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Stitches East
Last year, I'd taken classes pretty much the whole time I was at Stitches and complained that I felt rushed in the marketplace. So, this year, I only signed up for one class a day. I wasn't able to sign up right when registration opened, so some of the classes I was interested in were sold out. But I still found plenty of things I was interested in.
My Thursday afternoon class was Edie Ekman's Crochet: Buttonbands and Buttonholes. This was pretty straightforward and I could have learned most of what there was just from the handout (although it had a couple of errors). There were a couple of interesting ornate buttonhole / edging patterns, so it was worthwhile. The most useful part of the class, however, was her explanation of charted crochet patterns which I admit I've shied away from.
On Friday, I took A Sampling of Stitches from Margaret Fisher. I'd signed up for that class largely because I'd really liked her Entrelac class last year. This was also an excellent class. She went over four categories of stitches and we worked swatches in each. The smocking stitches were very straightforward and easy. The twisted traveling stitches were complex, but I felt like I came away with a basic understanding of how to follow the charts for them. The most useful part of the class was her explanation of brioche stitch patterns, which are written in a very non-intuitive way. Finally, she had us do some elongated stitch patterns, which turn out to be easier and more fun than I would have expected. In fact, the seafoam pattern stitch she provided is perfect for some yarn I bought last year.
Ann McCauley's Movement for Knitters on Saturday was disappointing. Other attendees seemed more into it, but I had been expecting more practical ergonomics instead of a bunch of new age claptrap about things like holding your fourth finger to alleviate fear. (The class was focused on a Japanese bodywork modality called jin shin jyutsu, which is related to shiatsu. Had that been clear in the class description, I'd never have signed up for it.) Overall, this just wasn't my sort of thing.
Fortunately, the class I took this morning (Laura Bryant's Fake Short Rows) was excellent. The technique is related to the elongated stitches I'd learned on Friday and looks like a good way to make interesting, drapy scarves and shawls (and edgings). It was easy and fun and I suspect it will be very helpful with using up some of my stash.
Speaking of stash, I did add to it in the marketplace, mostly because I can never resist buying small amounts of various exotics. In particular, I couldn't pass up a yarn made from silk and stainless steel and another one that contains jade. There's are also some bison, yak, and camels joining the sheep and alpaca herd in my den. And I bought a few patterns and a pair of square circular needles (which I've been curious about for a while). Overall, however, I was fairly restrained. For example, I did not buy any quiviut. And I bought only one skein of Lamb's Pride (my favorite wool yarn) despite it being just $4.50 a skein. (Admittedly, I have pretty much an entire box of it in my den already.)
Finally, I went to the Saturday night banquet and student fashion show. The food was surprisingly decent for convention center banquet catering. The fashion show went on a bit long. If I ruled the world, I'd limit people to showing just one piece, or possibly two. There were some beautiful items, but there were others that seemed fairly ordinary to me. And some things - like intricate lace - just don't show up well at a distance. At the end, they gave out bags of goodies to each table. You were supposed to distribute things in a particular order, but our table ended up trading amongst ourselves. Given my liking of exotics, nobody should be surprised that I traded a kit for fingerless gloves away in exchange for a skein of milk yarn (80% milk, 20% wool and, no, I have no idea how they make that).
Now, all I need is some time to actually sit down and knit (or crochet).
My Thursday afternoon class was Edie Ekman's Crochet: Buttonbands and Buttonholes. This was pretty straightforward and I could have learned most of what there was just from the handout (although it had a couple of errors). There were a couple of interesting ornate buttonhole / edging patterns, so it was worthwhile. The most useful part of the class, however, was her explanation of charted crochet patterns which I admit I've shied away from.
On Friday, I took A Sampling of Stitches from Margaret Fisher. I'd signed up for that class largely because I'd really liked her Entrelac class last year. This was also an excellent class. She went over four categories of stitches and we worked swatches in each. The smocking stitches were very straightforward and easy. The twisted traveling stitches were complex, but I felt like I came away with a basic understanding of how to follow the charts for them. The most useful part of the class was her explanation of brioche stitch patterns, which are written in a very non-intuitive way. Finally, she had us do some elongated stitch patterns, which turn out to be easier and more fun than I would have expected. In fact, the seafoam pattern stitch she provided is perfect for some yarn I bought last year.
Ann McCauley's Movement for Knitters on Saturday was disappointing. Other attendees seemed more into it, but I had been expecting more practical ergonomics instead of a bunch of new age claptrap about things like holding your fourth finger to alleviate fear. (The class was focused on a Japanese bodywork modality called jin shin jyutsu, which is related to shiatsu. Had that been clear in the class description, I'd never have signed up for it.) Overall, this just wasn't my sort of thing.
Fortunately, the class I took this morning (Laura Bryant's Fake Short Rows) was excellent. The technique is related to the elongated stitches I'd learned on Friday and looks like a good way to make interesting, drapy scarves and shawls (and edgings). It was easy and fun and I suspect it will be very helpful with using up some of my stash.
Speaking of stash, I did add to it in the marketplace, mostly because I can never resist buying small amounts of various exotics. In particular, I couldn't pass up a yarn made from silk and stainless steel and another one that contains jade. There's are also some bison, yak, and camels joining the sheep and alpaca herd in my den. And I bought a few patterns and a pair of square circular needles (which I've been curious about for a while). Overall, however, I was fairly restrained. For example, I did not buy any quiviut. And I bought only one skein of Lamb's Pride (my favorite wool yarn) despite it being just $4.50 a skein. (Admittedly, I have pretty much an entire box of it in my den already.)
Finally, I went to the Saturday night banquet and student fashion show. The food was surprisingly decent for convention center banquet catering. The fashion show went on a bit long. If I ruled the world, I'd limit people to showing just one piece, or possibly two. There were some beautiful items, but there were others that seemed fairly ordinary to me. And some things - like intricate lace - just don't show up well at a distance. At the end, they gave out bags of goodies to each table. You were supposed to distribute things in a particular order, but our table ended up trading amongst ourselves. Given my liking of exotics, nobody should be surprised that I traded a kit for fingerless gloves away in exchange for a skein of milk yarn (80% milk, 20% wool and, no, I have no idea how they make that).
Now, all I need is some time to actually sit down and knit (or crochet).