Knit Spark Cardigan designed by Andrea Mowry

After Amber and I attended the last Rhinebeck together, we agreed to knit our own matching "Rhinebeck Sweaters" for next year.  After seeing everyone flipping out over it at the NY Sheep and Wool Fest, she was intrigued by the Feederbrook Entropy DK yarn that we carry at Atelier.  It's a comparable and slightly more affordable substitute for the Spincycle Dream State yarn called for in the pattern.  Both of us have been dying to steek after taking Julie Farwell Clay's steeking class together at the Webs Retreat years ago, so we agreed that we would both knit Andrea Mowry's Spark Cardigan which is a delightful combination of colorwork and steeking, knit bottom up, in the round.

 

Since I've already posted so many progress shots during my 3.5 month long journey to finish this damn thing, I'm only going to include FO photos and a link to my steek cutting video HERE.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this sweater.  I used the needles called for in the pattern and as I previously mentioned, I subbed Feederbrook Entropy DK in the Radiant Flux Colorway for the CC and I used Ella Rae Superwash Classic Wool Color #104, Dye Lot # 22488 for the MC.

It wouldn't be a photo shoot without a Xena photo bomb...

...or some silly outtakes!  It may not be obvious but it was raining while were trying to take photos and I was wiping raindrops off my face.

My only complaint and I suppose it's more a preference about this pattern is that I think the folded over cuffs are a bit much.  I understand that they're designed this way for extra warmth; it just doesn't get that cold in NorCal to need them.

I wet blocked the cardi was it was still just a tube in the round before I steeked it and I definitely recommend doing this to anyone else knitting this pattern.  It relaxes the stitches and makes it a lot easier to cut and sew.

Although I learned a variety of ways to steek, I decided to go with the sewing machine reinforcement followed by whip stitching with a tapestry needle.  I am extremely satisfied with my results.  I didn't possess a ton of irrational steeking fear prior to trying it and now that I've done it, all I can say is that it's extremely simple and it shouldn't put anyone off trying a new technique.  

I am so excited about how perfectly this sweater fits me that I've already picked out yarn to knit another one.  I actually have a TON of leftover Entropy DK because I bought double the quantity required in an effort to find the color pools/transitions that were most similar between hanks.  When you work at a yarn store, that's the OCD-type of shit you can do!

 

You know I can never resist a great new nails + knitted FO photo op!

 

Cable Knit Grace Pillow Designed by Bayron Handmade

I have no one but my student and knit buddy, Jenise, to thank for inspiring me to knit this super chunky cable knit pillow (cover).  The Grace Pillow is designed by Bay Area-based Bayron Handmade and has the same cable pattern as her Grace Pullover.  

We recently started carrying the prettiest hand-dyed super chunky Savvy 100% merino wool yarn from Dream in Color at Atelier.  While I generally prefer knitting with lighter weight yarn, this yarn was too beautiful to be ignored.  I used the Jessamyn #523 colorway.  This yarn has been flying off of the shelves at work and I was relieved that we at least had 3 hanks of the same colorway available to knit this pillow (cover).

 

The pattern teaches how to cable without a cable needle.  It is extremely easy with such chunky yarn and grabby, size 11 wooden needles and far more efficient that using a cable needle.

Although the pattern recommends using size 13 needles for the BO, I just used whatever random needle I had lying around for the 3rd needle which was actually just a 10.5 and it worked just fine.

I especially like the use of toggle buttons in this pattern.  Toggles are a great substitute for anyone too lazy to make button holes and it was nice to have a break from all of the extra work involved.

In my previous post I mentioned the Ritual Dyes annual spring cleaning sale and yesterday my booty arrived!

Also featured in this photo is my latest favorite fiber related gadget.  It's an electronic sweater shaver.  If you are an OCD fiber artist like me, you may end up also considering this to be one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century!

Socks and a much belated Stitches West 2022 recap

I've been so busy with both paid and unpaid philatelic society responsibilities that I completely forgot to post a Stitches West 2022 recap.  Recently I've assumed the positions of both NorCal Regional VP and Website Editor of the USPCS (United States Philatelic Classics Society).  

You can view the rest of the video HERE.

Last week I was elected as the Executive Secretary of the Scandinavian Collectors Club and I continue to assist the Collectors Club of New York with social networking and membership outreach.  Sometimes it just feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to stay on top of everything in addition to family life, my Etsy shop, working and teaching at Atelier (photo below left), managing my mail art swaps and correspondence with 30+ worldwide penpals and just life in general.

