Monday, March 21, 2011

Knitolution Tshirts on Sale!

My Viva la Knitolution tshirts have just been moved to the "Sale" section of my etsy shop, and I've dropped the price to only $6.99! If you prefer a different color or size combination than what you see posted, let me know- I have more shirts, and I can make you a special listing. (For the same price) The shirts will be on sale at the reduced price through the end of March- normally they are $9.99. As always, the shop is at http://www.etsy.com/shop/knitolution

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

An exciting trio

I've been working my butt off today! Besides finishing my taxes (yay!) I got some social networking monkeys off my back. I've been meaning to set these up for a long time, but I really just don't relish sitting in front of the computer for 6 hours.

Excitement #1- I registered www.knitolution.com
Right now there's nothing there but a placeholder page, but the website will be set up soon- hopefully this weekend.

Excitement #2- I FINALLY made a facebook page!
I know, I'm such a slacker right? Come be a fan!

Excitement #3- I made a group on ravelry.
Join the community and talk about what inspires you to keep on knittin' (or whatever it is that you do)

Look ma, no hands!

Look Look its me! From Gale's blog entry from the photography class at Fiber Camp. Gale's blog, She Shoots Sheep Shots!

Thanks for the great class Gale, I enjoyed every minute of it!

Monday, March 14, 2011

A Pi Day Special

The second day of Fiber Camp was as awesome as the first!

I started off the morning with a live recording of Guido's podcast- It's a Purl Man, on the "State of Fiber in Boston". It was a great discussion about guilds, knitting groups, upcoming yarn crawls and events, and how to keep the community vibrant and welcoming. Check out the podcast- just search It's a Purl Man on itunes. If you're a huge nerd like me you can even download all the back episodes!

(the photo of the fruits of my labor at Fiber Camp- a double knitting swatch, and my little spun and Navajo plied Corriedale sample) While working this doubler knitting swatch, it occurred to me that double knitting color changes are basically the same as backstrap weaving color changes- switching the front and back strands of the pair. It would be interesting to work traditional andean weaving patterns into double knit garments.

Next up, Navajo Plying. Another technique I've been wanting to learn for a long time! Susanne was a great teacher, with some great techniques for corralling and controlling singles while plying, a lazy kate made from a small box, and of course- the Navajo plying! Along with a technique for pre-chaining it- so you don't have to try to keep up with chaining while spinning the spindle. Truly life changing. What an incredibly useful thing to know!

For lunch Alistair, Susanne, and I headed across the river to sample some excellent Indian food and discuss the state of politics, nature, and more fiber talk.

The last session of the day was an open meeting about guild business and future planning. Lots of ideas and inspiration! I'm excited now about getting involved with making some of those things happen. Common Cod is really a cool community- Boston area fiber people, come to the next meeting and hear Franklin Habit! 2nd Friday evening in May.

I've spent this evening catching up with 2 old friends who happen to be in town, and getting to know one of their new girlfriends, who is also a fiber nerd *squee!* So I'll wrap up this excellent weekend and day with this spot of Pi Day awesomeness- The Pi Scarf!

The only change I'd make is that I would knit it with lots of different yarns, using up scraps and small amounts of handspun, and using a different yarn for every or nearly every stripe.

The idea, in case it isn't obvious, is to knit the scarf using the digits of pi to determine the number of rows of each color- 3 rows of the 1st color, 1 row of the 2nd color, 4 rows of the 3rd, etc.

If you don't want to be a follower, use your other favorite non-repeating decimal- the square root of 2, for instance. Or the golden ratio.

Or "code" something else numerical- a Fibonacci sequence, perhaps, or important dates in your life, or even your favorite bible verses. Make it for your favorite nerd, and don't let them keep it unless they figure out the reference!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Fiber Camp, Day 1: Or, blowing my freakin' mind!

What a busy and fun day today at Fiber Camp! I started off by leading sessions on needle felting and backstrap loom weaving. I wish I had a lot more time with each session- its hard to really teach something in half an hour!

