Stitches Convention, February 2006

The Keynote speaker for the Convention was Sally Melville, whose book Color, the third in her Knit, Purl series had just been released. Her topic was entitled Creative Existence, Managing Color which spoke to color theory and color combinations that work together and the creative process.

We were treated to a fashion show with the prototypes of all the designs in this latest volume and given the inside scoop on Sally's next planned topic is Texture, Our Finest Hour and the fifth book will be the Design and the Creative Process in which she plans to include the intriguing topic of "What not to Wear" for Knitters.

Friday morning, my class was Fair Isle Knitting with Beth Walker O'Brien. I actually learned to do continental knitting in this three hour class although that consists of holding the yarn in my left hand and not having very good tension. In the afternoon, I had Tantalizing Techniques with Debbie New, a very spirited English speaking teacher. Her key thought was to "look at things and figure out another way to do the same thing that might be less difficult or even easier."

Saturday began with Merike Saarnitt who was a very lively and exciting teacher. She gave a short 30 second explanation fo the purpose of the workshop and we commenced with the project of Toe Up Socks. The afternoon class, taught by Ruth Lantz, on the Elements of Design challenged the participants to create a scrapbook with ideas for projects, pictures of art work, designs, clip art and motifs to be used in those projects and a color wheel for choices of colors for those patterns. This was a very thought provoking class and my brain was on overload by the end of the 3 hours. What a lot to think about!

My last class was on Sunday morning with Nancy Bush and the topic was Estonian Lace. Nancy shared a short history of Estonia and the development of the lacemaking tradition in the region. Estonian lace is built on stockinette stitch and the two similar shawl traditions, Orenburg and Shetland, are built on the garter stitch. The Lily of the Valley pattern she demonstrated is unique to Estonia.

These few days were packed and it will take while to assimilate or even process all the ideas, techniques and new patterns. In addition to that the shopping, fashion shows, lunch, dinner, style predictions and more shopping will keep me humming a happy tune for at least the next year. Want to do this every year.

Stitches West 2006, Santa Clara, California

Cables Untangled with Melissa Leapman was my first class at Stitches in Santa Clara, CA. What a way to start the Convention! She was delightful and informative. One of the tips I garnered from her was to always slip purlwise when cabling and when finishing a cable on the right side row when you purl the next stitch, wrap the yarn in the opposite direction. When come to the stitch on the Wrong Side of the row, the stitch will be twisted. To untwist it, knit into the back of the stitch. This will prevent gaps from occurring between the cable and the remainder of the knitting.

Another tip is to use a different type of needle for cabling to differentiate it from the main needles. Use whatever form of needle you find the most comfortable.

Thanks, Melissa. I really enjoyed your class!

Golden Gate Bridge

My father's father worked on parts for the Golden Gate Bridge at a factory in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He passed away before the bridge was completed.

My husband and I drove across the Bridge from San Jose to Pittsburg, CA to visit with a friend.

San Jose, February 2006

A matching set!

Woolie Ewe, Yarns & Stitches & Shabby Sheep

Woolie Ewe of Plano, Yarn & Stitches in Richardson and Shabby Sheep in Downtown were all a definite worthwhile trip! Each shop has a different character, variety of suppliers and unique niche. The first two are in small shopping centers and the third is in a boutique type shop area.

The largest of the three is Woolie Ewe with several areas for small classes. In the shop, I met the model on the cover of the InKnitters Fall 2005 issue. All types of paraphenalia peculiar to knitters including T-shirts, pins, buttons, exotic wood needles and fabric bags in silk, jacquard, microfiber and canvas. Something for everyone!

Yarn & Stitches was a small friendly shop. The proprietor was helpful and mentioned the existence of the Shabby Sheep closer to my hotel. Here also there were accessories for every knitter including jeweled stitch markers.

The Shabby Sheep fit the hip young set with many fun fur yarns and a multitude of textures. The shop was quite cramped and stepping over stock and around chairs was still worth the effort to find that perfect treasure to add to your stash.

