Sunday, February 27

This post is being brought to you by the letter S

Syracuse, NY
First, I've been meaning to tell you all about this amazing fiber retreat I'm teaching at next month in Syracuse.  The picture above is a swatch I knit for the retreat, I'll be teaching a double knit cowl class using this pattern.   I'm also teaching re-knittable aka...
Short row heels & toes.  There are lots of advantages to short row heels & toes but I especially like the fact that if you wear a hole through your precious hand knit socks you can just pick up the stitches & re-knit.  At this retreat I'll be in the fine company of teachers like buddies Cal Patch & Kristy Mc Gowan as well as Jennifer Van Calcar of Holiday Yarns, Sandy Wiseheart who co-founded Knitting Daily, Kerry Dorn, Lisa Ann Merian of Spinner's Hill & Beth Coye.
It should be a fun fiber-y weekend, I hope to see you there!



Rav event here
For those of you (GASP) non-Ravelers you can find more info & register through Yarn Cupboard

Spring & Summer are also filled with lots of stuff I'm dying to tell you all about!  There is of course the fabulously local Chancellor's Sheep & Wool @ the Clermont Historic site in Germantown on April 23rd which is usually nice (read: sunny, not too hot, not too cold) weather and the grounds of Clermont are so lovely they're worth a wander even when not dotted with yummy fiber booths.

Then later in the Summer there are two events that I can guarantee you'll be hearing more about as they get closer...
Sqaum Art Workshops & Sock Summit! Yes, the Squam & the Sock Summit.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to go to both of these for the first time this year! They are still pretty far off so, I'll save all the juicy details for a later post.

Finally on my S theme I created a Facebook page for the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival.  If you haven't been, it is in Greenwich, NY, near where I grew up, and it is a newish & fantastic event.  This is the third year and I suspect it will be even better this year than the past two.  Around 100 local vendors, with lots of space to walk (even with strollers or walkers!) and not so crowed that you can really interact with the vendors & smoosh to your heart's delight.

Well, that does it for now.  
Happy Sunday!

Saturday, February 19

Color at Fashion Week & Rhinebeck

So in my excitement & blathering on about fashion week & warm weather I forgot to mention something I wanted to let you know about! Why does the first warm weather of the season melt even the most organized of brains? No worries though, it is supposed to snow tonight so my Spring daydreaming has been cut short...

I wanted to remind you that I'll be teaching one of my favorite classes next Sunday and for the two following Sundays (2/27, 3/6 &3/13 from 11-2) at Wing & Clover in Rhinebeck, Knitting in Color


This class is meant for those who have knit lots of projects but are afraid to "go off the map" adding a second color to your knitting projects is a fun & easy way to make that hat you've knit 150 times exciting again! Also, it's a great way to personalize projects.  You could add a band of fair isle at the cuff of a sweater, a monogram to a simple pillow pattern, a slip stitch edge to a basic watch cap.  the possibilities are literally endless!

Which brings me to my next fashion week trend spotting, pop art & trompe l'oeil.  I have always been a huge fan of trompe l'oeil, I have owned & proudly worn both "skeleton" & "tuxedo" t-shirts in my life.  

  
(photo courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Vera White, 1952)  

 Probably the most famous trompe l'oeil in knitwear is the extraordinary "Bowknot" sweater designed by Elsa Schiaparelli for her 1927 collection (which if you're interested in re-creating, the instructions can be found here - thank you Schoolhouse Press!) and while I'm rambling on about fashion & designers I mention that if you are not familiar with Elsa Schiaparelli's work - get thee to the library! Or at least use google to see some of her amazing, prescient, funny and brilliant surrealist designs.

Sorry, back to this season...

 Jeremy Scott showed a reworking of the classic skeleton tee in sweater form for both men & women. 

Betsey Johnson showed a softer side of gun ownership - that is IF you count a gun print sweater as gun ownership


a new take on her wink collection



 and a short sweater with what looks like a an old ruler with a ruler pun on it, remember those rulers you would get at the county fair?


Maybe visual gags aren't your thing, or maybe the wink is a bit much but just a Cheshire cat grin would suit you?

What better time than now to learn how to not only knit intarsia but in Knitting in Color I also show you how to design your own intarsia patterns and give you knitting graph paper to explore with.  I can't wait to see what you dream up!




Friday, February 18

Fashion week & February thaw

For the first time in a long time we have windows open in the house.  It's cold in here but it feels so nice to be able to have fresh air circulating again.  Here, in upstate New York we are getting our first taste of Spring.  The few feet of snow in the yard are starting to melt away, very possibly to be replaced, sooner rather than later but I won't think about that now. Now I'll put yarn outside to dry for the first time in months, use the grill and bask in the balmy 50s.


At the same time not so far away in Manhattan NY Fashion Week wrapped up yesterday.  I love flipping through pictures from all the shows & was planning on sharing a little wrap up of what I found lovely & intriguing especially when it comes to knitwear design.  I poured over so many pictures and found so many things I'd like to share that I think I'll break it up over a couple posts. 

images via style.com

The first thing I noticed; and maybe because as a first time Sock Summit attendee (did I mention that yet? - I'M GOING TO SOCK SUMMIT!) I have hosiery on the brain; was the amazing display of tights & socks.  The legs pictured above are mostly from Anna Sui (on purple background) the deep rust are Charlotte Ronson & the plaid-ish ones are from Libertine

Intarsia, plaid, lacy and textured I love (and would like to own) all of these.  I'll admit a little bias here, I went to a Catholic high school and the only thing we could change from day to day was our legwear.  I had an epic tights & socks collection, and still have a hard time resisting a really good pair. I have never made hand knit tights but it is one of my goals for 2011, to have a knitted tight pattern available, so this will be the year!  I figure, I've made socks & I've made boy short bathing suit bottoms -once- so really the only part I haven't done is the thigh shaping, how hard could it be, right?

I'll let you know how that project goes along. I'm hoping to develop at least one knitting pattern based on each of the themes I see in Fall 2011 - wish me luck!