HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday at Stitches West. What hand knits do you have on today? (I *know* you're wearing hand knits.)

If you see this sweater walking around the Marketplace, stop me and say hello!


Basket Stitch Cardigan
Project details on Ravelry

Stitches West Preview

Last night was the Stitches West Marketplace Preview.

When I arrived, I headed straight to the WEBS booth for the first item on my shopping list. I ran into Steve and said, "Hi Steve, where's the Malabrigo Sock Yarn?" He walked me over to 6 cubes of the stuff. Excellent!

I said, "Oh, no. That's not enough".

Steve agreed. "I know, it'll go fast"

"No, I mean it's not enough for me. Now." lol


Malabrigo Sock

Okay, so I didn't buy it all, I left a lot for other shoppers (like Spinnity & Jo). But I did get 4 hanks. Purty.

Next up, a book. A Japanese stitch pattern book. There was one on a Village Spinning and Weaving table and I nabbed it, but the price wasn't marked. I asked at the register, "How much is this?"


Japanese Stitch Pattern Book

John said with a smile, "We don't know."

To which I responded, "Oh, then it must be free!" followed by a charming (I hope) smile.

"No, we've been trying to call the supplier for a price, but haven't gotten through. We can hold it for you."

No prob. Under the counter it went along with another copy for a different customer.

I stopped by Tactile Fiber Arts and showed Maia and company the laceweight Merino/Tencel. They were so nice and had some really beautiful fiber. I'll have to stop by there again today.

From there it was a short walk to Redfish Dyeworks to show them the 3 ply Merino/Silk. Again, really beautiful yarn and fiber and friendly folks. By the way, Redfish Dyeworks has a new web site that went live yesterday. They hadn't seen it yet because they were working the show, but take a gander--they approach color selection from a dyer's perspective (makes sense) with "wheels" and depth of shade.

Lisa Souza had tempting yarn, but Spinnity and I fell for the batts. Apparently we weren't the only ones. She said the cubes in front of the booth were chocked full but when we got there they were pretty well cleaned out. The batts are in large zip lock bags but you need to open the bags to truly appreciate the colors and textures. This one is 90% Blue Faced Leicester/ 10% Border Leicester Lamb Curls in Mahogany.


Lisa Souza Spinning Batt

Towards the end of the evening Spinnity, Bill, and I went back to Village Spinners and Weavers and that's when I noticed the hedgehogs. Hedgehogs! and Geckos! and Owls! and Squirrels!


Fiber Trends Squirrel Kit

Yes, I bought a squirrel kit. We have squirrel acrobats in the backyard and for some reason I want a stuffed squirrel in the house.

Oh wait, it's Sam who wants a squirrel friend. Yeah, that's it! It's for Sam. (He's very excited.)


New friends!

While I was oooing and aahhhing over the Fiber Trends kits, I oooooed and ahhhhed all over Bev Galeskas, designer of the Fiber Trends clogs. I'm sure she's heard it a million times before, but I had to tell her how much we enjoy her felted clog design. When we come home it's off with the shoes and on with the clogs.

At the register, they had a price on the stitch pattern book so that went in my bag too.

Oh, and beware, I am an enabler. If you shop with me, you'll buy things that you probably wouldn't have bought on your own. Like an Owl. tee hee hee!

I also got to see many friends on the show floor at Purlescence, Fiber Fiend!, Full Thread Ahead, and Habu Textiles.

72 hours and counting

Thursday night. Stitches West.

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

• Thursday night: Marketplace preview.
  
• Friday: Marketplace. I'll also be stopping by Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments class in the afternoon to show off a new pattern that I'm working on. I had hoped to have it completed and ready to sell at the show, but that didn't happen.
  
• Saturday & Sunday: Danish Skrå-trøjer with Beth Brown-Reinsel. 12 hours with one of my favorite instructors learning how to knit a remarkable Danish garment that was created at the end of the 1800's. Not much shopping these days, but that's okay with me.

Last year I bought a healthy amount of fiber and yarn, some of which I've used, much of which sits in my stash. The shopping list this year is short, but that won't stop me (or slow me down) if the past is any predictor of the future. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the vendors, and especially those that I only see once or twice a year like:

Black Water Abbey Yarns
Habu Textiles
Webs
Belisa Cashmere
Hemp for Knitting
Brooks Farm Yarn
Creatively Dyed Yarn
RedFish Dyeworks
Lisa Souza
Carolina Homespun
Tactile Fiber Arts
A Verb For Keeping Warm

Not to mention all the book sellers and the local yarn shops and the Koigu and the buttons and the spindles and the fiber and the wheels and of course my local and out of town friends and and and!

If you're coming to the Stitches West, print out this coupon for $2 off admission to the Marketplace.

And here's an extra added bonus, a map of the Marketplace.

Stitches West 2009 Marketplace Map

It's a PDF version of Erin's Excel file (RavID: EGarcia). If you think the map's useful, send her a thank you msg on Ravelry.

Tick tock!

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday. What hand knits do you have on today?