 

On my way up to Sacramento, I stopped at Fiber Circle Studio in Petaluma for the first time (photo above right).  I've been wanting to visit this store since it opened but it has limited hours of operation that just never meshed with my schedule. It's a delightful shop and I am hoping to eventually take some weaving classes there with my IG buddy, Nicole.  More about her later...!

After attending the Marketplace Preview on Thursday night, my Bay Area buds, Jenise, Kristine and I went for dinner at The Grange, the restaurant connected to our hotel.  It was an AMAZING meal!

We had an absolutely delightful dinner but unfortunately, right as I was about to go to bed, something in my tummy just didn't feel right.  Long story short, after spending hours convulsing on the floor, in the bathroom shuking (simultaneously puking and shitting violent diarrhea), Kristine called 911.  I was transported to the ER in an ambulance, naked (all of my clothes were soiled, gross), totally dehydrated and barely conscious.  After 5 different IV's, having my blood drawn 3x in 4 hours and a CT scan, I was finally released around 5AM.  I was diagnosed with an extremely severe case food poisoning and now, nearly a month later, I still don't feel 100% but I am very thankful to be alive.  Being in the ER at a hospital far from home, during COVID-19 is not something I would even wish upon my worst enemy.  The staff also managed to accidentally throw my phone in a biohazard bin not just once but twice during my stay.

 

Anyway, I did recover enough over the weekend of the show to enjoy what was left of it but unsurprisingly, I still haven't finished my Spark Cardi.  

I had no freaking clue that knitting the belt alone would take nearly as long as it took to knit the entire sweater.  I'm still only about 1/3 finished with the belt.  Then I have only the belt loops left before I am completely finished.

Anyway, the Marketplace and overall vibe of Stitches was extremely subdued this year.  It was a ton of fun and while it satisfied my social fiber festival needs, there just wasn't much of anything that really caught my eye as much as shows of the past.  The purchase that I was most intrigued by was the blue 3-D resin printed yarn bowl pictured above.

Aside from not dying, the real highlight of my weekend was meeting my aforementioned IG buddy, Nicole from Davis, IRL at my friend Jon's record store/cafe, Pressed.  We had such an instantly incredible connection that we hung out at the cafe for an entire day (like 8 hours straight) just talking, knitting and crocheting!  I feel so stoked and honored to have met such a wonderful crafty lady through our mutual appreciation of fiber arts.  Ironically, we were having so much fun that we forgot to take a selfie together to commemorate our meeting but at least I have this hilarious photo of Xena wearing one of the super cool bags that Nicole crocheted for us.

I already posted about these socks on IG but I forgot to document them here.

 

The Silky Sock yarn is from Honey Girl Farms in their Nutcracker: The Magic of Christmas colorway.  I believe this was one of those Rhinebeck OOAK exclusives.

 

Last weekend we flew to St. Louis for their Stamp Expo where Matt exhibit his Danish West Indies postal history exhibit.  He won the highest award possible for his exhibit and we had a terrific time swimming in the hotel pool and catching up with all of our philatelic friends.  All of this flying meant I had plenty of time for knitting and I spent as much time as possible finishing these adorable little socks for Armen's 2nd birthday.

 

 

There's no specific pattern but I posted all of the details on IG.

Now Xena is jealous and she wants more of her own.

But usually her feet get so hot that every time I put her in handknit socks for school, she comes home in bare feet.

In other news, Xena finally wound her first cake of fingering weight yarn all by herself!  If I were a religious person, I would have to admit, my prayers have finally been answered.

What else is happening?  My super adorable Spring Equinox offering and yarn subscription from Ritual Dyes just arrived!

Their annual spring cleaning sale is going on RIGHT NOW, this very day.  Sadly, I spaced out, slept in and totally forgot about it so I missed out on all of the mystery bags but I did manage to grab a few nice things that I will share with my readers as soon as they arrive.

The final big news that I have to share is next month, Matt and I are travelling to Lugano, Switzerland for the Helvetia World Stamp Exhibition.  Matt will be exhibiting his United States 1870-88 Bank Note issue Postal History collection.  We are dropping Xena off with my in-laws in Boston en route to Zurich and using this trip to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, Xena-free.  I've never been to Switzerland before.  Matt's has been there a few times but never to Lugano.  I can't wait to explore a new European destination but am also feeling some mild trepidation regarding COVID-19.