Tag Archives: rose city yarn crawl

February: That’s a wrap!

Posted on March 2, 2023 | 3 comments

Rose City Yarn Crawl was my third event of the month. That’s packing in the fun!

On Thursday, the day of my postponed trunk show, I put on my snow boots + YakTrax cleats and walked up to Close Knit. I wore these ancient Selbu mittens; I don’t remember when I knit them. They were too big when I knit them, so I fulled them in the sink way back when, and they are toasty warm! Way better than gloves.

I bought this tote by Kirikomade (IG) that I’ve been eyeing since last year. It’s lightweight denim, with a sweet print. One pocket inside. So pretty!

I did make it to For Yarn’s Sake on Friday for my delayed trunk show! It was great to visit with intrepid knitters. I signed books and chatted about my upcoming classes (Assigned Pooling, Aspen Leaf Brioche Coasters, Embellishment Cowl).

I bought another skein of Dream In Color Classy Cashmere to knit another Fanfare Cowl/Hat (is that it’s name? Probably! Pattern coming next week) because the green/purple one goes to For Yarn’s Sake.

Bisquee says it passes the sniff test.

I didn’t make it to more shops; I had other things on my agenda. I did personalize my bag with pins from JaMPDX and ShannyPeasCorner. Love that yarn chicken! Then we hit the road.

We ended February with Bruce Springsteen, Saturday in Portland and Monday in Seattle. It was DH’s 50th Springsteen show. A big deal, but remember…Bruce has held my sock knitting.

(2016)

Now it’s onward to March!

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Trunk show today

Posted on February 24, 2023 | 1 comment

I’m venturing out today, Friday February 24, noon to 4:30 pm at For Yarn’s Sake for Rose City Yarn Crawl.

Wish me luck, and hope to see you there!

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Trunk show postponed

Posted on February 23, 2023 | 1 comment

Mother Nature laughs at all our careful plans.

We’re snowed in! This weather system stalled over us, and we have 6-10 inches of snow. That’s a lot for Portland; we’re not equipped for it and our roads are a mess.

This means I won’t be having my trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake today. We’re hoping that roads are decent tomorrow (Friday), and if they are I’ll be there!

I still have knitting on my mind. doesn’t this look like a sweater yoke? It’s the netting between two neighboring driveways, to keep the basketballs on their side.

The brickwork on my front porch looks like slip stitch knitting. And I love how the snow is a gradient from thin to thick based on how the wind blew. I see some bobbles in there, too!

The snow on my bamboo is lovely. (I’m looking out my kitchen window; please ignore the garbage cans behind it.) To get a better view I’d have to actually go outside, and I’m still in my jammies. Maybe later. I may even ski the neighborhood.

Stay safe and warm!

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Rose City Yarn Crawl begins Thursday

Posted on February 21, 2023 | 1 comment

We always begin the Rose City Yarn Crawl with a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake; it’s a tradition.

Here’s last year, and we hope to see you this year, too! Pictured with me left to right: Debbie Stone, Lorajean Kelley, shop owner Anne Lindquist, and Shannon Squire. Our trunk show is Thursday February 23, from 10 am to 4 pm. The shop is open from 10 am to 6 pm that day.

I’ll have copies of Brioche Knit Love to sign for you; this is a great last chance to get a copy before they’re gone! I don’t know if there will be a reprint, and we’re down to the last few boxes. I’ll also have samples of my applied pooling adventures, and samples for upcoming classes. Come say howdy!

Helpful links: Rose City Yarn Crawl

Rose City Yarn Crawl Backup Instagram account, because the real one got hacked (ugh). Follow this and post using hashtag #RoseCityYarnCrawl

Starlight Knitting Society backup Instagram account, because the real one got hacked (ugh again). The internet is a wonderful and terrible place…

For Yarn’s Sake Rose City Yarn Crawl page

PDXKnitterati For Yarn’s Sake Rose City Yarn Crawl page

Hope to see you Thursday!

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Happy Fiberuary!

Posted on February 1, 2023 | 1 comment

Or February, if you’re traditional. This is a jam packed month for me. Who knew you could have this much fun knitting? I have three in-person weekends coming up. I hope to see you at one of these events!

At Vogue Knitting Live NYC Feb. 10-12 I’ll be teaching Petite Brioche (beginning brioche), Deep End (brioche increases and decreases), Syncopation (syncopated brioche), Sheepy Steeky Coasters (steeks!), and my new Embellishment Cowl (elongated stitches, slip stitch quilted lattice, and beads).

At Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat Feb. 16-19 I’ll be teaching Petite Brioche (beginning brioche), Whale Watch Cap and Cowl (brioche increases and decreases), Sheepy Steeky Coasters (steeks!) and Assigned and Planned Pooling.

Rose City Yarn Crawl is Feb. 23-26. I’ll have a trunk show and book signing at For Yarn’s Sake on Thursday Feb. 23, along with Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit), Shannon Squire, and Debbie Stone.

Oh, and Bruce Springsteen is coming to town! Should I go see him? He held my sock, you know…

How is your February shaping up?

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Rose City Yarn Crawl: It’s a wrap!

Posted on March 1, 2022 | 2 comments

It’s been a busy two weeks, so it will take me a few posts to catch up. The blog is my searchable journal, so I like to make sure things get noted here. I’ll start with the crawl, then there’s a new pattern, and then I’ll go back in time to Red Alder last month. Three posts, minimum!

I started the crawl on Thursday at For Yarn’s Sake; I had a trunk show and book signing there.

It’s a tradition that Lorajean (Knitted Wit), Shannon, Debbi and I begin the crawl at For Yarn’s Sake. This year we had two tables instead of one (new very spacious venue), so we divided as front and back of house.

We did spend some time all together with owner Anne, and the traditional bubbles! It was so nice to visit with people in person. Masks and proof of vaccination were required for the in-person crawl; there was also a virtual crawl option online.

My knitting/design project came up with an incorrect stitch count, and this dropped stitch may have been part of the reason why. I think it was laughing at me. I showed it who’s boss, though: frogged the section and got it back on track. Yes, you can frog in public. And the FitBit thinks that winding the yarn back up counts as steps. Winner!

I didn’t do a lot of crawling, but I made it to Weird Sisters Yarn Shop to see Wendee of Hazel Knits Yarn. I wanted to thank her in person for the yarn support for my book, Brioche Knit Love. She’ll be vending at Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle (Bellevue, really), and I’ll be teaching there. We’re planning a book signing in the market on Saturday, April 9. More on VKL in a later post…

Here’s the total of my crawl haul. The theme tote was designed by DKGraham. I didn’t really need another tote, but this one was so pretty I decided I had to have it. The little wallet is by Heidi West Designs; she screen prints her own fabrics. I love how it coordinates with the tote. It’s perfect for hanging on to the little things in my larger tote bag. I picked up the shawl pin at Pearl Fiber Arts; I love this style and have several more by the same maker (One of a Kind). And the yarn is from Blu Fiber Company (trunk show at Starlight Knitting Society).

I was looking for a yarn to play with applied pooling. I’m currently looking for a stitch pattern that will work with this; the purple color runs may not be quite long enough to do what I want. We shall see.

I’m teaching an assigned pooling/planned pooling class at For Yarn’s Sake this Sunday March 6, if this geekery interests you!

Blue brioche headband

Also this weekend, I’m teaching Petite Brioche (beginning 2 color brioche in the round) on Saturday for Twisted Yarn Shop. The class is almost full, but there are 3 spots left. You can register here.

I know there’s a lot going on in the world. My heart is heavy for the people of Ukraine. I’m looking for a good place to send money to support them; I’m thinking World Central Kitchen. Chef Jose Andres is feeding Ukrainian refugees on the border in Poland. Everyone deserves to be safe in their homes and to be fed, whether at home or on the run.

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Rose City Yarn Crawl starts today!

Posted on March 4, 2021 | 3 comments

Rose City Yarn Crawl, Portland’s premier yarny event, begins today, March 4, as usual. But it’s not business as usual, because the crawl is going virtual this year, with an extended crawl March 4-14.

I usually kick off the crawl at For Yarn’s Sake with owner Anne Lindquist, Knitted Wit dyer Lorajean Kelley, and designers Shannon Squire and Debbi Stone (Ravelry link). This year we toasted virtually in a Zoom we recorded last night. You can see our chat online on the For Yarn’s Sake RCYC page here. And you can find our trunk shows for the crawl on the same page. I’m featuring 7 designs. Six are new this past year, and Lucky Star is an older favorite that Features Knitted Wit’s yarn.

My Half the Knit Sky design is being offered as a yarn kit with gradient yarn from Huckleberry Knits, another Pacific Northwest dyer. Quantities are limited, so if you want a kit, now’s the time for action! These colorways are Practical Tactical Brilliance and Made you Blush (shop exclusive for For Yarn’s Sake). Pattern is sold separately from the kit through Ravelry and Payhip. Many of our trunk show items are in the shop so you can see them up close, too.

Check out the Rose City Yarn Crawl site for ways to participate and win prizes. And you can even visit the stores in person; it’s just not required this year. This may be the first year in a long time that I’ll be able to visit all eight participating shops, if only virtually!

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Half the Knit Sky, again

Posted on March 2, 2021 | 8 comments

I’m having a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake as part of this year’s Rose City Yarn Crawl. We’re featuring kits for my Half the Knit Sky using gradients from Huckleberry Knits.

This colorway is called Made You Blush, and it’s an exclusive at For Yarn’s Sake. It’s paired with Manos Alegria in Pewter in the kit. You can start your gradient ball at the white end, or the pink end, knitter’s choice! Test knitter Ann is now a sample knitter, and she sent it to me for blocking. You may recognize my fence.

The other kit features the Practical Tactical Brilliance colorway, which is a favorite of mine. Scarlet says that she made the new batch a little bluer than this at the end, to be even more like the aurora borealis. I can’t wait to see it. The contrast color in this kit is Madelinetosh Twist Light in Stormborn. Both kits go on sale on March 4.

