theraineysisters knitting and so much more

From the looks of it, we never returned from Detroit Lakes, but we did — right on time!!  We have been delinquent on “retreat follow up” but here goes.

We left the cities in a driving rain (pun intended!).  The lake was obscured by heavy fog when we arrived, but the hotel (The Lodge on Lake Detroit) was lovely:

The lobby

The View from Susan’s Room at Sunrise – once the fog cleared!

Shelley and Scott from The Yarnery did an amazing job of organizing everything – they were so welcoming and really planned the weekend to perfection.  The idea was to get a group of knitters together to knit and socialize in a relaxing setting, while hanging out with popular knitting designers.

Catherine Lowe, Julie Hoover, Olga Buraya-Kefelian (aka OlgaJazzy), Michelle Wang (pronounced Wong)
The four designers (and some other notables) were there to talk about their knitting journeys and to assist us in selecting projects from the many original samples on hand and in executing techniques from their designs.  They were warm, knowledgeable, and eager to participate and get to know the knitters.  There was a small Yarnery “pop up” shop that sold Shibui, Brooklyn Tweed, and Woolfolk yarns (along with assorted kits and other yarns) that was kept very busy.  The Shibui rep and BT support staff were also present.

Catherine has had a long knitting history, with a focus on meticulous finishing techniques.  Her designs and yarns are sought after by serious knitters.  (As a side note, she and Sally have a long time connection through Yarns International, where they both worked years ago.)  Julie, Olga, and Michelle are all talented and creative designers who found knitting after a circuitous journey, often landing on knitting design by being in the right place at the right time.  It was fun to hear their personal stories and their insights on their design process.

Susan worked on Olga’s Suke-Suke Cowl because of its striking textural stitch (using Malabrigo Rios).  Sally chose a Julie Hoover top called Leigh in Shibui Pebble that was super cute and fit Sally really well.

We had a wonderful time and met some great people!!

Once we returned, we both got swept up in real life.  We have several FOs to share which will be revealed in the near future.

And Happy Hallowe’en!!

Who could resist Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze and firepolish beads or Swarovski crystals?  Not I!!  I am too cheap for the crystals (I used firepolish 6mm beads instead, 50 for the pink and 100 for the green), used KSH from my stash, and a free pattern from Rowan.  Cheap thrills!!

The pattern is called Triangular Shawl by Jennie Atkinson.  It is sometimes referred to as a scarf, but it is the same pattern.  It says it takes one skein, but I had to dip into the second for the pink (the green is smaller for some reason and came in just under a skein).  Jennie reworked the design into a larger triangular shawl as well, that takes three times the yarn and crystals.

You need to create an account and log into the Rowan website to access the pattern.  I did my first (the raspberry color) following the pattern, but made some changes to the second (green) version.  MAKE SURE YOU BIND OFF LOOSELY.  I did not bind off loosely enough on the green and it is a problem.  If the bind off breaks, I have enough yarn to redo the edging… but it would be a bummer. 🙁

Also, I did not thread the beads onto the yarn until the row they were going to be used.  I did it as instructed the first time and it meant several rows of pushing the beads along for no real reason.  I wrote up my changes on my project page.

So I have two lighter than air shawls that are quite dressy.  I love them, and hope to just throw them on as an accent — probably more next spring and summer.

Retreat
I am really getting excited because Sally arrives tomorrow.  We will be heading to this retreat, sponsored by The Yarnery (my favorite knitting store):

We each need to be working on something designed by the featured artists.  We will reveal our selections after the retreat!!

Response to Allison: I tried to email you but it bounced back!  I also had a horrible time following the pattern until I charted it and could see what was supposed to line up with the row before.  I put a copy of my chart on my Ravelry project page.

If you like cooking challenge shows (like Master Chef) as much as I do, you will adore this Danish version with KNITTING!!  Found this on Ravelry — where else??!!

The following two episodes have English subtitles, though others are available in the original non-subbed format.  Enjoy!!

I just received something very special in the mail: Bohus Knitting – The Revival.  Oh my.  Very beautiful.  I already own Poems of Color by Wendy Keele (and there is overlap), but the new book is wonderful.  It is written in both Swedish and English, with lots of photos and patterns.  I saw the book being discussed on Ravelry in the group dedicated to Bohus knitting.  I clicked a link and was off and running.  I did not know how much the book would cost (~$56) or where it was coming from (Sweden) and did not care!  It would make a nice gift to yourself!!

PS – am I the only one that gets Poems of Color and Poetry in Stitches mixed up??

And speaking of revived — last Sunday we had a phenomenal weather day.  It was a gorgeous 85 degrees!  Summer yet fall all wrapped up in one.  I spent the day with a group of peeps that I have known for over 40 years.  We went to Florida together a couple of years ago.  Here we are with the mighty Mississippi as backdrop, enjoying a glorious day!

From left to right: Deb, Martha, Jan, Me

I love this picture for a lot of reasons, but mostly because my triple chin isn’t showing!! 😉

Susan and I often joke (I say joke but sadly we’re not kidding) that it feels as if we knit everything twice.  (We always knit twice, Or so it seems . . . ) My latest sweater, Nanook, was no exception. There was nothing wrong with the pattern; it’s well written and easy to follow. I was simply unhappy with my choice of yarn partway through knitting this the first time.

The original yarn, Verdande by Spirit Trail Fiberworks, is lovely yarn. I had it (and still have it) in a beautiful blue called Midnight Rendezvous. The first problem was that the decorative increases on the back yoke of the sweater didn’t show up clearly in the dark yarn. The second problem was that there was more color variation in the yarn than I wanted for this particular project. I got fairly far (farther than shown here) and decided that I needed to start over. So I did. (I’m now looking for a good project for the Verdande which is beautiful, luscious yarn in its own right.)

