Keepin' on Keepin' On

So we had a fabulous night at the Purple Purl - Elise, Lise & I actually shut the place down. They might rethink saying "stay as long as you like" henceforth. ;-) Here's Jen with Mermaid Baby - OMG her name is escaping me (something with a "J" maybe) but she was such a sweet baby providing all non-yarn testers with hours of amusement.

I've been swatching up some of the yarns that we came home with - you guessed it, finding their Sweet Spot!
The SWTC Infatuation was very nice, moving slowly but I liked it then I changed to a new tiny sample ball and it started going way fast and I don't think that I like it; I think that perhaps it's a combination of the bright colours (which I love but may be distracting for the swatch) and not having enough yarn to really swatch up. I loved the slight fluidity of the yarn and the hint of sparkle; perhaps I'll be bold enough to contact them and see if they can spare a couple of balls for my experiment. It will work, I just need to see how.

The Florafil was working excellent at first (even with the bright colours!!) but the fabric felt too loose so I went down to 5.5mm needles from 6mm and the fabric is nice but I'd like the patterning to be a bit different.
I think that I'm going to set it aside for a bit and think on it.

I got another lovely hat in the mail today - thank you Deirdre, it fits perfectly!! The pattern is Odessa (this is a Ravelry link as the original MagKnits link is all brokey) & the yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I don't care how much cashmere may or may not actually be in there ... it's loverly!!!

The 1^st digital issue of Knitters is free & available now. OMG - guess who knit Railroad Tracks (pg 194)?!?! Here's a picture of Amanda wearing it before I sent it off.




Did 3^rd round of chemo today - think that I'm off for a nap. I'm not sure if I'm slightly nauseous or just over-full of water but I'm definitely tired.

Stitches East

I have had an unforgettable experience this weekend. Being a part of Elise's book, Knit one Below, seeing the garments that I knit on live models and photographed so very well in the book, teaching people how easy it is to k1b and seeing them planning what yarns to start experimenting with is a high that I may never come down from. The book has sold out here yesterday!!! Congratulations Elise - I really hope that this is just the first of many books.

I got my 2nd set of Signature Needles - aren't they gorgeous??!! sorry 'bout the glare Cathy, Daniella & Laura are so nice; they let me sit in their booth on Friday and knit on Amanda's sweater and extol the virtues of these wonderful tools that really do change everything.

I knit a swatch of the Therapi that Joe had given me. I'm generally quite skeptical of yarn that claims overtly soothing properties, but I have to say that this yarn has a je ne sais quois about it that is calming. The 20% silk gives it a wonderful lustre but the jadeite fibre is backing it up and plays a subtle suppporting role. It flows through your hands with a mercurial ease; it's like you're sensing the yarn more than commanding it.
I knit it to the suggested tension of 20 sts, but if I were doing a straight-up stockinette stitch sweater I would probably go a bit tighter. It took well to cables and lace. I have yet to block it - I'll let you know how that affects my opinion on the cables.

I'm off to do my part to stimulate the American economy for a couple more hours before I hit the road. I've got Amanda DVR'ing The Amazing Race for us - I won't be able to watch/blog it until tomorrow ...

CSNF 1

I was in classes most of yesterday - Creative Jewellery Art where I got all blingy with the Swarovski crystals, a wool cross stitch class with Teresa Wentzler and a 3-D snowflake class (meh).
Today I'm in with Teresa again for a Dragon Scissor Fob then I can hit the show floor.
The presentation last night by Kayla Kennington was best enjoyed by the sewers and costumers, but Jodi & I made the best of it. I got quite a bit of knitting done on my latest secret project.

I was down amongst the vendors for a few minutes and Joe at the SWTC booth had a tattoo for me! I felt a bit slighted that we didn't have the eye-candy that they had at Stitches Midwest handing out the tats, but I got over it when he gave me a ball of Therapi for my swatching pleasure!! I'll let you know tonight what I think of that.

Shouts out to Shannon & Kittynne!!