Stitches SoCal and Recent Purchases

I actually bought this 2022 Fall Equinox right before heading to Rhinebeck but ran out of time to post it.  Not featured in the photo is the awesome herbal Healing Balm that accompanied it that I've been pleasantly using on a daily basis.  

I also intentionally waited until I got home to buy their limited edition Rhinebeck colorway, Rose Water.  Also featured in the photo of the sweater quantity that I purchased is their latest offering from their Tarot Club, 4 of Wands.

Amber, my Rhinebeck knitting buddy came to visit last week.  She arrived on Sunday, November 6th, just in time for us to attend my Eastbay Knitting and Crochet meet up at Schmidt's Pub.  It was so nice to finally show Amber around my neck of the woods, especially because it was her first time ever visiting CA!

While she was visiting, we went on a yarn crawl all around the Bay Area.

The main thing that I was somewhat shocked and relieved to purchase was what might be some of the last known available inventory of the Painted Ladies and Wanderlust colorways from Houndstooth Fibers yarn from Fiber Circle Studio in Petaluma.  Apparently the owner recently stopped dyeing.  I loved her yarn and I've knit a ton of projects with it.  While I am sad to see it go, I am also happy to embrace the ephemeral aspect of indie-dyed yarn.  

Amber and I both take advantage of public transportation on a regular basis and it was so nice to finally knit together on the bus and the train.

Amber got to meet Kristine and some of the regulars from my other knitting and crochet meet up at the Hyatt EMB last Tuesday.

I am so pleased and honored to know so many awesome, crafty ladies!

One of the highlights of Amber's visit was just sitting and knitting by the side of the the Pacific at (one of my favorite local chill spots) Mussel Rock Beach.

 

Less than 24 hrs after Amber returned to BK, Kristine and I caught a flight down to Burbank for Stitches SoCal.  

It was such a nice little trip and a tradition that I now look forward to every year.

Sadly, the show seemed somewhat underattended, underpromoted and generally small and dull.

For me, it's just a fun getaway so while it was sad to see it on the decline, I still more than enjoyed myself.

 

I just kind of wonder what the future holds for Stitches in general.  Will it ever be as big and frenetic as it once was?!  Why are events thriving on the East Coast and in the Pac NW but not throughout CA?

 

I was quite impressed with the unique colorwork in all of these Splendid Apparel samples.  I'd like to know if all of the samples were knit by and/or designed by the same person.  

 

Obviously I didn't need to buy yarn but I still couldn't resist buying some Knudsen yarn.  The bases I purchased are from MI and NY but dyed in Utah.

I also spotted this fingering tweed from Two Guys in IL as soon as I arrived at Stitches but didn't want to buy it unless I had a pattern.

Much to my relief, Lindsey Fowler released her Hotdish Cardigan pattern literally while I was sitting at the show, trawling through Ravelry in search of a pleasing tweedy pattern.

 

I also purchased a rotating spindle from some Oregon based woodturners and a Tunisian crochet kit from Kira K whom it is always a pleasure to see.  

Our Crochet Baby Surprise Jacket was cancelled so Kristine and I were forced to take a pants sewing class.  It ended up being a lot of fun and my instructor, Sonya Philip, actually lives in SF not too far away from me!  Small world!

 

It was my first time seeing Irina since the beginning of 2022 and it was so lovely to catch up IRL after all of this time.  Not only did her nails that she did herself say, "Love to Knit", but she hand embroidered the roses on the cardigan she knit! I love her and miss seeing her so much!

I am finally back home now.  I just picked Matt and Xena up from the airport from their respective trips.  I have been crazy busy with work and planning for the holidays and believe it or not, we are about to head out of town (again) until the end of the month in 2 days.

Now, I just gotta wind some yarn, keep planning and stay positive for all of our upcoming adventures.

Knit Bat Cape Designed by Kate Bellando

Happy Halloween!  And I can finally say that with sheer relief and satisfaction! Once Xena decided she wanted to be a vampire bat for Halloween, I knew I just had to make something.  I wrongly assumed that there would be a ton of costume ideas to choose from on Ravelry but there really wasn't much for this specific costume idea.  Thankfully, I found the most perfect Knit Bat Cape pattern, designed by Kate Bellando, a designer I was previously unfamiliar with.

This costume was truly a labor of love on so many levels.  The pattern is designed for an adult with a 32" length but since I wanted it to be draping and almost touching the ground for Xena, I didn't make any modifications to the size.  

The pattern calls for size 10.5 needles but since I knit so loose, I started knitting the project with size 9 Signature Stilettos on 40" circulars, but then the cable broke.  If you didn't already know, Signature needles have a lifetime warranty and as soon as I contacted them, they immediately mailed a replacement set of cables.  Thankfully, I already had multiple spare needle sets to choose from and I immediately switched to Lykke interchangeable shorties while waiting for the other needles to arrive.  They're surprisingly quick for wood but nothing in comparison to Signature's stiletto tips for speed doing lacework. 

 

So if that wasn't enough drama, I ran out of yarn and had to order more because literally no store in the entire Bay Area had the correct quantity that I required.  I wasn't using any obscure yarn; it was Lion Brand Homespun but I suppose black is just in super high demand for Halloween.  I used this boucle-ish variety of yarn because I wanted the texture to be like wrinkly bat wings.  Unfortunately my yarn didn't arrive before I left for Rhinebeck so I couldn't return to working on the cape until mid-Oct.  By then I had just decided to keep going with the Lykke's for the sake of consistency.

