Sock Summit 2011 (SS 2.1) No, really

We've been there and back and it was freakin' awesome! I spent the night before (Friday) at Elle's (in itself an experience that I must tell you about at some point!) where S and I were treated to a BBQ dinner made by Elle's husband Bryan. Then S left, and as I was getting ready for bed, Elle gave me a bag of goodies that she'd been meaning to mail to me for a while (again, juicy details later). 

My apologies. In a rush to meet friends for brunch I must have hit publish when I meant to save :( Back to the day.


We set off on the two hour drive in another of Elle's FABULOUS(!) sports cars.

{that grin was plastered to my face all the way to Portland. And back. AMAZING day!}

On our way to Portland we chatted, rocked-out to Gaga, I did a lot of giggling (i was sooooo giddy with excitement) and talked about what we were most looking forward to at the Summit. Yes, I did complete the look by wearing a scarf (à la Jackie O.) to protect my hair from the wind :)

We arrived at the Oregon Convention Centre and the first thing to catch my eye was Bonnie Pierce's husband holding her freeform crochet. He kindly held it up for me to photograph.

At the registration desk I saw the lady herself and asked if I could kinnear her. Yes, I realised immediately that it wasn't quite kinnearing if the person being kinneared saw it coming. But she was a sport and staged an, here-I-am-minding-my-own-business-when-this-(strange)-person-steals-a-picture-of-me, pose 

then she asked if that was staged enough for me. 

{Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka the Yarn Harlot}

i like her!

All this before we'd even registered! After registration was the marketplace and here are the highlights of my day at Sock Summit.

{Laura and Kate}

{Jenkins woodworking}

{Soak launched (and promptly sold out of) their new scent/label design}

{lady turning a heel on a sock knitting machine}

{knitted and crocheted jewellery. very pretty. and weighty!}

{knitters doing their bit for the attempt at "The world's largest sock"}

{enablers the lot of them! but they did sell such pretties.}

{happy&knackered}

Once again, against my best laid plans, I was devoid of hand knits. We left Heathrow with 3 cases and arrived in Seattle with two. My hand knits are in the third case :(

I'm clinging to hope that we'll get the case back. S isn't. We'll see.

I have lots more pictures from the market place to share with you next time!

yarntalk

Today’s post should have been with you yesterday but getting ready for our trip was twice as long and hard as usual because we had to leave the house spic and span for our house sitters. This time around, choosing which projects to take on holidays was a no brainer. I had a much more relaxed approach to packing my knitting. Where in the past I took my circular needle roll (and all circular needles with it), I’ve got 3 needle tips (the special ones) this trip. My holiday destinations are not devoid of knitting shops (nor sock conventions) so should I find myself in desperate need of something, I know how to procure it. I reckon that by ditching the needle roll, I saved myself about 1kg in weight - that’s 10 skeins of 100g yarn and as you know, every little helps :)

Hmmm, I’m not quite sure when this started but I find myself speaking "yarntalk" these days: the cost of materials being equated to the price of a skein of yarn and weight measured in skeins, are a couple of examples that come to mind.

Anyway, the first of my holiday knits is Coachella which I’m working up in a gorgeous bluey-purple called Pageant. I first used this yarn (Knit Picks Shine Sport) when knitting ms. marigold and REALLY liked it both to knit with and to wear. It’s so soft against the skin, has lovely stitch definition and being made up of cotton and beech wood fibre makes it perfect for both summer knitting and wearing. 

The second project jetting off with me is the Rock Island Shawl by Jared Flood. I’m knitting this up in wollmeise’s lace-garn in the colourway tambopata. This lace-garn is one hefty skein! So hefty, in fact, that as I neared the end I had to wind with caution.

{lace-garn in tambopata by wollmeise}

Ideally I’d know exactly how much yarn I need; the pattern calls for 600yds of lace weight or 680 yds of fingering weight yarn. Well, I feel this yarn is a heavy lace or light fingering weight in terms of thickness so I’m unsure. I am most hesitant to cut into this perfect, knot-less skein (Malabrigo silky look and learn), add to this the fact that I ran out of yarn while knitting both my previous shawls and I was left with no option but to take the whole 300+gram skein! You say overkill, I say cautious. 

