linky do's!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

KDO 2010

KDO 2010 is over yet again.  i learned a lot this year.  i'm weary from the week day so this will be an abbreviated note.

i was up at 5:30 (!!!) this morning and on the road by 6:30.  made my pitstop at dunkin' donuts and got a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and a chai tea.  registration started at 7:45 and the yarn market opened at 8.  there was actually a line waiting to get into the yarn market!  i dropped off a garbage bag full of yarn, books and needles at the swap table (i did this in 2 rounds.  the second time i left stuff at the table it was gone in the span of time i was in the WC - about 2 minutes!)

every year they have door prizes - i won a magazine last year, nothing the year before that, and a LYS directory the first year i attended.  this year i hit the jackpot with this sweet prize:

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that's 10 skeins of yarn, a project book and circular needles.  huzzah!!!  i can't wait to find out who donated this prize, becos i want to send them a big thank you.

my first class was new ways of knitting.   the original teacher had an emergency and another lady taught instead.  we learned continental knitting, portuguese knitting and backward knitting (and purling too!)  now, i knew how to knit continental but didn't know how to purl.  it's really not that hard.  unfortunately i had very lovely but really shitty splitty heavy wool yarn (jil eaton minnow merino) which, when coupled with sweaty palms and the fact that there was no AC on in the building despite being 70 odd degrees out, made knitting very difficult.  i had a horrible time keeping tension.

next we learned portuguese knitting.  similar to continental, the yarn is carried behind your neck for tension (or by a pin with a hook you stick on your shirt) and your left thumb does most of the work of moving the working yarn, while the yarn draped around your neck/on the pin keeps the tension.  i had a pickle of a time keeping tension here too.

last we learned how to knit and purl backwards.  this technique is used a lot when doing entrelac knitting.  it's not terribly difficult - you're knitting or purling, but from right to left instead of left to right.

in addition to the tension problem, i absolutely couldn't figure out which way to wrap the yarn around the needle - clock or counter-clock wise?  a lot of times my stitches were twisted on the needle and i had to pick them off to correct them.  also, apparently i cast on backwards.  my stitches are twisted.  who knew?  i've been knitting for 4.5 years.  i'm not sure i will be able to break this habit.  i don't even know how to knit "the right way".

i think that rubs me wrong.  i was taught that there was not "right" or "wrong" way.  if you like how your knitting looks, then you're knitting the right way.  now i'm feeling a bit unsure about my technique. guess i'll have to ask my teacher this week.

here's my "swatch".  this has to be the worst piece of knitting i ever did.  it's even worse than my swatch when i first learned to knit.  you can definitely tell where i had tension problems!

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after class i went to the yarn market.  ate lunch, and returned to the yarn market again.  here's what i got:


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mmmmmmalabrigo for no reason at all.  maybe a shawl?


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dream in color smooshy.  couldn't choose just one color - loved the olive green, loved the wine, loved the grape.  what the hell, take them all!


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my red sock yarn!  one skein of frog tree.  for red heels and toes.


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queensland collection leche in a cool lime and soft lipstick red.  i had no idear what i'll do with it, but it was so soft and pretty and i loved the colors.


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kollage glisten in a pretty teal and celery colors, with a bit of sparkle.  again, no clue what to do with it.  just wanted a little bit of sparkle.


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steam valley fiber farm fingering in olive shades.  that's my citron yarn!


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2 skeins of dancing leaf farms fingering weight.  their yarn is gorgeous - they had hanks of the most beautiful boucle.  i'm not a fan of boucle, but these hanks found a home with me.  dunno what i'll do with these either - maybe shawls, maybe socks.  see how the spirit moves me.


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lovely vineyard from stranded in oz, all the way from australia.  i got the last hank in this colorwave.  probably a shawl yarn.


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colinette jitterbug.  this was the first yarn i bought when i got to the market.  i loved the bright colors.  socks, shawl.  who knows?