My second yarn choice, which worked out perfectly, is Equus by Shalimar Yarns. The color is Sand Dollar. It’s hard to capture this color. It truly is the color of damp sand.

I didn’t make any significant modifications. In the photos of me in the sweater, the sleeves look a tad short. They’re not. I was wearing a long sleeved wool tunic under my Nanook which pulled the sleeves up a bit.

I’m happy with how it turned out, but I’m hoping I’ll only have to knit my current project once.

I love me them gradients!  I was at The Yarnery last weekend and saw the last available gradient yarn set from FiberStory in colorway “Marooned.”  I bought a coordinating skein of Fave Sock in Muse.

I have no idea what I will do with these little treasures!!

I have been slowly working on my Woodfords sleeves.  The pattern says the sleeves are supposed to be 11″ (due to the drop shoulder).  I measured the length I would need at 15 inches.  Okay.  That is within normal limits.  I have knit 9 inches and remeasured — I need another 10 inches!  All my decrease calculations are based on 15!  Are my arms growing?  My measuring tape shrinking?  All I know is that having gorilla arms is a cross that I must bear…as well as more knitting, measuring and calculating.  I find that with top down sleeves, I always have to knit a lot more than I think.

PS – Sagerain mentioned Romi Hill’s Williwaw Cardigan, which I already have the pattern and yarn for!!  I am not sure I will go for the gradient look there but I think it could really work!

Yogi Berra just passed away and they ran a list of “yogi-isms.”  I fond that I have used a several of these over the years, or at least they’re worth a laugh!!

On selecting a restaurant: ”Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

On how events sometimes seem to repeat themselves: ”It’s deja vu all over again!”

On fan mail: ”Never answer an anonymous letter.”

On being asked what time it was: ”You mean now?”

On a spring training drill: ”Pair off in threes.”

On his approach to playing baseball: ”Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

On death: ”Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise they won’t go to yours.”

On learning: ”You can observe a lot by watching.”

Our dad tells the story of his mother returning home from the butcher shop during WWII and telling him that she “bought every lamb chop they had before the hoarders got there!”  Sally and I use that line all the time — especially when talking about yarn.  We have to buy it all before the hoarders get it!!

I must admit that I wanted to write this post just so I could use that title!!  I have been slogging away at my Woodfords for weeks now.  The “skirt” is 300+ sts and is just plain slow.  The marker you see (the clip on at the hem) was Sally’s idea.  She said place a marker when you start knitting and then you can see that you actually made progress.  Love it.  That small amount of added length took me all of my Thursday knitting group!!  🙁  One of my knitting peeps said, “I thought you’d be done with that by now!”  I can’t repeat what I thought about her comment!!

I also thought I would share a project that I finished right before the state fair.  It’s a cute little hat called Rose and Lily.  When I first saw it, I thought it would benefit greatly from invisible stranding.  The long carries across the momma elephant are problematic.  I used stash fingering weight yarn to make an adult sized hat.  Because of that I needed more length, so I added some decorative accents.  I also used corrugated ribbing for more color, and attached a kumihimo flourish.  I really love this hat!!

We are in full fall mode here.  The temp dropped like a silk lace stitch.

I’m frequently sidetracked by what the actors are wearing when I’m watching a movie or a television show. It’s not just knitted items, although I pay special attention to them, of course. I wish it were possible to buy slightly modernized versions of some of the gorgeous pieces in Downton Abbey (I watch that show almost exclusively for the clothes) or Testament of Youth (liked the film, loved the costumes).

Apparently, others pay attention to the costumes, too. Carol Sunday recently put out a pattern based on a sweater Téa Leoni wore during an episode of Madam Secretary. The sweater, titled Madam Secretary,is a cozy, oversized shrug with dolman sleeves. It’s a simple knit — all garter stitch — and typical of Carol’s designs, the construction itself is interesting. I knit mine out of Angelic, a soft blend of extra fine merino and angora.

This is a casual, comfortable sweater that I will wear constantly once the weather turns colder. It’s difficult to photograph because of the shape but I’m very happy with it. My one modification was to join the sleeve seams with applied i-cord, which I carried across the back.

Kim and I are ALWAYS standing at the entrance of the Creative Activities Building right at 9am for the opening of the doors.  Not this year.  It reminded me of the many times in recent years I have missed hubby finishing at the Birkie. 🙁  The bus gods were not with us.  We got there shortly after the place opened, though we did take the time to scarf down a corn dog for breakfast! 😉

The first thing you see when you walk in is a big boat.  It was one of the entries and did quite well!

The only thing was that it blocked the entrance to the building and created a bit of a bottleneck.

The hunt was on to find our entries.  This was a strange year for me as far as knitting is concerned.  My  Dale of Norway was such a time eater I didn’t get as many things done this year.  Loyal readers of the blog will recognize most of my entries.

I was very pleased this year.  Roosevelt, Window to my Soul, Vogue Hat #5, and Dale of Norway won first place ribbons.  My Elephant Hat and Scatness took second.  The winners in those categories were amazing.  The sweepstakes went to a circular lace shawl.

Kim’s entries were displayed very well and showcased her flawless knitting (elephant hat and submarine sweater).

The winner of this year’s Penelope Knitters Award for best gloves went to a fellow Camper – Lucy Norman.  We saw the gloves at Camp and knew she would get this award.  Just stunning!!  Congratulations!!

So, a fun day!  The weather was picture perfect and we left exhausted.  I will probably go again next week with hubby!

PS – We tried the Macaroni and Cheese Cupcake at LuLu’s and definitely recommend it!!  🙂