Baseball Winter Meetings

Spent the last week in Dallas with the Baseball Winter Meetings. The weather was more to comment about than anything else at the festivities or the business end of baseball. On Wednesday a Texas ice storm blew through the area dropping temperatures to lows in the South that are rarely encountered. The chill ran straight into the bones. Most of the events were scheduled for indoors so the inconvenience was slight.

As for the meetings themselves, I renewed some friendships and met some new people. Forever this is a celebratory event in all of baseball and the anticipation of the season to come that is always going to be better than the last.

Knitting for the Troops

Started a helmet liner for my favorite guinea pig ... I mean my son. We are extremely proud of him and all the others who have willingly served their country in far flung places around the globe. They deserve a big HUA! THANK YOU!

As for the helmet liner, I'll get his opinion before I knit it for anyone else and find out that my version doesn't fit the average head. Gauge seems right but you never know ....

Wildlife

Outside my window at work is a bird feeder along with corn for the squirrels. The pecking order exists at every level! The squirrels not content with the corn, chase the birds from the feeder. The magpies and jays chase each other and the squirrels and the finches squawk at all other small birds in order to hold onto all of "their" seed.

The deer munch on the few berries and nuts on the ground and stare at me through the window. A noise from the doorway scares them and they trot away to safety. What a wonderful place to work and see the "zoo" at my little portal on the world.

Circle of Life

Today was an extraordinary day. A child entered into the world to one co-worker and another co-worker lived through a family member departing this world. Phenomenal, uncommon and differing are these two experiences and in between the rest of us carry on our daily existence.

The happenings of this date are quite unique to my experience. These occurrences makes one ponder the transistory nature of human life and the importance of taking and making each day special and memorable.

Wool Musings

Yarn, wool, sheep -- part and parcel of the countryside in the Olde Country since the beginning of the merchant class in the early 1200s. The Wool churches in the Cotswold towns, the reminders of where the wealth came from in the name of the main streets in many villages: "Sheep Street", the continued varieties of sheep in different locales across the nation, and the local yarn shoppe all delighted my fascination with knitting.

What a treat to visit several yarn shops and the Stitching and Knitting Show at the Alexandra Palace in London! First was Sheepish in the Shambles in York. What a lovely little shop with Yorkshire yarns. I bought some pink multi merino spun in North Yorkshire. The other shop was Burford Needlecraft which was also a B&B in the little Cotswold town of the same name. In the basement, the various yarn things were cloistered. Spying some lovely bulky Colinette yarns (made in Wales), I selected three skeins of a bright multi along with a pattern for a vest. The proprietor, Jan, was extremely helpful in finding the perfect yarn and pattern complement.

Arriving at Alexandra Palace, a Victorian Hall containing a plant arboretum and glass conservatory, surrounded by rolling hills that reminded me of Valley Forge in the mid-Fall, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Like a newborn, I entered into the site of my first stitching event. The Eirian Short Needlearts Exhibition was a feast for the eyes, instilling creativity back into my being. What a thrill to meet the artist who in her 80's still enjoyed her craft. Visual stimulation and textural delight just produced such rhapsody in my soul. Almost a song of joy filled me with the enthusiasm to create and be part of life again. Many ideas swirled around my brain faster than I could record them and gave me great inspiration and incentive to learn and expand my horizons in all fields of the needlearts applying them in new and maybe unusual ways.



Many other activities were taking place at the Show including Booths staffed by Debbie Bliss, the Wensleydale Sheep Farm where I purchased wool gathered and spun on the farm in North Yorkshire (next trip I want to visit there!), and yarn stalls from America, Australia, New Zealand and even Canada; exhibits of modern knitting applications, one example of which was a knitted parlor (all furniture was covered in a Aran knit pattern; and a fashion show of newer designs.

The HIGHLIGHT of this England trip consisted of my mental musings on creation both God's and woman's wherein I found insight into the created. It was not only a jourey of expectancy but of hope and life forming a ray of light into recesses that had been neglected, forlorn for many years.

It seems strange to say that this revitalized my walk with my Savior, Jesus Christ, and reminded me of activities once enjoyed and forgotten, including my study of His creative person and joy in knowing me.