Monday, October 27, 2003
I'm back! Still very tired and also now busy with a job application that has to be in by Wednesday! Ack! So, this post will be short. I must say hello to both Christina and Tina from BAWDIES aka the Bay Area Knitting Divas! It was so good to meet up with you both last Wednesday! I had a great time. Tina also is a knitting designer and teacher. Her hat designs are amazing and must be checked out. I bought a kit to make the Indio hat. We met up in ImagiKnit and Christina and I both totally fell for more Manos Del Uruguay yarn! That yarn is just beautiful. I'm currently knitting one of Bonne Marie's Bucket-O-Chic hats from it and it is so nice. Bonne Marie has also developed a new pattern with more sizes in it. Still a shame that I didn't get to meet up with Dani but I managed on my own in Art Fibers and bought some pretty spectacular kid mohair yarn called Minstrel in the Tidepool colourway. Pictures of the yarn probably won't be up until Wednesday while I focus on getting this form filled in. Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Hello from San Francisco. I'm posting from a cybercafe in the Ben and Jerry's on Columbus. We've managed to visit this Ben and Jerry's every year but sadly they've now lost this lease and will be closing on the 27th. Nothing lasts forever. On the craft front I've visited General Bead and The Urban Knitting Studio. I love General Bead it has everything and is the best bead store to visit. It's also a really kitchy, funky place and filled with creativity. Urban Knitting Studio was a very nice place, well lit and the yarn was nicely displayed. The owner was very friendly and there were plenty of places where you could sit and knit. I bought a Knitting Pure and Simple top-down v-neck tunic pattern, a railroad ribbon type yarn for a scarf and two skeins of Cascade 2000 wool and one skein of Manos Del Uruguay for a Bucket-O-Chic hat. Not much knitting done on the trip so far. Either been too tired or worried about my wrist. I did try a row on the Kitty cat but screwed it up and ended up with a ladder. So I'll have a look at that again when I get home. I've started knitting the first Bucket-O-Chic and that will be easier because it's in worsted yarn and I can see the stitches better. Later this evening I meet up with some of the BAWdies knitters so I'm looking forward to that. Now I have to finish my ice-cream! Saturday, October 18, 2003
Not long before we leave for San Francisco now. I'm going to try and catch some sleep before we get up at 3.30am for our coach to Heathrow. I've also arranged to meet some Bay Area knitters via the BAWdies email list and am really looking forward to checking out somje of the yarn stores. I've been looking at the yarns at Art Fibers but still can't decide which ones to choose! Went to the Guild meeting today. There weren't as many people there as the last one but it was still good. One of the members had had a clear out of some of her books and I bought The Celtic Collection by Alice Starmore and Glorious Knitting by Kaffe Fassette for only £2 each. They were in wonderful as-new condition too. Well off now to finish my packing! Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Well the recycled Point Five is now dry and hanging on the bathroom door. I'll leave it there for a while just to make sure that all the kinks are out. I may wind it into balls tomorrow night depending on how my packing goes. Usually I leave things until last minute but this time I want to be slightly prepared! The vacation knitting has been narrowed down to the Kitty hat from the Jaeger luxury Accessories book in Jaeger Fur in black and my Bucket-O-Chic kit that I bought from Bonne Marie. Both are very easy so it will be nice to have them ready to face the cold Welsh weather when I get back from San Francisco. The holiday issue of Vogue Knitting arrived this morning and there are a few things in it that I like the look of. One is the Wave Scarf made from four different Colinette yarns. No idea if I'll actually make it though as I liked the Tagliatelli Swing Coat they had a few issues ago but haven't made that. There's a Guild meeting this Saturday but I won't be able to stay too long because of our early start the next day. The first part of the meeting will be about our stall at the Creative Stitches & Crafts Alive event at Cardiff International Arena next month. It's on from the 7th-9th of November. I will be on the stall one morning I think and of course the next Cardiff Stitch and Bitch is on the Saturday, 8th October , upstairs at A Shot in the Dark cafe at 1pm again. Saturday, October 11, 2003
Today I've been busy with my swift and ball winder. I unwound a Lapis Point Five sweater that I completed about this time last year. After finishing it I found that the chunky nature of the yarn meant that it would pill easily. I read a tip on someone's blog that if you knit mohair along with chunky yarn the pilling nature was reduced. This sweater will now be resurrected as my first version of Sonata from Knitty I think. The resulting sweater sized skein from that jumper is now drying in the bathroom. I was quite surprised by the amount of dye that came off the yarn. I hope I can get all of the kinks out. I had wondered if the Point Five Sonata might be my SF knitting but I think it will take up too much space in my case. After all, that space could be filled by new yarn purchases! :-) Friday, October 10, 2003
I am so tired today, had a really stressful day at work. It's one of those times where I wished I only worked a few days a week so taking crap wouldn't be so bad. However I can't afford to do that. Ah well on the brighter side, it's now just over a week until we go to San Francisco! I get to visit Art Fibers again and become faced with the tortuous decision of which yarn to purchase. I'm also going to check out ImaginKnit - they're supposed to have a very cool selection of yarns. Really want to get some Lorna's Laces sock yarn. I'm still not sure what to take along as a knitting project. It may have to be quite small because of my continuing wrist problems. Stitch and Bitch - we've had a change of date. I now looks as though it will be Saturday the 8th of November. That weekend is also when a Creative Stitches show is on at Cardiff International Arena. The local Knitting and Crochet Guild will have a stall there and I will be helping to woman it at some point. Super Chunky Point Five scarf - finished this on Tuesday although it's been a bit too warm to wear it. I will photograph it at some point over the weekend. I'm still working on my Kureyon Fuzzy Feet - just need to graft the toe on the first one - and my felted bag - need to make icord strap. Monday, October 06, 2003
Took me ages to get to sleep last night and when I woke up I felt really crap so I rang in sick. Didn't feel like doing much but later in the evening I started knitting one of Bonne Marie's Super Chunky scarves from a skein of Point Five. It's half done but I decided to leave it until tomorrow, don't want to overdo it. I haven't ordered my wrist splints yet but I will this week. Stitch and Bitch - I'm thinking that November 1st might be a good date for the next one. Have to wait and see. Sunday, October 05, 2003
Yesterday's Stitch and Bitch was a great success! Judith was sadly unable to come because the trains in her area had been replaced with a bus service and Michele was away in France. However Hannah, Karen, Bid and Hetty were able to come. BTW thanks for the wonderful post Hetty! We all had a good time although I'd say more bitching than stitching took place! In fact at one point I was laughing so hard at one of Bid's stories that I lost some of the stitches on a scarf that I was knitting! It was from a novelty yarn and proved too difficult to pick back up but because I was only a few rows in it wasn't a problem. My right wrist is still a problem so I will be investing in a splint for it. No matter how hard I try it always feels strange after I've slept. Oh and the lurgy is still with me. It's developed into a cough and I still have a sore throat. I'm hoping that I have enough time tonight to make a skirt from some purple corduroy that I bought when we were in Amsterdam last month. I have a new top that would look great with it. Of course I'd like to wear both of them tomorrow. Of course we'll have to wait and see if that is achievable! |
