fenchurch: (Pike Place)
Fenchurch ([personal profile] fenchurch) wrote2009-03-14 09:55 pm

Seattle sight-seeing and shopping

As I mentioned, my in-laws are in town for a few days, so this morning we headed into Seattle and stopped by Weaving Works, where my mother-in-law (who is a weaver) wanted to do a bit of shopping. I picked up some more Procion dyes for tie-dyeing projects and then decided to bite the bullet and buy an Inkle Loom. I'd borrowed one from my mother-in-law a few years ago, but due to the car accident I ended up not being able to do much with it before she needed it back. The loom wasn't horribly expensive and I'm hoping that owning one of my own will be a bigger incentive to really learn how to use it.

After that we headed down to the Seattle Center and spent most of the morning and early afternoon wandering around the Science Fiction Museum (something I always love but don't get to do nearly often enough). Things were, of course, a bit different from my last visit... since the collection rotates things through from time to time. I still love seeing all the stuff from the Golden Age, and some of the items and recollections from folks who were in First Fandom (I've been lucky enough to meet a number of them over the years, but the stories still fascinate me). And as always, I left the SFM with a list of books I want to read and, luckily, I already own most of them!

We grabbed lunch at the Seattle Center... I ended up ordering the very seasonal corned beef, cabbage and potatoes which was, well, no better than okay. Not fantastic, but at least it was a step up from "merely edible." We definitely need to pick up some corned beef sometime this week to prepare at home. The best part of lunch was grabbing some beignets from another food vendor... ooh, light and sweet and yummy!

After lunch, we headed back over to the Experience Music Project... which is pretty cool, but not the sort of thing that interests me enough for repeated visits, so I spent most of my time in a special section with video and headphone sets watching various interviews with SF&F authors and personalities (including Frederik Pohl discussing how he, along with several other members of the Futurians, were ejected from the first WorldCon -- yes, Fannish feuds have been around for a VERY long time). My favorite, though, was Nichelle Nichols talking about the "first interracial kiss on television" -- the one between Uhura and Captain Kirk on Star Trek. So funny!! Especially how William Shatner sabotaged the one "non-kiss" take that they did (he dipped her toward the camera and looked up at it with his eyes crossed). The Science Fiction Museum is well worth your time, if you're ever in the Seattle area... and be sure to check out the EMP, even if it's just to find the few SF&F exhibits that are sprinkled throughout that section!

We spent a bit of time wandering around the Seattle Center before heading home... and I even got end the day with my annual St. Patrick's Day indulgence: a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's!

[identity profile] ozma914.livejournal.com 2009-03-15 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
Ooh -- would love to visit the Science Fiction Museum.

[identity profile] mirandaflynn.livejournal.com 2009-03-15 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
You're making me want to visit Seattle. I've never been. :)

[identity profile] zanthinegirl.livejournal.com 2009-03-15 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Both places I tend only to do when I have company visiting from out of town! I should again sometime. It's been a while, and it looks like cold rainy weather for some time to come!

[identity profile] jedihealer.livejournal.com 2009-03-15 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Shamrock shakes........yummmm.

I didn't know you were a weaver. I would love to watch that being done some time. Yet another fabric / yarn craft yet to be visited.

[identity profile] fenchurche.livejournal.com 2009-03-15 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I'm not a weaver... my mother-in-law is (she actually used to teach in the Clothing & Textiles Department at BYU). Although, technically, I've done a bit of weaving in the past on some of her looms. This will be the first time I've owned my own loom and actually tried to start my own project (I've always used looms after they've already been started).