A Knitter's Tour of Vancouver, Part 2

I find that as a knitter, I am reminded of my fiber fetish almost everywhere I go. Last time, I shared with you some of my finds from Richmond, just south of Vancouver. In Vancouver itself, one of our stops was at the Museum of Anthropology. The most striking displays are those of the large works in the gorgeous Great Hall.


But there are fabulous finds if you have time to spend in the Visible Storage room. There are all sorts of different artifacts from around the world. Some of them are stored in display drawers, and it's fun to open up the drawers and see what surprises lay inside. Other items are out in more traditional displays, like this spinning wheel.


Check out this spindle. I know you can't tell how big it is in the picture, but I snapped a shot of the display photograph so you can get an idea of scale.




Even at Stanley Park, I thought about fibers when I saw these guys.




Now at Granville Island, I did expect to find some fiber goodies, and I was not disappointed. A store called Maiwa Supply had materials for all sorts of decorative textile techniques--painting, stenciling, etching, and all manner of dyeing. The yarns available were very nice, but the only local yarns they had were bulky alpaca yarns, which are hard to me to use, so I didn't buy any. If I had not been traveling with 3 other adults and 4 kids, I would have lingered here longer. Maybe it was for the best that I couldn't, though, because as it was, I had almost talked myself into buying some dyes to try, and I really really do not need another hobby!


While still on Granville Island, my friend and I were pulled into the Alarte Silks store by an interesting shawl on display by the door. It turns out they were loosely woven silk scarves with nuno felted, leaf-like shapes. They were so striking! We didn't get anything at first, but at the end of the day, we returned to the store and each bought one in the colors that appealed to us most. Of course, we realized right away that the color we chose was the color we were already wearing. My friend was wearing a purple shirt and chose the "violet" colorway. I happened to have my Ingenue sweater on and chose this: