Tag Archives: VKLive NYC

Still catching up, bicoastally

Posted on February 21, 2023 | 3 comments

How much can we pack into February? A LOT. I’ll never get to completely blog VKLive NYC and Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat in Tacoma, but here are some highlights.

Fun classes with great students, both at VKLive

And at Red Alder. why am I showing both Sheepy Steeky Coasters classes? Because the joy of scissors makes a great photo op!

So happy to meet up with Keith Leonard and Shaina Bilow again after Knit Maine. And new friend Dario Tubiana, too. (Check out the sheep on the door of La Pecora Bianca.)

The Empire State Building makes a great tiara…or unicorn horn. You decide.

I didn’t have a full length mirror in NYC, but I did in Tacoma, so I could do my traditional what did I wear collage. Coffee Breakers Shawl (from Brioche Knit Love), Camellia Wrap, Ebb and Flow cowl.

Ebb and Flow looks good on everyone! New Beginnings statue outside the Federal Courthouse in Tacoma. It was the train station a long time ago.

Hanging out with Alasdair Post-Quinn (double knitting king), Michael Kelson (Spinpossible), and Xandy Peters.

We had fabulous markets on both coasts. What did I buy, since you know I don’t stash yarn?

Super fun yarn and NYC-themed project bag from Maker’s Mercantile. And it comes with a notions box that fits in the pocket, too. Look closely to see all the fiber-related pictures!

Also from NYC, Jūl’s new toolkit. Choose your shape: round, square, or triangle.

You can make the shape into a shawl pin with the stick pin, or a shawl cuff with the leather band. You can use the stick pin by itself. The other two leather pieces are to close a cardigan front. And the buttons have a round ball at the end of the shank, and a leather back to pop over the ball. You can move your buttons from one piece of knitwear to the next. So far I’ve only used the cuff, but I’ve used it a lot.

From Tacoma: a silly cats in hats project bag, also from Maker’s Mercantile. Did I need it? Yes. It will help corral supplies for a class.

Oh look, yarn! I bought this peacock green to teal gradient from Schmutzerella to knit one more Ebb and Flow. I love how smoothly the colors melt into each other. I can have both the taller neck and the longer triangle with this much yardage. It’s not stash if I have a plan to cast on soon! Right now I’m trying to decide if I want the blue on top or bottom. The piece gets wider towards the bottom, so the stripe down there will be narrower, but more visible. What do you think?

Always nice to see Mt. Rainier from my hotel room window.

So very different from my hotel room view the week before!

Currently on the needles: I’m finishing an Embellishment Cowl sample. I used it in class last week at VKL, and now I need it to display at For Yarn’s Sake as a sample for my class on May 7. It’s almost done. I need to have it bound off and steam blocked by Thursday morning, just in time for my trunk show. Wish me luck!

3 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, Product review, travel, yarn

Tagged Jul Designs, Red Alder Fiber Arts, Schmutzerella Yarns, VKLive, VKLive NYC

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?

1 Comment

Posted in classes, events, Knit

Tagged Red Alder Fiber Arts, rose city yarn crawl, VKLive NYC

Introducing: Aspen Leaf

Posted on February 3, 2020 | 3 comments

Aspen Leaf is ready to rock and roll!

Aspen Leaf is a leafy brioche scarf. Butterfly wing-shaped wedges are introduced in syncopated brioche as the leaves narrow and widen. The leaves are especially glorious in a gradient main color, and a speckle or semi-solid makes a nice background. The leaf pattern repeats 10 times using two 4 oz skeins of DK weight yarn. You could easily substitute two 4 oz skeins of worsted weight yarn for a slightly wider scarf with fewer repeats.

Sample shown in Huckleberry Knits DK Gradient (Practical Tactical Brilliance) and Huckleberry Knits American Dream DK (When You Said Hi, I Forgot My Dang Name). Gauge is not critical in this stretchy fabric, but it can affect size and yardage requirements. Work for a gauge that gives you a pleasant fabric, not floppy nor tight. Knit as many leaves as you like, depending on how much yarn you have.

This was my relaxing vacation knit in December. Brioche, relaxing? Yes; once you’ve knit a leaf or two, the shaping is easy to remember. You should have experience knitting brioche before knitting Aspen Leaf.

I took it to VKLive NYC last month.

We had a good time!

I’m knitting one more for myself in Knit Picks Chroma Worsted; it’s a little wider and will have 8 leaves, according to my yarn scale. No yarn chicken here!

This pattern is available through Ravelry. It’s 10% off through February 14, 2020 as a valentine to you. Happy knitting!

3 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Aspen Leaf scarf, VKLive NYC

Syncopation encore, and VKLive NYC

Posted on February 2, 2020 | 9 comments

I finished a third version of my Syncopation shawl just before VKLive NYC. I wanted to wear it there, and I did!

This version is a size/shape between the original shawl and scarf, so a bit wider/less deep than the original shawl, and not as long and skinny as the scarf. I scrunch it a bit at the neck so the point will fall at center front; rolling the scrunch means that some of the reverse color from the other side shows at the neck, which I love.

I’ve added instructions for this size/shape to the pattern, which is available on Ravelry. If you purchased the pattern, you should have received an email letting you know about the update so you can download the latest version. Or if you’re one of my new brioche students, you can just buy it now…

I wore it a lot! I was wearing it when I met up with Ann and Kay from Mason Dixon Knitting in the Knitty City booth, and when I saw Lorajean and Shannon in the Knitted Wit booth, and when I was teaching on a slightly snowy Saturday. It’s a good travel companion, easy to put on and wear.

Bright lights, big city! The NYC show was BIG, with a very different feel than the Columbus show. We were at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, with classes all over and a market on TWO floors.

Here’s a view from the balcony; take this and multiply by two. It was packed with product, and with shoppers.

I taught 5 classes to great students. And I gave my lecture, Blocking: It’s Magic. Once I figured out that the computer wasn’t touch screen, my PowerPoint presentation went very smoothly! (So used to my iPad; I forget…)

This sign was going up during the day, and I decided the question needed to be: Who’s Afraid of PDXKnitterati!

This is my new Aspen Leaf Scarf (pattern coming soon). The colors from Huckleberry Knits have Hamilton-themed names: Practical Tactical Brilliance and When You Said Hi I Forgot My Dang Name.

This picture is as close to Hamilton as my scarf was going to get.

On a whim, I tried to get a ticket to Hamilton in the cancellation line. I got THISCLOSE; they ran out 2 people ahead of me. But it was fun hanging out for a bit, chatting with people from Atlanta and Honolulu who were hoping to get in.

I wasn’t on the hunt for yarn this weekend, which made my limited time in the marketplace a little more manageable, but I really wanted a knitty souvenir. I bought this swatch necklace from Porterness Studio; it’s perfect! I’m wearing it all the time.