I love socks! They are a great way to experiment with a new technique or pattern. That's what Stranded in Your Socks (Saturday, April 21st, 1pm - 4pm) is all about. This class focuses on stranded color knitting to make a sock cuff or tube. If you don't want it to be a sock, it can always be a wristwarmer or a very decorative sample! Mary Scott Huff walks you through the intricacies of stranded colorwork from swatching to starting your very own pair of socks!
Mary Scott Huff is an incredible colorwork designer. Her book The New Stranded Colorwork has been a knitting best seller and her new book, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Color Knitting, is sure to be one as well! She has such a great eye for colorwork and design! I have enjoyed reading her blog, Unravelling, for some time now. Her posts are both witty and insightful. I really enjoy how she intermixes her life with really helpful tutorials on a variety of knitting topics. I am sure her classes are incredible too. I'm so happy to be able to add her to the line up of teachers for this year. In addition to Stranded in Your Socks she is also teaching Eeek! Steeks! which I will cover in a future post!
Mary has also agreed to do a book signing at the Info Booth Sunday morning from 11am - 12pm, with a trunk show for her new book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Color Knitting. Preorders will be available at the Info Booth, too!
For more information, check out Stranded in Your Socks!
~Planting little vines of fiber goodness~
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Photo Friday: Orange Crayon
These are my favorite photos he has taken so far.
I really like the orange crayon against the fabric print. It seems so peaceful somehow. I really like how it all comes together.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Workshop Wednesdays: Turkish Drop Spindle
Last year Turkish Drop Spindle was a huge success! The class filled up and there was a waiting list to get in! I promised this year there would be two sessions and now there are! There is one Saturday Morning and one Sunday Morning. In addition Wanda Jenkins and her husband Ed are going to have a booth in the Marketplace sharing with New Hues Handspuns! I'm so excited to have them as a new edition, their spindles are so beautiful!
What can I say about Wanda? Well, she is an incredible teacher. I have seen her demo Turkish Spindling both at Black Sheep and Sock Summit for what seem like hours on end and never tire out. She always has a smile on her face and a spindle in her hands. After her class last year she came and chatted with me for awhile in my booth and it was loads of fun!
So, what is the benefit of taking her class versus learning from her in the booth? Well I would say the one on one time only a classroom can give. Whenever I see Wanda at a show she has multiple people crowded around her trying to see what she is doing. Her classes are limited to 10 people, by her request, so there is plenty of time for each person to ask questions and learn how to spin. Definitely a big bonus!
For more information, check out: Turkish Drop Spindle (both time slots are listed on that page)
What can I say about Wanda? Well, she is an incredible teacher. I have seen her demo Turkish Spindling both at Black Sheep and Sock Summit for what seem like hours on end and never tire out. She always has a smile on her face and a spindle in her hands. After her class last year she came and chatted with me for awhile in my booth and it was loads of fun!
So, what is the benefit of taking her class versus learning from her in the booth? Well I would say the one on one time only a classroom can give. Whenever I see Wanda at a show she has multiple people crowded around her trying to see what she is doing. Her classes are limited to 10 people, by her request, so there is plenty of time for each person to ask questions and learn how to spin. Definitely a big bonus!
For more information, check out: Turkish Drop Spindle (both time slots are listed on that page)
Friday, February 03, 2012
Photo Friday: The keyboard
As most of you know I have a toddler. My toddler loves to play with my phone, especially the camera part of it. Every so often he actually takes a shot I think is really good. Those shots I will share here:
I have titled this one The Keyboard. He likes to stand next to me on my chair and play with my phone. This is my laptop, taken from the view of a very busy toddler.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Workshop Wednesdays: Kumihimo
Kumihimo is the beautiful art of braiding yarn. I actually have experience with this. As a girl my grandmother's guild had a lesson in kumihimo. She showed me how to use the little cardboard wheel with the instructions to make a braid. Of course my braid was made from acrylic yarn my grandmother had on hand and not anything as beautiful as the works of art Linda Gettmann makes! She is an incredible and talented artist!
Linda first approached me about teaching a beginning weaving class, which is definitely in the works for 2013! However, I didn't have room for her class this year! So many good classes, so little time, as it were! Well, when Sivia had to drop her class due to a time conflict, Linda was at the top of my list to step in! I contacted her, but it simply isn't possible to teach all there is to know about a rigid heddle loom in 3 hours, so she suggested a class in Kumihimo!
