Recently in resource Category

Long time since I was last here, and lots has happened. Instead of giving you boring details, I figured I would make this a list of sorts of why Oregon is great! And, some pics for visual entertainment. Ready? I know you are.

My list is focused on Made in Oregon, and how cool it is that so many things are here or started here. Remember DC is still home base where my fam and friends live, but it's not Oregon or Portland.

Made in Oregon
1. Woolee Winder
2. Blue Moon Fiber Arts
3. Woodland Woolworks
4. Duncan Fiber Enterprises (no site, maker of fiber prep supplies)
5. The Bag Lady
6. Shibui Yarns
7. Not one but two! fiber festivals: Black Sheep Gathering and Oregon Flock and Fiber, not to mention all of the smaller festivals and get togethers

And I'm sure there's more but my brain is fried this evening. Before I go, this weekend I had a delightful time going to my first Black Sheep Gathering (BSG) in Eugene. I think Gathering is the most appropriate description for this event. People come from all over, and while it may not attract the thousands like MDSW, it has character, a real sense of community and the best fleece sale ever!

I won't bore you with my purchases, but let's just say, my craft room can easily crank out sweaters for the next 5 years! Oh, and I met Judith MacKenzie McCuin! She signed her latest book for me. Super, duper nice lady. The whole place was full of legends, and tons of sharing of all sorts. Plus I met a two new friends! They are both as equally crazy about fiber as I am. Scary.

Now for the fun part, pictures! These are all from BSG, and full set on flickr.

Yesterday I had my handspinning class at Springwater Fiber Workshop. The instructor was absolutely wonderful! Patient, really knowledgeable, kind and thorough. I loved it. Here's a pic of my first set of things:

The purple and brown yummy yarn is from Three Waters Farm fiber. I love it!

NYC Haul

The shopping spree began the Friday after Thanksgiving. My DH was kind enough to drop me off on the west side while he met up with his friend for a ride.

Fikret Fabrics - they had Alexander Henry fabrics at 20% off. I picked
up 9 yards in three different patterns. Their prices were quite low.

Beads World - quite organized and great selection of basics. They had
an awesome selection of base metal chain and other findings. I
wouldn't bother buying beads here. I picked up some chain and silver
findings.

Daytona Braids & Trimming
251 West 39th Street
(212) 354-1713

awesome place! walls covered with buttons, ribbons, trimmings you name it. I got embroidered ribbon, rat tail and fabric covered buttons.

Bruce Frank Beads - another favorite. Worth the hike up to upper west side. This place is in a swank area with some pricey offerings. However, their selection was quite impressive. This guy collects vintage beads along with venetian glass beads. I got both and some semiprecious stones. Best of all he is open late 7 days a week.

Tender Buttons
143 62nd St. (Upper East Side)
near Lexington Ave.
212-758-7004

OH MY GOD!!! You must go there! This place is wonderfully clean and organized and filled with boxes of new and vintage buttons. Unbelieveable. Bring your lunch money because you're going to need it. They had all kinds of stuff! I got old shoe buttons, tiny mother of pearl buttons, vintage Italian and Czech buttons, US nickel buttons, and more. I love this place.

Habu Textiles - quite an interesting set up. These people cater mostly to designers but are kinds enough to offer their products to regular ol' knitters. You can buy Japanese made yarns by the ounce. I picked up lace weight alpaca and a mohair/silk blend. Yummy stuff.

Kate's Paperie - I forgot how much I love this place but it's hard to enjoy it on a Saturday night with other shopping vultures. Pick up their collage bag paper sampler for $20. A great deal for a variety of their papers.

Pippin - Fabulous indeed! I spent at least an hour at this shop on Saturday. I was quite restrained and came out with a few things. I picked up an amber spider brooch, mother of pearl pin and some moonglow earrings. The last two items were $5 each! The place is awesome. I think last weekend was their first day open and their stock was running low but have no fear they're bringing more out. Most of their stock is still stored away. Another cool thing is they will be selling jewelry components that couldn't be salvaged as full necklaces, bracelets and such. Oh and as well as vintage buttons. I can't wait!

A week goes by and I've lost touch with my daily reads and email. It's hard sometimes to keep up with all of the great blogs out there! So, where have I been? Details below...

Trip to Maine

DH and I drove last Tuesday up north. On our way up we stopped in NYC and had dinner. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to stick around and do some shopping. Nor did we have time on our return home. :( Have no fear though the DH says I can make that a separate trip just for me. Yiipppeee!!

