Stitches South

Did you think you were in the wrong place for a minute? :) Some of the changes that are/were being made to the blog actually got made a little ahead of schedule. My tech guy was free last night and he had the new logo all ready to go so we went ahead and changed the layout. My goal is to have everything fully updated by this weekend. By Saturday you should be able to link to this page through the Vivid Creation Fibers website and I should have a new updater thingy (that is the technical term for it I think) that will make posting to Twitter easier for me. The shop also got a new layout and the updated logo. More changes will be made by Saturday over there as well. And on Saturday I plan to launch my new names! I decided that I did want to change my Twitter and Ravelry names. As Kay pointed out in the comments, the Knifty Knitter is actually a loom knitting device (something I've never actually used in fact) and, while the name is catchy, it isn't unique. I'll be changing both user names to VCFibers. I think it's short, it's easy to share with people, it's easy to remember, and it connects me to my shop/company. Remember that on Saturday I will also be opening the Blog Relaunch Contest. You'll have to check back then to get the details of how to participate. Alright, on to Stitches South!

Day 1:
I took the day off work on Friday to go to Stitches South. I didn't take any classes this year (because up until a month ago I was planning on being a vendor, that, obviously, fell through) so I just went to explore the market. I'm one of those people who has to see everything there is before I can start to make decisions about what I really want. One thing I had to have was a picture of me with the entire Ravelry crew.

They were having a meet up in the concession area and I was waiting for a friend to come look over some samples for a custom order. It was like meeting celebrities. In the sense that it made me hot and sweaty to be near them and I was suddenly struck speechless. Which was pretty much how I felt when a few minutes later I went to meet Rachael (a.k.a. Yarn-a-go-go) and get her to sign a copy of her book, How to Knit a Love Song.

Thankfully Rachael is very nice and seems unfazed by the nervous, sweaty fan girl types. Plus she actually flagged someone down to take this illegal picture of us. And she took my business card. Which is nice because I'm practically a no body and she still seemed genuinely interested in meeting me. I went home and read the first 5 chapters of her book that very same night.

There was only one yarn purchase made on Friday.

A skein of Little Traveller in Springwater Isle from the Sanguine Gryphon. I love these colors and she always has such nice yarn. Plus I knew that it might be snatched up by Saturday.

Day 2:
When I came back to the market on Saturday I had calculated just what I needed to get and where I needed to get it from. I'd gone home and thought about what I wanted to purchase and had restocked the cash supply. The main thing I wanted was some Valley Yarns Amhurst in shades of green from WEBS.

I think I spent 45 minutes at the WEBS booth trying to calculate how much yarn I was buying, how much it would cost, and how much more I would need to buy to get the 20% discount. Turns out, not much more.

4 skeins of Northhampton

A skein of Colrain (50% wool, 50% tencel)

And a bottle of lavender Eucalan. The green yarns will become some sort of color work boys sweater. I think the Northhampton will become a hat or 2 and the Colrain I'm going to try and dye to see how the tencel takes color. The Eucalan I got because I'm forever in need of a no rinse soaking soap.

However, one of the coolest things I got on Saturday was something I paid exactly zero dollars for.

I was wandering the market killing time before I had to meet up with some Rare Purls friends for lunch and my friend Albert forwarded me a message from Kimberly, one of the Stitches South coordinators and someone I follow on Twitter. She was having a giveaway. All I had to do was find her and answer a simple question. Funny thing was, I had passed her twice in the last 15 minutes so I knew exactly what she was wearing. I had to hunt for about 10 minutes but I finally ran into her. Turns out she had taken a picture of a booth and I had to tell her which booth it was. I pulled up the picture on my phone and immediately recognized it as the Socks That Rock! sign from the WEBS booth. My prize?

This gorgeous yarn bowl from the Knit Witch. Very cool.

The rest of Saturday was spent meeting up with friends and looking at yarns. It was a rainy and yucky day but it ended up being a great one. I can't wait until 2011 when I can do it all again!

Stopped Dead in My Tracks

My clapotis is on hold for the moment. I really thought that I wouldn't be able to put it down until I had finished it. I'm almost there too. Just one more repeat of the "straight" section to knit and then I start the decreases. I appreciate all the comments about the clapotis, it's been nice knitting something for myself and it really is as lovely as it looks. When I start nearing the end of a project like this I begin thinking ahead to things I want to make. I pulled out some Cascade 220 in brown, white and black that I bought from Stitches South last year.

