Tacoma Low-Down
No doubt you have all spent the last few days in a tizzy after the cliffhanger which was my last post. A heady blend of intermittent wi-fi service, a busy schedule, and my dislike of typing on the iPad conspired to keep me off LJ for the rest of my stay. Here then are the highlights:
There's not much to Tacoma (clearly the junior partner in the Seattle-Tacoma Metro Area), but our room did have a nice view of the Tacoma Dome. Both its looks and name have a very Mad Max feel about them. I made sure to tell my "Two men enter, one man leave!" joke to different people over the course of the weekend, so it didn't get too stale.
Seattle is a lovely town. We only spent the afternoon there, as it takes an hour to get there from Tacoma (not many pub trans connections between the two), but the Pike Place Market is less touristy than I expected. The city is smaller than I thought it was, but I can see why so many folks we met love it.
Speaking of the folks we met, I see that Pacific Northwesters seem to have the Midwestern penchant to chat up strangers which so weirds out my New Yorker bride. I chatted with bus drivers, baristas, sales clerks, folks on the airport shuttle, everyone.
On top of the locals, the knitters we met at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival were all great. I can see why so many of the teachers love to go there every year. It's more intimate than some of the other festivals, and I had actual conversations with many of the big designers (knitting is not that big of a world, but big enough that this was kind of exciting).
Also, I had some pretty cool classes. I've been telling everyone about Dyeing With Lichens, which is simpler and less toxic than I expected (basically, put the lichens and the wool together in a pot of water and add heat). You mostly get browns and yellows, but there's supposed to be a Midwestern lichen that provides a nice orange color. Time to go lichen hunting!
There's not much to Tacoma (clearly the junior partner in the Seattle-Tacoma Metro Area), but our room did have a nice view of the Tacoma Dome. Both its looks and name have a very Mad Max feel about them. I made sure to tell my "Two men enter, one man leave!" joke to different people over the course of the weekend, so it didn't get too stale.
Seattle is a lovely town. We only spent the afternoon there, as it takes an hour to get there from Tacoma (not many pub trans connections between the two), but the Pike Place Market is less touristy than I expected. The city is smaller than I thought it was, but I can see why so many folks we met love it.
Speaking of the folks we met, I see that Pacific Northwesters seem to have the Midwestern penchant to chat up strangers which so weirds out my New Yorker bride. I chatted with bus drivers, baristas, sales clerks, folks on the airport shuttle, everyone.
On top of the locals, the knitters we met at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival were all great. I can see why so many of the teachers love to go there every year. It's more intimate than some of the other festivals, and I had actual conversations with many of the big designers (knitting is not that big of a world, but big enough that this was kind of exciting).
Also, I had some pretty cool classes. I've been telling everyone about Dyeing With Lichens, which is simpler and less toxic than I expected (basically, put the lichens and the wool together in a pot of water and add heat). You mostly get browns and yellows, but there's supposed to be a Midwestern lichen that provides a nice orange color. Time to go lichen hunting!