cosmicpluto knits!

scrunchy and cashmere, what more could you want?

I’m working on a pattern that’ll be ready really soon, so that means it’s time for new projects!

I am in LOVE with this scarf I’ve started out of Jade Sapphire laceweight cashmere. Yes, it’s on small needles and yes, that’s a lot of knitting. But it’s super soft and light, I love the colour and I’m just having a great time knitting it! Very large cables make it scrunch up in really interesting ways. I’ve got over 10″ done and I’ve only worked on it a few days. I already can’t wait to wear this in the fall – I think it might turn out to be one of the most beautiful and wearable things I’ve knit.

a week past

I’m sure you’ve seen Ysolda’s awesome TNNA booth around the internets, but I’ve some photos to share too! Who cares that they’re a little late?

Looking into the booth from the aisle. Featuring Olgajazzzy in the middle!

Gudrun’s beautiful corner.

My own corner!

I LOVE these posters for Ysolda’s upcoming book, Little Red in the City – those buttons and skeins of yarn were surprisingly difficult to pin up there though!

Small Bob hangin’ with the toys and trains.

Fantastic photos hanging outside the photobooth. So fun.

And for a bit of knitting content, the shrug I was working on before TNNA, and before I was sidelined by my elbow pain:

It’s in Sweetgeorgia Merino Silk DK, and though I didn’t get to wear it in Columbus, I’m back working on it now! Mmmm, silky.

post-TNNA recap

There are a couple of main reasons why I attend the National Needlework Association trade show in Columbus (this was my second year). A big one is, of course, to see the show floor – new products, be they yarn, notions, bags, patterns, random other stuff for fall. Touching the new yarns, trying on sample sweaters, talking to yarn industry people! I helped out in Ysolda’s supercute booth this year, putting together Ikea furniture, helping people take photos in the photobooth, serving tea and cake at the afternoon tea parties.

Then there are the other reasons I go – the people. Hanging out with my yarny internet friends that I might talk to all the time but see in person only a couple times a year. The parties are great (the Ravelry Ice Cream Social was super fun!) but even more fun to me are the quieter gatherings that happen organically all over the place during TNNA – at North Market, at the bar, on the street. So many awesome people, old friends and new ones.

And then there’s the Jeni’s! I’m not sure if it’s the best ice cream in the world, but that’s just because I haven’t tasted all the ice cream in the world! It’s damn good, and I made a point of trying as many flavours as I possibly could in my 5 days in Columbus – I did pretty well at that, and had half scoops of TWELVE flavours! And yep, they were all delicious.

I just got home this evening, and already I can’t wait for next year.

P.S. If you’re curious about all the great new stuff coming out this year, check out Hello TNNA!. The roving Ravelry reporters did an awesome job walking the floor, talking to people and blogging it all for you!

on the road again

I’m headed down to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow for Jeni’s Ice Cream (and a little trade show called TNNA). I’m super excited, because this show is a chance to see all those people I only see once or twice a year, eat yummy food, and check out the new yarns and patterns!

I might blog on the road but then again I might be having too much fun – you can follow along with the TNNA exploits from our friendly neighbourhood Ravelry peeps by checking out their twitter @hellotnna!

I knit up a pair of Cairn mitts for ysolda’s booth, since we both bought the same yarn a few years ago in London and she’d lost hers. Otherwise there’s no really new knits for this show – unfortunately my elbows have been bugging me and I’m on a bit of a knitting break! Darn!

winner!

Wow, the comments on that Vogue giveaway post were awesome. I loved reading about all the types of lace you guys love. A few non-scientific popular trends from the comments, off the top of my head:

- Estonian lace (nupps!)
- large scale lace (I love this too)
- shawlettes (is anyone surprised?)
- floral/organic/leafy shapes

The Random Number Generator has spoken and the winner is comment number 404, from Eliza: “I actually had to read the comments to determine what different types of lace there are! I like to knit lace shawls, but I’m also working on a large format lace cardigan.”

To cap off this post, a little bit of fingering weight lace I was working on this week (man this colour is hard to photograph – it’s the Sliver Moon Farm stuff from a couple posts ago):

Thanks for playing everyone!

vogue stitchionary giveaway!

I have a copy of the new Vogue Stitchionary to give away! Volume Five is lace knitting, and it’s super – over 150 stitches patterns, each with a chart as well as written instructions and a good photo. I’m a huge fan of stitch dictionaries and this one will be getting lots of use!

If you’d like a copy too, leave a comment below and share what your favourite type of lace to knit is (or just if you’re looking to branch out into it!). One winner will be picked at random and sent a copy of Vogue Stitchionary 5 courtesy of Sixth&Spring Books. Make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you! Email addresses are not shown publicly.

This contest will close Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 11:59PM.