Frolic 2011 Did and Didn't

'Did line up to get in but in the best, warmest sunshine I've felt all year - a fabulous way to start the day.

'Did see Brenda at the Cabin Fever Booth with Deb Gemmell.

'Did get a signed copy of Brenda's Cabin Fever Book on Socks.

'Did get told by this most adorable and charming 7 year old spinner ever that it is hard for grown ups to learn new things and so it would have been better if I had learned to spin when I was 5 - like she was when she learned but that if I really wanted to learn I could try.

Did get told that spinning can make your feet very very hot.

'Did rave over the Viola Booth as the best, most fitting display of any retailer I've ever seen at a Frolic. Viola yarns are, in my opinion, the most sophisticated and subtle local hand dyed yarns and the booth utterly supported that impression.

(Yes that is essentially a line up to get into the booth!)

Did treat myself to a skein of that very yarn in the "Graphite" colourway.

Did have a fabulous conversation with Veronique Avery asking her opinion on various things related to patterns of hers that I'm keen to try. What kind of a great opportunity is that? I love the Frolic!

Didn't manage to find Curlerchick Sandra - not in the loooong line to get in or over the 4+ hours I wandered the show.

Did buy some St. Denis yarn to make these sweet little gloves. (Yarn and pattern both by Veronique Avery) 

Didn't speak to Glenna C. any of the 5 or 6 times I crossed her path.(this makes 3 Frolics I've done this but she is very popular and always surrounded by many others - especially in the Tanis booth where the local bloggers were too numerous to believe.)

Did see Tanis wearing her Whispy Cardigan and confirmed this is not a knit that would suit my larger frame the utterly charming  and  appropriately Whispy way it looks on her. I love crossing things off the "possibility" list - it naturally opens up more opportunities to consider other things!

As I said, I also love the Frolic. Its funny to think that as I type this, the show is probably already pretty much packed up. Tomorrow morning when I head back to the Japanese Cultural Centre for my all day class on Traandsstickning Mittens I'll walk back into the same hall that was buzzing with knitters and yarn when I left there mid afternoon today and it will be utterly empty, still and quiet. That is until I get upstairs to where all the happy chatty knitters are preparing for their classes! 

Merino Lace Socks FO

Love love love these socks!

Pattern: Merino Lace Socks

Designer: Anne Woodbury

Source: Interweave Knits "Favourite Socks"

Yarn: Schachenmayer Regia Nordic Color

Colour: 5517

Needles: 2.5mm Bamboo dpns

Start: April 14, 2010 Finish April 20, 2011

Modifications: None

'Love the combination of yarn and pattern. The centre motif  reminds me of a ripe stalk of wheat and the colour fully reinforces that impression. (Number One Son thinks the centre motif looks like scales, making the overall impression more snake like than wheaten. I prefer my view but now that I know his I'm finding it hard to get that out of my head.)

I also like the fact the colour variegation adds interest and depth to the pattern without obscuring it.

Be it Wheat or Snake, whatever the yarn brings to it, the pattern really is the star of the show.

The way the cuff transitions to the leg...

The nifty heel where the pattern flows right down and disappears under the foot...

The treatment of the heel gusset in terms of where and how the pattern splits...

They're also springy and squishy and grab hold of the leg most confidently.

I planned this yarn/pattern combination many, many months before casting on and then was repeatedly sidetracked once they were started so that they took a full year to complete. This despite the fact there was never a problem with any aspect of this project. In fact this pattern would go on a very short list of knits I might revisit someday.

For the moment though I'm just going to enjoy the fact these are finally done. (Okay I'm also going to enjoy the fact tomorrow is the DKC Knitter's Frolic. Maybe I'll see you there!

Loooong Looooong Weekend - The End

As I mentioned yesterday, I set aside Easter Monday for knitting. I had a few things knitting related that I needed to sort out.

In preparation for Frolicking, I needed to work up a list of things to look for in the marketplace. I'll be there when the doors open and I want to be able to scoot around and check out everything quickly before the crowds close in and racing back and forth makes drawing comparisons too difficult.

I'm taking an all day class at the Frolic on Sunday - and so needed to select two contrasting colours of worsted for the Mitten Class and get the appropriate needles organized as well.

Also on my list was getting FO shots of the Merino Lace socks I finished last Thursday so the FO post can go up. It's usually possible for me to take the necessary pics myself but the heels are my favourite part and I  can't get the photo I want without some help.

Finally I needed to get a "craft" organized to take to an informal crafting gathering I was invited to Monday evening. What are the chances such an invitation would come when my knitting basket is empty for the first time in three years? I wanted something I could work on but something that would measure up to the other crafts in the room - crafts I suspected would be substantial. In the end I took along Glenna C.'s "Nouveau Gloves"with the recommended yarn (Tanis Fiber Arts DK). I figured once I worked a few rows I'd be familiar enough to keep going once I was in crafty company. I was wrong. I knit one round plus 4 stitches in 2 hours. I have such a problem not talking. Oh and my craft didn't hold a candle to the rest of the fibery demnstrations arrayed around the table either!

Anyway the whole thing has me resolved to work really hard and silently in class on Sunday, to "keep my lip buttoned" (as my mother would say) so I can get as much out of the class as I can. We'll see how that goes!

Wish me luck!