Knitting
On the road again…
Actually, I am just home. But I was on the road this past weekend, spending a few days at TNNA with designer friends and colleagues, yarn company reps, yarn shop owners and all kinds of fibery goodness. I flew in Friday and flew out Monday, so it was quite a whirlwind of a trip. Sometimes these events have a theme or focus to them for me, but this time it was just a string of fun and interesting events and encounters. Here are a few of the highlights that will stay in my memory:
Just as I was having my photo taken with Jim Kirk’s new incarnation, the damned transporter started working and he got away.
I spent a few hours every day demonstrating how to knit with some awesome carry-along-filaments from Kreinik, including this Reflective yarn that turns you into a firefly at night! This is the same scarf in daylight and at night with a flashlight on it. Great for walking, riding, or doing any outdoor activities in the dark.
I also got some work done on my Pi Shawl for Stories In Stitches 2. I am using Kreinik’s new Twist 3-ply metallic filament to add just a tad of sparkle to the border. With the black yarn and black filament, it is invisible until the light hits it at the right angle.
I got to hang out in the Stitch Sprouts booth and show off samples of Stories In Stitches 1 and while I was there, the printer proofs arrived at my house! It’s all signed off now and on the press, and I can’t wait for the trucker to ring the bell and deliver the boxes of books to my house!
I got to see one of Kate Davies’s designs in person, find out about Titus Wool and Baa Ram Ewe knits, get a hug, hear a Yorkshire accent, and dream of going to Woolfest again some day!
I discovered lots of cool products, and will be writing about the carbon fiber needles I used in the Kreinik booth soon, but perhaps the most tempting thing I found are these lovely little kits for knitting jewelry with wire. It’s something I’d love to do, but I’m always deterred by thinking about shopping for wire and findings. These kits have everything you need to make your own knitted jewelry all inside the lovely little package!
And this bracelet matches my pi shawl perfectly!
Experience level – advanced beginner
After I finished my Arctic Lace Knitting Book, I finally allowed myself to explore the world of lace knitting and discovered that is is much more varied and elaborate than I could have imagined. Around the world and over time, knitters in different countries and regions have developed unique styles of lace knitting that range from easy-intermediate (like the knitting of the Oomingmak knitters) to advanced-insanely- difficult (like some of the Victorian patterns designed by English knitters). Other lace styles are used in Estonia, Russia, South America, Lithuania, Germany and Austria, and New Zealand. I’m sure there are even more, but these are the styles I’ve explored so far. – Donna Druchunas –
Experience: All skill levels, basic knitting skills required.
Have you ever wondered why some people can read charts easily and others find them incomprehensible? The truth is, charts are written in a code that can be deciphered by knitters who learn the symbols on the page and in their knitting. Charts do not use arbitrary symbols, but each symbol includes the instructions on how to make the indicated stitch! In this class, you will learn the secrets of interpreting chart symbols for texture and cable stitches.
