First off, the submissions I was working on two weeks ago? Two projects were accepted. Hurray! Still top secret but will hint that they have something to do with my trip to Beads World in NYC. The new deadline is March 15 so I will get working soon, probably tomorrow!
Second, people have asked what classes I took at VLK. If you have no interest, skip the second part of this post! In chronological order:
Louisa Harding, Tell a Story with your Photography (Friday morning)
I am embarrassed to admit that I had no idea who Louisa Harding was when I signed up for this, but I was hoping (for this blog's sake) to pep up the pictures a little. It was more geared to designers, and perhaps someday I will join those ranks, so I did gather quite a bit of helpful information. Plus I have already started to look at photos I like, and photos of my work, in a whole new light, so there's hope. Now if I can just figure out my camera.
(insert quick lunch at a deli and trip to Beads World here)
Regga Ericksdottir, Steeking in the Round (Friday afternoon)
Steeking is the process where you knit something in the round, then you cut up the middle, to make a cardigan or otherwise flatten out the piece (for example a complicated colorwork blanket). Yes, I said cut your knitting. I did not have the guts to do this on my own so needed some hand-holding my first time through! Regga's specialty is Icelandic sweaters, so the technique I learned is specific to that form, but it was quite exciting.
I went from this little tube with some basic colorwork in the middle:
All prepared with its crochet border, ready for the chop:
To open and flat!
I may just knit myself an Icelandic sweater someday! Probably this one out of pencil roving made from wool from our flock. Wouldn't that be an amazing sweater?
(Insert quick walk-through of Marketplace vendors and my conversation with Franklin Habit here; you can see Pam's picture of my mom and me on her blog. I forgot to include information about Franklin Habit for non-groupie knitters on my last post, so let me provide this link to one of my all-time favorite of his blog posts, though really, they're all good.)
Star Athena, Walk on the Wild Side (Friday evening)
As I mentioned in my last post: my mom and I had overly-ambitious schedules. This class was more of a lecture on how to deal with handpaints, those wild and crazy dyed yarns that sometimes produce a good result, but often can be quite frustrating to work with (witness my struggles before I came up with the Confetti Shawl). I learned a great deal, but we were all tired by this point: the teacher, the students, me especially. I could have put my head down on the table and fallen asleep.
My mother and I staggered upstairs to the revolving restaurant at the top of the hotel, then promptly collapsed into bed.
Barry Klein, Knit to Fit (Saturday all day)
This class was phenomenal. I have a much better grasp of how knitting fits our bodies, and more specifically, mine. It was a revelation. He has a clear, concise way of explaining the math involved in figuring such things out, and how to adapt patterns to fit each particular circumstance. After the class, I was looking at a pattern I wanted to make, and realized I needed to add more room in one place, but take it away from another, and now I knew exactly how to do it.
The poorly-done lecture was during the break between the first and second halves of Barry Klein's class. I have to give VKL props: they have already contacted me about my experience so that is impressive customer service.
We visited the marketplace one last time, as we each had a purchase to make, and then schlepped down 8th Avenue to the train and home. I'll leave you with one last shot, unfortunately overexposed because my camera settings were off. The congestion and tackiness of Times Square had completely unnerved me by this point and I couldn't figure out how to fix it on the fly. Hey, I live in the country!
But for a day I felt a tiny bit urban.
And you certainly looked and acted it....urban, that is!
ReplyDelete