket before I could dodge out of the way.

No, I do not have a sock yarn problem.  Really.