Kumihimo is a quick and easy technique to learn! It uses up little bits of leftover yarn, including those high end specialty yarns! I know I want to use up every bit of silk or cashmere yarn when I get it and this is definitely the way to do it.
What is also great is it works really well with ribbon yarn and other novelties! Linda ordered a couple of small skeins of my handpainted nylon ribbon yarn from the sale bin. These necklaces only take 30 yards, so a small skein works really great! I always have these extras in the sale bin, because the yarn comes in 8 oz skeins, which are never exact. I always have a little leftover skein that I put on sale, because it has less yardage than a normal full skein. This was a quick photo Linda sent me when she was finished. She really liked the yarn and I really like how it turned out! I only wish I had time to take the class as well as setting up my booth and organizing all of the other vendors at the same time! However, you can take this class and learn this really wonderful technique!
For more information check out: Kumihimo Beaded Braid Necklace with Linda Gettmann
Monday, January 30, 2012
2011 Projects
More catch up! These are all the projects I knit in 2011:
Glove Repairs
So that is 2 pairs of mitts, 2 pairs of men's socks, 2 scarves, 2 baby hats, 2 cowls (one baby, one adult), 2 baby sweaters, 3 single mitts, 1 pair of women's socks, 2 single women's socks, 1 glove repair, 1 women's sweater, and 1 felted bag. That's a total of 22 projects for the year. I'm pretty proud, actually, because a lot of my projects are bigger than year's past, such as the men's socks and the women's sweater. I can't wait to see what I knit up in 2012!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Post Holidays
Wow the last month has been a whirlwind! Blair took off time between Christmas and New Years so we ended up having lots of family time together. It was really nice. Then after New Years we all came down with an annoying but persistent head cold, so that took out another week. We were just getting back on our feet when Blair had MLK jr day off, which was nice. He managed to go to work on Tuesday then for the rest of the week we faced snow, ice, power outages, and all together bad winter weather. Now I have another cold, only this one is in my chest. I am slowly getting things under control. Mostly working on CGFF stuff, followed by winding yarn and dyeing yarn. I'm hoping to catch up while doing all of the Workshop Wednesday posts. I also have some ideas of adding something to Fridays, but we'll see if it works out!
So, to finish off 2011 before starting the new year, I present the mitts I made for my mom for Christmas:
These are the Hood River Top Down Mitts (rav link). I knit them out of the leftover Stitchjones yarn from the Keyhole Scarf I knit her for her birthday. They were a big success! I love this pattern, and yes I am biased because it is one I wrote, but still I really love it. I used up every bit of yarn, so no little ball rolling around in my stash. They ended up being about 4 rnds longer than the short mitts pattern, but that was easy enough. I just made sure to make a note of it when I finished the first, so the second would be the same. They came out perfect and I can't wait to use this pattern again!
So, to finish off 2011 before starting the new year, I present the mitts I made for my mom for Christmas:
These are the Hood River Top Down Mitts (rav link). I knit them out of the leftover Stitchjones yarn from the Keyhole Scarf I knit her for her birthday. They were a big success! I love this pattern, and yes I am biased because it is one I wrote, but still I really love it. I used up every bit of yarn, so no little ball rolling around in my stash. They ended up being about 4 rnds longer than the short mitts pattern, but that was easy enough. I just made sure to make a note of it when I finished the first, so the second would be the same. They came out perfect and I can't wait to use this pattern again!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Workshop Wednesdays: Portuguese Knitting & More Portuguese Knitting
Portuguese Knitting was a huge success last year! Portuguese Knitting is a different way of knitting where the yarn goes around the back of the neck or through a Portuguese knitting pin to tension it instead of being tensioned by the hands. For people who suffer from carpal tunnel or arthritis this method can help, since the hands move much less than other methods.
Teri Zipf is an absolute guru on the subject. She even makes her own Portuguese knitting pins! In addition to teaching her Portuguese Knitting class she has added an advanced class for learning lace and colorwork. Between these two class you should be ready to tackle knitting anything in the Portuguese style.
The class was a huge success last year and is already half-way booked for this year! Make sure to sign up before all of the spaces are gone!
For more information on the Portuguese Knitting Class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseknitting.html
For more information on More Portuguese Knitting check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseadv.html
Teri Zipf is an absolute guru on the subject. She even makes her own Portuguese knitting pins! In addition to teaching her Portuguese Knitting class she has added an advanced class for learning lace and colorwork. Between these two class you should be ready to tackle knitting anything in the Portuguese style.
The class was a huge success last year and is already half-way booked for this year! Make sure to sign up before all of the spaces are gone!
