Stitches East - YUM-O!
This weekend, Leslye Solomon gave me the perfect justification for "stashing", "stash enhancement", whatever you may call it. She says that yarn is just sophisticated nesting material, and that women are just being good women by building our nests. I'd say I've got a pretty cushy nest here for myself, seeing as how I took her advice and behaved like a "good woman" for the rest of the day on Saturday at Stiches East.
The East version of Stitches was in Baltimore this year (and will be next year -YAY!), and it was, in my opinion, a huge success. I didn't take any days off to attend, but next year, I'm gonna. At least Friday. And I'm going to take a couple classes and take the time to enjoy the market a bit more. I love it when knitters get together. The compliments fly (it was bascially a weekend fashion show non-stop), people sat down and knit hats for babies, people sat down and learn to knit, people sat down to compare notes, share tips, and discuss what they have been working on, would like to work on, worked on in the past, etc. Incredible.
So, my weekend started with a long drive north immediately after work on Friday. I walked out the doors of the school at 2:25 - shocked all of my co-workers, and tried my best to wait patiently in traffic all the way to Baltimore. I vow not to have to do this next year. UGH.
Friday evening I was hoping to get to the market before it closed, but no such luck. Too much traffic, so I took my time, got a shower, changed, and then headed off to the Fashion Show and banquet. I quickly found a table with one empty chair, and was welcomed quickly into that impromptu little fold of knitters, made up of a smaller groups of knitters from New Jersey, Long Island, and Baltimore. I fit right in, and everyone was very friendly. I had been a bit nervous about going to this even on my own. My mom and aunt couldn't justify spending $75.00 on a ticket, but the joke's on them, because even though I didn't win one of the raffles for various items before the show started, I was one of the lucky ones who won the supplies to knit one of the garmets featured in the fashion show!!! Great Yarns (link later) was generous enough to donate a kit for their Concerto jacket, and it's the most wonderful shades of reds that I could ever ask for. I've been wanting something red lately, and now I have it! FREE! And, without dropping numbers here, lemme just tell you that, even with the $50 I later spent at the Great Yarns booth buying buttons for said jacket, I still came out ahead with that small purchase, the ticket, and probably even my gas to Baltimore and back! Apparently I was very lucky that day! Unbelievable!
The next morning, I had an 8:00 class with Leslye Solomon - Design Your Dream Sweater. I now have more confidence in my knitting/creating skills, and found out that Leslye is a wonderful, smart woman, who has made it very easy for knitters to design their own stuff. You should check it out. Special graph paper with cliffs-notes and all! I'll be trying my hand at designing soon, and I have tons of ideas floating in my mind now. The first one will be to create a pattern to redo one of my favorite sweaters I currently own. It's a storebought silk sweater, and, well, store-bought silk sweaters never last for very long. So I'm going to design one of my own. I love the way it fits, and I'll be very upset when it wears out. Then I'm going to try one for Zac with a hand-warmer pocket in the front. He loves my sweater like that, and shoves his hands in the pocket every time I wear it. So, I figure that's a winner!
After the class, the market was open, and I did plenty of damage. Just looky:
The Haul:
Free "Concerto" jacket ('cause I won it!):
Some of the fuzzies and frillies in this jacket may have to be replaced with more sensible, calm yarns, but it won't even be started until Chrismas break from work/school, so I've got plenty of time to think about it. One of the yarns was that Berocco "fun" stuff with other, brightly colored tissue-y stuff throughout it. I promptly gave it to my Aunt for some wrist-warmers for my 13 year old little cousin.
Corn yarn - yes, you read it right, this stuff is 100% CORN. Unbelievable. It's a really soft, light ribbon yarn that I can't wait to knit up into a scarf. Oh, and secret pal, I hope you're not looking at this, cause some of this is probably making it's way to you, too. :O)
Crappy picture, I know, but I was trying to show the label that says 100% Corn!
Euroflax Linen (!) for a Sasha skirt.
I have to knit this skirt! I heard several people in the booth where I purchased this remark that you'd have to be very thin to wear this. I promptly let them know that I was wearing it no matter what. I think it would look nice on someone curvy (like me), and besides that, it's just fun. It's got four lace rows/ruffles. Not fitted at all, so I think it's going to be very much fun to knit, and even more fun to wear, so who cares if I'm not the thinnest person to wear it. It's gorgeous, and therefore will make me look the same, right? I may have to suggest this to the SKC next go round!
Acero - Brooks Farm. 'Nuff said.
It's gorgeous, right? It's a blend of 60% wool, 20% silk and 20% viscose. It's going to be my first try at designing, too. Don't hold your breath for the updates, but it's coming!
