 |
| Lowbrow Cowl created with Plucky Primo Aran "Honey Wilkes" Pattern designed by Thao Nguyen |
I've developed an obsession with The Plucky Knitter yarn over the last few months and it really just needs to be nipped in the bud. If you haven't heard of Plucky and you don't need something new to obsess over, you may want to skip over this paragraph. For you gluttons for punishment … Plucky yarn colors have cool names like "Grandma Bev" or "Bleedin' Armadillo Groom's Cake." They come in rich, vibrant colors. They include high quality merino and cashmere, silk, camel, or yak depending on the base. The yarn is only available through online sales announced to their newsletter recipients, Facebook fans and Ravelry group followers, and buyers have to basically compete for it because the yarn goes fast. Did I also mention that it's not necessarily inexpensive. Ranging anywhere from $19-36 (most in the $30 range) for one skein can put a bit of a dent in your pocketbook, especially when you're thinking about buying sweater quantities. But it's so pretty! No matter how hard I try, I just can't resist it. Maybe it's the competitor in me. Maybe it's my love of all things pink and purple and cashmere and merino. Sigh. I have to enforce another yarn diet. Plucky you temptress, stop being so damned irresistible!
In other knitting news ... I recently attended the Vogue Knitting Live show in Chicago. The classes were great and the marketplace seemed better this year. I don't know if the marketplace was actually bigger this year or if it just felt that way. Since I live local, I try to support the local shops when I can. But when it comes to these events, I want to support the out-of-town vendors who have taken the time and expense to showcase their yarn and projects. This year I picked up some great yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery, Lost City Knits and Pepperberry Knits.
Here’s how the rest of the event went …
VKL Chicago Day One – Gudrun and Candace
I started off the morning with Gudrun Johnston and a class on how to get into designing (patterns, self-publishing, magazine and online submissions, tech editors, marketing, etc.). It was one of those classes that I signed up for not really knowing what to expect. I wasn't sure how a topic like that could fill up three hours, but it did and it was great. So informative! Lots of questions asked and answered (I may have asked most of them). I've been thinking a lot lately about designing my own patterns and offering them on Ravelry (see below to read about my first pattern). Her class was super helpful and she really gave us a lot to think about.
My afternoon kicked off with Candace Eisner Strick. That woman has such a wonderful personality and a great sense of humor. I took her Mobius Parlor Tricks class and I have to say it was challenging. I'd been considering doing a Mobius cowl for a few years now but the technique has always scared me a bit. Candace's approach made it easier to understand, but getting started (casting on and working the first full row) was very hard on my hands. Part of it may have been due to the fact that I needed a more flexible cable on my circular needles. The woman next to me seemed to grasp it right away and got a significant amount of work done during class. But many, like me, were having challenges here and there. Candace was so patient and spent one-on-one time with the people who needed it. Afterwards, I shared an elevator with another classmate who asked what I thought of the class. She mentioned that she was a beginner knitter and found it to be pretty difficult. We laughed when I told her that I've been knitting for over 10 years now and had been putting off taking a Mobius class for that very same reason. I told her she was brave and assured her that not all techniques are that difficult at the start.
VKL Chicago Day Two - Lily
If there was a Lily Chin class punch card, my card would be just about full. Between Stitches and Vogue Knitting Live, I've taken almost all the classes Lily has to offer. She is far and away one of my favorite teachers. This time around I took her Reversible Cables class. LOTS of information to cram into six hours. We worked on samples, looked at some of her finished pieces and she encouraged us to take what we learned and create our own reversibly cabled pieces. I always walk away from her classes ready to do something fabulous. I see a reversible cables scarf in my future.
VKL Chicago Day Three – Ysolda
Much like Cher or Madonna, when it comes to knitting I don’t think Ysolda even needs to be known by her last name Teague (I hold Cecily Glowik MacDonald in that same high regard). If you’re a knitter, you likely know who she is. I tried to get into Ysolda’s Perfect Sweater class last year but it was sold out before individual registration even opened. I’m a big fan of her work, which is detailed and beautiful, and I’m also a fan of her style which is kind of quirky and cool and a little retro.
What I really liked about this class was that it focused on what it takes to make a great sweater—beyond just the right measurements and fit. We literally discussed yarn and swatches for the first three hours, and I learned so much.
Before the lunch break she took photos of us straight on and in profile. When we got back, we traced over them and made our own croquis template to better see our shape and aid in designing. The rest of the class covered shaping and touched on sweater ease and short rows. A lot of really great information. So much so that I thought they could have easily added another three hours to this class. I capped off the knitting weekend with a Ysolda signature in my new Rhinebeck Sweater book. Lots of great patterns in that book and lots of projects to keep me busy this winter!
Announcing My First Design
My grandmother turned 80 this year and she’s at the point where she doesn't want to get gifts for her birthday. She'd rather just have everyone together to celebrate. But come on! You don’t turn 80 every day! I knew she needed something special and handmade. Last year, I went to a local warehouse sale for Dream in Color yarn and picked up three beautiful skeins of a special edition cashmere blend worsted yarn (Classy in Cashmere). The variegated yarn had shades of dark pinks and deep purples called Raspberry Blaze. I knew I had to have them.
When I was thinking about what to make her, I searched through magazines and pattern books and even did a Ravelry pattern search, but nothing seemed just right. I wanted to make her something simple and interesting. I knew that anything too detailed or lacy or ornate was only going to sit in her closet because she would think it was "too nice" to wear. So, I decided to just start knitting. I cast on some stitches, worked about 10 rows and thought "I should change this up. How about squares?" I worked for a bit and realized that my squares weren't quite squares, so I frogged and started over again … this time with a plan. It took some additional tries to get the squares to be perfectly square, but I figured it out and carried on. When I was done, I was so pleased with the end result. It's not groundbreaking and not likely something you've never seen before, but it looks pretty cool. I especially like the contrast between the garter and the stockinette pattern, which looks almost like an optical illusion with the variegated yarn.
 |
| "You're So Square" Scarf |
No comments:
Post a Comment