PDXKnitterati

This is what 10,000 stitches looks like

Posted on September 28, 2013 | 11 comments

after they’ve been frogged.

Approximately 10,000 stitches. Why didn’t I listen to that little voice sooner? But I love the revised version that I’m knitting, and I think I’m back up to about 7500 stitches so far. The little voices are laudatory this time…or are they just playing me?

It’s rainy and windy today, perfect for knitting. The forecasst for tomorrow looks worse. I’m teaching at OFFF in the morning, and shopping after that. I’m not sure the outdoor vendors will hang on that long! I helped Lorajean set up yesterday, and she just messaged me that they’re going to pack it in today. Some of the outdoor vendors didn’t come at all, and the one scheduled to be behind us looked around and decided not to set up. There’s still shopping inside, though, and the animals in the barn, so I plan to enjoy it all anyway.

I’m kind of coveting this fiber, even though I’m not currently spinning. Isn’t it gorgeous? Black and white BFL, hand dyed by Knitted Wit. Even prettier in person.

If you’re local, I hope you had a chance to get to OFFF today, or are planning to do so tomorrow!

11 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, yarn

Tagged frogging, OFFF, yarn

OFFF is right around the corner

Posted on September 25, 2013 | 3 comments

I had a great time at Stash in Corvallis on Saturday. Tink, Drop, Frog is my favorite class to teach, because of all the aha! moments for the students, and the dawning realization that yes, they can be the boss of their knitting. Once you can fix your mistakes, you’re golden!

(Photo courtesy of Liz Arrow, Stash Enhancer at Stash)

Cast On, Bind Off had its maiden voyage on Saturday afternoon. It was fun and enlightening, and I discovered that I have way more than enough material for my workshop at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this coming Sunday. I am really looking forward to teaching it!

Until the weekend, I’m knitting away on my secret design project. I’ll also be helping Lorajean (KnittedWit) label spinning fiber tomorrow, and helping her set up her booth at OFFF on Friday. There are classes at OFFF on Friday, and the Festival is officially open Saturday 9-5 and Sunday from 9-4. Fiber, food, cute animals; y’all come! Admission is free. This event is at the Clackamas County Events Center in Canby, Oregon.

Do you have fiber fun planned for this weekend?

3 Comments

Posted in events, Knit

Tagged Cast On Bind Off, OFFF, stash, Tink Drop Frog

Tempus fugit

Posted on September 19, 2013 | 7 comments

Time flies! I’m a little buried under right now, in a good way. I have two design projects in the works, but I can’t show them to you yet. And I’m prepping for classes at Stash in Corvallis this weekend and Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival next weekend. There is nothing so inspiring as a deadline. Git ‘er done!

I did take a little time out last week to celebrate a friend’s significant birthday. We were in Pacific City, home of the other Haystack Rock on the Oregon Coast. (There may be one more, but this one and the one in Cannon Beach are the most well known.)

Yes, there are surfers here! Full wetsuit required; it’s cold out there.

Our house was high on the hill (out of the tsunami zone!) overlooking the town and the beach, perfect for sunset viewing.

Click on the photo for a closer view; the sunset is echoed in the stem. Bonus!

We went down to Lincoln City to Jennifer Sears Art Glass Studio, and played with glass. I made a paperweight, and my friends blew glass floats. Very cool to learn about the process, and do our own…with lots of help.

Stretching molten glass so I can twist it in a knot. Even in glass, I wanted something yarny…

Swirled float before blowing…

And after.

My paperweight.

The bubbles are caused by a sprinkling of baking soda. There’s no place for the air to go when it’s dipped in the last layer of molten glass, so it makes bubbles. I love this. And I’m dreaming up ways to do it again. So many possibilities!

I did take a little time with graph paper and pencil to chart out my new project, and math out the underpinnings. Now I’m home, knitting it, and I think I love it. Looking forward to showing it to you, later.

What are you working on? It’s definitely fall here, so I need to get back to my cardigan…eventually. Deadlines first!

7 Comments

Posted in Other craftiness, travel

Tagged beach, deadlines, glass, haystack rock, sunset

Happy birthday sale

Posted on September 5, 2013 | 7 comments

Happy birthday to me! I’m spending the day dreaming with stitch dictionaries and playing with yarn.

Oooh, look, a new one! Kazekobo’s Favorite Patterns. Not a lot of new ones in here, but beautifully presented.

I’m having a birthday pattern sale. Use the coupon code BIRTHDAY and you’ll receive 29% off any of my patterns on Ravelry, no limit. Am I 29? And then some! Sale is through Sunday, September 8, because I’ll be celebrating all weekend…

7 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, pattern design, ravelry

Tagged birthday, sale, stitch dictionaries

Happy September!

Posted on September 2, 2013 | 4 comments

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the states, summer’s last hurrah. I hope you have a little time to regroup before fall’s busy-ness kicks in.

Take a little time to just be…

And enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

4 Comments

Posted in travel

Tagged labor day, river, rocks, summer, water

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is just a month away

Posted on August 30, 2013 | 2 comments

September is my favorite month; it’s my birth month, our anniversary month, the beginning of school, and the beginning of autumn. There’s a chill in the air in the morning that makes me want to wrap myself in wool.

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is less than a month away, September 28-29. I’ve been going to OFFF for years now. It was my first, and continues to be my favorite, fiber festival. It’s a great chance to see the animals that provide our fiber, shop for more fiber, meet up with old friends, and take classes! To get you in the mood, here are some pix from past festivals.

