One of the things that I like to do with my knitting is to try to learn new techniques. There are so many ways to knit and by learning them and adopting them into my skill set only improves my abilities as a knitter.
I am currently knitting a pair of socks. As you can see, I am knitting them from the toe up and two at a time. It's not that hard. I figured out how to knit the pair of socks two at a time after I learned how to cast on the toe using Judy's Magic cast-on (clear instructions and diagrams from Wendy Johnson's book). Once the cast-on was established knitting them simultaneously in the round was just intuitive. I must admit that there is a bit of managing of the separate yarns to keep them from twisting into each other as well as making sure you're knitting with the correct needles. Luckily the cords of circular needles that I have happen to be in different colors. I use the addi turbo stainless steel needles and they had changed their cord color from the brass color to clear light blue.
I am enjoying knitting the pair of socks simultaneously albeit it seems to be taking me a bit longer to complete it.
This past weekend was the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. The Twittersphere was chirping with excitement about the Festival; and despite the cold and rainy weather, many knitters were super excited!
I've never been up to Rhinebeck or to the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival. We went up on Sunday, not the best day to go as it rained and it was cold! The drive was about 2 hours and scenic. The leaves were starting to change colors.
There were lots of people at the Festival although probably not as many people if the weather was sunny and warm. The Festival showcased lots of wool and yarn; sheep, llamas, alpacas, and angora rabbits. There was even a venue that featured cheese and wine tasting that is from the region. I got two jars of honey; one blackberry and one cherry. I love regional honeys! I also got venison medallions. My BF got a couple of cheeses. There were long lines for the wine tasting. My friend and I tried some interesting wines. There was one table that offered really tasty ice wines made with peaches. I tried a spicy wine with hints of habanero; it wasn't that good.
There were lots and lots of stalls selling yarn. I didn't see any that was worth buying. The yarn were a bit itchy; and the ones that were soft did not have colors that excited me.
The most interesting part of the Festival was watching the border collies compete with one another when it came to herding sheep. It was really neat to see these dogs in action and working with the shepherd to guide the sheep.
We also saw lots and lots of sheep, llamas, angora rabbits, and alpacas. There were angora rabbits for sale. Would have loved to take one home!
Now I can say that I've been to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. After having gone for myself, I can't say that it was all that exciting. At least, I do not share in the many tweets that were super thrilled to go to the Festival and hauling back loads of yarn. I wondered if it meant that I'm not an enthusiastic knitter. My friend who also went to the Festival said to me that she was glad that I wasn't an overly enthusiastic knitter and that she'd hit me over the head if I ever became one... I laughed. I don't think I will ever become an overly enthusiastic knitter. I like knitting but I'm not crazy about it. I think it's great that there are people who are but I don't have to be.
My friend, Celeste, and I participated in the first yarn crawl in NYC this past weekend. The NYC Yarn Crawl had many of the local yarn shops participating in the yarn crawl; many of them in Manhattan and a few in Brooklyn. As you may know, my favorite yarn shop is Purl Soho but seeing as this was the first NYC Yarn Crawl and it was meant to promote and encourage knitters to visit other yarn shops, I thought it would be fun to venture into Brooklyn. Besides, I've already visited most of the yarn shops that participated in the yarn crawl previously.
Most yarn shops open at noon so I met Celeste in Brooklyn for brunch at Cafe Luluc. I cute French cafe/restaurant that served up great brunch dishes and the best hot chocolate ever! It is so good, it is worth a visit just to indulge in that heavenly rich hot chocolate!
Brooklyn General Store was the first on our list. It's a big store but then again, they are more than just a yarn shop. They are a one in all craft shop. Although the store is predominantly filled with yarn on their shelves, they also sell fabric, notions of all kinds, books on knitting, embroidery, sewing, crochet, felting, etc. They had a very good selection of yarns and typically priced. The staff were very pleasant and helpful.
We then took a bus to our next yarn shop, Stitch Therapy. A much smaller yarn shop with limited yarn selection. The shop interior is warm and inviting. It seemed more like a boutique than a yarn shop which I thought was a nice change. Most yarn shops that I've been to are usually poorly lit and always has that cluttered closet look with yarns piled on shelves, and projects hanging around like they're laundry being hung out to dry...
