FiberCamp

It's Monday morning, and I'm reflecting on FiberCamp.  There are so many components to this event.  I wish someone had captured the whole weekend on video.  

FiberCamp is sponsored by Common Cod Fiber Guild.


On Friday night Pamela Wynne's talk kicked off the weekend with an historical perspective on knitting history and feminism.  She pointed out that the history of knitting is long, complicated and political.  Her talk sparked a lot of group discussion and gave us food for thought.


This event is an unconference where attendees offer to present sessions on various fiber related topics.

The schedule board.  On Saturday and Sunday the sessions included everything from steeking to double knitting to choosing a fleece to social media for craft businesses.


There were spinning wheels.  Small and compact.

The Sidekick, the traveling wheel from Schacht.


Big and bulky.

An old, well-preserved great wheel.

The wheel maker's signature.  This wheel was made by Solomon Plant of Connecticut and is almost 200 years old.


Someone was recycling an old sweater, and the great wheel was put to work to facilitate the process.

Reclaiming vibrant red silk.


There were vendors on hand for the weekend.

Lucy from Mind's Eye Yarns had a nice selection of yarn, fiber, tools and spinning wheels.

Dirty Water DyeWorks had an array of yarn, knitting kits and fiber.

The atmosphere at FiberCamp is relaxed - a wonderful opportunity to hang out, work on projects and share ideas with other fiber enthusiasts.  Thanks to the organizers and attendees who made this wonderful weekend possible.

An Evening With Annie

On Friday evening I had the pleasure of hearing Annie Modesitt speak at the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting.

Annie is a self-published author and knitting instructor.  She taught herself how to knit years ago and was told more than once that she was knitting "the wrong way", i.e. combination knitting.  Simply put combination knitting is twisting the stitches on one row and untwisting them on the following row. 

Annie's talk was informative, entertaining, challenging and thought provoking.  Let me share some of her words of wisdom.

~ Instead of calling those who have just started to knit "beginners", call them new knitters.  There are new knitters and adventurous knitters.

~ We knit to make ourselves happy.  It's OK to admit that.

~ Knitting restores your inner sense of rhythm.  There is a certain calm that comes from knit, knit, knit.

~ A mistake is just a different way of doing something right.

Annie's philosophy is that there isn't one right way to knit.

Instead there are many different ways to knit with all of them producing the same fabric.  Find the style of knitting that works for you and follow it.

FiberCamp Boston

FiberCamp Boston is just around the corner, March 11-13. FiberCamp, hosted by the Common Cod Fiber Guild, is an un-conference.  The topics for discussion and demonstration are determined by the attendees.  People attending FiberCamp offer to lead sessions on various fiber related topics.  It's been fun and interesting to watch the list of topics unfold on the website.  This is an excellent opportunity to connect with other fiber enthusiasts and to share your passion.


Kathy Elkins from WEBS will get the weekend rolling with a talk on Friday night.  Kathy recently interviewed Guido Stein, president of Common Cod, on her Ready, Set, Knit Podcast.  You can listen to the interview and find out more about this event here.


There will be a marketplace at FiberCamp, and I will be vending.  I'm looking forward to this free-form event and the creative energy it's sure to generate.  If you're in the Boston area, be sure to check out this weekend full of fiber fun.


On the needles . . . I've been making progress on my latest sock.

I don't feel I've had all that much knitting time, but I'm already past the gusset and making my way toward the toe.  Working on this sock has given me the mental space I needed to plan my next booth sample.


I haven't decided which pattern to use, but I've narrowed it down to two.  I do know I'll be using this yarn.

My weekend knitting.


Yesterday was a day for celebration here, and it provided me with my color inspiration for the week.  I hate to see winter end, but spring is coming, bringing changes in light and color.

Delicate white with fresh green.

Testing, Testing

This past weekend was filled with a variety of activities.  Friday night found me at the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting.  The program for the evening was Ignite Craft: Boston.

