Back from KnitFest!

KnitFest was pretty cool, even though I was massively disappointed by the Market Place. In fact, I didn't buy *any* yarn!!!! Ok, it wasn't all KnitFest's fault. The problem is that I cheated massively on my yarn diet. I got the Jo Sharp SilkRoad Aran Tweed when Elann had their second sale of it, but I didn't consider that cheating too badly. The real problem was the angora yarn I ordered off Ebay because I just could NOT resist. But, to get myself to that three project mark quickly, I'm counting the lichen sweater and this scarf as soon as it's done.

I can't get a good picture of the pattern in it, but I'm doing a clover rib from one of Barbara Walker's stitch pattern books. The yarn is so fuzzy, it's not too noticeable, but it's sooooooooo soft. It's rub-your-face-all-throughout-KnitFest soft, one might say. I got the yarn a couple hours before leaving for KnitFest on Friday. I would have knit in the car on the way there, but it was dark already. Instead I knit a little there and a lot the way back. This is going to be a present for the new stepmother-in-law, and yarn presents don't count, so it was okay, right?

More about KnitFest. I was signed up for three classes, but missed one. The two I managed to make it to were "Say Goodbye to Your Cable Needle" which was fun, but I'm not sure a three hour workshop was necessary. The first part was about how to read charts. I wanted to get on to the knitting! But now I know how to do it, and it's fantastic. I'll definitely use this technique to finish the Aran sweater I've been working on.

The second workshop I went to was on Estonian Lace Knitting and was taught by none other than Nancy Bush. It was awesome. She was wearing a Madli stole she'd designed for Interweave Knits which K is going to make for the wedding. She was really nice and a great teacher. I want to find another one of her stole patterns from an older Interweave Knits as a possibility for a wedding stole.

Speaking of wedding stole ideas. Here are a couple pictures of stuff I've been fiddling with.

The first picture is of a lace pattern I was trying out. If I design my own stole, I might put that pattern all around the border and then fill the inside with some other patterns, maybe in a sampler scarf style. The mess in the second picture is the beginning of the Forest Path Stole from Interweave Knits Summer 2003. The beginning garter stitch border and triangles was a lot of knitting, but I finally got to the good part!

I still need to find stole yarns, but unfortunately there was barely any laceweight yarn the KnitFest Market Place. Just some Karabella mohair in really bright lime green, red, and bright pink. I might just order some Zephyr from Webs. Hrm.