The drive up was wonderful! Not only was the weather just perfect but I got to knit and knit and knit. I finished two Xmas gifts and got to knit more of my poncho ---- the never ending poncho. In Maine, we visited Saco, Portland, Kittery, Bath and Augusta. We stayed in Saco and drove around. The area there is really beautiful and the houses are to die for. Just beautiful!

Of course, you can't have a trip without stopping by some LYS. My first trip was to Halcyon Yarn. A definite stop for anyone into Fair Isle knitting. They have a limited selection of yarn brands BUT every color within the brands they carry. They also have their own line of yarns, which I didn't care for, and some novelty stuff. This place is also a nice resource for spinning, weaving, rug hooking, felting and books. I bought 3 things of yarn. Can you believe it? I know it's hard to but their selection was disappointing. I was hoping for more locally made yarns - you know the kind that feels like butter in your hands.

Next I went to Grace Robinson & Company in Freeport. The place was nice with a large selection of all kinds of yarn. However, again very limited selection on locally made yarns. Prices were expensive but the selection was good. Definitely a place for Rowan lovers. My next trip up I will skip both of these and search for the smaller scale producers and handspun makers.

I also got a chance to check out some well-known beading shops in the area. Here's my review:

Caravan Beads & Fibers - Portland
Basic selection of crystal, wood, bone, glass and pendants. Nothing too exciting and prices were average to expensive. They do sell strands but mostly of semi precious. The cool thing about this place is their selection of yarns and fibers. It's always nice to combine the two.

The Beadin' Path - Freeport
Awesome place! Pricey but worth the visit. An enormous selection of vintage Swarovski and lucite. A good selection of pendants, findings, beads, sequins, buttons, etc. I was also impressed with their various items for jewelry making such as ribbons, leather, wire, rings, necklaces, and such. Like I mentioned it's pricey but a good place to visit for ideas.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST - Vote!!!!!

Go Kerry!

And you thought I would be talking about knitting today. Well, maybe later. Ok, how about scroll down and skip this?

I've been gathering books these last couple of days.

From Atomic Books:
Barefoot Gen: #1 and #3 - a graphic novel written in the 70's by a Hiroshima survivor. Awesome, just awesome!

and one more but the title escapes me. It's another graphic novel.

From the library:
Knitted toys : 21 easy-to-knit patterns for irresistible soft toys
Mostly mittens : traditional knitting patterns from Russia's Komi people
Feltcraft: Making Dolls, Gifts and Toys

and I bought from there:
3 Curious George books
African themed alphabet book
What Game Shall We Play by Pat Hutchins

Support your local library! They're always a great source for cheap but awesome books!

Knitting

I'm slowly starting my Xmas gifts. I'm done with one and have started two others. Currently I'm working on two scarves using a simple drop stitch pattern. Besides these I haven't felt the urge to start anything new. I still have my poncho to complete. I think I will concentrate on those and then move onto a larger project. As you can see from the titles of books I've checked out I'll be knitting a toy soon. That will be a present for my niece. I'm thinking of doing a bunny.

Thanks to all for your compliments on Klaralund! I really do love this sweater. I've worned it twice now and have received compliments left and right. Thank you!

I had a great time this weekend visiting friends at Smith Mountain Lake! We went hiking, kayaking, and mushroom hunting. Awesome place!

On the way back home I stopped at the Virginia Fall Fiber Festival. What can I say? This event was wonderful! Lots of people, kids and animals. Everyone was super duper friendly and helpful. The exhibitors had great merchandise and the weather was just gorgeous! I have pictures but I'll post those later tonight. But just to give you a taste I picked up things from Spirit Trail, Three Waters Farm, Wild n' Wooly, Dancing Leaf Farm, and Stoney Crest Farm. Let's just say I see spinning in my future....

I highly recommend this event to those that are easily overwhelmed by large festivals. This one is just the right size, not too big but not too small. Just right. It's easy to get to, great scenery, and the right mix of vendors, classes, and demos.

I would love to go to Rhinebeck or Stitches East but I think that will have to wait for next year. I'm thinking instead of going to the Countryside Artisans Tour in the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain in rural Maryland. There's two fiber shops on the tour plus pottery, painting, glassworks, etc.

More later...

I can't wait! I'm going to my first fiber related event!! Yipppeeeee.....Thursday I'm taking off early from work and heading down to southern Virginia to visit some friends. On my way back home, I'll be stopping by at the Virginia Fall Fiber Festival. I'll be there on Sunday around 1pm or so. Is anyone else going? If so, leave me a comment and maybe we can meet up.