At this month's Knitspiration Knitting Guild of Silicon Valley meeting we discussed what to do with handpainted yarns--managing pooling, flashing, color changes, etc.. The socks I'm wearing today make use of a technique that deals with color variations quite well if the color runs are an appropriate length for the entrelac rectangles.


A Step Above #3
Project details on Ravelry

Ugh. I really need to take a better photo of these socks.

What hand knits are you wearing today?

Output

It's been fast and furious spinning since Valentine's Day when Spinnity hosted the February spin-in.

Finishing the Tactile Fiber Arts Merino Tencel from Stitches West 2008 was on my list of things to do and here it is, 4 ounces of 2 ply laceweight. How many yards? Lots.


Merino Tencel 50/50 Handspun


Merino Tencel 50/50 Handspun

But it didn't stop there. As soon as the laceweight was off the Lendrum, another bump of fiber came out of the stash. This time it was Merino Silk from RedFish Dyeworks, also purchased at Stitches West last year. It's my first 3 ply. I need more practice.


Merino Silk 50/50 Handspun


Merino Silk 50/50 Handspun

The leftover singles ended up as a 2 ply laceweight mini-hank--a Hankette if you will. Sam laid claim to Hankette and now he has a stash, and he's not sharing.


Sam with Hank and Hankette

Thank goodness I didn't give him thumbs.

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday the 13th. What hand knits do you have on today?

It's always cold in my office, so I'm wearing


Basket Stitch Cardigan
Project details on Ravelry


Dye-o-rama Socks
Project details on Ravelry

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie

If you need another reason to see Coraline,

Making a difference, one knitter at a time

Last year I put out a challenge to KnitFlix readers to help fund a 4th Grade Knitting Club. 18 days later we did it--we raised enough money to fully fund the proposal.


4th Grade Knitting Group's proposal

This week I got a nice surprise in the mail--a personal thank you. I'll share a bit of it with you.

The students are excited about their projects and are enthusiastic about their new and developing skills. For many, this is something they have never tried before.

There is so little time for the arts in the classroom and this is the perfect chance to be creative.

This gives them a creative outlet to occupy them and expose them to a quiet past time that promotes concentration.

The words warmed my heart and made the impact of the donations real. And then to drive the point home, they posted photos of the knitting group in action.

Wow. I am so happy to have been part of this!

Now I want to help more. I'm sure that I can find yarn in my stash that I can part with... I think I'll write a note to the teacher to see if they can make use of non-cash donations.

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Mars Mission socks
Project details on Ravelry

Hand spun red socks and a red shirt for National Wear Red Day. Are you wearing red today?

Coming up for air

I survived another quarter end at work and although there's still plenty to be done, I feel like I'm able to come up for air.

Here's what's been happening in between the reporting and analysis...

A couple of weeks ago I listed 6 projects that I need to finish or move forward with before starting a more interesting project. I'm happy to report that I've finished (well, almost finished) 2 items on the list.

• A pattern and knitting. The pattern is 80% along and the knitting is close to finished. Deadline: Stitches West
  


• A new sock pattern and knitting for... not sure where this will be submitted, it depends on when it's finished. This design is going through its final iterations.
  The pattern and knitting are finished. Need to take photos.
  


• 50/50 Merino Tencel : 2 singles ready for plying.
  


• Stitches West homework. Just a bit of ribbing.
  Finished.
  


• Sipalu Bag: The reverse st st bit at the top of the bag is flaring out, even after blocking. It needs to be ripped out and re-knit on smaller needles. I'd like to start (maybe even finish) knitting the strap before starting a new project.
  


• Aguona Laptop Bag: Needs a zipper, maybe lining, and sewing up in general.

2 out of 6. Not great, but not bad considering how taxed my brain has been. I did manage to fit in and finish small projects that weren't on the list.

• A square for Alison: Alison is the author of Wrapped in Comfort: Knitted Lace Shawls and she frequents Purlescence. I've only seen her a couple of times in the store, but was moved by her story. She's been been in the hospital having a challenging time with health issues. In response, knitters far and wide are contributing squares for a healing afghan. The Purlescence knitters are doing the same in a local effort and I made a square with Dream in Color Classy. Alison has been blogging through this difficult time... I hope she is able to go home soon and recover quicky.


• Knitspiration shirt: Work kept me away from the January Knitspiration meeting, but Spinnity had me over for a one-on-one stenciling session where she walked me through the steps and I stenciled her design on my shirt. Isn't it cute? It looks better on. Some day I'll take that photo... with better lighting.
  
  
  Knitspiration!
  
  I love the brown--Spinnity bought that color with me in mind. She's always looking out for me.
  
  Guild members are going to wear their shirts at Stitches West. Represent!
  


• Gear bag: I needed a little bag to keep cords and cables organized. Yesterday after I finished the sock pattern, I rewarded myself by turning a ball of Sugar 'n Cream into a crochet bag. Quick, functional, and finished.
  
  
  Gear bag
  
  
  Cords and cables in the gear bag

One last note, Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter today. I would like to see those 6 weeks bring snow to the Sierras and rain to my area to ease the threat of drought this year. With that, I hope that all those who are suffering from crushing cold, ice, and snow get relief sooner rather than later.