Off to Italy!

We decided to go take public transportation to the airport. Marilyn dropped us off at the park and ride, we caught an express bus downtown, switched to light rail to Tukwila and then caught a shuttle to the airport. So easy! I had forgotten my Alaska Airlines Gold card at home and was annoyed I had to stand in the long line at airport security versus the short line. I'm going to have to get used to it soon because my airline preference status has gone way down since I don't travel as frequently as in the past. I posted these pictures from the Alaska board room at Seatac airport before we left but didn't have time to add any narrative then as Rob was telling me to hurry, hurry, hurry. I did, but our flight from Seattle was delayed 45 minutes. We were fortunate to get an exit row which was comfy but we froze the latter half of the flight. Note - that was the very last time we were cold as Rome is hot and humid right now! Rob was so cold (very unusual for him) on the plane, that he used some plastic cellophane that the airline blanket had come in to wrap around his feet. We originally had a two hour layover in Newark before heading to Rome but that vanished after being put into a hold pattern and circling for more than an hour. We raced from one gate to the other and were the last passengers to board the flight moments before the door was pulled shut.
I had been in an absolute dither over what to bring as a knitting project on the plane. I had already planned on some socks, but since I only had two backpacks to carry, my space was limited. I decided on using some Silk Maiden handpainted yarn and the Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail shawl because it didn't take up much room and it would be challenging enough to keep my interest. Everyone else in the world seems to have knit that shawl and now it is time for me to knit one as well. I felt a bit guilty over not taking any Nihon Vogue projects. Hopefully I won't regret my decision.

Nihon Vogue - Aran Sweater complete!

Happy Birthday greetings to my dear friend Naomi today!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Or perhaps thousands upon thousands of stitches? It has been difficult to muster up desire to knit recently because it has been so darn blistering hot. Our thickest, wooliest Nihon Vogue projects seemed to coincide with the warmest weather on record in the Pacific Northwest. The Gansey. The Aran. The Yoke. All of mine done up in wool or some "7 times warmer" blend of. I joined Rob and Whimsy at the lake last week one evening for a picnic and a chance to cool off. Whimsy "lives" for swimming to retrieve the water kong Rob throws for her. Boaters and swimmers surrounding us were enjoying refreshing activities in the water. Where was I? I was sitting in a lawn chair with a hot bundle of alpaca-wool in my lap! Diligently working on the short rows for the aran collar. The people around me must have thought I was as wacky as the elderly gentleman who was sitting in a lawn chair at waters edge catching nothing but sinewy weeds.
I made this Aran sweater as a gift for Marilyn, my mother in law. She is slender and frail and I wanted to make something that would keep her warm in the winter but didn't have too much weight or bulk to it. The yarn is luscious and one of my all time favorites to knit with. I just wish it was easier to find in local yarn stores - the color palette is remarkable and the yarn is so soft! It is a 50-50 blend of alpaca and wool called Lana D'Oro from Cascade Yarns. I chose the lattice like cable pattern because it reminded me of Marilyn's garden trellis. She is an amazing gardener! I modified the trellis cable pattern to add an additional 1/3 of the width for the back pattern. I then divided this in half to get each set that is on the front of the sweater. In order to ensure that each pattern alongside the button bands were reverse images of each other, I had to trace the backside of the pattern by putting it up against a window and then converting those symbols to cable stitches. This way the stitch patterns are not the "same" on the front but rather exact "mirror" images of each other. So far so good.
Arans are my favorite style of sweater to knit and this one was no exception. I did 2x2 ribbing with invisible cast on and bind off that had been taught in Nihon Vogue Year 1. New learnings for this sweater were the saddle shoulders in which the pattern design on the *almost* center of the sleeve continues up over the shoulder to the neck. Almost center because the pattern is shifted forward a bit so that it appears to be centered when the sweater is worn. I decided to take on the task of doing an optional collar because I wanted Jean's guidance on how to do it correctly and there isn't many projects left in Year 2 in which a collar can be incorporated. I have not liked knitting collars in the past - mostly because it would end up the same length all the way around. In order for it to be long enough in the back to form an appropriate sized collar stand, the front collar points are very long and resemble something out of the 1970's. The answer to this dilemma is short rows! I picked up stitches around the neck, went back to the shoulder, turned and knit to the opposite shoulder, turned and then did 7 stitch increments of short rows on each side, back and forth, for the remaining portion of the collar. Amazing how short rows can make a collar look so good! I then picked up along the collar and sweater body seam to knit a 1 cm long facing. I sewed that down using Jean's whip stitch method for securing. Arlene, Phyllis and I have all done collars and are so pleased with the end result using facing. It makes the sweater look finished and dare I say professional? No more naked collar seams for us! I sewed on 10 buttons & backing buttons and called it "DONE". I really like the sweater but in my self critical way, decided I would have made a minor change had it been possible. I was quite focused on the widths of the cables bordering the trellis cable pattern (they all were 4 row repeats). If I were forced to re-design this sweater I would make one of those 3 cables an 8 row repeat but same width. All in all, a fantastic Aran experience and one in which I learned techniques I plan to use again and again.

