Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat 2013
I had a great time at Madrona!
I always do! 🙂
FAVORITE DISCOVERY!
addi Turbo Sock Rockets:
pictured L to R – regular addi Turbo, addi Sock Rockets, and Signature Stiletto needle tips
Classes I took:
Suitable Seams with Judy Pascale
She has great stuff to teach, is full of enthusiasm and really wants her students to learn; she takes the time to make sure everyone ‘gets it’. And she’s funny too. 🙂
We learned different seaming methods depending on the pattern stitch used for the knitting, how to make the most attractive seams.
So many seams I would have done differently if “I had known then what I know now”.
Well, onward.
Yarn 101 with Clara Parkes
I hesitated to take this class, I have read Clara’s Yarn and Wool books and I have been knitting for over thirty years; I wasn’t sure I’d get my money’s worth out of the class.
Well, I am glad I took the class, I got a lot out of it, I can now better use her books as references. We received samples to touch and take home and I have better understanding of the fiber. Clara is bursting with wool and yarn knowledge, I enjoyed hearing everything she had to say.
Friday Evening Teacher’s Gallery and Presentation by Donna Druchunas on Native Alaskan lace knitting and the Oomingmak Cooperative was very interesting, both the adventure of her interest becoming research becoming a book and the stories of Alaskan lace knitting and quiviut.
History, Methods & Styles of Lace Knitting with Franklin Habit
Franklin brings a lot of information to his classes. I appreciate the depth of research and well edited presentation.
He also provided representative lace motif patterns to knit while he spoke and the class sailed by.
And there is always the Marketplace…
I was using my self control until I won an Artful Ewe gift certificate and was forced to look closely and think about projects and then couldn’t pick just one.
The Artful Ewe by Heidi LIMA-Baby Alpacka/Silk Hand-Dyed Yarn – Thank you Artful Ewe and Madrona!
I kept seeing these everywhere and finally broke down:
Slipped Stitch Studios Two Skein+ and Sock+ Project Bags
It’s always beautiful when Mount Rainier makes a showing.
the view from my room
Madelinetosh Poet Society Tam
Cold frosty morn.
That roof is RED.
A good day to take wool hat photos.
Continuing the Madelinetosh Love I even used a Madelinetosh pattern.
(best color match in this photo)
Madelinetosh Poet Society Tam in Tosh Vintage in Tart.
BRRRRRRRRR!
Stash Diversity in Columbia City
Last Thursday, walking around Columbia City ArtWalk after dinner at La Medusa, I saw this:
YARN? In Columbia City?
How have I never heard of this?
“Uh, hon, I’m going over there…”
Well, it is not a yarn shop and doesn’t pretend to be, it is a quilt shop with a little corner of yarn:
That really is all of it, the rest is not cut off in the photo.
You can see the fabric encroaching on the bottom shelf.
At first I was not sure what the point was.
She has Cascade 220, which, if you’re gonna stock one yarn, it probably ought to be Cascade 220. A few other yarns, a few needles, like I said, not sure what the point is.
Oh.
Right.
It is to lure Knitters-Who-Do-NOT-Quilt in to her shop where she knows we will swoon at all her Very Cool Fabrics:
and buy something even though we do not quilt and would not ditch our husbands for a quilt shop (he did come find me later).
She knows we stash and it is a tiny fall from stashing yarn to stashing fabric.
In fact!
I just realized.
Her shop is called Stash.
Subtle.
It worked, I bought some flannel to make jammie bottoms for the kids:
I bought the last 3 yards, went home, searched patterns, found I need 2 yards per jammie, went back and bought 3 yards of a coordinating print so I can do the fronts in hedgie and backs in the coordinating, and I am now going to make 3 jams, including one for me.
looks like hedgehog spines? sorta?
“YARN”, it said.
“YARN” on that durn sandwich board and now I have 6 yards of flannel.
Dangit!
Come to think of it, I do need some Cascade 220…
Stash Quilt Shop in Columbia City
Beautiful selection of fabric and a convenient place to grab some Cascade 220 or some sock yarn in a pinch.
K1P2BBQ
I figured out how to eat BBQ potato chips while knitting!
Hmm.