Rose City Yarn Crawl begins on March 4, and runs through March 14. I’ll pop up another post with a link to my trunk show when it goes live. There will also be a recorded Zoom interview with my other trunk show buddies, Knitted Wit (Lorajean Kelley), Shannon Squire, and Debbie Stone. I just wanted to show you the pretty pink shawl!

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Half the Knit Sky, encore

Posted on February 23, 2021 | 15 comments

The Rose City Yarn Crawl is coming up next month, and I’m having a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake! The crawl is virtual this year. You can visit the shops in person, but it’s not required for the crawl. I’m sending over my Half the Knit Sky knit with Huckleberry Knits gradient and MadTosh Twist Light. There *will* be kits, in two colorways. The gradient on this one is Practical Tactical Brilliance, and the other will be Made You Blush, an exclusive for For Yarn’s Sake.

I knit this last year for my KAL, and stopped short of the acid green at the end because I had already added 24 rows to the original pattern. Last weekend I decided to take the edging off and use more of the gradient, so I did! I ripped back all the way through the flying arrows, so I could add a third repeat of that last section of star trails. I then replaced the flying arrows, and finished again. I had 1.3 g of gradient left, yay for yarn scale and not yarn chicken!

Adding this many rows put me just past where I’d need another increase row based on the pi shawl formula, so I was counting on the flexibility of knitting to make it work because I didn’t want an increase so close to the edge. Also, no more yarn! I used a Russian bind off for the refinished edge, because I knew it was going to be quite a stretch blocking the edge out.

Finished size: 60” x 30” pinned out, and it bounced back to 60” x 28” deep when I took it off the wires. It is larger partly from the added knitting, and partly because the first time I blocked it, I did it outdoors on a hot September day, and it was drying very quickly while I was pinning. Now we’re in winter, and I blocked it in my studio. It is the loveliest, airiest thing. Yay!

Before and after. I’m really happy with it!

The Rose City Yarn Crawl is March 4-14; check out their website here.

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Rose City Yarn Crawl 2020

Posted on March 8, 2020 | 2 comments

Fun, as usual! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook (PDXKnitterati on those, too), you may have seen a lot of these pictures already. But I find it easier to search for pictures here on my blog, so Future Me is thanking Today Me for archiving these here.

I started the weekend with a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake with Knitted Wit (Lorajean Kelley), Shannon Squire, and Debbi Stone. It’s become a tradition! Thanks so much to Ann for having us, year after year.

Shannon and LJ swear that they didn’t plan to color coordinate their clothing, but here they are. And their color orbit is so strong, the shawl on the wall is part of the fun, too.

This year’s mystery KAL was designed by Marie Greene. I love it! Carrie’s is lovely.

TJ embellished the edge of hers with eyelets and beads to use up her remaining yarn. Perfect!

Kim showed me her Zen Rain Shawlette. I designed this for Sock Summit 2011. Many happy memories there!

Paula took my Brioche Pastiche class 2 weeks ago, and brought her finished hat wth her. I love the colors and the squishiness; she did a great job!

I showed Julie how to use her phone’s camera filter to check for good tonal contrast so her colorwork will have some pop. Do you know the camera filter trick? Use the Mono setting (alas, they’ve done away with Tonal) to make sure you’ll be able to see your colorwork! This is a gentle contrast, but enough to show off her colorwork knitting.

Someone (I’ve lost your name; let me know if you see this) had an advance copy of the new Vogue Knitting magazine (on sale March 10) and told me that my picture is in it! It’s from VKLive Columbus from my Fancy Stitches class; I’m showing off my Aloha Shawl. My 15 seconds of fame continues…

It’s hard to knit at a trunk show, but it’s really easy to frog! I brought the too big version to frog so I can use the yarn on the smaller size. Frogging the mohair and fingering together was surprisingly easy, and I just balled it up together since I’ll be knitting them together again. It’s really hard to separate them!

It was so nice to chat with so many people on Thursday.

Kathryn and Stash

Alissa from El Rey Knits podcast

More fiber friends!

I went back to For Yarn’s Sake on Friday to get more DK Gradient from Scarlet of Huckleberry Knits. In my hand: Vivace. I love it, but I also ordered another ball of Practical Tactical Brilliance for my current entrelac project. It’s the same color as my Aspen Leaf scarf pictured above.

I also went to Knitting Bee to see DKGraham’s wooden stitch markers and pins. So cute! And so is she. We’re going to get together to knit some brioche and plot some pins or…

One more store on Friday: I met up with Thao from Nerd Bird Makery. I love her pins and T shirts; I have several. We live in adjacent neighborhoods, so we’re going to get together and knit…brioche, of course.

On Saturday I went to Twisted and Pearl Fiber Arts, but the yarn fumes must be getting to me…I forgot to take pictures! But I *did* remember to order some sparkly yarn from Stacey of Fierce Fibers for a project I’ve been dreaming about for a couple years. It’s TIME!

I’m staying home today to catch up with my life and house; it’s been a very busy couple months. Did you Yarn Crawl? I hope you had fun!

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