WARNING.....BARE BREASTS.....
TURN BACK IF YOUR NOT ATLEAST 18

This past weekend was quite eventful on our little 16th Street in the Castro - San Francisco. It was Gay Pride weekend....and we started it off right with the Trans March Festival on Friday, and the Dyke March on Saturday.

It all started with a not-so-impromptu concert with our neighbors as the stars. It was pretty cool, until we realized that they're repertoire consisted of 3 songs....that they sung...over and over....again....for 8 hours...straight.

Then came about 800 women driving motorcycles - most of which were *really loud* Harley Davidson's for the Dykes on Bikes processional, shall I call it. There were lots of people lining the streets watching the festivities, including this couple:

Here's a closer look at her whale tail:

You gotta love a girl who can create such a work of art with a few simple supplies from the local hardware store.

Following the bykes....was the Dyke March. Behold, the making of the most sensitive man on the face of the planet - he's on the right in blue:

I wonder if the "sign-holders" realized that they would not only be holding up the sign...but....this womans breasts as well:

In a nut-shell:

I'm heading on another trip....and this time I'm going to one of my favorite places....Seattle & Portland! This time it's all pleasure....(not taking time off....but I won't have any business obligations while I'm there....yeah!!)

Do you live in Portland or Seattle? Where should I go? The best suggestions that I get are from local crafters because we all think alike!!

PORTLAND
Here's what Sally had to contribute:
Portland
1. Fabric Depot = huge selection of fabric, often discounted 30-40%
2. Bolt Fabric Boutique = modern fabric [Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt, Michael Miller, Kaufman]
3. Knittn Kitten = fabric thrift store [hit or miss in terms of selection]
4. Lint = yarn shop
5. Knit-Purl = yarn shop

Beaverton [SW Portland]
1. Kinokuniya = Japanese craft books

Crafty Wonderland is a monthly craft fair held in SE Portland. It is held the second Sunday of every month. YEAH!! I'LL BE AROUND FOR THIS!!

SEATTLE
Daiso, a Japanese dollar store (by Alderwood Mall & Sears)! - (From WiseCraft & GoodToBeGirl).
Wild Ginger an AWESOME restaurant serving Asian fusion fair.


Seattle Craft-Bloggers: WiseCraft, GoodToBeGirl, SticksInSeattle
Portland Craft-Bloggers: Shim & Sons,

The color of the month for Project Spectrum is BLUE. I was lucky enough to get matched up with an old bloggin' friend, Pink Purls! How fun is that? She sent me a wonderful package chock full of blue creative goodness....including a blue candle....4 balls of blue yarn....and the best part of all......check out the artist genius in this:
Seriously though, lets stop and consider this work of art. I'd like to draw your attention to the mini knitting needles and pink ball of yarn. Adorable!! And the shells...ooh! A piece of Miami, right here in San Francisco....love it!! Thank you Esther!!
BackTack3 has come to a close and I received (quite awhile ago) my beautiful pointy kitty from Seriously & Beyond.....I loved it!! She put soooo much hard work into putting a really wonderful package together for me and my new little friend, Vixen. (Vixen is the name of my new pointy kitty). Thank you for the new little friend....thank you for the candles....and the ribbon....and the kick-ass pin cushion....and.....and....that wee pointy black and white custom carrier!! I love it all! My BackTack partner, Marga...should have received her's by now....the above postcard is a little hint of what her new little friend looks like....
Betty Crafter recipe postcards are FINALLY being sent out today...can you believe that I'm 9 days late sending them off?? Pretty pathetic, considering that I am one of the organizers! Aaaggrr....I irritate myself.

Well....my friends....I'm afraid to announce that Knottie Knitter here must take a break from all the swaps. I just love love love receiving all this creative goodness in the mail, but I'm having trouble keeping up on my end...I'll be back into the swapping madness in the fall. Am I the only the one that's a little worn out?

Aren't knitters the greatest??? So....I was in Denver for business this past week...and guess who I got to hang out with??? Non other then...my SP7...Stacey!! She's just as adorable in real life as she is in her blog.

Here we are at a open air concert in the park:

I also got a chance to meet her crew...first I met Cynthia, Wanda, Michelle at dinner...then we went on to DTC for an outdoor concert....were any of us listening?? I couldnt hear the music over the clickity clacking of our knitting needles (aaah....music to my ears!). At the concert, I met Jeni, Nachaele and Kristina....all VERY cool girls...and soooo fun to knit with.



I really need a local crew like this....Beth, we've got to find some other addicts!!

Stacey and Cythnia also took me to a great yarn shop called Lamp Shoppe. We sat around for awhile talking to the shop owner and just touching yarn and looking at books...it was great! Stacey's bad influence turned me into a total maniac and I walked out of there with like 8 million yards of cotton that I may never use. EXCEPT for the 3 red skeins of cotton that I bought for Green Gables...which will be my first knitted garmet...yyyeeehaaaahh....excitement!! We ended up the night at Monkey Bean where I tried Monkey Balls for the first time....jeez...that Stacey sure is a bad influence:)

Anyway....thanks to all you ladies...who provided me with hours of entertainment and fun while away from home....I loved getting the knitters tour of Denver!!

*STILL TO COME....IN A NEAR FUTURE POST:

BackTacking fun....and a really spectacular kitty that came purring at my front door from Seriously & Beyond.

Project Spectrum postcard swap...and how Pink Purls turns something "average" into something "amazing".

Betty Crafter postcard swap....and the beautiful peices of artwork that are slowly arriving to my house...and even slower-ly leaving my mailbox (yes, mine are now 7 days late...and counting!)....