Ignite Craft Boston

So that was pretty full of awesome.

I attended tonight's Ignite Craft Boston event, hosted and arranged by Guido of the Common Cod Fiber Guild, and although I expected it would be fun (as all the Guild events I've attended have been) I wasn't quite prepared for the degree of awesomeness. Let me define the awesomeness: lots of enthusiasm, knowledge, and a healthy dose of humor with every presentation. This was completely fun show & tell for adults, but with all the discovery and enthusiasm of kindergarten. And I mean that in the best possible way. As another couple of friends put it, 'this gave me new faith in events like these!' - granted, they'd been burned out by attending too many business (read sales/networky/markety) conference events, and I could well relate to how fried they'd become. This, let me reassure you, was far from that type of experience.

It was also a great relief after a solid work-week after a stupid blizzard that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on us and made finding a parking space and driving in the city something of a drag. Also, cookies were provided.

I was very pleased to see that all kinds of connections to and definitions of the 'Craft' theme were addressed; one woman gave a great talk about the importance of concrete, fun, hands-on exploration for the classroom - even/especially for adult students (yay! yes yes yes!); another person stood up and talked about craft beers - the appreciation thereof, and how much we're missing out on if we weren't already aware of the great and tasty variety of beverages that await our palates. I already follow him on twitter and agree wholeheartedly. Everyone meant what they had to say - and yet were all humble about their knowledge - and we all had a great time. Every talk was punctuated by guffaws and hoots of laughter, cheering, and enthusiastic applause. There were people talking about how they used craft to support a good cause or two, and others who were simply sharing their experiences with problem-solving and curiousity about how things work, and how to fix/hack/mod them. {Lady speaker with the rock as a hammer - I sense a kindred spirit in you. Maybe next time my presentation will be about how to go camping and chop firewood without any sharp implements...}
I've called out a couple favorite speakers, but really - they were all great. Their presentations (both slides & audio as well as I believe a video of selections) will be available soon via the Common Cod or the Ignite site - not sure which but I'll update with a link once that happens. they were all well-worth your time to tune in & enjoy.

On an only-marginally-related note, while I was knitting during these talks (and got about half-finished with a new cotton wash cloth that I've been wanting...) I noticed that the people who didn't bring knitting like me, were all fidgeting with their hands as though they wanted to get hands-on with something.

I'm glad that Guido made noises to the effect that we'll get to do another of these events - there clearly is plenty of enthusiasm and interest both in terms of presenters and material, and audience / participants.
{If you're reading this and you're not in Mass., do check out the Ignite website for what their scene is about and the use of their name, and if you're interested in setting up an event like this in your city, consult the Common Cod site for more particulars. It was great, I recommend it, and with a little organization & preparation, you're going to have a great time like we did!}

Enjoy!

Recent events...

Common Cod talk, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

A quick update.

Among other things, the good side of the rain we've had to endure in my neck of the woods (rain every day for 45 days and counting...) is that I've gotten more knitting done than I normally would. This is a happy thing, given how very very many projects I have running at the moment.

I also *gasp* won schwag, thanks to knitgrrl Shannon Okey opening a new online shop/studio to sell her nifty patterns. I was really pleased to win a free rivulet sweater/cardigan pattern - and now I can't wait to cast on! I never win schwag! Thanks Shannon!

A trip up to Maine with Mum to visit the Aunts and Uncles was lovely, and the sun appeared long enough for us to enjoy an arts & crafts fair in Kennebunk. I met lots of interesting artists, artisans, crafters. I also finished one of my projects while up there, my office jacket (cotton tahki jeans yarn).

And most recently, as depicted in the photo above, I got to see Barbara Parry give a talk at MIT for the last meeting of the Common Cod Fiber Guild - her talk was generally about dying wool and specifically about color inspiration - fun, informative, and lots of wonderful photos from her farm in Shelburne, MA. And there were brownies too. Thanks Guido et al!

More deets in a subsequent post not generated through flickr pictures...

Recent events...

Well, I've survived the holiday rush, relatively unscathed (i.e., I took a few days off for a restful staycation, and slept!)

