Home and gone again

The Finn-ish Socks returned safely from the State Fair and were accompanied by a ribbon.


Finn-ish Sock

Now they're heading out the door again, one to Purlescence Yarns in Sunnyvale, CA and the other to Susanna Hansson for her Lapland Hand Garment class.

Bye, nice seeing you and thanks for stopping by!


Finn-ish sock pattern, $8.00
buy it now

Fair

California State Fair 2010

Yes, it's that time of year again, it's time for the California State Fair. Actually, the fair is early this year so if you're planning on going you'd better get a move on because it ends on Sunday. Having it earlier in the summer is nice because it isn't oppressively hot--plus the unseasonably cool weather made walking around pleasant last weekend.

This year R & I went our own way through the Creative Arts building. I took my time looking at all of the displays taking photos along the way, and he moved through a little faster.

When I got about half way through he came back and I asked, "Did you see it?"

He nodded.

I asked apprehensively, "Will I be mad?"

He said, "No."

Whew. I resumed walking and snapping and resisted the urge to have him lead me to it.

I passed by one item after another and finally saw my entry.


Finn-ish socks on display

It's not near anything too large and spectacular like last year, so I think there's a chance that more people will notice this entry.

Winning 2nd place is an honor but it also begs the question, "What took first place?"


2nd Place, Any Other Knitted Item

Then I noticed that the tag for Finn-ish still had it in the "Any Other Knitted Item" class as opposed to what was written on the judges' sheet, "Knitted Wearing Apparel Adult". So which one was correct? We looked for first place in both classes.

We came across this one not too far away--


Lisa Sheaffer
First Place, Any Other Knitted Item
Floral Felted Tote Bag

Hmmm. Okay.

Now to find the First Place Knitted Wearing Apparel. Both of us searched high and low but we didn't see it. We went back and forth scrutinizing all of the blue tags. After my 4th time around the room I was going to give up. R suggested I speak with the woman at the information counter. She didn't know specifics about the entries but had a diagram of what placed and where they were located. Okay. Direction. Direction is good.

Well, I finally figured out what happened. I had seen this first place entry on each trip around the room--


Betty Fryer
First Place, Any Other Knitted Item
Flower Garden Triangle

Two entries marked as first place for Any Other Knitted Item. My guess is that the Flower Garden Triangle is the First Place Knitted Wearing Apparel.

Either way, mystery solved.

Maybe the judges would have been more impressed if I could have shown them the technique used to make the socks.


Knitting the Rovaniemi way

But I didn't see in the rules how supporting material could be submitted with an entry. Oh well. California's a big state and I am very fortunate to have placed again.

Oh, and did I mention that the pattern for Finn-ish is available? I'm just sayin'.


Finn-ish sock pattern, $8.00
buy it now

I'll blog more about the fair soon.

California State Fair
July 14-Aug 1
Cal Expo Fairgrounds
Sacramento, California

California State Fair results

The California State Fair Creative Arts Fiber Art Show Exhibit results are in:

2nd Place - Knitted Wearing Apparel Adult

Finn-ish

Judge's comments:

Ah - what a nice pair of socks. Very nice. Great pattern. Someone must have happy feet!

Here's the kicker--I entered Finn-ish in the "Any Other Knitted Item" class because that's where I've entered socks in the past. Well, they reclassified Finn-ish to the "Knitted Wearing Apparel Adult" class. So I placed second in the same class as all the adult sweaters and every other adult garment that was entered. Wow!

California State Fair
July 14 - August 1, 2010
Cal Expo
1600 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento , CA 95815

One iron in the fire

For the first time in many years the California State Fair is moving off its Labor Day schedule and will start in July. That meant the deadlines for the California Creative Arts competition moved up 2 months. I thought I had plenty of time for a couple of entries, but you know how that goes. Before I knew it, it was time to fill out forms and I only had one entry ready.

My one iron in the fire is Finn-ish and judging is tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Stitches West... bring it on!

I'm excited. Can you tell??

I'm excited that I'll be around people like me, who speak my language, and who appreciate the care and effort that goes into creating, designing, teaching, and learning about all things stitches. For me, this once a year event that started out as a shopping trip has morphed into a social and learning weekend with just a tad of shopping thrown in. Just a tad.

If you're planning on visiting the Market, visit your LYS for a coupon for $2 off the admission--handing it in is a vote for your shop. If you can't get to a LYS in time or they don't have any left, you can print one out here.

Here are a few things that might not have been on your radar... until now.

• A Finn-ish sock will be on display in the Purlescence booth, probably near the Cascade Heritage yarn.
  
  
  
  Purlescence Yarns
  Booth #830
  
  Its mate will most likely be in Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments class on Friday.



• The hand-dyed, handspun Beat the Blahs hank will be for sale in the KnitWhits booth with the rest of the Humanity Handspun yarn. Look for it and give it a squeeze, it's very squooshy.
  