 

I intentionally used acrylic yarn for this project since it's a cape for a kid and I wanted it to be machine washable. I didn't even bother to block the cape but I think I would've if I had more time.  I didn't even finish binding off until Saturday AM and we had Halloween parties to attend all weekend.

When I stopped into Joann's at the nth hour, after working all day on Saturday night to find ribbon, it was a full blown warzone.  There was hardly even any ribbon to choose from but I am very pleased with the glittery greenish black ribbon I ended up with, even if it is very rigid.

 

It's also worth noting that Xena is wearing the purple sweater I knit for her first day of school last year over her dress.  The sleeves are getting a little short but it's been so chilly lately that she needed extra coverage; the dress is sleeveless.

I love the art deco shape and design of this cape so much!  I want to knit one for myself in bright colors!  When I dropped Xena off for school this morning and saw all of the other kids' wack ass fast fashion store bought costumes, I was overwhelmed with handmade pride.  She does have vampire teeth but she hates wearing them.  I'm sure we'll have plenty more photos after we go trick-or-treating later on tonight.  I still can't believe all of the people that got trampled to death in Seoul, South Korea over a M_F Halloween celebration!  Ugh!

NY Sheep and Wool Festival Recap and more!

Before I begin my Rhinebeck recap, I just wanted to share these beautiful stitch markers I ordered from a local maker, also based in SF, La Jasmina.

I caught the red eye to Newark on October 12th.  Matt was attending a stamp show in Liberec, Czech Republic and my in-laws were showing Xena the time of her life in Boston.

 

Completely unrelated to the festival, I stopped by Tommy B's Slice Shop in Craryville, NY (about 30 min North of Rhinebeck).  The shop is owned by my friend, Aaron, the older brother of Noah, my ex-BF from the late 90s/early 00s!  We are all still friends and I loved their dad whom the pizzeria is named after.  I hadn't seen Aaron IRL in about 20 years and really got a kick out of surprising him at work.  This was the best pizza I have eaten in YEARS and I highly recommend that anyone in or around Rhinebeck checking it out if they have the time!

 

The first fiber friendly event Amber I attended was Indie Untangled in Saugerties.

Since I wasn't 100% sure how the weather would play out, I layered up with my Hills and Hollows tank and Spark Cardi.

My excitement couldn't be more obvious!

Amber's and my sweaters coordinated so naturally!

 

It's hard to see but this woman knit her leggings!

My coworker, John, is always knitting these gnomes and it was amusing to finally see them out in the field.

I am so happy and relieved that we opted for early admission at this event.  The booths were swarming and many were too crowded to even access on the first pass.

Some of the hanks hanging behind me are the same Lanivendole brand that I first discovered during our trip to Lugano, Switzerland in the Spring.

The polo grounds are such a delightful location for breathtaking classic Upstate NY foliage.

We couldn't leave without posing for this token photo.

The next event we headed to was Wool and Folk in Kingston.  

 

I took a(nother) photo of the Three Irish Girls sample top that I bought the kit for last year.  I only just cast on the front of the top less than a month before Rhinebeck and I am still far from being finished.

  

So, I'm not even a fan of Barbie-sh*t but I still thought the overall presentation of this booth was so cute!

 

Amber and I are now "seasoned veterans" to this event and we came ready to tailgate!

The turnout this year totally eclipsed last year.

There were many more vendors and food trucks and an almost overwhelming buzz of excitement the entire time.

It was a perfect weather for knitting outdoors.

 

We got to see plenty of old friends and familiar faces and meet lots of new peeps too.

 

There is SRSLY nothing quite as mesmerizing as watching the sun set over the Hudson River.  It never grows old.

As per usual, the actual NY Sheep and Wool Festival kicked off at 9AM on Saturday at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.

The weather was actually quite chilly in the AM.

 

But by the time the afternoon rolled around, I had already changed into a t-shirt.

There were noticeable absences in some of the "regular" booths but also quite a few new vendors I've never seen before.  There was even a cannabis dealer which might be new to Rhinebeck but is definitely a fixture of festivals here out West.

 

It was very nice to connect with Aimee from Paris whom I hadn't seen IRL in a year.  

Having grown up around only white fiber artists, it never ceases to constantly blow my mind that I now have Asian fiber arts friends from all around the world!

Unfortunately in my hasty packing, I forgot to pack my drop spindle so this year I was only a spectator during the contest.  

Our friend Alex came in 3rd.  

There was a Lebanese kid who was spinning so fast that had he participated in the adult category he would've gotten 3rd!

 

This year we definitely made a point to take advantage of our spa hotel's many amenities on a daily basis. Every morning I got up while the moon was still out to enjoy the aqua terrace, sauna and steam room.  What a way to start a day!

Aside from one extremely shitty meal at Foster's Coach House where we almost got food poisoning and our waitress totally hated us, all of our meals were incredible!

This was my flounder from Terrapin.  We go there every year and I have never been let down.

My steak at Willow was cooked to perfection.  Even the cherry tomatoes were like the best tomatoes I've eaten outside of Italy.

Some guests at our hotel were trying to describe this super weird wicker table they saw in a shop window and then we found it for ourselves.  I just wonder how much it cost.  So bizarre.

Last but not least, a photo of my haul.  I tagged all of the vendors in my IG post.  Since this update is already long past due, I'm going to end things here and get back to knitting Xena's Halloween costume.  The struggle is real and I am down to the nth minute.