I went to Stitches South over the weekend. Wowee! So glad I was able to take the day off on Friday to go to the Market--so many people on Saturday that I literally stood in line for 20 minutes to buy one item!
I had such a great time, me and my mom! On Friday, we had a leisurely market day and spent a truly insane amount of money on not a lot of yarn; but it was totally worth it! We had a great lunch at the convention center, spent the afternoon in the market, and went to the Knitter's Magazine fashion show in the evening. That was a total riot--especially when the lights went out because there was a tornado that touched down near the convention center and a wild thunderstorm raging outside! It was like driving in a gale-force hurricane down the interstate to get home!
Most of the items that I was absolutely in love with at the fashion show and will probably never have the time to knit will be featured in the Spring/Summer edition of Knitter's Magazine. You would think that, spring being nearly over, the magazine would have come out by now; but we were told that they are behind schedule because of the last anniversary issue--don't expect to see the spring issue until maybe July! But, from one obsessive knitter to another, hurry up and finish your current projects because you are going to love, love, love the sweaters in this issue!
Not wanting to continue sounding like a commercial ... here's a gander at what I picked up in the Market. I got 10 skeins of Classic Elite's Mooreland (mohair, baby alpaca, merino) in a rusty heather, about 1500 yards of a cotton/rayon hand dyed boucle from Newton's Yarn Country, 660 yards of gradiated Scandinavian (Denmark) wool from Kanni in a series of rusts, browns, and golds, "Socks that Rock" yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (also mostly in a rusty color), 2 skeins of Classic Shades from Universal Yarn (so, so, so soft!!) in a variegated burgandy, rust, green, and turquoise colorway, and the score of the Market: Possum Yarn!! I got one skein (420 meters) of Touch Possum Yarn in a natural, undyed fawny-grey color. The ultimate definition of soft is possum yarn. The end.
NOTE: If you live in the U.S. and are reading this, possum yarn is NOT made from those nasty, sharp-fanged, pointy-noised creatures that hang upside down from trees, get into the garbage, and eat all of your cat's food at night. I don't think anything good can come from the U.S. breed of possum. They are just ugly. This is New Zealand possum--also a pest; but a totally different animal.
On Saturday, there was more Market time and a few more purchases and a class in Russian Knitting from Galina Khmeleva (literally, the queen of lace! OMG!! her lace is gorgeous!!!) She owns Skaska designs, and her two-tone lace shawl is featured on the front cover of Patterns Magazine right now. You should check it out! I was a little disappointed by the method of knitting. Turns out, this left-handed method is nearly identical to the way that I already knit. We did learn some very nifty tricks of the trade, which I am absolutely going to be sharing at knitting club, and all three of the techniques for purling--did you know that the the method of purling determines the overall look of the fabric in stockinett stitch? I did not realize this; so it was great to learn how to manipulate the fabric appearance. In the end, it was a good experience; but I still think my method is just as fast as Galena's!
Oh, and I also learned how to do Tunisian crochet! Now there's a nifty thing to learn. Going to do a whole post about that on another day. It creates such an interesting fabric that it deserves a post of its own. If you get the chance to go to one of the Stitches conventions, I highly recommend that you clear your calendar and go! Now I have the Knitter's Retreat in June and SAFF in October to look forward to. In the meantime, I have to totally re-work my project plan for the year and get a few more things on the FO list. That New Year's Resolution list just keeps growing and growing!
I didn't get the Traveling Woman shawl done in time for the convention; but I am down to 5, count them, 5 rows on that mathematically frustrating project. Pictures of the finished product will appear soon.
Happy knitting everyone!
I had such a great time, me and my mom! On Friday, we had a leisurely market day and spent a truly insane amount of money on not a lot of yarn; but it was totally worth it! We had a great lunch at the convention center, spent the afternoon in the market, and went to the Knitter's Magazine fashion show in the evening. That was a total riot--especially when the lights went out because there was a tornado that touched down near the convention center and a wild thunderstorm raging outside! It was like driving in a gale-force hurricane down the interstate to get home!
Most of the items that I was absolutely in love with at the fashion show and will probably never have the time to knit will be featured in the Spring/Summer edition of Knitter's Magazine. You would think that, spring being nearly over, the magazine would have come out by now; but we were told that they are behind schedule because of the last anniversary issue--don't expect to see the spring issue until maybe July! But, from one obsessive knitter to another, hurry up and finish your current projects because you are going to love, love, love the sweaters in this issue!
Not wanting to continue sounding like a commercial ... here's a gander at what I picked up in the Market. I got 10 skeins of Classic Elite's Mooreland (mohair, baby alpaca, merino) in a rusty heather, about 1500 yards of a cotton/rayon hand dyed boucle from Newton's Yarn Country, 660 yards of gradiated Scandinavian (Denmark) wool from Kanni in a series of rusts, browns, and golds, "Socks that Rock" yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (also mostly in a rusty color), 2 skeins of Classic Shades from Universal Yarn (so, so, so soft!!) in a variegated burgandy, rust, green, and turquoise colorway, and the score of the Market: Possum Yarn!! I got one skein (420 meters) of Touch Possum Yarn in a natural, undyed fawny-grey color. The ultimate definition of soft is possum yarn. The end.
NOTE: If you live in the U.S. and are reading this, possum yarn is NOT made from those nasty, sharp-fanged, pointy-noised creatures that hang upside down from trees, get into the garbage, and eat all of your cat's food at night. I don't think anything good can come from the U.S. breed of possum. They are just ugly. This is New Zealand possum--also a pest; but a totally different animal.
Oh, and I also learned how to do Tunisian crochet! Now there's a nifty thing to learn. Going to do a whole post about that on another day. It creates such an interesting fabric that it deserves a post of its own. If you get the chance to go to one of the Stitches conventions, I highly recommend that you clear your calendar and go! Now I have the Knitter's Retreat in June and SAFF in October to look forward to. In the meantime, I have to totally re-work my project plan for the year and get a few more things on the FO list. That New Year's Resolution list just keeps growing and growing!
I didn't get the Traveling Woman shawl done in time for the convention; but I am down to 5, count them, 5 rows on that mathematically frustrating project. Pictures of the finished product will appear soon.
Happy knitting everyone!
You're so talented!
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