Mom and I went to
Madrona last night to check out the Marketplace and attend the evening talk & teacher's gallery. I have no photos to prove that I was there, but I have to say how much I enjoyed
Lucy Neatby's talk about design. Her background and designs are pretty unique--for instance, the vest she was wearing had maybe 20 or 30 bright colors in a South American style pattern with a few bicycles thrown in. It's a beautiful piece of knitting, and it appeals to me even though I tend not to wear bright colors, but it's the kind of design that is so unexpected that it makes you think "where did THAT come from?" Lucy's talk really demonstrated the link between her design inspirations and her actual life--the landscape she lives in, her interests and those of her family, textiles she collected as a merchant Navy officer. It was a really inspiring talk, and it reminded me that I've got
these mittens in my Ravelry queue and I should get cracking on some of my WIPs so that I can start them. I really wanted to take a class with Lucy this year, but couldn't quite cram everything into my schedule (and budget), and they filled up very quickly.
The marketplace is great, but I'm trying to shop smartly so I just checked things out yesterday instead of going nuts with $48/skein artyarns cashmere. It was tough, but I've got a dollar limit in mind and I want to make sure that I spend it on yarn that is difficult to get at local shops and that strikes a balance between awesome and thriftyness. But seriously, that artyarns cashmere is delicious, and if only I didn't have two or three lace projects going and some Blue Moon lace yarn in the stash, I'd probably talk myself into a $96 scarf.
Today I'm taking
Ruth Sørensen's Kauni Hat class, I'll remember to pack my camera! I heard that her sweater design class (which was one of the classes on my short-list, but it fell off in favor of vacation-day hoarding) went really well. I saw the hat samples yesterday at the Teacher's Gallery, and they're amazing--and they confirm that Kauni does in fact soften up with washing. In the interest of including a photo in my post, here's some Kauni that it's my stash:
3 comments:
Look forward to hearing all about the kauni hat class - I saw those on her blog and they're gorgeous!
I was tempted to buy some kauni yarn while there, but I had to resist before I went over my budget (which I did, but not by too much).
So far I have resisted the yarn at Madrona too, largely for the reasons you stated. Somehow that logic/restraint didn't hold up when it came to fiber though... ;-)
Hmmm, actually, maybe I did after all? Not a lot of gorgeous hand painted fiber available locally... Even found some Targhee!
I just like saying Lucy Neatby's name over and over again. If ever there was a name for a character in a book, it would be hers. Have fun at your class. I still get intimidated going to a knitting class . . . either as the student or the teacher (since I am always afraid someone will pose the question, "Why is someone paying you to tell me this shit?"). Can't wait for the photos!
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