The format was based on this Ignite model.  Using slides the presenters were given five minutes to talk about their passions.  There was no starting over, no time for questions and answers.  Once a presenter started, he/she had to keep going.  We heard presentations about everything from a modern letterpress studio to how to drink a craft beer to locks and how they work.  And there were presentations about fiber crafts - how a knitting charity was started, self publishing a knitting book, marketing for crafters and social media.  The presenters were clever, witty, informative and entertaining.  It was a fun evening.


The result of my weekend knitting was more negative progress than forward progress.  Negative progress - the hat I thought I had completed one night had to be ripped out the following morning. I probably could have lived with it, but I had envisioned a hat that came down over my ears. This one didn't.  I'm proud of myself for coming to this conclusion before I had closed off the top.  I ripped it back to the brim and will knit it all over again.  I'm consoling myself with the notion that it will knit up quicker the second time around.


Forward progress - I'm testing an idea for the booth, testing new colors and new yarn.

I started this - a new fingerless mitt.  I think it's a keeper but will decide for sure once it's finished.  The nice thing about this mitt is it's so small it almost qualifies as a gauge swatch. 


And there was time for fun in the snow.

A walk along the Charles River.

We don't often see such a clear, cloudless, blue sky.


More sledding . . .

. . . and snowshoeing.


I wonder if these were ever found.

Lost and in a tree.

Plenty Of Projects

I'm coming off a fiber filled weekend.  Last week I told myself I was going to devote one weekend day just to knitting.  I did that and more. On Friday I went to the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting.  The guest speakers were Debbie Brisson (aka Stitchy McYarnpants) and Caro Sheridan (aka Splityarn).  They told the story of how their book, Knitting It Old School, came to be.  They discussed their passion for vintage knitwear and how they wrote and re-wrote the book proposal. Then they talked about the writing, the designs, the samples and the photography sessions in LA.  


As one of the door prizes they gave away a signed copy of their book. Since I had already scored a Bob Hope parking spot for the evening, you can imagine my surprise when I won a copy of the book.

Thank you!  I appreciate vintage knitwear and will enjoy this book of updated vintage patterns.  Debbie and Caro were very entertaining and witty.  If you get a chance to hear them talk, you won't be disappointed.


This weekend included one day to focus on knitting without cooking, cleaning, laundry and driving.  One day may seem like a lot, but when I began to survey all the projects and all the potential projects there suddenly wasn't much time.  My strategy was to spend a bit of time on a couple of projects rather than work exclusively on one.  I started off by finishing my Maine Morning Mitts.  Sorry I don't have a photo - there wasn't a model available.


From there I moved on to Man Mitts.  I had a request for fingerless mitts with this specific yarn, a Shetland wool from Scotland.

I had an issue with gauge and had to knit the cuff twice.  Once I started the thumb gusset I decided to turn my attention to another project.


I've been stuck on Stephen West designs, and that theme continued this weekend.  This yarn has been teasing me for the last month or so.  

Gray has become one of my favorite colors, and I love the variation in this colorway.  This is Dirty Water DyeWorks Lillian, colorway Pumice. I had it earmarked for Pogona so I cast on.  I didn't do much work on it other than to knit through the set up rows.  Pogona is my designated companion for all the meetings and waiting time this week.


Finally, I contemplated this pattern, one that has been on my list for a while. Rather than fight it, I decided to go with the flow and cast on one more project.

More Stephen West - this time Little Colonnade.  This yarn is the mohair/cormo blend from Buckwheat Bridge Angoras.  I love the little orange flecks and can't wait to watch this one unfold.  Now that my needles are stocked with new projects, I should be busy for a while.


I leave you with this pattern to ponder - Knitted Kaleidocycles.  If you want to see them in action, go here.  I'm fascinated with the math and the construction involved.  Hours and hours of entertainment, both in making and in using them.

Weekend Retreat

This is the weekend for knitting retreats.  Here in New England Clara Parkes is holding her annual Knitter's Review Retreat.  Clara has a weekend of classes, shopping and entertainment lined up for attendees.  Half way across the country there's the Mitten School, a weekend devoted to mittens with Adrian Bizilia.  How cool is that?  It sounds like an intense, stimulating and fun weekend.  And finally, on the West Coast there is the Silk Retreat hosted by Stephanie and Tina. You can bet there's all kinds of wild craziness going on there.