Boston

A few weeks ago I went on a business trip to Boston and attended a fantastic conference on 'Building Learning Communities". I almost felt guilty being in the comfort of an air conditioned hotel room and conference facilities while Rob and Whimsy dog were cooking in 104 degree temperatures at home... One free evening I spent some time walking around the city - Boston Commons, Faneuil Hall and Beacon Hill. I wandered into Newbury Yarns and Windsor Buttons. Newbury Yarns is owned by Aldrich, who was helpful, engaging and simply delightful. The shop was pleasant and located in a very energetic part of the city. If I lived in the Boston area I would be spending a lot of time and a lot of money in that wonderful shop! I bought some handpainted yarn for a shawl and some sock yarn. Windsor Buttons has been in business for going on 75 years which is amazing in and of itself. They had a whole wall of button boxes behind the counter. I couldn't see the buttons very well and I wasn't sure if leaping over the counter for closer inspection was an option or not. I did find some cute star shaped buttons in maize, seafoam green and aqua blue colors that I am going to put on a baby boy sweater to be designed for an expectant co-worker. I have 3 colors of yarn and need to find two more to complete the design. I wonder if I can turn it into a Nihon Vogue project? Hmm. Probably not. The button store also carried a nice assortment of yarn and sewing notions. They had a huge selection of knitting books and patterns. At Windsor Buttons, I bought a skein of Hand Maiden sea silk yarn which is gorgeous, however, I realized after getting home that I got ripped off by paying $6.00 more than typical retail price. Oh well. Reminds me of a very popular local yarn store that I no longer frequent because of the more than lavish uplift in their prices. I only make that mistake at each store once! :) I took the very crowded subway to Harvard University and walked around Harvard Yard, the campus, bookstore and nearby retail establishments. Harvard Square enticed me with a cupcake shop called Sweet. A case full of unusual combinations that looked nothing less than scrumptious. The cupcake was a special treat and the young woman helping me was sweet too.

Sock Summit - Day Four and Departure

The last day of Sock Summit was a whirlwind. Packing up and trying to find all sorts of nooks and crannies in my luggage to put the goodies I purchased at the Sock Summit Market. I started two socks on one circular and got about two inches into each before realizing I had made a mistake and had to unknit a row on one of them. Hmm. Not sure how to do that on one circular without confusing myself so I put each sock on its own long circular and am Magic Looping it after all. The process seems much easier than when I was trying it on my gansey several weeks ago. Candace took a picture of me and my starter socks at the Oregon Convention Center. I am making them as a gift and plan to take them along on an upcoming European trip. Wouldn't it be fun to have photographs of their progress taken at picturesque locations? Makes me smile to think of it. We checked out of the hotel and took one last trot around the market before heading to the Luminary Panel session. It was entertaining, enlightening, humorous and sometimes revealing. I especially loved comments from Meg Swanson and Barbara Walker. Two extremely talented, accomplished women who just don't take themselves too seriously even though they have every right to be full of themselves... I am so attracted to their style! We had to dash out before cake was served for the celebration of the 99th birthday of Elizabeth Zimmerman to catch the train back to Seattle. All in all, a wonderful event and memorable 4 days!

Sock Summit - Day Three and the Market!