I have some black Cascade 220 as well and I was thinking of a pair of charity socks with black cuffs, short row heels, and toes and the leg and foot in the multi color. Then I was struck by the thought of making a charity vest. It would be easy to do, maybe even a good project for the Ravelympics, and it would also look good in the Cascade 220 colors. On top of these ideas, the socks on the broken needles have started their siren song again which means I'll probably break down and buy a pair of metal DPNs in the very near future to get them off the needles and another pair started. This isn't even mentioning the list of hats I want to make for people (oh wait, I just mentioned it).

All that is having to wait though. There is a project that had to be moved to the top of the list. Daresay, the only project that could make me put down the clapotis for one hot minute.

Sophia's Christening Blanket
I mentioned that Sophia had come a little earlier than expected. Well, that means the christening is going to be sooner than planned. Luckily I started this blanket in the first part of January and it's a quick knit. The family is leaving this coming weekend (of Valentine's day) for Florida where my friend Jenn's dad will get to christen his granddaughter. I'm thinking they will need the blanket for this event. I've spent all morning knitting away on it and I'm almost finished with the second skein of yarn. I wasn't sure how to long to make a baby blanket so I was just planning on using 2 skeins and calling it a day. I think that should work out nicely. When I spread it out over the back of my office chair it covers the whole thing (about 24"). The original pattern says it should end up 32" x 38". Close enough for jazz in my book. Plus it should grow a little after washing.

With this blanket I decided to go with acrylic. I'm still not 100% committed to a certain fiber for baby knits but I'd like to hear other people's opinions on this. Acrylic is easy to wash and maintain but it has some safety hazards. However, if you look at your own clothing I bet you'd be surprised to see how many items (especially store bought sweaters) are made from acrylic or contain at least some percentage of acrylic. I also live in the Southeastern United States. Read: Very hot for most of the year. We have relatively mild winters so 100% wool garments would be too hot most of the time. This is why I also rule out superwash wool, generally too hot. Cotton seems like it could be a nice alternative but I'm not especially thrilled to knit with it. Given that I have way more acrylic (it was handed down to me) in my stash than cotton it's also easier for me to choose that route. Feel free to let me know what you knit with when making baby items.

On a totally unrelated knitting note, I have 2 new bookshelves in my reading nook that I got for my birthday last year and finally put up around Christmas time. They are considerably heavier and more substantial than the previous bookcase (whose shelves were literally bowing under the weight of the books). The bookcases come particularly close to a chase lounge that my cat, Penelope likes to sit on and I've been wondering how long it would be until she tried to venture onto the shelves.
Last night she seemed to have deemed as good a time as any so, while I was browsing for a relaxing tub read, she jumped up and had a little look see. Future librarian cat in the making.

Big News

As you probably know from reading my blog, I have a little yarn dyeing business that I take great pride in. Just recently I started selling my goods in the brick and mortar store Rare Purls. I've also been thinking about doing some shows. Eventually I would like to be able to travel to shows all over the place and make this dyeing gig my full time job. That may be a ways off but I've been keeping my eyes peeled for opportunities to expand and network. One such thing just fell in my lap this weekend.

I was on Ravelry and just happened to be browsing a forum for Stitches South that I check occasionally (even though the next show isn't until next April) and there was a thread entitled "Looking for a booth mate." I immediately read, personal messaged the person, waited, stressed a little, waited some more and...Gwen got back to me and I will be her booth partner at Stitches South 2010! I just took a peek at her Etsy shop and, boy, am I going to have to work hard to keep up with her!

Nothing is 100% set in stone yet (still need to send in money and get confirmation back, etc.) but I'm very excited to be doing such a large show. I hope I'm not in over my head. I've started to draw up a little business plan that should have me cranking along for the next 9 months. If you have any suggestions about doing a show feel free to pass along the love :) I'm planning on taking lots of sock yarn, roving, and I'm thinking about starting to carry a DK weight. Here's a little of what I've got going on right now:
6 new colors and 3 new rovings. For now I'm off. I spent the better part of today at a pool party and there is something about the sun and water that total drains me.

Epic Adventure-Part 2

In which our heroine runs into her nemesis Yarn Budget and soundly vanquishes him.

I went armed for battle.
Like the shirt? You can get your own here.

My first stop of the morning was in the Market. I thought there would be much more of a rush of people but it didn't seem too bad for me. I had a plan though and I was sticking to it.