If you're not going and would like some goodies from there do let me know. I'd be happy to be your personal shopper.

Klaralund

Oooohhhh- I'm almost done. No pic just yet until I'm completely done. One thing though I don't have proper blocking tools. I think I may have to purchase or make some.

Holiday Gifts

I'm starting my list of things to make. I've got yarn but I need to make sure I have enough for the patterns I pick. Right now I'm on a hunt for more Debbie Bliss Merino Aran. I need to pick up 4 more balls of this stuff. I'm making two manly scarfs with this. I see that Herrschner's is having a fall sale with this yarn as an option. One thing though this place charges an obscene amount of $ for shipping. Why would it cost $7 to ship four 50 gram balls? Good lord!

Mittens

It seems the fever is spreading across all of blogland - Yarn Harlot has started a Thrum Along, BlogDogBlog came down with it, Norma, and more fellow knitters. This is definitely on my list but maybe later on in the winter I'll get the fever.

If so, I think I need to join one. Now don't hate me for my addiction, please help me find a "My Name Is Carolina, and I'm a Yarn Addict" group.

So, what has caused this revelation? I don't have pics but here's semi-proof. The yarn binge began a week ago with my trip to Folk Art Studio. I had never been to this shop before and what a great place! They had wonderful art hanging, lots of seating space, cafe, and yes, YARN. I picked up two skeins of K1C2 Bon Bon in a very pretty pink colorway. Prices aren't bad either.

Then the gluttony continued at Aylin's Woolgatherer. Now I didn't say much about this place before but now I will. Where shall I begin? Yes, the place has yarns and lots of them but that's the problem. I can't stand messy stores especially when they are overpriced. Sure the staff is nice but PLEASE organize your inventory. Don't let yarns just live on the floor.

Is it over yet? Nooooo...our trip to the Eastern shore had to include a quick trip to Yarns & Co in Easton, MD. This is a much better organized shop then the one mentioned above. The prices are decent and the selection has enough variety. I picked up some DPNs and 2 different skeins in the Artful Yarns line.

Moving on to this week. By this point, I began to feel guilty for the obscene splurge on yarns. Did that deter me? No, of course not. My visit to Knit Happens was very productive both for my Klaralund knitting and stash enhancement. I picked up the latest Rowan Vintage Style and gorgeous skeins of the Rowan Kid Silk Haze to make one of the scarfs in the book.

And last but not least, I love visiting Springwater Fiber Workshop. They not only have a great selection of yarns but also sell their own line. I picked up a skein of K1C2 Richesse et Soie in plum. This stuff is gorgeous and super soft----Silk and Cashmere. Yummy. This lovely item was 40% off. Perfect! Then I saw that they had some awesome handdyed 50/50 wool and silk yarn. I picked up a skein and one skein of their handdyed Lamb's Pride.

Pheewww. I feel so much better after that confession.

Basketweave Pullover

I'm finally done with my first swatch. The hubby is starting to feel left out so I had to get it done. The problem is I didn't get gauge. Nope. Not even close. I'll have to redo again.

Klaralund

Progress is coming along mighty fine. I'm about 15" into both sleeves. I hope to have all of this done within 2 weeks.

Kitty Beds

I've joined the Wendy bandwagon and have promised to finish a kitty bed by Nov. 6th. I'm thinking of using some Ironstone 100% wool and Lamb's pride with a touch of eyelash.

Book Envy

Yes, I have that too. Now whenever I get into a hobby, aka addiction, I go haywire and read up everything on it. Most of the time this includes purchasing books for said addiction. I have many garden books, but can you believe it nothing on making jewelry? For knitting, I have three books. My first book was Vogue Knitting: Quick Reference, then I picked up Stich & Bitch, followed by 1030 Stitches and Patterns ; Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary.

I'm currently envious of Julia's latest purchase. She got four volumes of Barbara Walker's treasures. As much as I would love to own one of these I think my skills are too new to appreciate them. I think they would be a great gift when my knitting skills turn five years old. In the meantime, I'm coveting the Knitting On the Road by Nash Bush. This is an awesome book, which reminds me I've got to return my copy to the library.

Finding Goodies

While surfing I discovered a link to this interesting search engine - Vivisimo. Your search results get clustered within categories and you can search many different sources: eBAY, FirstGov, NIH, other search engines, and online news resources. Awesome!

