Renegade Recap

Since I missed the summer iteration, I was beyond thrilled to go to at Renegade Holiday Craft Fair. I zipped out there on Saturday for a few minutes before school, looked around, hung out with the CHIRP folks, bought some soaps for gifts.http://www.biggsandfeather.com/

Linda and I had a chance to go yesterday for real. I bought a really pretty distressed metal bracelet for myself, from these girls: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SparrowCollective.

Linda got a butterfly necklace that's also pretty.

I also bought a concert print from the 2010 St. Vincent show at Pitchfork with a house that looks a lot like my house. Plus good memories from a wacky summer skip day. The colors are perfect for my newly painted room - light orange and blue. Need to find a frame, great excuse to make a run to Michaels. Here's the link to that shop: http://heroandsound.com/

At these things, I generally tend towards the arts I can't do myself (painting, pottery, print making, metalwork, woodwork, soap, millinery, candles). Stepping anywhere near the needlecrafts either fills me with tons of new UFOs in the making or more likely makes me really pissed off at the state of modern handknitwear.

Renegade was no exception. A cowl is not a hat or a scarf. Bulky gage cowls aren't warm, don't wear well, and look stupid. Real gloves have fingers, people, or at least gussets, seriously! On top of that, most of them were buttoned, how freaking lazy can you get, trying to sell a swatch with buttonholes. There were very few "finished" knit pieces, none inspiring in pattern or construction. It's embarrassing as a knitter to see stuff from vogue and knitty rewrote into two-needle shoddy sewing pattern and passed off as original. Flat-out embarrassing. I didn't see anything that would have taken me more than 2 hours. Prices were extra high, but I do have to hand it to them on yarn, not too much acrylic. Cascade and Malabrigo Rasta from the look and feel. If you like knitting enough to buy the good stuff, learn how to use it, though. Based on other local craft fairs, I was also expecting local yarns or roving. No roving in sight. A few stands had yarn, one looked especially promising with single-spun and vivid color dyes. When I got closer, I realized it was Malabrigo at 2x the LYS price. A few other small-shop yarns, but nothing local to be seen. Not even Lorna's Laces which is factory, but from Chicago and good quality. Disappointing.

I vow here and now that I will be there next year with finished pieces and colorwork like they've never seen before.

Embroidery was selling for silly high prices too with some messy backwork, maybe it's time to pull out my kit.

Ideas garnered:

Icord braid jewelry

Patchwork accessories

Patchwork embellishment on existing clothes and bags

Embroidered small portraits in black hoops to decorate my room - t-rex, acorns, birds, robots

Knit ties for Etsy shop

Hairclips - crocheted flowers, patchworks

Lace.

Embroidered tea towels.

I really want to make a cashmere lacework sweater.

Buying custom-print fabric.

Add silk backing to close knitwear with awesome patterns

I MUST find a friend who does printmaking on cards.

I also seriously need to buy some Illinois pride items before I go.

Also here's a pretty rad cheetah:

Must find camera

End of summer updates:
+1 one pair of tadpole socks
+1 nifty retro noro had
+most of a cardi
+1 stripey green sock
+1 less stripey blue lollipop cabins sock - no pattern.
+1 grinch glove in debbie stoller

Must find camera, plan christmas, and attacking ufos in earnest.

Taming the Noro

So here it is: My attempt to tame the crazy colored Noro in hat/beret form. A little retro, but I like it.


Did I mention I'm loving the Alexis Winslow pattern? Really easy. Fewer than 200 stitches on the needles. The work above took about 2 hours. Not bad at all. Here's the hat (free pattern):


And here is the Knitpicks Cashmere cardi I started a few months ago. Currently stuck attaching collar,trim, etc. Pics of my cardi coming soon:

It's a New Year, it's a new you!

Just realized that was my first update in over a year. Many FO (finished objects) to post. Many new UFOs (unfinished objects). A new favorite LYS, plus my first and only Etsy sale.

In other news, I'm moving into a house with two awesome crafty roommates, one awesome crafty turtle, and 5! sewing machines.

Sweet sheep dreams and Noro nightmares

One of my coworkers retired this week, and while I'm sad to see her go, I'm ecstatic to reap the benefits. She left me her learn-to-knit attempt. Christmas in July!

-150g of Italian DK weight merino - black

1 pair #6 12-in Addis

1 pair #6 12-in Crystal Palace bamboo straights

1 vintage learn to knit books with a variety of family vest patterns

A delightful assortment of stitch markers, needles, crochet hooks, and needle keepers.

And so, my first pair of Addis. I've got to say I've been doing just fine with my KP Harmony circulars, and I do prefer the bamboo, but damn, the Addis practically don't even have joins.

To test things out, I cast-on Alexis Winslow's "Op Top" hat with Noro Silk Garden (a super-soft green and pink self-stripe) as the contrast color. This is my second Alexis Winslow attempt -- more on that later, but I'm in love with this pattern. Super-easy and symmetric. Finally an excuse to use that Noro.

Looking through recommended Noro patterns, I'm second-guessing my purchase. It seems like Noro's primary customer is the crazy cat lady and her less-than-appreciative relatives. The following Regretsy-worthy images are not in my queue.

It starts off innocent enough, the youthful Noro Scarf:

Then Steven West adds a little hip-hip-hipster twist.

I don't know if you have cats, Steven West, but I can imagine hundreds of little kitten tears dripping down your scarf. Why pick on such a dapper man? Because you've open the door to this:

And this:

And even this:

Proof of the evolution of Noro, a sweater so ugly it ate itself.

Wish me luck on my Noro journey. I may need it.