I headed straight for The Yarn and Fiber Company booth. They were selling Cascade Eco + at a good sale price. I got this nice burnt orange (I'm really into this color right now. I can feel a burnt orange stage coming on...)
and this slightly heathered blue. It will make some nice sweaters. Because sweaters are kinda my thing.
Then it was over to Cast-On Cottage and Needlepoint Garden's booth. Oh how I wish their store was closer to where I live! They carry every color of Cascade 220. Every color. And the ladies there were all really nice. Helpful without being pushy. Funny and generally pleasant. Just a wonderful experience all around. I made out like a bandit.

2 skeins of red tweed
2 skeins of a twisted grey, black, brown, and white (one of my favorite purchases of the day)
2 skeins of a sunny yellow
And 2 skeins of black that are destined to be combined with some already in the stash yarn for...wait for it...a sweater! Bet you didn't see that coming.
My last stop was at Purrfectly Catchy. They were selling hand made sock blockers and stitch markers. I was really impressed at the quality of their sock blockers and their prices were great. $35 for 2 hand made, wooden sock blockers! That's a deal considering I've seen places that sell plastic ones for $22 (plus shipping). And these blockers have been used by many of the big names in knitting for photo shoots. I got the star ones since, well, I'm a rock star :)
After all my shopping I stopped by the Malabrigo reps booth for a picture with the Malabrigo Junkies from Ravelry. Then Antonio and Little Bob went to lunch with us.
After lunch I took a phenomenal Celtic cables class with Melissa Leapman. I really wish I had taken one of her design classes now. She's a really, really smart lady who translates her technique well in the classroom setting. Unfortunately, at the end of the class I'd been concentrating so hard on making cables that I developed camnesia and didn't get a picture of Melissa. I will, however, show you the mad crazy cables we made. It all starts with a circle.
Then jumps right into a simple knot.
I finished a little early so I tried my hand at designing a figure 8 cable following Melissa's directions.
I was on the right track. Look at that axis cable! Maybe I'll try my hand at the third swatch.
Maybe not tonight. Penelope is unimpressed by it all.
Stitches South was a ton of fun and I can't wait to see what next year will be like. I hope it keeps growing and there are even more vendors and teachers and friends to meet. I had a great time and, while I did go a teeny tiny bit over budget, I really felt like I got some good purchases. Now I just need a massage from head to toe. Buying yarn is exhausting!

On a somewhat separate note, I had an epiphany last night. I think I want to own a yarn shop that carries every type of Cascade yarn. All 4 lines, all their hundreds of yarns. I thought up this idea while wondering why I can find Cascade 220, Eco, and Eco + at some places but can never find an LYS that sells Magnum or Heritage sock or many other lines. To me it would be heaven. I'd call it Queen of Cascade since I am the Queen of Cascade (John from Churchmouse said I was!). Think I should email the Cascade rep I met and tell her my idea?

Epic Adventure-Part 1

It's a tale or mystery, intrigue, romance, and yarn on the high seas. There was deception, drama, and knitting. And that was just the first day!

Welcome to Stitches South.

Ok, so there was no high seas, deception, and relatively little drama (unless you counted my gasp at an outrageous yarn price) but it was a whole heck of a lot of fun!

I started my day nice and early with a class with Sandi Rosner called You Don't Need A Pattern for That.
She was a delight. We all made little baby sized hats and Sandi answered a ton of questions for us. It was nice to get some ideas about basic design. When she mentioned the Pythagorean theorem for figuring sleeve caps it was funny to hear a collective groan. I don't think any of us will be taking Melissa Leapman's class on design any time soon. I did pick up a pattern for a quick and easy baby sweater so I will be using that to help clothe baby Britt, my new cousin, when he arrives in July.

This is the hat that I made this morning.
And this is one from another lady in our class.
As all the members of the class knit we inevitably starting chatting. I talked a little about my charity knitting and at the end of the class the lady at the end of my row gave me her hat to donate to Warm Woolies. So very sweet of her!

I then headed to the Market and for the first time in my life I was genuinely overwhelmed by the amount of beautiful yarn there was. I actually showed a good deal of restraint as I went from booth to booth. Today I purchased only one of a kind yarns that I thought might get really picked over by tomorrow. It was so cool to see all the hand dyers and it felt really good to support them. Maybe one day I'll be hosting my own booth at Stitches and I hope people will support me as enthusiastically as they did the artists today.

