Stitches Midwest: A Review....My Way

Just got back from four glorious, fiber-filled days at Stitches Midwest out in suburban Chicago. Before I get to the guts of my weekend, a few observations:

1. Sock yarn is big. Very big.
2. So are shawls.
3. No one wants to make sweaters except me, I think.
4. How anyone can pay $32 for one pair of needles I'll never know (yes, they are very nice needles...I tried them...just can't say they outdo my ol' Addis).
5. People need brake lights and turn signals. Indoors. On their backsides.
6. Not to mention GPS.
7. Cell phones are evil. Especially when they go off in class (bad....very bad...).
8. We Midwesterners are a well-fed lot. 'Nuf said. And I count myself among that lot.
9. Yarn squishes real nice into checked baggage. And it doesn't break!
10. I have little, if any, self control.

OK, so here's the nuts and bolts of my Stitches experience this summer. I took three classes (one each day). On Friday, I started with a spindle spinning class.

(Yes, I know I left out the Thursday Market Preview. Patience, people. Good things come to those who wait. And to those of us who like to see smoke coming from the MasterCard.)

Back to spinning. The teacher was Merike Saarnit, who is about as enthusiastic about her craft as anyone I have ever seen. She had all of us spinning away semi-successfully in about an hour, and we all had a little ball of two-ply yarn at the end of the class! We spun wool, alpaca, bamboo, silk, and some yummy blend from a vendor who donated a bump to the class. After class, said vendor sold more fiber to several of us--there were at least five of us in the booth when I was there. Anyhow, I do appreciate the efficiency of my wheel, but it was great to spin away like way back in the day.

On Saturday, I took a class called Have a Ball with Betsy Hershberg. After three hours of class and a few more hours on my own in the bar, I wound up with this:

Is that cool or what? The pattern calls for the necklace to be tied on, but I think I'm going to track down a clasp. The little kit from class came with the fiber (Fiesta Yarns Gelato), beads, wood beads, and the beading needle. I'm seeing a Christmas gift or two with this newfound skill.

On Sunday, I spent six hours with Brandon Mably (Kaffe Fassett's associate) learning about color in knitting. Basically, by working with small balls of tied-up scrap yarn in lights and darks, we experimented with color using a simple fair isle pattern. After five plus hours, my sample looked like this:

Mind you, the pile of balls I brought along looked like a box of Neon Crayolas. The darks and more subtle shades were from others in the class--we were all snipping each other's yarn like fiends. Up close, this thing looks a tad...well...bright. Brandon, however, liked my swatch and encouraged me to see what it looked like from a distance:

It did look much different that way. Much nicer than my feet. That's as nice as they ever get, by the way.

OK, now for what everyone wants to hear about: THE MARKET! Yes, it was wonderful. Yes, I spent too much. No, I didn't bring home everything I wanted.

There's something to be said about that Continental Airlines extra bag surcharge. It keeps you in check.

Here's the booty:

1. A Tofootsies T-Shirt Kit--these were everywhere.
2. Interlacements ribbon yarn for a vest. It was on sale. Had to be bought.
3. Beaded lariat kit by Betsy Hershberg. Damn those classes.
4. Kauni. Need I say more?
5. Beautiful wool yarn from Brooks Farm Yarn.
6. Sock yarn. One normal skein, and the other called "Flat Feet," which is knit from the fabric.
7. Pattern for #5.
8. Fluff to spin.
9. (not pictured) Two patterns for felted animals

I did get started on the Interlacements vest. It's a side-to-side knit on size 15's:

I just love the stitch they use:

It shows off the yarn beautifully. And did I mention it was on sale?

So now, the true test...before:

And after:

I think if I squint I can still see some space.

The gold medal winner, and Olympic Champion is...

Well, it's not Michael Phelps this time, although I think that kid would win anything he put his mind to about now. It's me!! The Beijing Vest is done!

I put the buttons on last night while watching the 200th day of gymnastics. Here's a good look at the neck:

I love how this turned out. The thing also blocked like nobody's business...just took two days to dry out. It'll look lovely when I decide to finally wear it.

But I plan on having several issues of the denial variety as fall starts to move in up here. I have been known to refuse to put socks back on my feet until October. Denial? Sure. But it saves me some laundry.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Stitches Midwest for four days of shopping drinking learning and bonding with my fellow knitters from the weather-challenged area of the country. It is going to be a blast, I'm sure. It always is. And to top it all off, I got a check in the mail for $80 for assisting in a research study--free money!

It's as if the yarn gods want me to buy stuff. Who am I to deny the gods?

The finish line is in sight!

The Chinese Red Vest is now all knitted:

After it dries, it gets seven of these:

Then, my Olympic dreams become a reality. I can hear the strains of The Star Spangled Banner already.

Or maybe just Hang on Sloopy.

Sleep? What's that?

I don't need no stinkin' sleep...it's the Olympics, daggummit!! The gymnastics events have nearly killed me this week. Being the junkie I am, I found it imperative that I stayed up until all hours of the night to see how those whirling dervishes finished up.

Both the young adults and the Chinese preschoolers.

So, it suffices to say that the Chinese Red Vest is moving along quickly:

Barring some unexpected bad scoring by the Russian judge, this will be done and on the blocking board tomorrow. All that's left is the two neck trims and the armhole trims, which shouldn't be too taxing. The true challenge will be to find the perfect buttons.

There will be seven buttons. They will be gold. Perhaps I rename the vest, "The Spitz."

Let the games begin!

I have been holed up watching Olympic everything for the past day and a half. Give me another week, and I may be able to discuss the intricacies of team handball. What that also means is that the Knitting Olympic project is underway. After Day 1, we are here:

It looks to be a fairly easy knit as long as I give my hands an occasional break from the size 4's. At this pace, I may be able to finish up by the middle of next week, which is way ahead of schedule. The goal was to be done and blocked before I head out to Stitches Midwest on the 21st--that will not be a problem. Good thing.

I need all my energy to concentrate on shopping. And finding a good deep dish pizza.

I'm officially pissed

I was merrily knitting along on the second rainbow strip of the Canyon Sunrise back when I decided to measure the piece I already had knitted and sewn up. The piece was just a little beyond half the width of the finished back. The back was supposed to measure 26 inches.

My finished half back measured 10. Uh oh.

Now, I had carefully checked gauge before plowing into this, but I sorta forgot to take into account the pulling of the floats in the fair isle. My perfect gauge of 5 1/2 stitches per inch in a single color had tightened up to 6 1/2 to 7. And that's AFTER blocking!

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Here's the project now:

We're on a break. I'll be back after the Olympics to get this all worked out. Until then, I have a top down pullover I can finish with very little angst.