09 March 2011

Oh, the blather....

I love that word.  We had Kathleen Taylor, author of Fearless Fair Isle Knitting and self-described blatherer (the word even sounds blathery!) speak at our guild meeting last night.  She was wonderful, although after having been through the public speaking experiment a few months back, I will always say that anyone that can get up in front of a group of strangers and speak for an hour without the slightest of a swoon will always be wonderful in my book.  She shared her story of how she became who she is and how she is still evolving into the next phase of her knitting journey.  She talked a bit about her new book that I mentioned above and although most of the sample knits that are in the book are out on a trunk show, she was wearing the hands-down masterpiece ~ this beautiful Fair Isle piece (or stranded if you so choose to arguably call her work) that she designed and knitted herself ~ you'll have to click on the link to see it since I cannot find a single picture of it to download and share ~ Dragon Ride Shawl.  That's her wearing it ~ isn't it amazing!?  I have said before that one of the things I dislike about stranded knitting is the look of the carries on the backside ~ I know, I know, you don't see them but I know they're there and they bother me.  They just look plain messy and unfinished, but I discovered last night that it's not the carries I don't like, it's my carries!!  The backside of this shawl was like artwork ~ I definitely need lots more practice and some technique tips. 

Which is why I signed up this morning for the 'Tips and Tricks' class she's teaching at Great Yarns this Saturday.  I haven't taken a class for awhile so it will be fun and I'm sure I can learn a thing or two...or ten from her.  Plus, there's a wine and cheese reception afterwards so what could be more fun than spending the day in my local LYS, surrounded by yarn, and wine, and cheese and amazing people?  Sounds like a great way to waste away a stormy Pacific NW day.

I am getting some knitting done and I reached the halfway point on my Mondo Cable Vest last night.

  I'm getting better at talking and knitting at the same time, a skill I completely lacked until very recently.  Which reminds me, I sat and chatted with a fellow guild member last night for quite awhile and after a bit she said that I reminded her of a girl that had come to speak a few months back and that I looked so much like her that I could be her twin ~ we had quite a laugh when I told her that WAS me!  She said 'you're the shy girl?! ~ I don't believe it!'.  Kelli, that story is for you ~ the turtle has her itty bitty shy head poked so far out of the shell these days people don't even recognize me (the baseball cap could have had something to do with the confusion, though!).  I'm sure enjoying the guild and my new friends and all the encouragement and getting to see so many talented people sharing what they love with each other.  It is such a creative and supportive environment to be in.  I highly, highly recommend everyone that isn't part of a local knitting group check out what's available in your area and get involved.  I always leave so inspired and anticipating the next get together!

9 comments:

  1. love your post! I'll see you at Great Yarns on Saturday~

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  2. see you Saturday! your blog photo is great ~ looks much more like you do in real life v. the rav photo you have up! I had no idea that was you at the meetings til yesterday!
    Mel

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  3. Have a great saturday! Sounds wonderful.

    I'll be hanging out with Ginger Luters at Camp Brotherhood with a bunch of Ana Cross Stitchers, over by Conway.

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  4. The vest is looking fabulous. You amaze me. Penny

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  5. Oh Melissa! I'm sorry I missed the Guild meeting this week. I missed seeing you there! I was on a brief foray down to Eugene to deliver one cousin to another! And a few yarn stores may have been on the itinerary as well, but we won't speak of that. Sounds like I missed a great meeting!
    For fairisle knitting, there are some great resources. Whenever I start a new fairisle project I always check out the Philosopher's Wool website to review the videos on how to tack down the floats.
    Also, the King Co library system has/had Alice Starmore's video on doing fairisle knitting which is a good watch. And if you haven't ever taken one of Janine Bajus's classes on the use of color in fairisle (she has some coming up at Churchmouse in April) that will send your head spinning with possibilities.
    How goes the new knitting nook?

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  6. thanks for all the great tips ~ you're a wealth of info as usual, Morgan! I did miss you at the meeting and worried about your mom so I'm glad to hear you were travelling instead.

    the knitting attic is at a standstill since we're working on the stairwell that leads up to it right now ~ then it's back to business so hopefully more updates soon!

    see you next month at the sale? are you selling or just buying (both, neither?)
    Mel

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  7. My "carries' would be a train wreck too... and at this point I'm not even close to trying it. I'll stick to the no-brainer knitting for awhile, but I so appreciate the skill at which others are able to accomplish so beautifully. Penny

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  8. Penny ~ I've seen your 'no brainer' knitting in person and you don't give yourself enough credit! You do great work and I'm sure you'd master fair isle also if you gave it a try ~ especially since you're so artistic to begin with!

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  9. Mel,

    I forgot the best fairisle tip! Betts Lampers (you can see her work in and ON THE COVER of Meg Swansen's Sweaters From Camp) is a member of the Guild and she's almost always at the meetings. She's very quiet so you might not notice her at first, but she's almost always wearing and/or working on one of her creations. I think she'd be happy to answer any fairisle questions you might ever have!
    We sure are lucky to live in such a fiber rich community!

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