sophy's knits, notes, etc.

since i didn't sign up for any classes, or arrange to meet any knit-blogger friends, i felt that i was at Stitches with a mission to buy yarn. i didn't quite know what i wanted to buy; a quick perusal of my stash before leaving really left me with the feeling that i SHOULDN'T buy anything more. of course, that thought disappeared the moment i walked into the convention center...

my first purchase was 3 skeins of a worsted weight irish tweed from Black Water Abbey [ravelry]:

can you picture this as a vest???

our next stop was the Webs booth, where i immediately picked up a hank of Malabrigo Merino Worsted [ravelry] for a hat:

now which hat to make... felicity or hurricane?

hilary was looking for a silk-cotton blend for a spring/summer knit. and once i saw this yarn, i also just had to have it, Rowan RYC silk cotton [ravelry]:

a very simple cardigan?

we actually kept returning to the Tess Designer Yarns booth time and again throughout the day; it's no wonder that my resistance was worn down and i purchased: 3 skeins of "Super Socks & Baby" (in colors dark grey, grey blue, and navy blue) and 1 skein of "Twinkle Toes" (dark purple):

don't tell Adam i bought these with baby knits in mind...

the last of my purchases. the small reddish brown buttons i bought specifically for the RYC silk cotton cardigan. the leafy buttons may work with my Irish tweed vest, if i decide to incorporate buttons. the shawl pin is for my swallowtail shawl...

buttons and a shawl pin.

looks like this will be a busy knitting year.

Hilary, Erica, Brenda, and i spent our Saturday with just about every other bay area knitter... at Stitches West. seriously. the place was packed.

Hilary buries herself amongst the colorful yarns. Do you see her Bohus sweater?

we had a great time!—though it was just as overwhelming this year as it was last year, i think we were a little bit more prepared. well at least i know i was, if my yarn haul is any indication. erica didn't even have to be coaxed into making her purchases this time. brenda, for her very first stitches, did very well... and i'm sure you'll see hilary's account soon enough...(here it is!) let's just say that at the end of the day we were quite astonished by our totals... astonished, yes, but also happy!

Erica and Brenda try on baby clothes.

i had some potentially awkward and embarrassing moments when i had to hold myself back from caressing handknit items that other convention-goers carried or wore as they walked past... thank goodness no one noticed... of course, it just made me wonder why i didn't wear anything i knitted... not even a scarf. so you know what?—next year, i promise to wear something handknit! (in light of how i began this paragraph, i feel i should add that i am NOT inviting strangers to touch me as i walk past.)

oh! and thanks to hilary, we met a fellow knit-blogger: Chrispy of Pursuit of Fiber. this really just made me wonder how many other knitters and bloggers were there that i should have attempted to arrange to meet. (next year, readers?) i later learned that a coworker's significant other (my new ravelry friend!) spotted me, since i wore one of my employer's t-shirts. yay!

keep reading for part 2: yarn = happiness.

today, Adam and I joined Erica and Jeremy at the Capsule Design Festival at Hayes St. Park. or maybe they joined us. there was phone coordination involved. it was a surprisingly chilly day; i layered up and even wore my shalom cardigan.

it was great to get out and walk about the city. too often, we spend our weekends staying within a 2 block radius of our apartment. we ran into a couple of friends: Barbara, a crafting salon buddy we haven't seen in a while, and Lane, who quickly(!) disappeared. i'm a bit surprised we didn't see more familiar faces.

i have to admit, i was slighty disappointed in the lack of variety... maybe i've been to too many craft fairs? there were quite a few familiar vendors. I didn't really know what a "design festival" entailed, although i expected there to be arts and crafts; i didn't think the entire festival would have only that...

but, there were definitely some cool and cute things. i really wanted to buy these felted baby jackets (just to buy them, seriously). i almost bought some pretty jewelry (and i just realized i didn't get their card, booo). i went back to a particular stall quite a few times to admire their coats (why didn't i take a picture...) and i bought a giftpack of "fucking adorable tees" by WOEBOT. (the pack included herobot, monroebot, and growbot.) they're perfect for layering!

on a sidenote, La Boulange de Hayes is a wonderful place to eat. ladies, i think next time we have a crafting salon, we should meet there for a snack and browse Urban Knitting Studio's yarn selection. yes?

tomorrow is Monday. booo.

First off, in yesterday's post, I forgot to thank Amber, who bought discounted tickets for us. Yay! If you were at the Swap-o-Rama-Rama, you probably saw her snapping photos. Sorry, I was there for a bit, but didn't see you! Thanks Amber!

So this post will be about the crafty side of Maker Faire ;D

When I discovered that Imagiknit would be at Maker Faire, I knew it meant that Craft was going to have a much bigger presence this year. I don't know if I remember correctly, but last year, there was only a corner of a building reserved for the crafts. And, although there were plenty of crafters selling their designs and such, there were very few larger vendors. (I only remember seeing Lion Brand Yarns?) This year, Craft had their own building and boy was it packed:

Near the entrance, very little space to move...

Perhaps I should have taken notes... I don't remember too many of the vender names! There were ribbons and stickers and screen printed t-shirts. Lots of adorable baby clothes and dolls. Mister Funky designer, Narumi Ogawa was there again this year with her adorable crocheted items. Noe Knit had a booth. And, of course, Imagiknit was there:

Imagiknit @ Maker Faire...

Outside of the building, Cypress Hall (?), we walked past this interesting entertainer:

He knits while playing the drums...