As I was wandering through the concessions seating area to get a water I notices out of the corner of my eye someone watching me very closely. I was wearing my @theknftyknttr shirt and a lot of people had been noticing it throughout the day so I didn't really think twice about it. I just figured she was trying to read what it said. About 2 minutes later she runs up to me and says, "I'm lemonesque!" She's one of my Twitter pals! It was so cool to meet Abby/lemonesque in real life.
Since joining Ravelry and Twitter I've wanted to be one of those people who goes to conventions and knows everyone in the room thanks to my mad networking skills. It would make me feel like a rock star. Abby may be from Georgia but she's putting me one step closer to rock stardom. Look out Yarn Harlot!

I ended up spending a good deal of money in the Market but I feel like I got really good stuff out of it. Tomorrow I plan on picking up some staple yarns (read Cascade 220 and Eco+) and some sock blockers. I have a plan, I have a map, I need to get more cash...

I got a skein of worsted yarn in Where My Beaches At? from the Indie Dyer along with a pattern for the Antarctica hat made with one skein of her yarn.
Because I'm a Malabrigo Junkie (I totally blame Mary Ellen for that one, always talking up Malabrigo at knit nights) I got to meet the totally funny, awesomely sweet duo of Antonio and Tobias. I chatted with them for about 10 minutes (hilarious guys, and sweet, have I mentioned that?) and they gave me a skein of their test yarn. Amazingly sweet. Did I already say that? Can't remember... I tried to get them to join Twitter but Tobias said there was too much on the internet for them to keep up with already. Funny guys. Srsly.
The very first stop I made this morning was actually at the Sanguine Gryphon's booth. I know that Wendy has knit with her yarns before and Mary Ellen (ever the enabler :)) said that her stuff would go quick so I made a beeline for Gryphon's booth. I wasn't disappointed. Picked up a skein of Bugga! sock yarn in Acrobatic Snail. Luscious.
Also one of the first places on my list was Creatively Dyed Yarns. I follow Dianne's blog so it was very cool to meet her in real life. And she is even more positive and nice than I ever could have expected. You know you've meet a gem when the very first thing she does is fish out a Ravelry button for you. As soon as I saw this skein of sock yarn I had to have it. This is her newest method of dyeing. I can't wait to see it on my needles!
Eventually I wandered over to Mass Ave. Yarn Shop where I found this Mission Falls pattern book.
Inside was the pattern I've been drooling over for months now, Natalia. It's one of the few patterns I've wanted to actively seek out to knit. It just looks so modern and classy. Totally my style.
Then I flipped over the page and saw Hillary.
I knew this booklet had to be mine. No question about it. I actually think all the designs in the booklet are really well done. I can already imagine several gifts coming out of there.

My final purchase of the day was from Schaefer Yarns and this was my personal splurge. A lumpy bumpy skein in the colorway Toni Morrison and a skein of mohair blend in Chamomile. These are going to be combined into a shawl/wrap for me.
I wanted to make a little shrug or something and then I saw a shawl in these colors on display and decided to go that route instead. I think I'll use the stitch pattern from the little Arctic Blanket I made and just kind of wing it. Or maybe I could actually research something. Winging it seems to be more of my personal style though.

I came home this afternoon and totally crashed on the couch with Penelope. I've never been so tired! I blame it on yarn fumes. I didn't know that was a side effect. Be warned.

Tomorrow will be more Market, more classes, more fun with friends. And more pictures.

P.S. I would have gotten pictures in the Market but they wouldn't allow pictures or video. Bummer. Guess you'll just have to go.

The Night of the Random Post

1. I would file this under "Things That You Do Not Want to Happen to Your Apartment Complex." Thankfully this isn't my building but the neighboring one.
2. Tonight at knit night I finished the back of my Half and Half sweater for Warm Woolies. That's 100% genuine hand dyed yarn there and I think it looks pretty dang good if I do say so myself. Of course I'm kind of biased...
3. Tonight at knit night my good buddy Albert brought by some shirts for our group.
And some shirts for people who are on Twitter and also happen to be knitters.
Hopefully both of these shirts will be available soon at my store. Keep your eyes peeled!

4. Getting so excited for Stitches! As Laurie said tonight, "There's only one more day between you and Stitches." I've got the stores I've got to hit up on Friday ASAP already marked and a path mapped out for optimum yarn viewing. My swatches are knit and most of my other notions have been gathered. Now just need to clean out my knitting bag. It seems to be bursting to overflowing...

Projects

So, I haven't just been buying yarn lately, though it might seem that way. I have actually been knitting some.

