Well, hello there.

Things have been quiet on the crafting front. Nice to take a break after all those Things-a-Week. But, I did recently finish something small: a little baby hat.

The pattern is Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan, and the yarn is Pagewood Farms Yukon (70% superwash merino wool, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon) in color “Greens.” This is going to my aesthetician who’s due any day now (but not before I see her next, tomorrow!). The hat is lovely and soft and so tiny!

Thing-a-Week #51

Just something quick and cute this week.

It’s a beaded Easter egg from Betsy Beads by Betsy Hershberg. I bought the book while at Stitches West and wanted to try something from it. The yarn is SWTC Bamboo and I picked up the beads cheap from Tuesday Morning. Fast and fun!

Also, this is my second-to-last Thing. Hard to believe I’ve been at it almost a year!

Thing-a-Week #49

This week’s Thing is actually three things, the products of the classes I took at Stitches West.

At bottom right are the samples from the Embroider Your Knitting class on Friday. Up top is the bag from the Color and Weave Mini Tote Bag class, and all that fiber and the little tiny ball of yarn is from Spinning for Knitting.

My favorite, and the most proper completed Thing, is the tote bag. I haven’t been doing much with color patterns (or much besides scarves!), so it was nice to do something different.

This class used a basic 2×2 alternating color warp with three different weft patterns. The top of the bag is one pattern (2×2), the middle is another (4×4) and the bottom is yet another (1×1). It’s pretty neat to see the different effects you get by just varying the weft.

Overall, the classes were great and I learned a lot. Looking foward to next year!

Stitches West 2012

I had the best of intentions. Honest. I was going to post daily accounts of my time at Stitches West, like I did last year, but the days were so packed that I didn’t have the time. So, here’s a recap!

Stitches West began on Thursday. I went to the opening session by Betsy Hershberg, author of Betsy Beads. XRX, who runs the show, is promoting the book. I’d gone in not really interested in it, and by the end of the speech, I wanted to purchase the book (and did!). Funny how that works. Nice job, XRX.

After the session was lunch, where the teachers came around to our tables at five-minute intervals. It was a great chance to see what was being offered at Stitches. While there were classes Thursday afternoon, I didn’t sign up for any, choosing instead to hang out and wait for the market preview to open.

I did take three classes at Stitches.

My first was a three-hour class on Friday: Embroider Your Knitting with Anna Zilboorg. Amazing lady, beautiful work. I sincerely hope she comes out with a book on the techniques in the class.

My second class ran all of Saturday: Color and Weave Mini Tote Bag with Deborah Zarchow. I’d taken her introductory class last year, which led to all of those scarves I wove since then. I wanted to try something different, hence the bag. (I’ll show that off with my thing-a-week, next.)

Finally, I had a class on Sunday morning: Spinning for Knitting with Merikke Saarnit. I already spin, but this class was worthwhile to gain a better understanding of different fibers and techniques.

I purposely didn’t fill my schedule with classes. I’m fortunate to have fallen in with a group of great folk from Northern California and enjoyed spending time hanging out and knitting with them. I also met with relatives for dinner on Saturday and spent an afternoon with a high-school friend on Sunday before my flight home. Oh, and my roomie Sherry bestowed upon me a beautiful skein of yarn that she spun and a knit cowl. What great friends I have!

The rest of my time was spent at the marketplace, which was pretty awesome, as usual. Nearly 200 vendors, thousands and thousands of yarns and books and other goodies. It’s a wonderland. I didn’t get that much, considering how much there was to buy.

That’s pretty much it. It’s all a blur, and I didn’t get much sleep, but it was great. Definitely want to go again next year!

Stitches West 2012: Prologue

I’m in Santa Clara for another Stitches West! It doesn’t start till tomorrow; I like to get here the day before so I’m not rushing around on the first day.

Last year, I posted some complaints about my trip down. In a surprising reversal, everything went smoothly this year. I am amazingly unannoyed. Here’s why:

• I was not subjected to a full-body scan by airport security.
• I heard all of the boarding announcements and boarded in a timely manner.
• The one-year-old baby next to me on the plane was well-behaved and slept most of the way.
• The TSA did not search my bag.

There’s really only one annoyance that continues from last year:

• The sinks at the hotel are still stupid.

But that’s ok. Also, this is my view:

It’s 75 degrees right now. Oh my.

