I went on a spontaneous (for me) trip to Portland, Oregon over the past weekend. A very good friend was celebrating her 30th birthday (a huge deal, right?) and her husband was throwing her a surprise do, so we went. Sure, we just got back from Hawaii; but, you know, needs must.
In addition to a great birthday celebration, we did and saw a great deal during our, way too brief, time in Oregon.
There are some really great gardens in Portland.
We only made it to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden, but I hear the Chinese Classical is pretty great too, perhaps next time? We went to Powell's Books, of course; and, we took a side trip to Cannon Beach, which was awesome.
But I am going to concentrate my discussion here on my visit to crafty places, specifically a yarn shop.
There are some pretty great yarn shops in Portland. But I wanted to devote my short amount of craft touring time to checking out one shop in particular, Knit/Purl. I have ordered some great stuff from the store on the internet and had really great customer service (beautiful packaging, quick delivery, personal correspondence, the whole bit); I wondered if the service would be the same if I shopped there in person; or, if I would get that vibe.
Vibe? Only good ones here, my friends.
The people at Knit/Purl are just as great in person (greater, actually), they are helpful without being pushy, and they had fun with my kid and even invited him to have fun (which he did, loads--he is koo koo for Koigu too!).
Any store that welcomes children (and cameras, I asked) gets a star (a super star, actually--I am authorized to give those out...just like all people with astronomy derived names) from me (but aren't they just cultivating customers for tomorrow?). I loved the openness of the store, they had great stock, and they sell Shibui Knits yarn (which is my new love--that brownish goodness so many of you commented on, Shibui Sock), and there is a wall of Koigu.
A. Wall. Of. Koigu.
I bought an embarrassing amount of yarn, a great deal under the influence of other knit bloggers using some really nice stuff (like Sea Wool...).
At Cannon Beach, I found a great quilt shop.
It was very well stocked with all sorts of fabric goodness.
I bought a few things, lots of buttons (which I can not find at the moment); but, mostly I just browsed, so did Little Sir (on hiatus from his music making, obviously).
When I returned home there was a mail waiting for me in my mailbox from Oregon. Sandy from Knit/Purl wrote a note telling me how great it was to meet me and my family. And the only way I can think of to show my appreciation for her kindness and customer care is to buy more and buy often. I am not in the habit of telling people where to spend their money, but Knit/Purl wouldn't be a bad place to toss some coin (especially for some Shibui goodness). Just sayin'.
As much fun as we had in Oregon, I am sad about missing a chance to meet up with Christy. But she was on her own vacation, and probably didn't miss me at all!
And there has been knitting. Maybe I will actually post some of it soon...
Looks like you hit the highlights, despite having so little time! I love each and every one of those places -- in fact Powell's alone is a major reason why I'd have a hard time moving away from this city.
I'm glad you liked knit/purl. It's on the posh side, as Portland goes, but still SO friendly.
Posted by: Stella | July 12, 2007 at 09:17 PM
Wonderful post and photos, Nova! Glad you had such a great time. Little Sir may not like grass, but he does seem fond of the Koigu!
Posted by: Brenda | July 12, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Thanks for the tip, on the yarn and the shop! Now that I'm living in the lower 48, I can do more online yarn shopping (shipping "inter-continentally" is a pain...)
And, as always, it's lovely to see Little Sir's smile :)
Posted by: loribird | July 12, 2007 at 10:22 PM
Powell's rocks, of course! How nice to have made a weekend trip--and had time to see so much yarn!
Posted by: Mintyfresh | July 12, 2007 at 10:22 PM
What a great trip, and what a glowing yarn store review! I'll have to make sure I visit there when I get to Portland.
Posted by: Kristy | July 12, 2007 at 10:47 PM
Wow, that Japanese Garden looks incredible! And the wall of Koigu? Amazing! When we travel now I do gardens, yarn stores, and book stores (especially independent children's books) -- it's the best way to get to know a city! Great trip!
Posted by: Ann | July 12, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Guess where I got _my_ Glacier from? Knit/Purl!! I too had great customer service from them, and would definitely order from them again--glad to hear they are just as nice in person. And good lord, the Koigu! I'm looking at Portland plane tickets right now.