Exhibit A: Partial body and two non-swatch swatches for the Mystery Sweater Knit-A-Long #2 for Warm Woolies.
Exhibit B: Partial body of a self designed sweater in hand dyed yarn for a Warm Woolies sweater.
Exhibit C: One finished Space Monkey sock. The second sock has been started.
Exhibit D: A finished fair island sweater for Warm Woolies (sweater #4 of 10 for those of you playing along at home). I can fit it over my head, the body is long enough for me, but the sleeves are a little too short. I think it will fit a 14 or 15 year old pretty well. I had originally planned to write out the pattern for this sweater but I've had a lot of trouble getting the numbers to work out right so I don't think it will come to pass (at least not any time soon).
Exhibit E: Portioned yarn being knit into swatches for a Melissa Leapman cables class at Stitches South! (1 down, 2 more to go)
Exhibit F...almost: This languishing skein of Cascade 220 (this was before my addiction to Cascade yarns had come to fruition so I only have one skein of this lovely red) will become a swatch and then eventually (I believe) a project at a Sandi Rosner class at Stitches South!
So, as you can see, I have been accomplishing a little bit on the knitting front. I've got to finish up my swatches for classes at Stitches South and then plan my route through the market (gotta make sure I hit all the vendors I want to). I'd love to finish my self designed sweater this month as well but I also need to label yarns before the May Atlanta Knitting Guild meeting when I'll have my table for the very first time. For now it's off to finish those swatches and pet a kitty :)

Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

Good riddance to bad yarn. The calla lily will be gone in a few days folks, just a few more days. I finally found the yarn needed to finish this monstrosity online and finished it up on Wednesday night when I finally grew so tired of looking at the little package of doom sitting there that I finished it up in about 20 minutes (this is excluding the 10 minutes it took to find the stupid pattern that had managed to wander off). So here it is in all its spread eagle glory:
And rolled up like (I assume) it will appear when final construction has commenced:
Rolled up it doesn't look too bad but that's about the nicest thing I can say about it. I really hated knitting this. It wasn't the pattern (which was well written) or the color (which was ok) it was a combo of bad yarn, a vague plan, and not a whole lot of interest in the project to begin with. But you'll be able to find it at Stitches South on some table display I have no doubt. I'll be the one trying to climb the stalk and beat the flower to the ground.

In case you were wondering the yarn I needed was Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick. Every yarn store in a 50 mile radius of my home had sold out of it so I finally had to break down and order it online. I paid $7 plus shipping and handling for one stupid skein and then I knit about 15 rows with it. This is what I have left:
I never plan to use this stuff again. In fact, I'll pay someone to take it off my hands. My friend BK, who has been knitting for about 5 months, came over last night and even she agreed with me that this yarn would be terrible to knit with. And she hasn't fully been exposed to the wonders of luscious yarn yet! We are planning a small bonfire in the parking lot of my apartment building next week to burn bits of this project in sacrifice to the knitting muses in the hopes that no one ever have to suffer like I have.

My traveling knitting has been going well though. I have my Space Monkey that I have turned the heel on but not done a whole lot else. Since this requires a chart and I can only sometimes remember what I'm doing I choose to knit on this sporadically.
I have added another, easier traveling project to my bag. It will be the mate to this fingerless glove that I designed myself.
I finished this glove a few months ago but hadn't really been motivated to start the second. However I did cast on (three times) for the second one yesterday.
I plan to use these when I visit Seattle next month. That's right, I'm going to Seattle!!! Can you tell I'm excited beyond belief? I can't wait to be there. I'm hoping I will love it as much as I think I will. I've never been but I've read my Frommer's and looked on Knit Map so I'm planning my course. It should be warm enough there to wear short sleeves with a light jacket but when I'm out walking around I tend to get too hot in a jacket. I hope these gloves will be the perfect alternative; just enough coverage to keep me warm without making me break a sweat.

My Mystery Sweater for Warm Woolies is almost done.
I finished the first sleeve and started the second last night during my Friday night knit night. I just have the second sleeve and the collar to do. I'm so close that I'll probably spend a lot of today working on it. I love how the hem of the sleeves matches the hem on the body.
I'm off to knit more on the sweater and then it will be time for a friend's birthday party and maybe more knitting and dinner with a friend from Wednesday's knitting group.

P.S. If you live in Massachusetts and are able, you should visit the Peabody Institute Library next Saturday for a charity knitting event. Read about it here.