In the spirit of this knitting retreat weekend I've decided to have my own mini retreat. For one day this weekend I will do nothing but knit and relax, possibly with a bit of spinning thrown in for good measure.  I will put the rest of my life on cruise control.  The last two months have been crazy busy - like a merry-go-round out of control.  It's time to take a break.


To prep for this mini retreat I've had the swift going.

'Round and 'round she goes.


There are many projects I could work on, and I haven't even contemplated holiday knitting.  Are there really only 42 days?  

I've started to line up a couple of options, but somehow I don't care so much what I'm working on.  It's more important to enjoy the moment, relax and catch my breath.  It's good to step off the merry-go-round once in a while.


For those of you in the area tonight is the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting.  We will be treated to Knitting It Old School with Debbie Brisson (aka Stitchy McYarnpants) and Caro Sheridan (aka Splityarn). What a great start to the weekend!


By way of follow up the name that turkey contest has been closed. WEBS has released the pattern as a free pattern, and you can find it here.  While the name #351 Knit Turkey is a bit disappointing, he's still adorable.


I leave you with my color inspiration for the week.  Most of the leaves have fallen, brittle and decaying. 

Like leather.

Mostly Crochet

It's Monday morning, and I have a case of "where did the weekend go?".  So many projects unfinished, so many loose ends dangling. That can mean only one thing . . . 


THIS AND THAT


~ I attended the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting on Friday and heard Daina Taimini speak about Hyperbolic Crochet.  What is that? Daina is a mathematician who wanted to create a visual representation of spherical planes.  She started fooling around with crochet and some numbers and was able to do just that.  


In the process she created some unique, colorful pieces.  The icing on the cake is that she was approached by art museums and galleries and has been displaying her math-inspired, crocheted pieces of work all over the world.  A fascinating story.  You can find out more in her book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes.


~ Since I'm on the topic of crochet, I have to mention Kingyo.  This is the crocheted version of the Japanese goldfish.  While I haven't had time to try them out, there are detailed instructions with pictures. Have fun!


~ Finally, I have to point you in the direction of maya*made, a site for clever ideas and inspiration.  I could spend hours and hours browsing this site.  Wool blankets instead of insulated lunch bags . . . who knew?


The other day we made a quick trip to the beach, probably our last for the season.  It was a bit chilly, and only one of the kids went into the water.


A dragonfly stopped by to visit.

Wings thinner than paper, delicate and fragile.

All Things Green

I'm still on my shawlette jag.  I've ignored the fact that I have a sweater or three to finish, I'm in dire need of fingerless mitts and I had a recent request for a poncho.  I had no sooner cast off Multnomah when I began searching about for my next shawlette pattern.  I have a few patterns queued up in Ravelry and a list that I haven't even added to my queue.  


I settled on Aestlight Shawl (Ravelry link) by Gudrun Johnston. I'd been contemplating this pattern for quite a while.  No time like the present.


I debated about which yarn to use and finally chose this one.

This as-yet-unnamed colorway recently came out of the dye pot.  I love the subtle shifts of green and the bits of blue that peek through every now and then.


I cast on and got right to work.  This pattern starts with a center triangle and moves out to the border.  In no time at all I had this to show for my efforts.

Knit, knit, knit - gotta love garter.  The triangle is complete and the stitches have been picked up along the sides. I'm ready to start working out from the center.  Things will probably get more complicated, and this might not be such a good traveling companion any more.  But I'll give it a try as I'm anxious to watch the design unfold.


For those in the Boston area tonight is the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting.  The topic is Hyperbolic Crochet presented by Daina Taimina. I'm intrigued and looking forward to the meeting.


My color inspiration for this week is the long-awaited tomatillos from the farmers' market.  It would appear that I'm stuck on green. 

Green with a tinge of purple.