Eastside Stitchers Move to the Middle

Hello:

Eastside Stitchers met at Crossroads Mall tonight.  But, when the first people arrived, they discovered that some OTHER people were sitting at our usual tables.  So, we moved to tables at the middle of the Mall.  We all agreed that the light was better at the new location.  It was a bit loud, though.  We were able to get 2 of the large round tables which was key because we had a fair size group.

Vanesapolo was wearing her beautiful Summer Flies Shawl, knit in Madelinetosh Pashmina.

She was working on the charity baby blanket she is knitting.

Skeinherder needs some free needles.  After all, it is March Madness in only "two more sleeps," as she would say.  She was finishing a WIP Christmas Illusion washcloth, so she can use the circular needle it is on for a Malabrigo project in the Malabrigo Junkies' Malabrigo March KAL/CAL month of craziness.

 GwenS and Anerenbe were back from their visit to Stitches West.

GwenS was working on a baby sweater, in Mad Tosh Tart.  I had inadvertently written this as Malabrigo, because I have Malabrigo on the brain with the Madness starting tomorrow, and knowing that GwenS is perhaps the maddest of us all (though Skeinherder is giving her a run for that title this year.).  The pattern is the Antler Cardigan by tincanknits.  There is a very lucky baby out there.

Anerenbe was finishing up some fingerless mitts.  At least I think they are fingerless.  There is an afterthought thumb, but I'm not sure about the fingers.  And this photo is horrible, as my camera did not like the color of her yarn.

You can see where the thumb will go.

Redbird1 was wearing her beautiful Zuzu's Petals Cowl.

She had brought in a quilt for show and tell.  This quilt is her very first.

Redbird1 was knitting the Purl Ridge Cowl by Stephen West.  And, she finished it tonight.

WireKnitter was wearing her Integrali Shawl by Susan Ashcroft over an anonymous sweater.

She was knitting a Coast Starlight Shawl.

I am seeing a definite color theme for WireKnitter.

Wajio, having finished her Crimple Socks, was back to work on her Shur'tugal by Alice Yu.

She brought a triangle project bag for Show and Tell.

Colleen was hard at work on some of her Charity Headbands.  She managed to finish up two of them tonight.

Chockelet brought a lot of show and tell.
First she had finished and blocked her Wrap Me Up.

She brought some of the project bags she had been working on:

 

Chockelet was knitting a Linen Stitch Scarf.  Not sure how many times she has cast this on.  It is more than 2, though.

Hrvdmnky was beginning a three color scarf

of her own design.

That's it for tonight.  Tomorrow morning, I will be flying down to watch my son dance at the Univ. of Arizona.  I hope to post from Tucson.

Peace,
f1bercat
Shaping the planet here in Washington.

Super Quick Makers' Mercantile Grand Opening Offer

Really quick post to say that I just received an email about the Grand Opening at Makers' Mercantile this weekend.  Attached to my email were two pdf's about the Knit Red Charity Night which is this Friday, Feb 28th, and the Grand Opening with 2 nice coupons - one for a free coffee, and the other for 10% off the merchandise during the Opening.

I can't figure out how to post them, so if you want a copy of them, leave me a comment, and I think I will then be able to email the flyers to you.

Hope this works.

f1bercat

Makers' Mercantile Grand Opening March 1 - 3

Hello:


Yesterday, I visited Makers' Mercantile, the new Skacel Retail Shop and Gluten Free Bakery, in Kent, WA.

View Larger Map Get Directions View Bird's Eye

 Redbird1 picked me up at my house, and we had a little fiber fieldtrip together.

First, Redbird1 was amazed at how quick and easy it was to get there.  Of course, there was no working traffic as we went on a Sunday afternoon, but it is just a quick bop down the 405 to the 167 S and off on the first exit.

The store is very spacious.  They have much more than yarn and Addi needles (though they have those!).  My main reason for wanting to go was that I want to try the new Addi sock needles, the Addi Sock Rockets.  I bought one, size 2.0 (US 0) with a 40 in cable.  I almost always knit my socks 2-at-a-time with the Magic Loop method, so I need a long cable.  I will report back on what I think about the needles after Sock Madness is over and I have had a really good chance to try them out.

Back to the store.

It is light and airy.  They focus on their own needles, yarns, felting materials, and fibers.  This means that you can get a really good color selection of specific yarns.

Right off the bat (so to say) we saw beautiful fiber.

Most of it was for needle felting, and came in all colors and shades.

They had a wall of buttons from classic to quirky and fun.

They even had fabric for sale (Redbird1 got some for a new project bag.)  Organic fabric!

I wandered past the counter displaying the gluten free cookies (rather quickly as gluten free does not mean fat free), to a wall of mugs and cups for sale.

They also had super cute aprons and napkins.

Then, I turned around to the yarn.  The whole right side of the store holds their yarns.

As you can see, because they focus on their own yarns, they have the room to have lots of color choices for each specific label.  I was very tempted by the Trekking XXL sock yarns, but, held fast to my yarn diet.