Day 3 of Sock Summit seemed to be the day for sensory overload. I took a beaded baby booties class in the morning which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day. I really like the beaded booties pattern and look forward to working on them in the future when I have time to concentrate on the casting on at the toe technique. Thankfully some friends provided some helpful pointers and web links to learn more which should set me on track to be able to complete the project. Beads combined with fiber - it can't get much better than that! Naomi and Arlene filled me on the Barbara Walker lecture which sounded absolutely fascinating. After lunch, we browsed the market and then headed back to the hotel for an evening of relaxing and knitting on socks and some Nihon Vogue projects. We had a long discussion about teaching and learning and what makes a good teacher versus someone who may not be clued in to a student's needs or how to change their teaching style to better reach their students. It made us appreciate Jean Wong and her patient, thorough style even more. Her experience as well as that of someone like Lucy Neatby who are able to connect with their students and know how to respond to questions for a variety of situations makes their classes so worthwhile. I realize that experience and deep knowledge of the subject as well as time in the classroom with students, entails them to troubleshoot and handle questions in a way that less experienced teachers are not. That can make a world of difference for the students. I have especially enjoyed spending time with my friends as well as getting to know other knitters who have come from near and far to attend the Sock Summit.
The market has been quite remarkable as well as a chance to knit on the world's largest sock, peruse the sock museum and look at the the winners of the Dye for Glory contest.
Some of my favorite vendors and products have been:

Good to Be Girl - Darling knitting project bags and stitch markers
Signature Arts Needle Arts - Customizable needles to die for... and save for!
Paradise Fibers - Friendly, service oriented store based in Spokane, WA who carries a large variety of goods
Della Q - Organization pouches for needles and projects
Jennie the Potter - Sheep and knitting motifs on pottery
Acorn Street Shop - Long established yarn store based in Seattle
Kitchen Sink Dyeworks - Hand Painted Yarn
Jenkins Woodworking - Amazing Turkish spindles
Webs - Bagged yarn at great prices
Skacel - Extremely popular circular needles
Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarns and Fiber - Hand Dyed Yarn from Tennessee
Fiber Optic - Hand Painted Yarn
Itty Bitty Witty Knitties - Whimsical Cards and paper goods
Liberty's Yarn - Hand Dyed
Close Knit Friends - Unique scissors and stitch markers

Sock Summit - Day Two: Busy Busy Busy

My schedule for Day Two at Sock Summit included a Spindle Spinning Basics class and I was anxious to turn my little bag of roving into twisted yarn...I enjoyed the experience but recognize that I will have to spend some time practicing the techniques in order to produce anything other than lumpy string! The day at Sock Summit began at 7 am to get tickets to participate in an attempt to break the previous world record for the most knitters in one location, knitting f0r 15 minutes with 2 needles. Two needles. Not circulars and not 2 DPN's of a 4 DPN project! The previous record was most recently set in Australia by 256 knitters. After the record was handily set, Naomi, Candace, Ellen and I had lunch and then met up with some students from the Year One Nihon Vogue class - Jan, Leslie and Donna. It is always a special time when we get together and I enjoy each of them so much. I look forward to more instances of getting together with them in the coming months. It is always interesting to hear about the projects they are working on and what their inspirations for design are. They are all so talented! Naomi got a set of Signature needles as a present for her upcoming birthday. Arlene had purchased a set earlier this week. I am deliriously happy with the set I purchased in March and although more expensive than not, I consider it an investment into tools of extraordinary quality and workmanship. We have had fun shopping at the Sock Summit market and our many bags of roving, yarn, books, spinning tools and knitting accessories proves it! We went out to dinner at a restaurant that served spicy Cajun food and a variety of Mac and Cheese entries. More than the food, a highlight was the elaborate foil containers for "to-go" leftovers. We exited with silver lilies, a rose, tulips, a duck and a squirrel in hand. They made me smile.

Sock Summit - Day One, Let the fun begin!

Sock Summit Day One has already beat expectations. I was in an all day class taught by Melissa Morgan-Oakes on knitting two socks on one circular needle. We didn't quite get to finishing the socks with kitchener stitch but I hope to have learned enough to tackle a pair of socks on one long circular needle... on my own! Class attendees had the special privilege of going to the Marketplace early - there were over 150 vendors showcasing the most exquisite selection of hand painted yarns, spinning and fiber materials, knitting accessories, needles and more. The market is worthy of a entire blog entry so watch for it soon! The Opening Reception provided an introduction to the esteemed instructors and a humorous narrative of how Sock Summit came to be - from a wild concept to full blown, successful implementation. An especially memorable moment for me was soon after the event began. When we had arrived at the convention center, Candace noticed a sign on the door that Assistive Listening Devices were available. I have an unexplained, profound hearing loss that began a number of years ago (well into adulthood) that continues to worsen. I struggle with the impact of it each and every day. On a whim, I decided to ask the convention center staff if I could use such a device during the Opening Reception event... they brought over a small pocket size amplifier and headset that had been tuned into the microphone system that the presenters were using. OMG. OMG. OMG. I was astonished at how well I could hear the speakers! Every single word was crystal clear and understandable. I haven't experienced that in 8 years! I burst into tears as I was overtaken with sheer joy in terms of feeling that I was included and could be a full and engaged participant in what was going on around me. That feeling had been lost for so long and it was overwhelming to get it back, even if for a short duration. Oh my goodness... I looked back at my friends and they were wiping tears from their eyes and cheeks. They are all so very, very dear to me and I love them all.

