Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Jaunt to San Fran

I got to go to San Francisco for a conference this weekend.  I'm not sure if you knew this, but SF is friggin' freezing even in July.  This is what the Golden Gate Bridge looked like when I was there.
Wait for it...

Wait for it...
 Ah, there it is!

Sort of....
On Friday I got to do all the touristy things and eat some really good food (Burma Superstar: I will forever dream of your Rainbow Salad).  And to be jealous of how well bikers are treated in the city.  There are designated bike spaces on the subway, trenches on the stairs so you can roll your bike down instead of having to take the elevator, and this:
The fanciest indoor bike parking.  Love it.

Saturday and Sunday I attended the Law Students for Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute.  I am chairing the Emory Law Chapter this year and went to meet with all the other chapters from around the country.  It was very inspiring.

After the conference, I did what every self-respecting knitter would do with some free time in a new city: I checked out a couple of yarn stores.

Art Fibers is in Downtown SF.  They own their own line of fibers, most of which are either novelty yarns or made of exotic, yummy fibers. There is a swatch for every type of yarn (usually in multiple colors) but all the yarn itself is in cones.  You buy it by the yard, so you can get exactly the amount you want or need.  What a fantastic idea!  Annnnnd you can order online!

See the swatches in the foreground?  And the cones at the back on the "yarn tasting" wall?  I only tasted.  No purchasing here.
 And, of course, their entrance was completely nondescript and hard to find, just like School Products in NYC. 

What is it about yarn stores and their modest signage?

My conference was at Berkeley law school, so I got to explore that area as well.  I got on the wrong bus and accidentally found Good Vibrations (no pictures, sorry) which was funny because I was still wearing my repro justice t-shirt.

I also found Discount Fabrics which was full of....

Yup, discount fabrics!  A LOT of fabrics.  It was really good that I had no room in my bag, 'cause I was ---->this<---- close to buying a few yards of 5mm neoprene, some gold lamee and ALL of their wool.  It was paradise in there.

I walked and walked and walked and ended up at A Verb For Keeping Warm.  These folks were lovely.  I was immediately greeted by Miss Rebekah P. who was nice enough to stash my heavy bag for me while I looked around they store and to explain all their local offerings (mostly from small farms in Oregon).  They have many yarns they dye themselves on the back porch of the store.  And they have squishy spinning fibre (baby camel, wool, cashmere and other deliciousness), also dyed on location.  And fabric.  And a sunny open space for knitting. 

 


I fell hard for some fibre and a skein of something wonderful that I will show you later if my plans for it go...well...as planned.

Overall, a very good trip.

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