Madrona 2

2012.02.16

 

Hello:

Continuing my blogging about the 2013 Madrona Fiber Arts Festival in Tacoma, WA.

 I stopped at a booth run by Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  I have heard of this company from the many many knitting podcasts that I listen to, but never seen the yarn in person.  Although I had said that I only need yellow sock yarn for next year's SolidSocks yellow month (I like to have the color in my stash, ready to go), I have been checking out Sock Madness on Ravelry. 

This is an international sock making competition based on the US College Basketball competition, March Madness.  This is a quote from the group's main page explaining how the competition works: 

There are 7 rounds of patterns. The first pattern is reasonably straightforward and as the rounds progress the socks become increasingly more complex in design.
Registered players will be placed on one of 4 teams with approximately 50 players per team. It is announced ahead of each round how many will proceed to the next pattern/round. By the 7th pattern there are 4 knitters left to battle it out.

All last year, as I knit my socks for SKA (Sock Knitters Anonymous), and SolidSocks, I would drool over certain amazing socks.   I asked someone where they had gotten one of the patterns, and she replied that it was from Sock Madness.  Of course, this made me check that group out.  I was way too late to join up, but decided to give it a try this year.  The competition starts March 1, but they have posted a list of the yarns and other supplies needed for the planned socks.  One of the many cool things is that these will be new designs, and only released to Sock Madness Competitors at first.  From what I understand, the competitors get the patterns even after they have been kicked.  Kicked is perhaps not the best term, so, after they have been eliminated.  I doubt that I will last long as I am a slow knitter.  But, knitting socks this last year has taught me so much about knitting in general, that I am willing to give it a good try, and not be embarrassed when I lose.

Back to Madrona, and Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  So one of the socks planned for Sock Madness (sock number 8 - though the order in the supplies' list is random, and doesn't have anything to do with the competition order), is obviously a colorwork sock because it calls for 6 different colors.  I have never knit anything with more than 2 colors (unless it was striped), so this will be a real challenge.  Since the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Booth had smaller skeins for sale, I decided to get my colorwork yarn there.

I am just a tiny bit worried because, although the yarn is "sock" yarn, there is no nylon in it.  Just 100% superwash merino, which is lovely, but I wonder how it will wear.  Perhaps for a colorwork sock, that won't matter since the floats will make it extra thick.  We shall see.

The next stop was Sincere Sheep.

The colors of the yarns offered by this booth were just lovely.  They do not have the eye popping neon of some dyers, but their booth almost looked like it was full of embroidery floss.  The colors were so subtle, like a painter's palette.

Of course, the colors of this photograph do not do the yarns justice, as I was inside, yada yada yada.  But, I really loved their colors.

Next to this booth was a woman knitting socks.  Knitting... with a sock machine.

How long does it take to knit a pair?  2 hours (but of course, she is a pro.)  I asked if you had to make them with an Afterthought Heel, but no, she was knitting short rows as we watched.

I enjoy knitting socks, so this type of thing does not tempt me.  Good thing as it cost about $3000.  Really.

More Madrona tomorrow.

Just a quick update on my own knitting.

I brought my Improvised Crossings to  knit at the festival, since I don't need a chart for them.

But a minor disaster struck anyway.

I am using my prize yarn from SKA, Mombasa by Lisa Souza Dyeworks, and knitting them on Addi Turbo size 0 needles.   But one of the needles broke off the cable!

Lucky thing I was at a fiber festival, with lots of booths selling knitting needles.  I was able to buy a new circular ChiaoGoo stainless steel size 0 (2.0 mm) needles.  I have been wanting to try these out, as many of my Stitch Buds have the interchangeable sets of this brand.

With my new needles, I was able to finish the gussets and am working my way up the legs.

Peace.
f1bercat
Shaping the planet with new needles.

The Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, hangs out with our own Vanesapolo

Sock Progress

2013.02.14

 

Hello:

It's Lent.  I am going to try to post every day.  Can I do it?  They might be little quick posts, but I will try to make them meaningful.

One of the problems with this is that I often wait too late to take photos of my work, and since the sun is still setting pretty early here, that means no photos or badly lit photos.  I need to set up a light box or something to take care of that problem.

I did take photos of the 2 pairs of socks that I am working on, though, in bad light.  This makes the colors look really sad.  Which is wrong because both of the yarns that I am using are really amazing looking.  And, for entirely different reasons.

The first pair are the Smaug socks by Claire Ellen.

I have turned the heels on both of the socks.  In this photo, taken at about 4:30, I had turned one heel, but just finished the heel flap on the other.

You can see the wonderfully fun dragon scale pattern.
Here is a much better photo of the color of these socks:

I am just loving them.

The second pair are the Improvised Crossings by our own Hrvdmnky.  I flipped her pattern and am making them toe up.  I rarely knit socks in anything but solid colors these days (it is all about submitting for as many possible prizes as I can, and if I use solid yarn, I can submit to SolidSocks and Sock Knitters Anonymous SKA as well as Harry Potter Knit Crochet House Cup HPKCHC).  This partly for the prizes (ok, it started out ALL for the prizes) but then, I realized that you can see the pattern way better with solid yarns.  I have a few skeins of multicolored sock yarns from before I joined SolidSocks.  One skein, especially, is just particularly lovely.  I WON this yarn in an SKA drawing last year from Lisa Souza Dyeworks.  I decided that since I was going to try to make 2 pairs of socks this month (am I crazy?  it's the shortest month of the year), I thought I would use this yarn.  The pattern is simple enough that the yarn does not overwhelm it.  I think the yarn and pattern are working well together.

I have been bringing these with me to knit on when I need something that does not take a lot of brain power.  That means that I am knitting them in the offices of our local high school and middle school while I wait for the kids I am tutoring to show (or not) up.  No less than three people asked me if they were cookies.

What is wrong with people?

Here are the tops. 

You can see that I have finished the heels, picked up the gussets, and am beginning to knit up the legs.  I will probably bring these to Madrona tomorrow as they don't require a chart and a lot of counting.

If you are at Madrona, please look for me.  You will know me by the socks!  I would love to have someone who reads this blog say hi.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with 4 heels.