  
  Beat the Blahs: hand dyed fiber -> 3-ply handspun
  
  KnitWhits and
  Humanity Handspun
  Booth #96



• Friday afternoon I'll be helping the Fiber Fiend aka Margit in her booth. Stop by and say hello, she has nice hand-dyed yarn and fiber as well as a new crop of patterns for this year.
  
  Fiber Fiend
  Booth #940



• On Saturday, stop by A Verb for Keeping Warm booth to see WonderMike during the Fiber Beat Meet-up.
  
  A Verb for Keeping Warm
  Booth #1040
  Fiber Beat Meet-up from 3-4PM



• Saturday night is the Bobbin's Nest party.
  
  Bobbin's Nest Studio
  1171 Homestead Rd, Ste 130
  Santa Clara

It's Stitches West 2010--let the games begin!

Help for Haiti totals

The results are in... (drumroll please)...

   $380.79 = Profits from Finn-ish sock pattern sales
+ $389.21 = Matching funds (plus a little more)
= $770.00 to Doctors Without Borders

Thank you, your support and generosity have been amazing!

UPDATE #3: FINAL DAYS--Thru Jan 31, profits will go to Haiti Earthquake Relief

There are just a couple days left. Through January 31, 100% of the profits from the sale of this pattern will go to Haiti Earthquake Relief through Doctors Without Borders.

Matching funds will double the dollars sent to Doctors Without Borders.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased the pattern to date, my expectations were surpassed in the first two days. In addition to the many knitters who bought Finn-ish for their own stash, patterns have been gifted to others and people who already own the pattern have bought more copies (in one case many more copies).

In addition, some knitters have Finn-ish slated for the upcoming Ravelympics. Wow, exciting! I think it will be a challenge but it's an achievable goal especially if the athletes take this time to "train" by preparing the materials and getting comfortable with the technique. Best of luck Ravelympians, I'll be cheering for you!

Thanks to everyone again. Your purchases will provide much needed medical assistance to those who need it most in Haiti.


Finn-ish sock pattern, $8.00

	add to shopping cart
	buy it now

The unique motif of Finn-ish is based on a folk knitting technique from Rovaniemi, Finland.

This is truly a different approach to colorwork with elements of weaving, stranded knitting, and intarsia. You may have read about the technique on Yarn Harlot's blog, or perhaps you've experienced it first hand in Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments class.




The Finn-ish pattern has detailed instructions on how to prepare 11 small butterflies of contrasting color and how to work the motif. Most importantly, there are instructions on how to manage the butterflies so you have a tangle free knitting experience.

Size
Women’s Medium [Large]
Finished measurements
Foot circumference: 6.5 [7.5]” (16.5 [19] cm) relaxed
Foot length: Approx 9 [10]” (23 [25.5] cm) relaxed

Materials
Cascade Yarns, Heritage (75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon; 100 gm / 437 yd)
MC: 1 [2*] hank(s) #5602 Steel
* A pair of large socks from 1 hank MC is possible by shortening the cuff and working fewer motif repeats, depending on foot length.
CC1: 65 yd (60 m) #5608 Pine
CC2: 65 yd (60 m) #5604 Denim
CC3: 50 yd (46 m) #5618 Snow
1 set of US 0 (2.0 mm) dpns, or size needed to achieve gauge
1 straight needle 10” (25 cm) or longer, preferably US size 5 (3.75 mm) or thinner
Point protector or cork
2 stitch markers
Tapestry needle

A new project??

Well, it's not like I haven't been working on projects. But lately the projects on my needles haven't been ones I can talk about and I know how annoying that can be to a blog reader. "Hey, I'm working on this great pattern and I wish I could tell you about it, but I can't. Bye!" Like I said, annoying.

Here's the new project:
Compass Rose,
Sanquhar gloves designed by Beth Brown-Reinsel


Sanquhar glove
Project details on Ravelry

These gloves are sized by varying the gauge--each size starts with 90 sts at the cuff. My hand is between a women's small & medium, and I started the project on 0's because I think I'm a tight knitter. Uh no, not that tight of a knitter, they were way too big. Now I'm knitting on #000's. As you can see I haven't gotten very far--not for lack of trying--but even now I think the cuff could be a wee bit smaller. But I'm not (not not) going down to #0000's. I'll know more when I get past the cuff.

So far I'm loving the pattern and the yarn, and knitting at such a fine gauge results in a wonderful fabric. These are going to be marvelous -- and they're going to keep me busy for a quite a while.

You may remember that I blogged about Compass Rose months ago. The yarn and pattern were given to me by Spinnity--isn't she so very thoughtful? She knows what I like.

Apparently back in January I had a list of things to finish before I was going to cast-on the gloves. I completely forgot about the list until brought up that blog post today. Let's see how I did:

• A pattern and knitting. The pattern is 80% along and the knitting is close to finished. Deadline: Stitches West
  
  >> I think this was Outside In. I was working on the second sock at SW and the photo shoot was at the hotel pool. Done.
  
