This is truly “travel season” in the fiber world! So may events happen in late winter / early spring.

I had a blast Feb 21 – 24 at STITCHES West in Santa Clara, CA.  I took a few classes, hung out in our booth (number 1025) and saw lots of friends.

We went to the fashion show:

We spent a lot of time on the show floor:

(Edie Eckman, Heather Walker, and Me.)

This is Laura, of Slipped Stitch Studios! She makes the most awesome knitting bags and gadgets!   I especially love her new knitting pattern keeper.

We were stranded for an extra night, due to massive snow in Denver!  Thank Goodness for FaceTime!

I saw a teeny bit of San Francisco on the last night / early the next morning:

Here’s the snow from above:

Alright, so if you’re familiar with my work, you know that I tend to knit seamless, top-down sweaters. I’m currently working on one that I really like using some Sanguine Gryphon QED from the archive (I think that the word ‘archive’ better describes my yarn supply than ‘stash’):

This iPhone photo really doesn’t do the color any justice, but it does show the stitchwork well.

After this one is finished (ore maybe even before) I’m planning to dive into the wide world of seamed sweaters!

I’ve been talking to a LOT of knitting teachers lately, and have decided to open my mind to  seaming.  I’m one of those knitters who LOVES weaving in ends, picking up and working button bands and collars, and making the whole finished sweater look perfect.  If I ever send a sweater to a sample knitter, I ask for it back so that I can do all of the finishing and trims.  SO – this leads me to believe that I might also love seaming.

I took a class at the ost recent TNNA  from Chris Bylsma on seaming.  She is not only completely gorgeous (had to throw that in there!) she is a great teacher.  Funny, charismatic, and really helpful.  She also draws these great sketches that, along with her explanation, really help the class to understand what the needle and yarn should be doing.

Here are some of my class seams – so amazingly easy and pretty:

So, yes, I am now very – very excited to try out my first seamed sweater!!  I’ve even got some ideas as to what I’d like to make!

A few days weeks ago, I posted about working on my Icelandic sweater.  This is the one that I made in Ragga’s craftsy Top Down Icleandic Sweater class. I finished the knitting just before Vogue Knitting Live, and loved the sweater so much that I wore it around for a few days unsteeked.

The Green Mountain Spinnery Wonderfully Wooly that I used to knit it is SO cozy! I asked my friend Dan how weird it would be to just not steek it and he said something like, “Kinda weird, but who cares – do what you want!”  SO. I continued to wear it for a few days.  Then I decided that I’d come this far, and bit the bullet.

Mazie, Olive, and I watched the part of Ragga’s class about steeking a few times on the iPad.  Notice that in the photo below, I’m still wearing the sweater.

I crocheted along each edge of the steek stitch, to create borders for the cardigan fronts.

Then, with Ragga’s help, I cut through the body right up through the center of the steek stitch.  The yarn I chose is so sticky that the stitchwork held together just fine – not even a slight bit of unravelling.

Here is the whole front, steeked:

The next and final part was to stitch ribbon to the inside fronts to make a facing that holds it all together:

I used the same ribbon from Fancy Tiger that Ragga used in her class. I still haven’t stitched any buttons to the front. And I’m wearing it all the time!   (I like to live with a garment for a while before going to the next step. )

So when Dan and I taught the Design Your Own Beret (or hat) at VKL, we used the yarn  from Karida (Neighborhood Fiber Co.) to cast on for a class example.  I recently decided to finish the hat.  Here is is blocking (on a mixing bowl:)

The color oversaturated my iPhone in the afternoon sun – it’s a gorgeous kelly green.  I’ll try to get a modelled pic soon.

I taught at my first ever Vogue Knitting Live (VKL) this winter! In Times Square, NYC.  We lived in New York for about three years while I did my Bachelor’s degree and Nathan did his Master’s at SUNY Stony Brook.  Nathan worked at a gallery in the city, and we spent a LOT of time there.  Not so much in Times Square – so this was, in that sense, a new experience!

I put my Fit Your Knits students through the ringer – they had to split up into pairs and take a complete set of figure measurements.  This is the thing that seems to make people the most uncomfortable – and at the same time, students say is the thing that makes the whole experience worth it! We not only take the measurements, but learn how to use them to make any sweater fit better.   I also taught a class on how to Design Your Own Textured Beret.  It’s not necessarily only a beret-making class, you can choose how poofy you want (or don’t want) your hat to be.  Essentially, we divide the hat up into a pizza, and you add your own toppings.  From plain cheese to gourmet – we do it all.

I ran into Choochooknits Karen!  We have known each other for EVER – she took my very first “one the road” design class with Knit-a-gogo, before Danielle opened Fibre Space! By the way – if you ever have a chance to go to Fibre Space – do it! SUCH a well-curated shop!

My friend Dan from Craftsy went with me – and couldn’t hep helping the Vouge ladies wind yarn! He’s so sweet, and knowledgeable!  We had a great time! I also ran into Karida of Neighborhood Fibre Co.  I bought some gorgeous kelly green worsted wool from her.  And I left my purse in her booth.  Madness ensued.

Later on, I ran into the Tall Girl Club:

(Jacqueline Sava of Soak, and Fiona Ellis of — Fiona Ellis.)

VKL was SO well-organized, the students were on it, and I had a great time!! I also ran into this madwoman – Susan Juvet.

…and this happened – several times.