YYC obviously replaced all their previous games just for this weekend.

I bought way less yarn than last time, because my SS09 stash was weighing heavily on my mind. I’ve had so much fun squishing and petting my purchases though, that I decided to try a videoblog report on SS11. That way I can wave the yarn around like I want to, rather than typing about it.

It was pretty fun to do, and I think it works well for showing off knitting, so I may do it again some time. I think videos would work really well for finished object posts too.

Sock Summit 2011 Report from Rycrafty on Vimeo.

I find the still Vimeo chose for this video hilarious. I look like I’m trying to be amusingly pompous while I’m adjusting my glasses. Turns out, that is just the face I make when I adjust my glasses.

A question I didn’t ask in the video: if you’ve been to both Sock Summit and Rhinebeck, how do they match up? I probably wouldn’t get any classes at Rhinebeck at this point, so how is the marketplace? The hang-out areas? Do you want a roommate?

Here’s a still photo of the sock I’m working on right now.

And here is a close-up of my nails! The Deborah Lippmann polish I’m holding is just the pink glitter (I think it looks like rose gold). I did a couple layers of SpaRitual’s Jetsetter pink polish first.

Oh, and gratuitous Sockgate photo:

Original content posted @ Sock Summit ’11 Report

I started this Sunday afternoon, at work. I knitted some more Monday night at game night at our friends’ house. Tuesday work, Wednesday work, and these pictures were taken Thursday morning. If it had been Thursday after work, there’d be half a sleeve too!

I bought this kit at Sock Summit over the summer, because I knew my friend Jilly was going to be having a baby (I can’t remember if I knew it would be a girl back then… I think I did…). The baby was born on Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, this is not a time-travelling baby) so she’ll be 2 months at Christmas. I bought the 6-9 month size kit, instead of say, infant size, because I was worried about finishing before she was too big (HA!). And this is Canada, so a wool sweater will still be appropriate in April, when she’s 6 months. Realistically, I wear wool sweaters in every month of the year, so I’m not too worried about it being appropriate when it fits her.

I should finish the sleeve tonight at work. Luckily, this pattern is simple enough to knit in the dark. I even did the seed stitch in the dark, by Braille. I’ve found the best thing to do is weave in ends in the green room waiting for the show to start, then knit backstage once the show is on. It’s one of those shows where I have long stretches of nothing, interspersed with busy bits.

In paper crafting news, I bought a Cuttlebug today at Michaels with a 50% off coupon. Dark Side, here I come.

Original content posted @ New Love

My Ulmus shawl is done, and I love it. I wrapped it around my neck today like a big scarf, and it was lovely.

It wasn’t too cold out, but there was a lot of wind today.

I finished the shawl on Saturday (at work), and blocked it Sunday. I didn’t pin it out, I just put a towel on my drying rack, and pulled it in to the shape I wanted it to be.

I just love the way the two yarns work together. The tweedy one (the one in the edging as well as the body stripes) I bought at Sock Summit, it was Color Fest Fiber Arts, and the maroon-y one I actually bought with a sock pattern in mind, but when I got it home, I realised how well it goes with this other yarn. The maroon one is Gaia’s Colours – I met her at Sock Summit (on the plane, actually!) and found out she lives in the same city as my parents, so when I visited my parents two weeks after SS09, I visited her as well. I got to see her awesome dye studio, and went on a bit of a personal shopping spree.

More pictures in both my Ravelry, and Flickr.

I also just received some of the cutest beads ever from an ex-local (she just moved) Etsy seller. I ordered these specially for stitch markers, and I think they’re perfect.

Currently available in the store – I have a few sets, so message me if you don’t see them!

Original content posted @ Ulmus – DONE!

I highly recommend that anyone going to Portland stop by The Waffle Window. It’s in a very nice little area near two offshoots of Powell’s (one of them being only home & garden and CRAFT books). This was the ‘Purl Two’ waffle, a special for Sock Summit.

On the first day, I explored the food carts at 11th and Alder at lunch with a few other knitters.

Very tasty, very huge burritos to be found here.

I didn’t eat at Voo Doo doughnuts (too full of curry) but I did wander over there with some people.

That’s their revolving display case, and below is a close up a bacon doughnut. Yes, bacon.

I haven’t been knitting much lately – too busy making jams and jellies. While at the Farmer’s Market, I thought the 20lb box of peaches for $28 was a great deal (true) so I bought it. Maybe not the best idea when there’s only 2 people at home, but they’re tasty, tasty peaches.

I’ve also been making stitch markers, some of which follow the food theme:

Carrots!

And, just in time for Halloween:

Original content posted @ If Knitting Be the Food of Life

The Unique Sheep was at the Sock Summit, and I spent a fair amount of time browsing the booth. It took me a few days to decide on colourways but I ended up with these two:

This is the Doctors Without Borders colourway. Although, as I was reading the Twilight books in my room in the evening…. I can’t stop thinking of it as vampire yarn.