In the past, my lace weight shawls haven’t fared well. They start off crisp and lovely

then after a careful wash or two (and considerably more catching on everything and anything in the vicinity!) they morph into this:

Such poor stitch definition that one can hardly tell a bobble from a knit stitch!, not exactly long term rewards for so much effort. This has become the shawl I grab when heading out for a walk, dashing to the shops and running errands - it isn’t pretty enough to be shown off anymore :(

Yes, I realise that not all lace weight yarns behave this way (indeed the shawl Iwona knit me out of Misti Alpaca lace still looks perfect 4 years on!) but I find shawls knit in lace weight yarns a gamble at best and hence my rule. But once in a while, I get tempted by a beautiful yarn that crosses my path and I wonder...

What’s your preference for summer knitting - “lighter” projects? Summer-friendly yarns like cotton, linen and bamboo? Or do you just forge ahead as usual with Aran sweaters, worsted weight woolen blankets and the like? 

pretty painted pegboards!

I'd been in need of yet more space or a smarter way to store craft supplies, but the last thing I wanted was more wooden units. What I needed was an organisation unit that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg, wouldn't take up valuable floor space and would be easy on the eye.
My answer?

A pegboard!

But they are so industrial and ugly, right? Not necessarily.

In a few simple steps and for not much money (I had most of the supplies at home) it's easy to turn a drab pegboard into a pretty and functional piece of modern art. O.K., modern art may be a stretch but you know what I mean.

Here's a list of the supplies I used.

1. a peg board: sold in large sheets (2.4m x 1.2m x .006m [8' x 4' x .25"]) for about £20. Available from your local timber merchant who should cut it to your specified size (at a cost of £1 or £2), most will also deliver. nb: the holes are typically spaced either 1" or ¾" apart, very important to know when buying hooks for your pegboard! 
2. dust sheet: these will protect your floor when painting and can be found in any hardware store. Old bedsheets and cut up black bags will work as long as they are large enough to surround the pegboard on all sides. 
3. paint : the number of colours required will depend on your chosen design. I chose two contrasting colours (a sampler pot costs about £2 and covers up to 4m²). 
4. paint brush or mini roller set: how else are you gonna get the paint on?
5. masking tape: pay attention to how long it can be left on! (hours vs. days)
6. scissors: to cut strips of masking tape 
7. quilting ruler or tape measure + pencil: to measure and mark out areas to be masked.
8. foil paper + cling film: to eliminate cleaning the roller set.
9. pegboard hooks: choose the right hook for your board! As there are many different sizes and styles of hook, it is worth planning out what you want to hang before buying the most suitable hook(s) for it. Or you can do what I did and just order a mix of sizes and styles. See here and here for hooks. 

nb: I am not vouching for the quality or prices of products listed above nor have I been paid in any way by any of the companies I linked to (unfortunately). I support my local family-run hardware store but linking to that wouldn't be of any use to the majority of my blog readers hence links to a nationwide chain.

On to what I did. I began with a plain pegboard

I placed this on a dust sheet (to protect my floor), and then painted the pegboard in my base colour (white)

Once that dried, I masked off my pattern using a quilting ruler as a spacer.

For "clean" lines, I recommend running your fingers along the edges of the masking tape to form a firm seal against paint. 

Here are both pegboards masked off and ready to be painted. 

I was always going to decorate them differently, but in hindsight I would have made those vertical stripes horizontal or something. Was I an artist, there is no end to the possibilities; but I'm not, so vertical stripes it was.

Because I don't like to clean painting tools and avoid doing this wherever and however possible, I covered the paint tray with foil paper and cling film as below

This makes cleaning up a doddle (scrunch and chuck!).

With this done, I painted my contrast colour all over the boards (masking tape and all) and left both pegboards to dry before carefully peeling off the masking tape to reveal 

two perfectly pretty painted pegboards!