Candace and I had the honor of meeting the very gracious Barbara Walker. She is the author of the widely regarded Treasury of Knitting Patterns (Blue, Red, Yellow and Green books) that are the indispensable cornerstone of any knitter's library. She is beyond amazing and has the utmost respect of knitters worldwide - not just for her accomplishments, but for the body of work in knitting and other pursuits that she has shared with all of us. We also had a fun conversation with the always kind, genuine, and colorful Lucy Neatby. Her DVD's on knitting techniques are superb and extremely well done. Meg Swanson and Lucy are the best of the best at using technology to teach and communicate.

Sock Summit - Arrival

Sock Summit 2009 is the first conference dedicated to handknit socks. Yes, socks. The historical, interesting, creative, practical object that I didn't think I could call myself a knitter until I knew how to knit a pair. Socks can be knit in many ways and using various types of needles and methods. The expression of creativity using the sock as a canvas is unlimited. A gift of hand knit socks is something to be treasured. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Tina Newton have put together an astounding venue of vendors, teachers and students and I am so grateful to be a part of it. People have traveled from distant parts of the globe to teach and to learn. Naomi and Ellen drove down on Wednesday morning because they were working as volunteers and had to be in Portland by noon. Candace, Arlene and I took the Amtrak Cascades train and had 3 lovely hours to knit, chat, and enjoy beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery before arriving in Portland. On the train, we met Hayden, a very sweet service dog trained by Summit Assistance Dogs. My dear friend Scottie does a lot of volunteer work with that group and trains service dogs for them.Upon our arrival in Portland, we walked to the convention center from our hotel, the Crowne Plaza to pick up our registration packets. The convention center is quite impressive: eco-friendly, convenient location and well organized. We are ready... Let the fun begin!

Contentment - Captivating Crochet Collar Completed

The crocheted collar was a delightful Nihon Vogue Year 2 project because it didn't take much time. The pattern was 16 rows of a collar shown in the Year 2 course book. Once Candace and Jean explained the difference to me of when you "go in the stitch" and when you "go in the loop" I was hooked. Get it? Crochet hook? Ok. I know. Pretty corny. It's late and I am tired.
Back to my collar story... I started the project with worsted weight wool and a size G hook. Big mistake. Because I was leaving for Anchorage the next day, Arlene was kind enough to give me some beautiful pale seafoam green silk yarn to crochet the collar with. I followed her lead with a size 2.0 mm hook. That made a huge difference in ease of getting into a rhythm with the pattern and easily looping through the yarn. We had crocheted a swatch in class to calculate gauge. Jean explained how we would adjust the number of repeats to fit whatever garment we would be crocheting a collar for. I needed a final pattern that was 4x the number of repeats in the swatch. A few of us from class are planning to wear black shirts and our collars for a photo op at our next Nihon Vogue class! That is probably the only real use it will get because I have no idea what I will ever do with an adult size, crocheted lace collar!


Naomi had been in lovely Copenhagen during class and she missed the lesson, so a few of us quickly reviewed the crochet project with her. In no time she was off and running. Her trepidation quickly evaporated when she realized that the crocheted collar would not get the best of her by any means.
I am happily content because the project was a fun learning experience and I am anticipating future possibilities of using the learnings from this project elsewhere. One recent Japanese crochet book purchase from Kinokuniya bookstore has me salivating over two of the many crochet designs in the book. Booties in a Mary Jane shoe style with embroidered flowers on the toe cap of each. I haven't embroidered since I was a child, however, I can remember my grandmother teaching me and I would like to make French knot flower centers once again in memory of her! The beautiful baby's dress in the book was the reason I purchased the book. It has multiple graceful, lacy stitches, beautiful scalloped edgings and pearl buttons. After studying the pattern repeatedly, I was too intimidated to think I would ever successfully understand how to do it much less complete it. With the learnings for crochet that I have gained in this last Nihon Vogue project, I may have mustered up enough confidence to give the baby dress a try after all... someday


Book ISBN978-4-02-190405-9