For more information on the Portuguese Knitting Class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseknitting.html
For more information on More Portuguese Knitting check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/portugueseadv.html
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Workshop Wednesdays: Snowdrop Scarf
Snowdrop Scarf is taught by my good friend Donna Arney. Donna shares a booth with me at all of the shows I do. She is part owner of Gardiner Yarn Works and her and her husband own Plover Designs. Donna is my hero and has saved me more times in the booth than I can count! I love how steady and practical she is. I haven't had the joy of taking a class from her, but I have heard from her students that she is really awesome in the classroom too! She teaches a class once a week at All About Yarn in Tigard, OR. Her class is a help with anything class. She has a following of students who have taken her class for years, going from project to project. Her students are so loyal they even bought yarn back in September from our booth at Oregon Flock & Fiber in anticipation of her class in April!
The class she is teaching is the Snowdrop Scarf class. Donna originally designed this scarf to teach a beginning lace class. It was then added to the Gardiner Yarn Works line and is one of their hottest selling patterns. I have knit the pattern myself as a booth sample and simply loved it. It's very easy and makes a beautiful end result. I had the pattern memorized in no time! The scarf just flew off the needles!
For more info on the class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/snowdrop.html
The class she is teaching is the Snowdrop Scarf class. Donna originally designed this scarf to teach a beginning lace class. It was then added to the Gardiner Yarn Works line and is one of their hottest selling patterns. I have knit the pattern myself as a booth sample and simply loved it. It's very easy and makes a beautiful end result. I had the pattern memorized in no time! The scarf just flew off the needles!
For more info on the class check out: http://cgff.lavendersheep.com/workshops/snowdrop.html
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Workshop Wednesdays: Knit to Fit
I wanted to try something to promote classes for the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival. I want to devote Wednesdays to highlighting one of the workshops from the show and the reasons behind why I chose it.
First up is the one and only class Friday morning: Knit to Fit. Friday morning can be a little bit of a difficulty to fill, because most people out of the area have to plan to travel here. However, this class had no difficulty last year filling up, so I felt comfortable putting it in this time slot again. Sarah Keller is the owner of my local yarn shop, Knot Another Hat. You can find me knitting there most Sundays with a group of wonderful people, checking out the new yarn and catching up on all the latest local gossip. Sarah has created a yarn shop like no other. She brings her enthusiasm for yarn and knitting with her when she teaches.
Nichole Reese, Sarah's partner in crime for teaching Knit to Fit, is one of the most technical knitters I have ever met. She will chart out a pattern line by line for her classes if she needs to, just so students get a feel for how it works inside out and backwards. Nichole's background is in accounting, which gives her an eye for detail when teaching any pattern. She has her own pattern line, bluegirl knits. In addition to Knit to Fit she is also teaching Brioche Knitting: It's not a French Bread, which I will touch on later.
As you can imagine these two make a stellar pair in class. They go over the ins and outs of how to make a sweater fit you in all the right ways. I'm sure you will walk away from this class inspired to knit your very own sweater, whether it is your very first, or hopefully, the one that fits you best!
Make sure to check out the Knit to Fit class, Friday, April 20th, 9am - 12pm.
First up is the one and only class Friday morning: Knit to Fit. Friday morning can be a little bit of a difficulty to fill, because most people out of the area have to plan to travel here. However, this class had no difficulty last year filling up, so I felt comfortable putting it in this time slot again. Sarah Keller is the owner of my local yarn shop, Knot Another Hat. You can find me knitting there most Sundays with a group of wonderful people, checking out the new yarn and catching up on all the latest local gossip. Sarah has created a yarn shop like no other. She brings her enthusiasm for yarn and knitting with her when she teaches.
Nichole Reese, Sarah's partner in crime for teaching Knit to Fit, is one of the most technical knitters I have ever met. She will chart out a pattern line by line for her classes if she needs to, just so students get a feel for how it works inside out and backwards. Nichole's background is in accounting, which gives her an eye for detail when teaching any pattern. She has her own pattern line, bluegirl knits. In addition to Knit to Fit she is also teaching Brioche Knitting: It's not a French Bread, which I will touch on later.
As you can imagine these two make a stellar pair in class. They go over the ins and outs of how to make a sweater fit you in all the right ways. I'm sure you will walk away from this class inspired to knit your very own sweater, whether it is your very first, or hopefully, the one that fits you best!
Make sure to check out the Knit to Fit class, Friday, April 20th, 9am - 12pm.
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