Daryl’s Excellent Northwest Adventure part 1…

I arrived in Seattle.

I found my ride.

We went right to a yarn shop.

Really.

As if I hadn’t already done enough damage.

Best yarn shop on Bainbridge Island.

ChurchmouseYarns ChurchmouseYarns2

Churchmouse Yarns and Tea.

Really.

And so this followed me out the door and into the suitcase…

Noro

It was on sale.

Really.

They have Madrone trees in Port Townsend.

MadronaTree

They are gorgeous.

The Port Townsend Guild was just wonderful to work with.  There were fourteen eager ladies, for a three day vest class, where we made story vests from their scraps and samples and samplers and treasures.  I love teaching this particular class because each little piece of fabric that we hold on to has a story.  And I heard many of them.  From fabric collected from another part of the world, to swatch and embroidery swaps, to fabric from a child’s garment, to remnants from a bridesmade’s dress, and quite a few repurposed items like a shawl from a Bonnie Tarses Workshop and a bias top from a Virginia West workshop,  all became something fresh and fun and personal.

They worked hard.  There was a lot of gnashing of teeth.  And a lot of rearranging.  And a lot of ripping out.  But every single vest turned out exceptional.  This was a talented and entertaining class.  I loved them all, vests and makers!

Working3 Working2 Working1PortTownsend

Take a look…

Vest13Debra Vest12SueDetail Vest12Sue Vest11Kathleen Vest10 Vest9 Vest8Chrysalis Vest7 Vest6Virginia Vest5 Vest4 Vest3Nora

And dear Kathleen, who brought a panel from handspun, woven on her rigid heddle loom.  Once she decided to run with it, she whipped out her loom and wove a second panel for the other front.

Vest14KathleenKathleen

So there you have it.  Mostly I don’t get to see the vests finished, they do the final assembly once they are home.  Though my speedy and focused hostess Rebekah finished hers the morning after class and I got a shot!

Vest2Rebekah

And Linda came to the Whidbey Guild meeting a week later and wore hers, completely finished.

Vest1Linda

And then on the 7th 4th day she rested shopped…

Rebekah my hostess and Nora, one of the students and I toured around Port Townsend.  I fell in love.  Maybe someday in another lifetime…

We looked at cool architecture…

PortT2

We looked at and had lunch on the Sound…

PortT1

We shared book recommendations… I loved A Man Called Ove…

Port3

We looked in a couple funky boutiques and found this hat…

PortT5

We looked in a gorgeous shop called Joglo that I actually wanted to live in, and I fell in love with this tile.  I want to redo my bathroom…

PortT4

On to the next venue, across Puget Sound on the ferry, to Whidbey Island…

Oh, and if you are interested, I’ll be teaching the same class at Fiber in the Forest, May 20-22, 2016 (Yes, that’s in a couple of weeks!), in southwest Oregon. Click here for more information!

Stay tuned…

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Joan Anderson
Joan Anderson
May 7, 2016 10:57 pm

I have been to Port Townsend for several Hansen espinner workshops with Judith Mackenzie and Sarah Anderson. I love the area and shops. It is a beautiful part of the country but I’m not sure I could live through it in the winter with the rain. Too tainted as a Californian!

Marilyn
Marilyn
May 8, 2016 7:20 am

I have taken five workshops with you, Daryl, and the vest will always be my favorite! I wear it often, since it goes with everything, and I can remember all the hand woven projects it exemplifies. I NEVER throw away my scraps and I weave the ends of warps after the last towel or scarf and add those pieces to my stash. It’s definitely time for another vest…and the piece-ing technique works for lots of other things too. Thank you for greatly enriching my life.

Ann Marie
Ann Marie
May 8, 2016 8:10 am

Just ordered my “new” Churchmouse pattern on sale yesterday. I’ve knitted so many of their patterns & hope to visit in person some day soon. The vests are truly beautiful! I think they had a great teacher!

Susan
Susan
May 10, 2016 4:30 pm

Geeze, how did I miss this post? What extraordinary vest and fabrics you got to help with. just stunning.

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