Thing-a-Week #46

I’m going to Stitches West in a few weeks. I found out there’s going to be a stitch marker swap there, so I made some to trade. I have some closed rings that’ll work with knitting needles, and some open hooks that’ll work with crochet. I just thought the charms were cute.

I got the charms and findings at Beads and Beyond in Bellevue. I’m not sure if I got enough, or too many. I guess we’ll just have to see!

Thing-a-Week #45

Last year, I made a Marsan Watchcap for my husband for our anniversary. He’s been wearing it a lot lately, out in the garage, because he needed something warm that wouldn’t get knocked off his head every time he had to roll around under a car or something.

Anyway, we were discussing said hat, and how rarely he wants anything I make, and then he said he’d like to have a hat like Jayne wore on “the Message” episode of the Firefly TV series.

Hold. The. Phone.

Did he actually 1) request a knit item from me, and 2) want something as ultra-nerdy as Jayne’s hat?

Yes, and omg yes.

As luck would have it, I bought the yarn a couple of years ago for this exact project. For me, because I never dreamed he’d actually want one. Naturally, I dropped everything and made it right away. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a Cunning Hat.

Unfortunately, he declined to model it.

The pattern is Cunning Jayne Cobb Hat by Keiyla Renee. The yarn is Vanna’s Choice acrylic held double. Simple, easy, and sweetly hideous. (Or is that hideously sweet?)

“A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.”

Except maybe getting his picture took.

And another thing

Right. So I haven’t been doing Thing-a-Week lately, but I have two things that should’ve taken a week and took a month each instead. Close enough, right?

First, we have a knit hat:

The pattern is Lamb’s Lace Beret by Christina Wall of Classic Cable Knits. The yarn is Old Maiden Aunt superwash merino 4-ply in Ultraviolet, a gift from my friend Ewenique. The color is gorgeous. I just made it for me, though I’m not sure it suits me. Maybe I’m just not used to berets.

After I finished the hat, I moved on to something I’ve been wanting to make for a while. If you know your internet memes, you’ll recognize this:

That’s right, it’s a Nyan Cat in scarf form. The pattern is Amigurumi Pop Tart Cat Scarf by Mevlinn Gusick, and it’s crocheted in wool. It was fun to make and even more fun to wear. You can’t help but smile at it!

So I do have something lined up to attempt this week, so I might just get back into Thing-a-Week real soon. Let’s hope!

Thing-a-Week #19

Right. So, remember the tiny knitting I did last week? This is why I did it:

Yes, it’s a wee sheep. I made this for Ewenique because, well, she requested one! The sheep is made entirely of the Romney wool I processed last year, and I added the tiny knitting project from last week. She stands (er, sits) at about 3 inches tall. It was fun to make, if a bit fiddly because it’s so small. And I only bled once from stabbing myself with the felting needle this time! Go, me!

To good friends.

Almost two years ago, I made a new friend: Ewenique. We met when I, a total stranger, offered to drive her to Sock Summit 2009 in Portland while she was visiting Seattle from the UK. (Honestly, I could have been an axe murderer for all she knew!) We got along famously, and have been keeping in touch and sending presents back and forth and doing all the things that good friends do.

Well, Ewenique is back in the States, her visit once again happily coinciding with Sock Summit 2011. I actually had quite a few things stored up that I’d been meaning to send, not the least of which was a little housewarming gift I knit for her:

That’s Girasole, a beautiful lace blanket/shawl designed by Jared Flood. The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca, an alpaca/wool blend in the color “Steel Cut Oats.” I’d started it some time ago, and when Ewenique told me they got a new house, of course I had to finish the blanket for the occasion (months late, as it worked out, but who’s counting?).

Ewenique and her husband only just arrived a couple of days ago. They came to our house last night for a BBQ, after which she stayed over so we could get a head start on our trip down to Sock Summit. (Given the jet lag, they held up quite well!) Ewe also gave me some lovely purple Old Maiden Aunt yarn, some buttons, and some yummy bikkies, which I believe I will devour in record time.

Today was a gorgeous day, so I trotted out the convertible and we made the trek down to Portland. Once there, we walked and stroked the yarn to our hearts’ content. I didn’t get very good pictures, so this will have to do.

(Edit: Ewenique posted her pictures, here. They’re much better than mine.)

I did catch Ewenique fondling her yarn when she thought I wasn’t looking. Naughty girl.

The weather was quite warm, and stayed that way all day, even after sunset. Naturally the convertible top stayed down and we basked the whole way home. The day could not have been more perfect.