This one is Woodstock. I didn’t realise how fitting it was when I bought it; when I got home I realised it was the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock, and I’ve heard people talk about the Sock Summit as knitter’s Woodstock (although I’m hoping ours will be repeated!)

This next ball is a commercial yarn, but also graduates in colour:

It’s called Zauberball, and will change slowly from black to white. I bought it, and the solid mauve Black Trillium yarn from a few posts ago, to make colourwork socks with. I even have a pattern in mind, from Janel Laidman‘s new book, the Enchanted Sole. The book isn’t out yet, but I had two classes with her, and got to see all the socks that will be in the new book! I can’t wait until it is released.

The one I want to do is the labyrinth one on the left!

Original content posted @ Graduation

One of my favourite things happened in Janel Laidman’s Sideways Socks class (I think, who was in which class is all a bit of a blur). I ended up sitting beside a lovely knitter who is OhSusannah on Ravelry. We chat, find out we’re both Canadians, and then she says ‘I think I have some of your stitch markers!’

And there we have it! Genuine Rycrafty stitch markers in their natural habitat. Those are the first set I ever made, and the 5th to sell from my etsy shop. They’ve been doing their duty since June 2008!

This is us later, at the Ravelry meetup.

She also really made me regret not joining The Unique Sheep‘s Lord of the Rings sock club. I may buy at least one of the kits, when they’re available, and I’ve already signed up for the next session of the same club. Sadly, it doesn’t start till the new year.

At the Ravelry meetup, I was recognized as a customer by BlackTrillium! I’d pre-ordered her Dye for Glory colourway ‘Coraline’ and was expecting it to be shipped to my house here. After Melanie recognized my name, and told me who she was, we made plans to meet up in the marketplace on Sunday, so I could pick up my yarn in person! She very nicely refunded me the shipping charge, so I got a deal and I didn’t have to wait for this yarn:

Original content posted @ In the Wild

I meant to focus on semi-solids, because I’ve been seeing lots of cable-y, bobble-y, texture-y patterns that I want to make. These are the semi-solids I bought:

I love the red tweedy one! Well, really, I love them all. Clicking on that photo will take you to my flickr, where I’ve got all my Sock Summit photos. I’ll be doling them out bit by bit.

I did start a project while I was out there, with a skein I bought at the marketplace. I needed something simple to knit, and I’d accidentally bought a small skein of sportweight, thinking it was sock yarn. I think that was the only time I got overwhelmed by yarn fumes and made a bad purchase. I was overwhelmed most of the time, but managed to buy great SOCK yarn.

It’s a simple cowl, with a few decorative rows thrown in. The basic recipe for it is here.

I decided not to bother counting the 10 stockinette rows between each band either – I decided it would be a timekeeping piece, so the first stockinette band (I started at the maroon/purple end) was the Ravelry party. The big one that’s next was the Luminary panel. Next was the drive to Edmonton (for the gun class, which I passed), then the drive back from Edmonton, then I just kept going with 10 rows. It’s funny, but 10 rows seems to be where I got to every time before putting it away because I was bored or my fingers were tired.

More new projects and more new yarn later!

Original content posted @ Sock Summit Pile-O-Goodies

No, I didn’t take the laptop.

Yes, customs let me back in to Canada with a suitcase full of yarn (funnily enough, once I said the words ‘Sock. Summit’, my documents got stamped really fast).

No, I have no idea how long it will take me to knit all that yarn up.

Yes, I brought my camera.

No, I didn’t take many pictures (I was having too much fun!).

Yes, I will post my few pics.

Yes, I will be adding all that yarn to my Ravelry.

Yes, that’s me in the 4th picture from the bottom in this post (with the blue wrap, and the glass of wine).

Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’m off to Edmonton for another class all-day Wednesday. This one has nothing to do with socks, and everything to do with guns. (even if guns used on stage in the theatre are replicas/don’t otherwise work, someone on the crew still needs a gun license. Now that person can be me!)

Thinking of pretending I’m a vegetarian, just to confuse the gun people even more.

Original content posted @ Sock Summit

And I’ve started on the second colour! My Revolutionary Stitch Markers are really coming in handy: as you go up the sides, you leave one stitch of each square live, to pick up when you start the next tier. The markers are perfect mini stitch holders. I’ve also threaded one through the fabric so I know which square was first of this tier:

It’s so great to see it take shape, and I can just imagine all the great stuff I’m going to buy and put in it! I was just coming off a yarn diet when the Summit was announced, so I just kept on not buying yarn in order to save it all up until I can fondle everything in person.

I really like doing mitred squares. Have such little units of work still gives me a huge feeling of accomplishment when I finish one. And I’m getting really good at picking up stitches!

Original content posted @ Bag for Swag

The marketplace shopping bag is starting to look 3D, like it should, no more flat bottom panel.

But, work is wacky and huge right now, so not much time for blogging

Original content posted @ Jetplane!