I'm getting the festival itch!

Fall Fiber Festival in VA
Oct. 2-3, Montpelier estate in Orange County, VA

Stitches East
October 7 - 10, 2004, Sheraton, Atlantic City, NJ
--coupon here--

Bead Bazaar
November 13-14, Exhibition Center at the Ramada Inn in New Carrolton, MD

On the knitting front, I'm done with the first Klaralund piece. The back was super easy and next will be the front followed by the long sleeves. I've also started the Basketweave swatch but had to redo it. More later on this.

So, is anyone going to any of these events?

Oooooohhh...the new knitty is out. Awesome! Check it out...

The hubby is starting to wonder when I'll be starting his sweater. Yikes! So, here's the plan and I hope to stick with it. I'll swatch this weekend and start next week. That will be two sweaters and one tricky lace scarf that I'll be working on. Oooooh boy! Now I have to find my fellow Basketweave Pullover knitter. I found her!

Ok, now I feel better. Next up! Find patterns from Knitty. Oh and shop at Purl! They have a great selection of sale yarns.

It's the:

2004 Knit-Out & Crochet
For Knitters, Crocheters, the Interested, the Curious
On The National Mall in front of the Museum of Natural History, Mall Entrance
Washington, DC

Sunday, September 19, 2004 • Noon to 5:00 p.m. • Rain or Shine • Free Admission. Visit their Web site.

Sounds like fun! I'll have to check it out.

On other fronts, I have started my Klaralund. Yesterday, was the big kickoff at Knit Happens. It was loads of fun, great people, laughs and best of all chocolate! Sorry no pics yet. Oh and yes, I picked up things for my SP3.

More resources for you handpainted yarn addicts (like me):

Hello Yarn

Spirit Trail

Plucky Fluff

Aaahhh...gotta love the kindness from others. While I was away I received several e-cards and a gift certificate from other RAOK members. I love it! Today I've been sending out e-cards and coming up with a list of RAOK recipients. Fun, fun, fun.

I also received my eBay auction win of 1030 Stitches and Patterns ; Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary. An awesome vintage looking book w/ tons of stitches and patterns. I love the Internet! I found out about this book from a Knitter's Review forum thread, a great resource for opinions and book lists.

Another resource I've come across is the Bloglines free service. This cool Web site allows you to keep track of your blogs, you can visit one site and get the latest from your favorite blogs. You can also publish your blogroll unto your Web site. And last but not least, Craftster.org has a new blog. Check it out.

Yes, I'm at work. Can you tell? This is only time of the day that I can do research and peruse blogs, Web site, etc. Anyways, I'm thinking of doing some charity knitting, more specifically, for animals. I could do things for cancer patients, kids, international efforts, etc, but I feel animals never get enough from us humans. I've found the following places:

Hugs for Homeless Animals Snuggles Project - they provide a listing of shelters that will accept knitted security blankets.

Critter Knitters' Coalition

Knits for Pets -a list of patterns and resources

I think I'll do some blankets and felted beds for the local shelters.

I just came across this tip for using JaggerSpun Zephyr. This is the yarn I'll be using to knit along with the Colinette Mohair. I'm thinking of buying more for socks and shawls/stoles.

Patterns to consider for future projects:

Stole/Shawls

-Stole from Fiddlesticks Knitting

-Stole from Alison Knits

-Wrapped in a Hug Stole

Scarfs

-Multidirectional diagonal scarf

Mittens

-Blue Blog's Plaid Mitten

-Warmest Mittens

-Knitty's Broad Street Mittens, errata

-More here

So many places and such little time. I've started compiling a list of places I'd like to visit on my trip. Any suggestions?

Fengari on Main Street in Half Moon Bay

BALL & SKEIN & MORE
4070 Burton Dr.
Cambria, CA 805-927-3280

Knitting Arts
408-867-5010
14554 Big Basin Way
Saratoga, CA 95070
www.goknit.com

LA KNITTERIE PARESIENNE (Studio City)

Velona Needlecraft
5701-M Santa Ana Canyon Rd.
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
Tel: 714.974.1570
Store hours:
Monday thru Friday 9:30 - 7:00
Sat 9:30 - 6:00
Sun 11:30 - 5:00 (Sept thru May)

More here and here

I can't wait! Here's what I've found thus far...

Hellchick's toe-up

Toe-up techniques @ Knitty

SockKnitters

It's pouring out there right now. I must get to my comfortable chair and knit.