On Saturday S affixed these to my craft room wall. 

I've since added my quilting rulers, rotary cutters, embroidery and quilting hoops, a magnetic board, pen cups, a post box (from Norway, because I saw them everywhere and thought they were soooo cute!) and other bits and pieces like lavender from my garden! 

Most of the items on my pegboards were likely to get damaged with my previous "storage methods" e.g. leaning against a wall where the markings on my rulers were slowly being rubbed off, or under my craft table where items were often kicked by unsuspecting feet.

This has got to be one of the top advantages of having a room of one's own in one's home. Now, I don't simply dream of the perfect storage solutions for me; I create them.

my friends Robbie, Iwona and Edie

Another year, another birthday.

I'm a year older. again. My third birthday since I began blogging. My, how time flies.

Things were a little different this year. When asked, I specified (and was granted) cold, hard, cash.

And this was great! until the day rolled around with nary a present to open :(

*insert crickets chirping*

But a mere couple of days later I received the best surprise from my girlfriends in Toronto! Hmmm, what could this be, I wonder?!? 

{prairie in windowpane from Robbie}

a contender for my next project; Rock Island shawl - it feels absolutely luxurious! It's so good, I'm considering breaking my own rule of "no more shawls knit with lace weight yarn"! 

{pashmina in Cedar from Iwona}

MadelineTosh's Pashmina is one of those yarns knitfolk enthuse over, so naturally it's been on my radar as one to try. And now I've touched it, I understand. This yarn is simply decadent and is destined to be worn right up against my skin, something I can nuzzle up to.

{Valdani threads in "aged white", "gold" and "smoky teal" from Edie}

Following my recent go at hand embroidery, I've plans for these threads. They are the perfect size (12) "non-split" embroidery floss for the type of projects I have in mind and they go so well together; my sand, sea and sun.

These girls know me VERY well so it comes as no surprise that I love all their choices. We've been friends from the time we spent our Tuesday nights at the Knit Cafe. We would order-in dinner, whip out and work on our WIPs while we caught up with the goings-on in each other's lives. There's something rather comforting about such routines. We also randomly hung out while shopping (shoes, underwear, tea, make-up, fabric, apartments, thrift...), watching movies, dyeing yarn, knitting in Trinity Bellwoods, game nights, JAZZ HANDS!, high tea, walking to "our corner", laughing, crying...and in many other wonderful ways to while away a morning, afternoon or evening.

To my friends Robbie, Iwona and Edie: I send a huge, heartfelt thank you! How I wish I could hug you all in person. (and YES Edie, it made my day. Totally.) 

{a gorgeous marbled notebook for me}

knit nation 2.2*

I've had a little more time to reflect on the day and noted that another (glaringly obvious once you stop to think about it really) difference between last year's and this year's Knit Nation was in the items being sold.
Most stalls were manned by makers selling their own wares so that instead of the usual parade of ubiquitous yarns and yarn related goods, each stall revealed at least one unique product line and the opportunity to talk to the person that created the product(s).

{all the things from Knit Nation 2011}

From left to right:

There is:

{grey yarn}

What you'd be forgiven for thinking is a blue skein (far left) is actually grey. This grey, to me, is reminiscent of driftwood, beach cabins, overcast days on the Olympic Peninsula etc. Though not the pearly, iridescent grey I set out to find, I couldn't resist it's gentle tug at my heartstrings. I think it's going to be a pair of wrist warmers when it grows up. Natalie patiently showed me all her grey yarns; picking just the one was surprisingly tougher than you'd think. They were all interesting; not flat nor at all boring.
I'm going to enjoy discovering the colour grey.

Next in is kelpie. And she looks like this 

{Kelpie by Old Maiden Aunt}

If you asked me for just one word to describe this yarn I'd pick patina. This is a skein I've lusted after since last year's Knit Nation! The odd time or two I tried to buy it online it wasn't available in the yarn base I wanted. I'm glad I waited though because, in person, I didn't like the feel of some of the other yarn bases - isn't that funny? exact colours, different base and it's a totally different ball game! I've no idea in what form this will wrap itself around me just yet and that's o.k., I'm content to simply stare at and pet it for now.