I hadn't really planned on buying anything while I was there, but then again, I really didn't expect the Craft section to be so big. But, I walked away with 3 tshirts (green, red, and brown) that fit nicely into one totebag (black), a pair of earrings, and a hank of yarn. For some reason I was just in love with the cute art on the tshirts (although the character really looks more like a pez dispenser haha):

What I walked away with...

I found myself walking back again and again to Starving Artist Bazaar's table to admire the earrings. Finally, I just bought them. They were really the prettiest pair on the table. As for the hank of yarn, I just really fell in love with the handpainted color scheme: the smokey blue-grey-black. The yarn and green tshirt are going to my sister.

We were at the faire for about 6 hours before we left. Afterwards, the 6 of us (we were there with two other couples) went back into the city and had some delicious pho at Zadin. The perfect meal for the windy and chilly evening. (I recommend their pho beef-sate.)

On Saturday afternoon, Adam and I joined the thousands (it seemed) of families who headed to San Mateo Expo Center for the Maker Faire. You might recall that we were there last year as well, with only a picture of cupcake cars to show for it.

This year, I think I did a little better with pictures... I didn't really spend too much time in the Make side of things. (I left that to Adam.) But, I do have robots, the Craft vendors, burning man art, and my purchases to show you.

the robots

I think seeing this familiar droid made my day. Adam and I were just doing a quick walkthrough as we waited for our friends who were still in line. At some point in the middle, we heard familiar clicking, squeeing, and popping:

A girl warily approaching R2D2.

As far as I was concerned, after seeing R2D2, I could happily leave the Make exhibits and head on to the Craft building.

Sometime later in the afternoon and after walking back and forth between buildings a few times to meet back up with Adam and friends, we came across this interesting rolling robot:

The kids really liked this one.

I don't really know anything about the Swarm project, and would not have even known its name if my coworker hadn't told me. This was an entertaining robot (though I guess it could be classified as burning man art, too) to watch... The kids alternated between flocking around it and tumbling away as it rolled around and around. Here, a brave girl ventures closer:

Swarm being harassed by kids...

burning man art

I can't say I'm that big a fan of burning man and its followers but I do appreciate the scope of some of the art produced for it. This giant man was crouched low as though he was about to pick someone up:

Giant man...

Later in the evening, when we were about to leave, I looked up at the other giant sculpture (?) and liked how she looked against the darkening sky and with the one lightpost behind her:

Giant woman...

Stayed tuned! Next up, all the crafty parts of my afternoon at Maker Faire 2008.

Okay. So even though I have (for the first time!) a bunch of finished projects to post, today I want to write about my very first ever knitting convention, Stitches West 2008. Hilary kindly drove Erica and me to the Santa Clara Convention Center, and OMG—It was fun, but yarn-overload! (You can also read Hilary's side of the story!)

Erica actually spent the night before at my place—Yes. We had a knitting pajama jam! (Amber even joined us for some knitting as we watched the pretty, but boring and overly melodramatic, teen werewolf drama, Blood and Chocolate.) So Erica and I were able to wake up very early (for a Saturday, you know) and roll out the door to meet Hilary at Samovar for some Chai-on-the-go.

Hilary, Erica, and me at Stitches West 2008.

It was a cold and rainy day, but you would not have known it once you walked into the convention center. Really, it felt at least 15 degrees warmer on the convention floor--the density of knitters and wool, I guess? It was amazing. We did not know where to begin. But, umm, we sure ended at the Webs stall quite a few times. In fact, I made most of my purchases there (you have to love their variety and discounts!).

Did we spot any knit-elebrities? Well. Hilary pointed me to Debbie New, who had walked past us and was quickly making her way up the stairs as we waited in the ticket line. This I missed because I was busy trying to sneak peaks of the convention floor through the doorway. Then, she later told me that I had moments before backed into Nancy Bush (and apologized for bumping her, of course). I was busy admiring the pretty handmade stitch markers on the counter before me. Hilary also pointed out a few Ravelry friends—It made me realize that I'm actually pretty bad with recognizing faces and names... And, I have to admit, I think I was so focused on the wealth of garments, yarns, accessories, and notions around me that, except for Hilary and Erica, I might have been alone in the convention. And Erica—She had a knack for pointing us to the more unique conference goers and knitted garments.

Madame Hilary yarnplay.

After a few hours, we did take a break for some food and yarnplay. Hilary's first purchase of the day was this amazing royal blue yarn. Do you think the guys in the background are laughing at us?

Erica was very good with not buying anything, but in the end, we refused to leave the convention floor until she made a purchase. Eventually, she found something she wanted while we were at Webs (again).

These were my purchases:

Patterns. Yarns. Buttons.

The patterns

• Lace Style
• Berroco NaturLin #273
• Valley Yarns #118 Cozy Cabled Socks

I'd been meaning to get Lace Style for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity. I spent so much time standing in front of the Berroco NaturLin display pieces (Orleans Tunic, mini Hadley crocheted bag), that I couldn't leave without buying the patterns (and yarns). I couldn't resist this beautiful worsted weight cabled sock pattern (and the yarn that accompanied it).

The yarns

• Valley Yarns Stockbridge in Deep Purple, Deep Teal, and Dark Gray.
• Berroco NaturLin in Maize and Indigo

I bought Stockbridge to make the cabled socks in gray and purple. The deep teal is a gift for my sister. I bought the Naturlin to make the mini Hadley grocery bag.

The buttons

I just absolutely fell in love with these. Why, oh why, were there only two?

Lavender-colored jade buttons.

It was a fun and thoroughly tiring day. I wonder if anyone who reads this blog was there, as well? ^_^