This might not actually be a good thing…
oh, and it works with Cheetos too
Arrived Dec. 24
Habu Textiles Kit-102 Gradation Skirt
Habu Textiles A-1 Tsumugi Silk
Custom color blend <3
Visit to Habu Textiles
DH and I took a little trip to New York, to see the xmas lights and stuff, museums, Times Square, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn Bridge, great restaurants, blah blah blah.
And Habu Textiles.
First of all, you have to know where you are going before you go looking for Habu Textiles. It’s in the Garment District of Manhattan and if you don’t have the address, you won’t find it.
135 West 29th Street
Walk in like you know what you’re doing, go up to the 8th floor and find door number 804.
It’s worth the effort! Inside is a room full of beautiful and exotic yarn.
so much silk, so little time…
There’s a little brass bell on a pillow if you want someone to come out and help you.
There were a few sample items along the walls, and the only kits already made up were for the Kusha Kusha Scarf. I could not resist these colors:
Fortunately I had looked at the kits on the website and had a couple in mind.
I was a bit overwhelmed but thoroughly enjoyed picking out yarns for my kits. If I was choosing yarn for ‘something’, ‘someday’, I would still be there.
Colors of A-1 Tsumugi Silk
for Tsumugi Gradation Skirt
There were some grab bags with a variety of yarns,
I bought this collection of white/cream.
clockwise from top left:
N-68 Linen Wool Roving 80% wool 20% linen
A-61 Paper Moire 50% linen 50% nylon
N-9 Silk Gima 100% silk
N-52 Ultra Fine Kid Mohair 68% mohair 32% nylon
And some glass buttons because they were so pretty
and swirly
and aqua.
Moving Mud buttons
Since were were in the area…
Could not help feeling like a tourist. There were a bunch of us. Along with the real customers.
I had a project in mind and DH found the perfect (except the price, YIKES!) fabric.
The guy cutting my fabric was as polite as possible, I never even saw him roll his eyes!
Since the fabric was so darned expensive I got a free Mood tote bag!
Alpha Stockings in Madelinetosh Sock
love love love madelinetosh!
They really are the same length, they aren’t pulled up evenly!
Alpha Stocking by Jenna Hurry, Interweave Knits Winter 2010, also available as a single pattern
Madelinetosh Tosh Sock colorway Duchess from Knit Purl in Portland
A toe up pattern with a clever attractive heel, it makes me smile to think of it. The cable design is pretty and skillfully adapted for knitting in the round.
Modifications:
eliminated the twisted stitches on the heel for a smoother fit at a high friction location
made the ribbing more ribby, for a more elastic fit
Too Much Fun
Well THAT has never happened before.
This is what I took along on a weekend of travel and hanging out:
and this is what I returned with:
This is why:
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco
(above: Southern Culture on the Skids)
I was either too busy having fun, enjoying music, or too pooped to cast on a single stitch. Amazing!
Amazing that I didn’t knit.
Amazing music festival!
Koigu Headset Cozy
I kept finding this black stuff, on my hands, on my keyboard, on my desk, even on my face (YUCK!).
After about a week I figured out it was this.
The foam earpiece covers on my headset disintegrating.
After about 15 minutes of searching online, I was coming to the conclusion it would be easier to replace the entire headset than to replace the foam covers.
Then I remembered,
I’m a knitter!
I can fix this!
Koigu (KPPPM) color P529
Edited to add:
Since I got asked, here is the pattern.
Using fingering weight yarn and size 2 needle, Cast on 5 sts.
Put the 5 sts on dpns and continue knitting in the round, be careful to keep the stitches straight.
Row 1: K1 M1, repeat all around.
Row 2: Knit.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 two more times. 40 sts.
Knit 2 rows.
Check if this is big enough for your earpiece; the knitting should almost cover the front of the earpiece with 1/16 to 1/8 of the earpiece extending beyond the knitting. Repeat Rows 1 and 2 as needed.
Purl 3 rows.
The purl rows should extend over the edge of the earpiece and curl onto the back. Repeat purl rows as needed.
Knit one row.
Bind off.
Thread a piece of stretch bead cord or other elastic cord through the bind off sts to help keep the cozy in place. Thread the cord through twice if it feels like it needs it.
Knitting In Mind 