The East version of Stitches was in Baltimore this year (and will be next year -YAY!), and it was, in my opinion, a huge success. I didn't take any days off to attend, but next year, I'm gonna. At least Friday. And I'm going to take a couple classes and take the time to enjoy the market a bit more. I love it when knitters get together. The compliments fly (it was bascially a weekend fashion show non-stop), people sat down and knit hats for babies, people sat down and learn to knit, people sat down to compare notes, share tips, and discuss what they have been working on, would like to work on, worked on in the past, etc. Incredible.
So, my weekend started with a long drive north immediately after work on Friday. I walked out the doors of the school at 2:25 - shocked all of my co-workers, and tried my best to wait patiently in traffic all the way to Baltimore. I vow not to have to do this next year. UGH.
Friday evening I was hoping to get to the market before it closed, but no such luck. Too much traffic, so I took my time, got a shower, changed, and then headed off to the Fashion Show and banquet. I quickly found a table with one empty chair, and was welcomed quickly into that impromptu little fold of knitters, made up of a smaller groups of knitters from New Jersey, Long Island, and Baltimore. I fit right in, and everyone was very friendly. I had been a bit nervous about going to this even on my own. My mom and aunt couldn't justify spending $75.00 on a ticket, but the joke's on them, because even though I didn't win one of the raffles for various items before the show started, I was one of the lucky ones who won the supplies to knit one of the garmets featured in the fashion show!!! Great Yarns (link later) was generous enough to donate a kit for their Concerto jacket, and it's the most wonderful shades of reds that I could ever ask for. I've been wanting something red lately, and now I have it! FREE! And, without dropping numbers here, lemme just tell you that, even with the $50 I later spent at the Great Yarns booth buying buttons for said jacket, I still came out ahead with that small purchase, the ticket, and probably even my gas to Baltimore and back! Apparently I was very lucky that day! Unbelievable!
The next morning, I had an 8:00 class with Leslye Solomon - Design Your Dream Sweater. I now have more confidence in my knitting/creating skills, and found out that Leslye is a wonderful, smart woman, who has made it very easy for knitters to design their own stuff. You should check it out. Special graph paper with cliffs-notes and all! I'll be trying my hand at designing soon, and I have tons of ideas floating in my mind now. The first one will be to create a pattern to redo one of my favorite sweaters I currently own. It's a storebought silk sweater, and, well, store-bought silk sweaters never last for very long. So I'm going to design one of my own. I love the way it fits, and I'll be very upset when it wears out. Then I'm going to try one for Zac with a hand-warmer pocket in the front. He loves my sweater like that, and shoves his hands in the pocket every time I wear it. So, I figure that's a winner!
After the class, the market was open, and I did plenty of damage. Just looky:
The Haul:
Free "Concerto" jacket ('cause I won it!):
Some of the fuzzies and frillies in this jacket may have to be replaced with more sensible, calm yarns, but it won't even be started until Chrismas break from work/school, so I've got plenty of time to think about it. One of the yarns was that Berocco "fun" stuff with other, brightly colored tissue-y stuff throughout it. I promptly gave it to my Aunt for some wrist-warmers for my 13 year old little cousin.
Corn yarn - yes, you read it right, this stuff is 100% CORN. Unbelievable. It's a really soft, light ribbon yarn that I can't wait to knit up into a scarf. Oh, and secret pal, I hope you're not looking at this, cause some of this is probably making it's way to you, too. :O)
Crappy picture, I know, but I was trying to show the label that says 100% Corn!
Euroflax Linen (!) for a Sasha skirt.
I have to knit this skirt! I heard several people in the booth where I purchased this remark that you'd have to be very thin to wear this. I promptly let them know that I was wearing it no matter what. I think it would look nice on someone curvy (like me), and besides that, it's just fun. It's got four lace rows/ruffles. Not fitted at all, so I think it's going to be very much fun to knit, and even more fun to wear, so who cares if I'm not the thinnest person to wear it. It's gorgeous, and therefore will make me look the same, right? I may have to suggest this to the SKC next go round!
Acero - Brooks Farm. 'Nuff said.
It's gorgeous, right? It's a blend of 60% wool, 20% silk and 20% viscose. It's going to be my first try at designing, too. Don't hold your breath for the updates, but it's coming!
posted by Heather at
11/05/2006 04:04:00 PM
1 Comments:
I've been so busy I didn't have time to stop and think about who might not know. It was really great. The good news is, they will be back in Baltimore at least for next year. I hope they make it permanent!
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