This is the first year I’m slated to teach at OFFF, and I’m really looking forward to it. My Cast on, Bind Off class is scheduled for Sunday, September 29, but it won’t happen unless I have two more people sign up. Knitting classes don’t fill as quickly as the other classes, but we like to offer them! You can help make it happen, and learn something fun and useful, too. Pre-registration needs to be postmarked by September 6 for all OFFF classes; classes may be cancelled if a minimum number of students aren’t registered by then. You can browse all the class offerings here. I’m hoping you’ll come join me!

Here’s the scoop on Cast On, Bind Off:
How many cast ons do you know? Why do you use the one that you use? Tired of running out of yarn with your long tail cast on? Come to class and learn some new tricks! We’ll cover long tail, knitting on, cable cast on, crochet provisional cast on, and more. We’ll also talk about when/why you might choose one over another, and some bind offs that go well with your new cast ons.

Winter is coming…time to knit!

2 Comments

Posted in events, Knit

Tagged Cast On Bind Off, classes, OFFF

Oregon Coast August

Posted on August 26, 2013 | 11 comments

You never know what you’re going to get, weather-wise! I had a quick getaway to Cannon Beach with friends last week. Wednesday was a glorious day. Breezy sunshine made it perfect for a visit to Haystack Rock.

The tidepools were full of starfish, anemones, and barnacles.

And that evening’s sunset added a rosy glow to everything, including the sand.

I even had some knitting time on the beach.

On Thursday morning I woke at dawn to chase the moonset, but the sunrise was too early for me to capture what I wanted from the moon. You can barely see the moon directly above the seagull; the sky was already too bright. It was a nice walk, though!

The day turned out to be cloudy and cool, but it was great walking weather. We headed north in the late afternoon. The mist around the rocks at Chapman Point made everything seem a wee bit magical. And these horses and their riders made me feel as if we had stumbled into another time.

Despite the mist, up close everything was crystal clear.

We explored a small cave, and this arch through the rock.

I love getting out and looking at things with my camera in mind. It makes me see everything a little differently. And my camera lately is just my iPhone5. Lightweight, always with me, great photo quality.

What are you seeing these days? Are you ready for fall?

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, travel

Tagged anemone, Cannon Beach, chapman point, haystack rock, starfish, sunsets

Where I’ll be…teaching!

Posted on August 19, 2013 | 4 comments

I’m teaching a little further afield in September. On Saturday, September 21, I’ll be at Stash in Corvallis. We’ll do Tink Drop Frog: How to Fix Mistakes in the morning at 10:30 a.m., and Cast On, Bind Off in the afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Both of these classes are intended for advanced beginners and beyond.

On Sunday, September 29, I’ll be at Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival (OFFF) with an expanded version of Cast On, Bind Off. I hope to see you there! Pre-registration needs to be postmarked by September 6 for all OFFF classes; classes may be cancelled if they don’t have enough students registered by then.

Here’s the scoop on Cast On, Bind Off:
How many cast ons do you know? Why do you use the one that you use? Tired of running out of yarn with your long tail cast on? Come to class and learn some new tricks! We’ll cover long tail, knitting on, cable cast on, crochet provisional cast on, and maybe more depending on time. We’ll also talk about when/why you might choose one over another, and some bind offs that go well with your new cast ons.

And I’m teaching at Twisted here in Portland throughout the fall; contact Twisted to register.
Intro to Circular Knitting (hats): Sept. 23 & 30
Tink, Drop, Frog: Oct. 12
Garland Sideways Lace Shawl: Oct. 26

Intro to Entrelac (Athena Cowl): Nov. 16

And I’m looking into adding a class about blocking. Stay tuned!

Hope to see you around!

4 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged classes, Knit, OFFF, teaching

Ooh La Lace! Shawlette pattern sale

Posted on August 17, 2013 | 5 comments

You know I love Paris.

I designed my Ooh La Lace Shawlette as a tribute to my favorite icon, the Eiffel Tower. This design was the Twisted Shawlette Club pattern for May 2013, and it’s now available through PDXKnitterati via Ravelry. Ooh la la!

To celebrate Ooh La Lace’s re-launch, I’m offering $1 off the regular price through September 1.

Knit one and dream of Paris with me!

5 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged crescent shawl, eiffel tower, ooh la lace shawlette, paris, pattern, sale

The weekend that was…full!

Posted on August 13, 2013 | 2 comments

First of all, I was guest blogging as one of the Voices of August on a friend’s blog. This is the second time I’ve done this, and I was honored to be invited again. As a maker/crafty person, I feel like I’m pretty capable of making things happen, so it’s bothersome when I come up against something that’s not so easy. How do I deal with it? Go read my guest post, Because I Can, to find out. And if you’d like to know what I wrote last year, you can find my musings on The Empty Nest here.

Saturday was also the Portland Bridge Festival Block Party to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Broadway Bridge. DH and I rode our bikes down to check it out.

Tyler Mackie, Bridge for Blankets creator, hosted the Bridge for Blankets info/raffle table. I bought tickets, but I didn’t win the Raffghan. I’m glad it’s going to a good home, though.

Members of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus modeled some fancy bridges. I can’t walk in heels like those on level ground; how do they do it on gravel?

DH and I rode under the bridge to look at some condos along the river that I admired on my last ride. He says they’re not urban enough; he’d rather be in the Pearl. proper. Guess we’re not moving to a condo yet since our condo visions don’t match up!

And Sunday afternoon I went sailing on the Columbia with friends. The sky cleared and there was a very light breeze. The sunset was lovely.