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is it possible to fall in love with something from across the room?  i saw this hot tomato red yarn and my heart stopped!  i don't know what it is about hot red, but i love that color!  it's ella rae lace merino, and i think it's destined for a hot shawl!


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more mmmmmmmalabrigo!!  this is my february lady sweater.  it's so hard to find a color that i liked -  i didn't want a bright color, but didn't want to go so dark.  i got it in - what else - blue varigated.


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i've been wanting to make this shrug.  my knitting teacher made it a few years ago and i think just about everyone made one in group.  i never found yarn that i liked enough to make it, but found the pattern plus the recommended yarn.  the hard decision was picking the color - wine?  navy?  celery?  purple?  i chose wine, becos i thought it would work well with the bruise palette which is my wardrobe.


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i got this book of "balloon pattern animals".  this will be interesting to try!


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and books


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and i love notions!  big coil less pins, "safety lines", a cute stitch marker, and this sock needle gauge and ruler by karatstix, made especially for stranded in oz.  i could not resist.  just couldn't.

as i was walking out of the building with 2 bags of yarn and a bag full of books, i heard a lady comment about "spending so much money on yarn - shouldn't buy so much".  had i not had my hands full, i would have turned around and told the lady that this is one day where i support the area LYS instead of ordering yarn online, where i can support local fiber artists with their handspun yarns, and i can buy yarns that i can't buy at my nearest LYS.  much of the yarn i purchased was for projects i was planning, and since i'm a big girl, i need extra yarn.  this yarn is my souvenir of the day. when i go through my stash and find yarns i bought at other KDOs, i remember that day and the excitement i felt.   yes, it's expensive.  perhaps it's a bit excessive.  but it makes me happy, it keeps me busy, and i love the comments i get from people about my projects.


my afternoon class wasn't a class but rather a lecture - by BARBARA WALKER.  she talked a little about herself and her "obsessions" - she finds an interest, then will learn as much as she can about the subject.  through her research, she redefined the knitting world, developed short cuts (such as the SSK) for knitting, and spent years studying different stitch patterns (much of it from the dusty stacks of the library of congress, rewriting them in "current" language and even developing stitch patterns of her own, and her multicolor designs.  in addition to knitting, she has designed a set of tarot cards and written books on religion and spirituality.  her current "obsession" are minerals, and she has a vast collection of stones and rocks, and currently enjoys jigsaw puzzles.

i went into the lecture with no questions - just planned to knit and absorb and bask in her awesomeness.  but comments did make me think of a couple.  i asked her if other knitters inspired her (such as EZ, stephanie pearl-mcphee) and she said that she considered herself a solitary knitter, although she was friends with EZ and meg swanson.  i also asked he what she thought of how the knitting world has evolved in the computer age with the rise of ravalry and knitting blogs (she said that she thought that they were great).

she signed our books, and i got this awesome pic of her with ETH - the color matched her sweater:

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these are just a few of her sweaters.  that detail is divine.


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that's the set of tarot cards she designed - she painted the pictures that are on the cards.  and that's a copy of her latest book.  it's based on a series of sermons she gave at a UU church in florida, comparing faiths and how religion is really man based and not really God made.  i'm not sure how i feel about that, but the book sounds really interesting.

i stopped at sonic for a burger, rings and grape slush, then home on the eastern shore side (aka 225/147).


it was a really nice day, despite being really warm.  i look so forward to this day every year.  i get to escape being a mom, wife and daughter and i'm just diva, the knitter.  and i love being with others who like to knit as much as i do.

2 comments:

  1. I must attend this event next year! I've never been.
    Your yarn looks fabulous! :) Not to mention BW!

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  2. kristin, you should! it's an absolute blast - the classes, the yarn market. annie modesitt was also teaching classes - i really wanted to take her cocoon sweater class but it coincided with the new ways to knit class, plus at the time i was also taking the BW lecture. this year was awesome! KDO is 9/9-9/10 next year - mark your calendar!

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