Stitches West 2011

So much has been going on. It's like I went from sitting around knitting and catching up on TV series on Netflix to working full time and not finding enough time in the day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but the house is a little messier and it's more challenging to get in my goal of a blog post a week. I'm going to do my best though!

For those of you who don't know, Stitches West is this huge knitting convention that happens once a year in Santa Clara, CA. This is conveniently a 15 minute drive from where I live. People come from all over and make a weekend out of it. One of these years I'd like to treat it that way or go to a convention like this that is further away. To me, Stitches almost feels like going to the world's biggest yarn shop since it is so close. Here is what it looks like:





And Lily Chin was there:



Might I say, that since I went alone and was taking these random pictures of nobody and everybody, I kind of felt like a creeper. Ha ha! Oh well, wanted people to get the idea that it's no small thing.

Anyway, I only ended up attending one day and I took two Market Session classes. The first one was "Knitting in Both Directions." Basically you knit right to left like normal, and then instead of turning you work over and knitting that direction again, you keep the right side facing you and knit from left to right. I definitely need more practice before I try doing this on an actual project because I'm pretty sure my gauge would vary dramatically throughout the project.

The next Market Session that I took was "A Taste of Bead Knitting." I haven't really attempted knitting with beads, but I've seen some awesome projects that I might want to try. Most likely, I would want to do a shawl with a few beads here and there to add a little something. Since the Market Sessions are only an hour, we knit beaded bracelets (which hey, a finished project in one hour...not too shabby!). Here is the kit they gave us (very organized!):



And the finished product:



During Stitches, your spending can easily get out of hand. People even discuss strategies for staying on a budget, like bringing an allotted amount of cash and then once it's gone that's it! I forgot to bring my cash, but I did fairly well in the beginning. This is what I bought before my last class:





I must admit, if I'm sitting in the car and I get stopped at a red light and there is some knitting next to me, I'm tempted. I felt that I may need this reminder:



And by far my favorite. If only it were true:



I bought this kit:



Every year that I go to Stitches I am tempted to buy these sock blockers and this year I decided it was going to be my "splurge":



So that was everything I bought before my last class. Notice I didn't really buy any yarn, aside from what came in the kit. My husband reminded me before I left that I have plenty of sock yarn in my stash...he doesn't understand!

As I was leaving the convention, I did one more walk around (just in case I missed something). That's when I discovered Sunshine Yarns. Her color variety and combinations were amazing! That is what initially drew me into her booth. Then I started reading the names of the colors. Many were Harry Potter and Twilight themed. Since I love both series, it was over right then and there. I had to have some. My only regret is that I couldn't get more!

The yarn on top is called "Esme" (Twilight) and the darker one on the bottom is called "Department of Mysteries" (Harry Potter):




I have so much more catching up to do (blogwise) so I'll try to post again soon. By the way, I love comments, so if you got this far please leave one :)

View From Behind the Needles

This might be a reoccurring themed post on the blog so I can stick with posting at least once a week. You will see the view from behind my knitting needles :)

This is what I saw last night as I was knitting and watching TV.



Still trying to finish my "congrats on your new job socks.". I might finish my first week of work before I finish these socks!

Celebration Yarn

As I have mentioned before, I have been on somewhat of a yarn diet. When I get the itch to start a new project, I go to the stash first and try to find some treasures there instead of buying more yarn. We've been trying to stick to a budget and yarn purchases weren't really a part of that budget.

Then there comes a time when you need to celebrate (like when you get a new job after eight months of unemployment). So after I enthusiastically accepted a new job yesterday, I went and bought some yarn to celebrate.



The colorway of this yarn is just a number, so I call it "Congrats On Your New Job." Something bright and happy. And out of this yarn I have started my "Congrats On Your New Job" socks.



The actual pattern is Monkey by Cookie A. This is my first time knitting two socks at the same time on circular needles. So far it is going well, but I think the real reward will be at the end when I don't have to cast on a second sock because it will already be done.

On an off topic note, I wanted to share what I made for our Super Bowl party. I will not take credit for the idea (I found it somewhere online).



Deviled eggs as footballs with chives as the laces. They were too cute not to share!

It's Good to Double Check...

...before you double knit.

Two years ago, I took a class on double knitting at Stitches West. It was a fun class and I really enjoyed learning a new technique. We made a little square with a heart on it. Mine was red and black. We were even given a sheet of notes on how to double knit. By the end of class I felt rather confident in my new skill.

Over the next two years, I didn't do a single project with double knitting. Recently I found a pattern for these potholders. I thought, "Double knitting. Awesome, I totally know how to do this."

So I cast on and started knitting. Again my "friend" Denial was playing games with me. It wasn't until I was two-thirds of the way done with this potholder:



that I realized something was wrong. It may be difficult to see in the picture, but every time I changed the color from the background color(in this picture, green) the opposite color (white) would be really tight. If you compare it to the picture below you might be able to see the difference. I contemplated just finishing it, but in the end the decision to frog it (rip it out) was the only right one. I really need to just accept that frogging is a part of knitting, whether I like it or not. So here is a picture of my frogged work:



I'm really glad I ended up starting over and doing it right. Next time I shouldn't be overly confident in something I haven't done in two years (unless it's riding a bike...and even then) and be okay with checking my notes. That's why I have them. Finished product:



And the other side:



On another note, I joined the knitting boot camp found in this group on ravelry.com. Hopefully that will keep the stress of gift knitting at a minimum. I already earned my first badge :)

Completing the Outfit

Last night DH and I went to the San Jose Sharks game. I don't own a jersey (like about 90% of the fans) so I wanted to wear something to support the team. Last time we went I wore one of DH's shirts, which was a little big.

It just so happens that I had some yarn in the stash with the perfect colors (black, teal & gray). The next thing I had to do was decide on what pattern to use. I thought about a hat, but wasn't really sure how great it would look with this variegated yarn. I was looking through patterns on Ravelry , but nothing truly inspired me.

Then I thought of the cowl I made for my mother-in-law. I doubled my yarn (since it was worsted and not bulky) and made this:



Then I added some teal earrings (which I must say is a rare occassion for me to ditch my stud earrings and wear some pretty dangly ones). A complete outfit:



Here we are at the game. The picture is a little blurry because I took it with my phone. I really wanted the rink in the background, but DH had his hands full with nachos and didn't really want to stand up and turn around. Gotta have your priorities straight :)



The game wasn't so great while we were there. The other team scored 3 goals. We had decided before we got there that we were going to leave at the end of the second period. The Sharks scored with seven seconds left in the second period. By the time we got home the Sharks had tied the game and then we watched (on TV) them score the goal to win the game. It's a good thing we don't go to more games. We leave, and they pull it together. Oh well.