Ah, the Pacific Northwest

Last summer the mister and I traveled to the Pacific Northwest (western Washington and Oregon, and also Victoria, BC to be more specific) with a couple of very close friends. We deemed our trip "Beervana," as our goal was to sample as many fine brews as the Pac NW would offer us, while still remaining coherent enough to see the beautiful sites this region has to offer. Or actually in the reverse order: sites first, beer later. Right, so that was pretty much the trip: walking city streets or hiking paths/trails during the day with a breaks for meals at a local brewpub.

Last year, I blogged about some of my favorite beers from the region. Here are some of my favorite non-city sites.

Multnomah Falls, OR.


Sunset over Puget Sound.


Falls at Mount Rainer National Park.


Mount Rainer.



Crescent Lake, WA.


Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park... who doesn't love snowmen in July?


Mount Hood, OR, as seen from a vineyard in WA just on the other side of the Hood River.


The Gorge Games in Hood River, OR.


A scenic overlook on the Pacific Coast Highway. Look at the weather front! Sunny on the left, stormy on the right. Amazing!



A view of WA from the ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles, WA.


So, why the trip down memory lane? Well, I just finished knitting up the yarn I bought from a small shop in Cannon Beach, OR. STR (socks that rock) is actually local in Oregon: that's where the stuff is made! What a great way to purchase my first skein!

I spent a long time deciding what to do with this yarn. It's 380 yards of medium weight superwash 4-ply merino in the colorway "Montley Hue." Very appropriate as the sky was pretty much this shade of bluish grey on the day I made the purchase. The tanish flecks remind me of the sand on Cannon Beach. Perfect. Anyway, I decide to make the Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark. I did my research on Ravelry and saw that other knitters that used STR for this project knit with size 6 needles. So I decided to do the same. No swatching for me!! As a result, I ended up only having enough yarn for 7 of the 8 body repeats. I should have known better and gone down a needle size from everyone else because I am a loose knitter. The shawl blocked out to 27 inches in length and a 55 inch “wing-span,” (which is larger than what the pattern called for). So, as you can imagine, my "leaves" are pretty big. But I'm happy with it. I can't wait to wear it to a wedding we're attending in March!