They also have some very nice spaces.  They have a teaching/ crafting room:

And another room full of cozy couches and chairs where you can sip one of their coffees, nibble on a cookie, and just relax and craft:

This coming Friday, March 1, they are having a very special event, a Red Light Night, from 7 pm to 10 pm.  This is a benefit event for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in support of The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.

There will be drinks and of course yummy food from the bakery, as well as "Red Light Specials."  The honored guest will be Laura Zander, of the books, Knit Red: Stitching for Women's Health and Sew Red:  Sewing and Quilting for Women's Heart Health.

15% of all sales from this evening of fun will be donated to FNIH.

There will also be Crafty Goody Bags for people who reserve in advance by calling 425.251.1239 and donate $20 to FNIH.

Also!  If you come dressed in RED, you will be entered in a drawing for a craft class of your choice.

Wow, it will be a really fun evening.

In addition to all the fun coming up this Friday, they have a calendar full of classes and happenings.  The store stays open late on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Sit & Stitch Nights.

Check it out this Friday, and support Women's Heart Health, a cause very close to home for me.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with  new circular sock rockets.

Eastside Stitchers at Fiber Friday

Hello:

The Fiber Friday part of Eastside Stitchers met at Crossroads Mall this morning for a bit of stitching.

And drinking some awesome tea from skeinherder's ginormous thermos, fondly called "the Hulk."

Wireknitter stopped by for just a bit of a Ravelry tutorial.  She couldn't stay to stitch, but she was wearing her beautiful Lace Shawl from the Lace Shawl Trio by Evelyn A. Clark.

Vanesapolo, wearing her beautiful Chanel Jacket,  

was working on a charity baby blanket.

Vanesa has been inspired by Colleen, who often knits for charity.  Today, Colleen was also knitting a baby blanket, but for once, not for charity!  This fluffy blanket is for a friend's new baby.

We had a blanket theme going today, because Skeinherder, when she wasn't drinking tea out of her new tea cup from Jennie the Potter,

was also working on a blanket, not actually knitting, but rather weaving in lots of ends.

Redbird1, when she finished helping Wireknitter organize her Ravelry boards, was working on her Zuzu's Petals.

 I think she had only 2 more rows to go when we broke up for the day.

I was working on my Toast Wristers for Quidditch Challenge 3. 

This challenge is to find a partner and craft the same pattern, but altering some how.  This pattern is a simple tube that is 11 in. long.  My modifications are that mine will be 7 in. (I have finished the first one and cast on number 2), and I am ribbing mine with a k2p1 rib.  I was wearing the one I finished all day since our weather has gotten a bit cold again.  I plan to donate these to charity.  My left wrist was so nice and warm, I am thinking of making another pair soon, this time for ME.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the world with one warm wrist.

Madrona 7

Hello:

Another Madrona Fiber Arts Festival post.  I am almost finished with them.  Whew, quite a bit of fiber information.

In the corner of the market, I found Woolgatherings.

This booth had hand dyed bats and yarns for sale.

Although the colors were beautiful, what really struck my fancy in this booth was the undyed fiber.

They had a huge amount of different types.  So many possibilities.  Another cool thing Woolgatherings offers is their Sampler Bags.  You could buy a bag of 24 different breeds' fibers.  It is such a great idea for someone who wants to try a new wool breed before committing to spinning up a large amount.

Hansen Crafts had a booth full of their mini-spinners.

There were a few people spinning on them in the outer area.  These are really nice.

Crown Mountain Farms, from Yelm, WA was nearby.

They really had FIBER for sale.

I love how it was all named.  They also had dyed fiber, in some beautiful colors.

Harmony Skin Care (skincareharmony@aol.com)  was selling soaps and lotions.

Why would they be at a Fiber Arts Festival with soaps and lotions?

Well, if you have ever had rough spots on your fingers or hands catch on your yarn, you would know.  Also, if you have put on lotion, and then picked up your knitting only to leave a grease spot on the fabric, you would know.

Their lotions are specially made to be non-greasy.

Sheila and Michael Ernst, of Ernst Finely Crafted Glass were selling beautiful knitting needles and buttons.

Some of the needles were completely glass.  Some had bamboo shafts and beautiful glass tops.  They also had a large selection of glass buttons.

The last booth I visited was the Habu Textiles Booth.  This is a company from Japan with weird yarn.  By weird, I mean unique and amazing.

They had all kinds of patterns knit up from their yarns so you could see the possibilities. 

The yarns were mostly sold on spools, and were so fine, they were more like thread.

Some were 100% Merino, some were blends with silk or metals.  They even had some spools of just metallic thread.

I broke down and bought a spool of copper and one of Merino.  I have no idea what I will try to knit or crochet.  I plan to hold them together and make... something.  We shall see.

That's it for Madrona 2013.  There were more booths (I know!  still more than what I could show here).  But, I hope this gives you a taste of what you can see at even a relatively small fiber festival.  Hope you enjoyed it.  I sure had fun.

Peace,
f1bercat
Shaping the planet with new copper thread/yarn.