There's also Ysolda's latest (Little Red in the City, read Anne Hanson's review here), as well as a Knit Nation 2011 project bag.

On to more yarn.

{Dartmoor}

Swampy, murky, beautiful. Dartmoor is 'my other grey' skein because, believe it or not, it's got a lot of grey to it and is ever so very pretty. i REALLY like it and can't wait to turn it into a neck warmer/fingerless mittens duo for me.

{thanks Asti for dyeing something so pretty!}

Finally there is this

{ultraviolet by Old Maiden Aunt}

purple with splashes of pink. This skein is squishy, vibrant and reminiscent of petit poison nr. 5. I simply couldn't resist.

That concludes my Knit Nation 2011 purchases. 

But wait! there is more.
Heather recently visited the Wollmeise store (the lucky girl!) and grabbed me this

{poison nr. 5}

How gorgeous is this?!? How generous is she?! And how lucky am I? I don't know yet what this will be but I'm happy to just smile at it for a while.
This rounds up my Knit Nation goodies.

To recap:

• a skein of sock yarn from old Maiden Aunt = kelpie ✔
• KP cables for interchangeable needles ✘ they were being sold at £2.50 each at Knit Nation but I'd come across this before heading south so no. On it's own £0.75 isn't much but if you, like me, are considering buying 2 cables per size, you're looking at a difference of £9 (- £1.50 shipping). in knit speak this is a skein of yarn!
• grey yarn ✔ not iridescent but it will do nicely, thank you.

My list was never written in stone but was put in place to stop me going off the rails.
And did it work?

That's a big, resounding YES!

*the title of this post = my second post about the second (ever) knit nation.

the one about Knit Nation. again

Yesterday was lovely. This year's Knit Nation was brilliant even though it had a very different 'atmosphere' to last year's. I felt this year was not as packed with stalls, quieter with more scope to mingle in stalls, space to walk the aisles comfortably, and not as much of a frenzy to 'buy now or forever hold your peace!'. It could be that the crowds shopped and were gone by 12:45, when I arrived.

Another difference was that in the year since the last event, I've grown more confident about meeting and greeting people. I really got stuck in: whipping out my camera, introducing myself to and chatting with people, lots of yarn fondling (nothing new there) and generally up for a good time. 

As I said, lovely.

Without further ado, here are my pictures from the day in chronological order. more or less.

{Franklin Habit - friendly & gracious. I liked him.}

{my friend Heather considering John Arbon's yarns}

{sweet Ysolda by her booth in the Knit-Tea Salon (above the marketplace)}

{i kinneared CookieA in the Knit-Tea Salon}

{The medecins sans frontieres/doctors without borders stand,
where p/hop patterns were available in exchange for donations. more on this later.}

{Habu Textiles}

{mmm, what are these? stitchcuddles by stephcuddles! in the Old Maiden Aunt stall}

{Old Maiden Aunt}

{the wollmeise corner of the Loop stall}

{the bothered owl}

{Great British Yarns}

{I finally got to meet Natalie in real life following months of twitter chat}

{Skein Queen}

{Atomic Knitting}

{at the little knitting company I pulled up a chair and chatted
with the lady wearing the green shawl about podcasts and audiobooks }

{Susan Crawford's stall. such mirth, made me want to join in on the laughter}

{daughter of the lady who owns Debonnaire minding the Juno Fibre Arts stall for a moment}

All in all I had a very good day. I finally got to meet Heather - who I almost missed, no thanks to 'signal failure' on the Piccadilly line! and Minniemoll - who I bumped into in the aisles and PaulaPurls (+Naelana) - I was so excited I nearly choked on my sandwich trying to get their attention from the other side of solid glass doors. This was accompanied by some rather mad gesticulating and me wildly pointing at my Ravelry badge. I also met Evee & Littlemy from the British Banter group on Ravelry. Good times.

Next time, I'll show you what lovelies I brought home with me :)