Meeting a legend
This past weekend I met Amy Singer of Knitty fame....
But first, an FO (finished object)
Amy came to Hill Country Weavers to promote her new book, No Sheep For You. Amy is allergic to just about all animal fibers, and the book is dedicated to working with non-protein fibers (with the exception of silk) and how to make subsitutes.
So being more than halfway done with a project from one of her other books, the Cherry Bomb tank from Big Girl Knits, and having subsituted the wool for a cotton yarn (Katia's Jamaica), I had to finish it in time for the class to show it off.
Here are some "in progress" picks:
And here is the completed tank:
Some pattern notes:
I went through hell getting the gauge right for this pattern. The pattern said US 5-6 (I believe) as did the yarn. Being a loose knitter, I cast on in size 4. Too loose. Size 3. Too loose. Size 2. Too loose!!! I bought size 0. Too tight. Size 1. Too tight. Addi Turbo Size 1 (between US 1 and US 2). Too tight. Size 2 again. Perfect (what happened the first time??!!!)
Then I agonized over size 3X and size 3.5X. I finally made it 3.25X (very simple math, actually.)
The bottom edge curls. I was hasty with my blocking and need to do it again.
I also ade the back a tiny bit longer than the front, so I had to fudge the seams a bit. Still, not too shabby. This is the first sweater I've made that wasn't a disaster.
OK, so Friday I went to HCW for the booksigning. I introduced myself, and told her which pattern I had last submitted to Knitty. She remembered the pattern, and said it was a good concept that needed a bit of work on the execution. She encouraged me to make some changes and try again. That was awesome.
I bought the book and got it signed, and her friend, Jillian Moreno (co-author of Big Girl Knits) sign the pattern she submitted. I'm kicking myself for not bring Big Girl Knits for them to sign.
i
Saturday was a class discussing the concepts in the book. I won't go into the whole thing, but here are some main points I want to be sure to remember:
- Silk is warmer than wool.
-Hemp gets softer and better with machine washing. I see more hemp in my future. (Good sources are House of Hemp and Hemp for Knitting.
-Handmaiden Silken blocks beautifully and works great for lace.
-Blue Heron Rayon Metallic is awesome.
-One skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk will make one very nice "Lacewings" shawl at (available at Lettuce Knit.)
-Seacell smells like seaweed
-Schulana Super Cotton is ridiculously stretchy.
-Bamboo yarn is made when the bamboo is ground up and "extruded" into yarn.
-Some moths are really lazy.
-One from Suzanne (shop owner): The store is now carrying yarn made from Ceramic, which is supposed to actually lower body tempertaure.
Of course, there was much more than that, but those some bits that stick in my mind . I also know more about the charts in the book.
Amy brought swatches from all the patterns in the books, went over the different types of non-protein fiber (and silk.) We got Samples of Linen and Bamboo yarn to knit swatches. We talked and laughed and took pictures:
And I took my picture with Amy:
(This is the scarpbook worthy picture)
After class there was much browsing. Amy bought some Habu yarn and I won't be surprised if we see it on the Knitty blog. And as I left, I noticed the sign at the little house next door. Suzanne owns the house, which was once a law firm. She finally painted over the sign...
That pretty much says it all!
But first, an FO (finished object)
Amy came to Hill Country Weavers to promote her new book, No Sheep For You. Amy is allergic to just about all animal fibers, and the book is dedicated to working with non-protein fibers (with the exception of silk) and how to make subsitutes.
So being more than halfway done with a project from one of her other books, the Cherry Bomb tank from Big Girl Knits, and having subsituted the wool for a cotton yarn (Katia's Jamaica), I had to finish it in time for the class to show it off.
Here are some "in progress" picks:
And here is the completed tank:
Some pattern notes:
I went through hell getting the gauge right for this pattern. The pattern said US 5-6 (I believe) as did the yarn. Being a loose knitter, I cast on in size 4. Too loose. Size 3. Too loose. Size 2. Too loose!!! I bought size 0. Too tight. Size 1. Too tight. Addi Turbo Size 1 (between US 1 and US 2). Too tight. Size 2 again. Perfect (what happened the first time??!!!)
Then I agonized over size 3X and size 3.5X. I finally made it 3.25X (very simple math, actually.)
The bottom edge curls. I was hasty with my blocking and need to do it again.
I also ade the back a tiny bit longer than the front, so I had to fudge the seams a bit. Still, not too shabby. This is the first sweater I've made that wasn't a disaster.
OK, so Friday I went to HCW for the booksigning. I introduced myself, and told her which pattern I had last submitted to Knitty. She remembered the pattern, and said it was a good concept that needed a bit of work on the execution. She encouraged me to make some changes and try again. That was awesome.
I bought the book and got it signed, and her friend, Jillian Moreno (co-author of Big Girl Knits) sign the pattern she submitted. I'm kicking myself for not bring Big Girl Knits for them to sign.
i
Saturday was a class discussing the concepts in the book. I won't go into the whole thing, but here are some main points I want to be sure to remember:
- Silk is warmer than wool.
-Hemp gets softer and better with machine washing. I see more hemp in my future. (Good sources are House of Hemp and Hemp for Knitting.
-Handmaiden Silken blocks beautifully and works great for lace.
-Blue Heron Rayon Metallic is awesome.
-One skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk will make one very nice "Lacewings" shawl at (available at Lettuce Knit.)
-Seacell smells like seaweed
-Schulana Super Cotton is ridiculously stretchy.
-Bamboo yarn is made when the bamboo is ground up and "extruded" into yarn.
-Some moths are really lazy.
-One from Suzanne (shop owner): The store is now carrying yarn made from Ceramic, which is supposed to actually lower body tempertaure.
Of course, there was much more than that, but those some bits that stick in my mind . I also know more about the charts in the book.
Amy brought swatches from all the patterns in the books, went over the different types of non-protein fiber (and silk.) We got Samples of Linen and Bamboo yarn to knit swatches. We talked and laughed and took pictures:
And I took my picture with Amy:
(This is the scarpbook worthy picture)
After class there was much browsing. Amy bought some Habu yarn and I won't be surprised if we see it on the Knitty blog. And as I left, I noticed the sign at the little house next door. Suzanne owns the house, which was once a law firm. She finally painted over the sign...
That pretty much says it all!