Posted by: Ashley | July 13, 2007 at 12:34 AM
Excellent! So glad you had a good time. Love that first shot of Little Sir in the yarn shop -- I'll bet it wasn't long before he had yarn in both hands. ; )
Posted by: Vicki | July 13, 2007 at 02:30 AM
Oh yay for Oregon! I love Cannon Beach. Such a lovely little town and the rocks... did you know that the 80s movie The Goonies was filmed there?
I've never been to Knit/Purl, but the next time I go to PDX I will definitely check it out. They seem so cool!
Posted by: Karma | July 13, 2007 at 03:35 AM
We love Canon Beach!
I am in love with that wall of Koigu! Portland's only 3 short hours away. I don't think my hubby would miss me if I slipped away for a bit?
Posted by: tiennie | July 13, 2007 at 04:38 AM
Another fabulous trip......yay for you!
Yes, that wall of koigu is my favorite.......I love how it is displayed!!! Nice to hear of another store to keep in mind....
Posted by: leslie | July 13, 2007 at 08:27 AM
Yum! What a lovely trip.
Posted by: Felicia | July 13, 2007 at 10:19 AM
looks like you and little sir had a wonderful time! the beach looks perfect. and all that yarn! i have no idea how you didn't buy more koigu with the wall of it there!
Posted by: stacey | July 13, 2007 at 11:22 AM
Wow, looks like you had a great trip! Portland is definitely on my "must visit" list + thanks for the heads up on knit/purl. Heading over there now.
Posted by: diana | July 13, 2007 at 12:20 PM
Portland is SUCH a fabulous city. I would move there in a heartbeat - just waiting for Kris to say the word :) The last time I was there was pre-knitting days, however, so I didn't check out the yarn scene. I did check out every single Powell's location in the city, however. :P
Little SIR!!!
Posted by: Lolly | July 13, 2007 at 12:21 PM
Oh my gosh!! THAT is a lot of Koigu! But you didn't buy enough of it!! Shame on you! Maybe it's a good thing that I don't see as much Koigu all in one place! I'd be in debt.
What are the plans for what you did buy?
Posted by: Diana | July 13, 2007 at 12:50 PM
Well aren't you the traveler!! Looks like Little Sir handles being away from home just fine! Now I'm going to look at Knit/Purl's site (a new one to me) Welcome home...again!
Posted by: Pat | July 13, 2007 at 01:05 PM
It sounds like you had a fabulous time! That wall of Koigu is amazing. So are your gorgeous photos of Oregon.
Posted by: Opal | July 13, 2007 at 08:34 PM
Wall of Koigu!!!!Can't get past that. Looks like a good time:)
Posted by: Barb | July 14, 2007 at 02:51 AM
Sorry to miss you too....but thanks for the Cannon Beach shop tip. We are going in a couple weeks. Apparently we are trying to redo our high school/college years and try to take surfing lessons. I just hope I don't break my fingers before I get a chance to check out the shop!
Posted by: Christy / Not Hip | July 14, 2007 at 03:05 AM
i'm going to portland in october to meet my new nephew. i will have to put Knit/Purl on my wishlist of things to see. thanks for sharing what looks like a great place. glad you had fun.
Posted by: Haley | July 14, 2007 at 06:21 PM
Sounds like a great trip!
Posted by: Theresa | July 15, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Hi, Nova. I'm Christine's former boss. We met at her house once at dinner. It was a few years ago. I'm also a blogger. Consider yourself tagged. Find out more at my blog -- and thanks for playing.
Mike
Posted by: Mike | July 16, 2007 at 04:25 AM
Oh my god. That wall of Koigu is so potent just in the photograph that I can't even imagine the spasms of ecstasy you must have experienced in person. That alone makes your trip a resounding success, but it sounds as though it was one of many great elements of your spontaneous getaway!
Posted by: Rachel | July 17, 2007 at 11:59 PM
Too lucky! I totally had NO time to go to crafty shops in Portland. And my hotel was in striking distance of Knit/Purl AND Josephine's Dry Goods. I guess there's always next year.
Posted by: yaiAnn | July 22, 2007 at 04:51 PM