After lunch I went to "Going Commando with Guido" aka, spinning- drop spindle without a leader, and my first time spinning from the fold. I'm not convinced that I like it better- but I'm always glad to expand the toolbox with new techniques.

Next was bead knitting- another technique I've been wanting to learn for a long time. I learned how to snug, strand, and STRANGLE my beads ;-p But know I know how to keep my beads in place to make any beaded knitting project.

Then off to Double Knitting- taught by Alistair- http://www.fallingblox.com/ He showed us lots of samples from his upcoming book- lets just say the stuff on the above blog is the easiest/least complicated of the lot! But he showed us both basic double knitting, his cast on method, and his twisted stitch knitting method that allows the double knit fabric to stretch without distorting the pattern. Really. Look at the background image on his blog to see the twisted stitch construction. Innovations in his book... 3 and 4 color double knitting, and knitting each side from a different pattern so they aren't just the reverse of each other. Mind. Blowing.

Double Knitting wasn't an easy act to follow, but the last session of the day was photography- I thought I knew something about photography... but as it turns out ;-), there's a big difference between fashion photography and documentary photography. Lots of good information about how to coach a non pro model wearing our knitting, how to best show the piece, lighting, tricks to make people relax and act natural- it was great. And the teacher brought her own great model, her niece- who let us take lots and lots of embarrassing photos of her while we tried out the techniques.

After Fiber Camp was done for the day we headed to the Asgard for, get this- truffle oil and parmesan TATER TOTS, cider, and of course more fiber nerding out! I may or may not have allowed myself to be convinced to help with running the guild...

I'm looking forward to another fun day tomorrow (after an unfortunately few hours of sleep tonight...)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Fiber Camp Boston

I'm so excited for Fiber Camp this weekend! First, a brief description- from fiber camp Boston's website:

FiberCamp Boston is a PodCamp like community un-conference for fiber craft enthusiasts including knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, dyers, and anyone curious about fiber crafts. Fibercamp is based on the fact that everyone has something to share and teach. Connect with the community by sharing your passion.

Because the time is limited this is not like other conferences. People will present and teach smaller bite-sized ideas and techniques that will range from beginning fair isle to strategies for slow stashing using Ravelry. Some presentations might be demonstration-only and completely PowerPoint-based and some will be hands-on. Because this conference is powered by the people who attend it, you are responsible to be a part of the conversation. So if it's a big group where the presenter cannot get around to your area and you figured it out, please feel free to help out.

As if this wasn't awesome enough... I'll be attending workshops on photographing knitting, drop spinning, crochet techniques, double knitting, chart writing, kitchener stitch, fitting sweaters, reclaiming yarn from old sweaters, and business development.

I'll also be teaching beginning knitting and needle felting... so much with with pointy objects in store this weekend! If you're in the Boston area, come join the fun- Its only $40 to register, and you can attend and teach as many things as you want. Besides learning and teaching, I'm really looking forward to meeting other fiber enthusiasts in the area!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Shop Update

Some new commercial patterns, and some new earrings- along with some highlights that are still available in the shop. As always, the shop is: Knitolution on etsy. You can also follow me on twitter, and view my designs on ravelry.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Project Update

In the last few weeks, I've only really made progress on one of the WIPs I discussed in the last post... I've got one of the flame gloves completely finished! They look a little baggy on me, because they are sized for a man's hands- but I like how they turned out. Just 5 more fingers to go...

I also got a photo finally of one of my backstrap loom projects- this one is tubular weaving.
I got started on knitting my wedding veil- here's a photo of the swatch. I'm so excited about this pattern! It will be delicate and beautiful, without being "old" or cliched. I'm using the Rona Lace Shawl pattern from Knit Picks, but I'm using a much finer yarn and tinier needle (#1... I think the smallest needles I've ever used!) The yummy yummy yarn is silk and cashmere. You can sort of see the fuzzy in the photo!


I started 2 other projects in the last couple weeks- Mango the Giraffe for my soon to arrive future niece or nephew, and a wedding blanket for my cousins-in-law's wedding this summer. Here's a pic of the swatch for the blanket pattern!