  
• 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.
  
  >> Finn-ish Socks! At SW, Susanna Hansson suggested that I get the pattern ready to sell at Sock Summit. Done and done.
  
  
• 50/50 Merino Tencel : 2 singles ready for plying.
  
  >> Tactile Fiber Arts Merino Tencel. Done (and beautiful).
  
  
• Stitches West homework. Just a bit of ribbing.
  
  >> The homework and the Skrå-trøje are 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.
  
  >> Sipalu is finished and will be on display at the California State Fair tomorrow through September 7.
  
  
• Aguona Laptop Bag: Needs a zipper, maybe lining, and sewing up in general.
  
  >> Not finished. Not touched since the steek was cut.

Not bad, not bad at all. Of course there were other projects in the last 7+ months that I did work on, but finishing 5 out of 6 on this list feels pretty good.

Available now: Finn-ish Sock pattern

From January 15 to January 31, 2010, 100% of the profits from the sale of this pattern PLUS matching funds will go to Haiti Earthquake Relief through Doctors Without Borders.

ETA: Help for Haiti contributions to Doctors Without Borders totaled $770.00. Thank you everyone!

It debuted at Sock Summit 2009 and now Finn-ish is available for purchase online.


Finn-ish sock pattern, $8.00

	add to shopping cart
	buy it now

The unique motif of Finn-ish is based on a folk knitting technique from Rovaniemi, Finland.

This is truly a different approach to colorwork with elements of weaving, stranded knitting, and intarsia. You may have read about the technique on Yarn Harlot's blog, or perhaps you've experienced it first hand in Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments class.




The Finn-ish pattern has detailed instructions on how to prepare 11 small butterflies of contrasting color and how to work the motif. Most importantly, there are instructions on how to manage the butterflies so you have a tangle free knitting experience.

Size
Women’s Medium [Large]
Finished measurements
Foot circumference: 6.5 [7.5]” (16.5 [19] cm) relaxed
Foot length: Approx 9 [10]” (23 [25.5] cm) relaxed

Materials
Cascade Yarns, Heritage (75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon; 100 gm / 437 yd)
MC: 1 [2*] hank(s) #5602 Steel
* A pair of large socks from 1 hank MC is possible by shortening the cuff and working fewer motif repeats, depending on foot length.
CC1: 65 yd (60 m) #5608 Pine
CC2: 65 yd (60 m) #5604 Denim
CC3: 50 yd (46 m) #5618 Snow
1 set of US 0 (2.0 mm) dpns, or size needed to achieve gauge
1 straight needle 10” (25 cm) or longer, preferably US size 5 (3.75 mm) or thinner
Point protector or cork
2 stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Sock Summit!

Can you feel it? Can you feel the excitement and intensity building? I can and it's driving me crazy.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, click on the banner above... but if you haven't heard of Sock Summit, you probably don't care that much about sock knitting (or you've been under a rock).

Here's how I'm participating in Sock Summit--


Finn-ish Sock pattern, $8.00

	add to shopping cart
	buy it now

Booth 216, Crafting for the Peanut Gallery


I'm so excited and I'm not even going.

I'll be following my friends' FB/Twitter updates as well as the Sock Summit Tweets.

Have fun everyone! I wish I could be with you.

ETA: Links to purchase the pattern online.

Finn-ish Sock Pattern at Sock Summit 2009 (and at SnP Tacoma this week!)

Announcing Finn-ish!


Finn-ish sock pattern, $8.00

	add to shopping cart
	buy it now

The unique motif of Finn-ish is based on a folk knitting technique from Rovaniemi, Finland.

This is truly a different approach to colorwork with elements of weaving, stranded knitting, and intarsia. You may have read about the technique on Yarn Harlot's blog, or perhaps you've experienced it first hand in Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garments class.

The Finn-ish pattern has instructions on how to prepare 11 small butterflies of contrasting color and how to work the motif. Most importantly, there are instructions on how to manage the butterflies so you have a tangle free knitting experience.

This sock features the distinctive Rovaniemi zig-zag pattern down the front of the sock to the tip of the toe, and the back of the sock is ribbed for a comfortable fit.


Finn-ish sock

Mel of Stick Chick Knits (thank you Mel!) will have the pattern for sale and a sample sock on display at:

Stitch 'n Pitch, Tacoma Rainiers
July 22
Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, WA
Stick Chick Knits table

and

Sock Summit
August 6-9
Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR
Booth 216, Crafting for the Peanut Gallery

Many thanks to Susanna for making the technique accessible to knitters outside Finland and for motivating and encouraging me to publish this pattern in time for Sock Summit.

For those who aren't going to Sock Summit, watch this blog for more information about how to buy the pattern.

ETA: Links to purchase the pattern.