We ended at Purl Soho where Celeste and I bought some things. I got some yarn, Vogue Knitting magazine, and heart shaped markers.
Each shop also had their own events or specials they were offering during NYC Yarn Crawl. Many of them had discounts on purchases but I have to say that Purl's event and special was the best! On top of the raffle that NYC Yarn Crawl was offering, Purl had their own raffle too! Every $20 purchase entitled you to a Purl raffle ticket! And they were offering their wonderful tote bag with every purchase!
I thought the NYC Yarn Crawl was a great idea. It was fun and we enjoyed it exploring other yarn shops. We look forward to the next one!
Well, summer is over and we're heading into autumn; my favorite season. The hot sweltering summer days become cool and crisp. The leaves turn from luscious greens to beautiful deep reds, burnt oranges, and golden yellows! It's also time for my favorite dessert - pumpkin pie! And lets not forget about fall fashion! Forget the summer dresses and sandals, give me layers of warm sweaters, scarves, turtlenecks, hats, gloves, jackets, long coats, boots, and SOCKS!
I recently picked up Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson (aka Wendy Knits) mainly because of the title of the book. I've knitted socks in the past (only two pairs - both for my BF); see "Socks for my Valentine". The first pair of socks that I made (for my BF) was from a book I own called, Knit Socks! by Betsy McCarthy. I have longed to knit myself a pair of pretty socks but have always hesitated because of a single page in Knit Socks! Page 35 shows a model in a pair of striped socks and wearing a pair of frosted plastic clogs by Speedo. Although I've never cared to own a pair of clogs before, my opinion changed upon looking lustfully at page 35. At the time, I thought it was the perfect pair of footwear to show off a pair of hand-knitted socks! I set about contacting the publisher and to my delight, I got a response. Unfortunately, I was informed that they shoes were not in production and belonged to the model. I tried to search for similar shoes but was unsuccessful. This was years ago...
But then at the beginning of Spring 2009, I was window shopping in Soho and saw in the storefront a pair of clear plastic Converse style trainers at a Lady Footlocker. Suddenly, the ideas of knitting pretty lacy and colorful socks filled my imagination. These were more than perfect especially compared with the frosted translucent clogs by Speedo - what was I thinking and so glad I never got them. These clear plastic trainers by Levi's were the perfect pair of footwear to showcase any hand-knitted pair of socks! The socks would be fully protected and you can see thru to the socks! I went in and immediately bought them!
Now that I have a proper pair of footwear to wear, it is time to knit a pair of socks to accompany the clear trainers by Levi's. And that's one of the reasons why I purchased Socks from the Toe Up; I really liked the idea and flexibility of knitting socks from the toe up as I can make my socks as long as I have yarn to knit with. In other sock projects, I have left over yarn, which I find wasteful. Yeah, sure, I have yarn laying around and I'm sure I can google for projects that utilizes left over yarn, but it doesn't mean it still isn't unnecessary waste.
After flipping and back forth through SFTTU, I finally decided to try my knitting skills at knitting the slip stitch heel basic socks. I haven't decided which cast on method to use but whichever I decide, it will be a new knitting skill I will acquire. The pattern is for a basic sock, I am planning to knit a pair of dual tone socks. Both yarns are Koigu Wool; one is a KPM semi-solid orangey color (accent at toe and heel), while the other is a KPPPM variegated with splashes of spruce and red-orange. These two color combinations will knit up something eye catching!
As you know, I recently blogged about a great give away by a New York photographer, Jen Kiaba. She was giving away her professional services by taking 5 pictures of one of your handmade creations. I thought it was such a wonderful idea. The rules were simple and I encouraged as many people as I was able to reach to participate in the contest. I really wanted to win this giveaway. I've been working on my first ever designed knitwear and although I've had a slow and frustrating start, the striped sweater vest tunis is coming along nicely. I've been getting lots of compliments on the color combination. I thought this would be a great opportunity and a motivation for me to finish the striped sweater up.
Today was the last day to participate and the winner was announced earlier this evening. Who won?
I'm super happy and excited. I can't wait to finish up the striped sweater and eventually post the finished product!
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