Some projects were completed, other started, and still more added to my ravelry queue in the faint and distant hope of ever getting around to casting on, let alone completing them. Still, I'm diligently working on a cardigan for the dad, and I completed and mailed out to my baby niece a new little sweater with giraffe buttons, and I'm assured that alias-Pnut is conducting rigorous product testing at this moment! I've found a pattern in the Knitter's Book of Yarn (KBOY) that I think will be a good use of my stashed crochet cotton from ages ago, so I started that pattern as well, in part to learn / practice a Figure-8 Cast On. I'm not sure I like that method, but I can see its utility in this case. I had to hold off on adding the stitch-markers until later in the process, because working with the tiny yarn and tiny needles (I used #2s) in this case was simply too unwieldy when you add markers to the mix. After working through the first several "rounds" I'm pleased with how quickly it builds up and am looking forward to finishing it fairly soon.

In more recent events, I heard about - at the last minute - a fun event: Clara Parkes, the author of the KBOY, a really cool, wonderful, informative and fun read about the how, why and what of yarn and fiber, was going to be in Boston to give a talk at a meeting of the local fiber guild: Common Cod. The weather turned out to be clear, but bitter cold and windy. The crowd (and there was a crowd, I'm happy to say) were all busily knitting - making me and my knitting and hiking buddy, Chiquitita, wish we'd brought our own projects. The sound of knitting needles occasionally falling to the floor punctuated the talk, and it was funny to sit high up in a full auditorium, to watch the talk over the heads of knitters occasionally stretching an arm up to draw more yarn out from their working skeins. The talk was fun and hilarious, and we filled room 123 of the MIT Stata Center ( a fairly large auditorium-style class room).

Clara not only discussed yarn and fiber developments, but informed us about her recently developed "theory of stashitivity"...she's a great speaker, and stayed not only to answer questions afterward, but also to sign copies of her books (and had even brought a couple to sell, for those of us who were honoring last-minute requests from relatives for a copy...like, my mother). Thanks and kudos go out to the organizers of the event (Common Cod and I believe MITKnit? ) for organizing the event and the space. I'll definitely be back for other events.

I'm beginning to enjoy attending some of these talks more and more: it's inspiring and encouraging not only to see photos of yarn and projects, but to get a chance to speak with fellow fiber enthusiasts, compare notes, and have a good laugh.

Hopefully, the posts will be a little less intermittent now that winter's here.

So close...

So close to finishing the little baby hooded cardigan that originally started out as a guernsey sweater - ha ha ha, therein lies a story. I start these projects and just keep improvising, it's a thing I have. Nonetheless, this is exciting. I love the cranberry color and the feel of the yarn, so although the first time I knitted the sleeves, I was wondering if it was just that I'm unfamiliar with the relative size and proportions appropriate to knitting a baby sweater, but I had in fact picked up too many stitches for the armscye. I went back afterwards, frogged out, and started again with a better number and now they match. Much better. Now I'm just knitting the hood; I was considering doing just a little collar but since the cardigan seems large enough to use as a little "coat" then a hood seems appropriate given that winter is just about upon us. I've got some really cute little buttons, and I'm going to make some i-cord loops to go around the buttons for the closures. Very excited to be approaching the finish, so I can move on to making the little booties from a pattern I saw. *eek!*

Tulip Toes in progress

These little socks crack me up, so I'm doing them in a lavender color for my baby niece.

sweaters...at last!

So, my ravelry queue of projects is laughably long - and seriously, it's true I'm working on most of them all the time - which is why none are finished! Obviously, there are only so many hours in the day.

I don't know about anyone else, but I switch projects depending on whether I just want to cruise along with stockinette stitch, or follow a more complex pattern, or what. That of course means that I've made sporadic and uneven progress with each project. Which is alright, I guess, because they all seem to change in priority anyway.

Currently, with the onset of cold weather (heat's been on a couple nights in my building) the wool is more appealing than it had been previously. I finally cruised through and finished my red and brown striped hiking sweater, very thrilling! I've christened it by wearing it to the office a couple times now, so it's officially a garment. I still have to take the final pictures though to post on ravelry.

I'm also making progress on several baby projects, now that that due date is upon us...I'm just psyched to have a niece now, hee hee! Then I'm hoping to finish off my cotton jacket for the office (I do enjoy doing cables) and then I think the rest of my time will be taken up working on the cardigan for dad.

These hooves look like leaves to me

Spent some time this weekend chez Mum, the two of us sitting in the back yard, in the shade, knitting. My part of the conversation consisted of mumbling numbers and "Slip, knit two together, pass" and "no, no. where was I?"

Some recent revelations include: I apparently knit using a combination of "Eastern" and "Western" techniques, given how I approach knit and purl stitches. If you're interested, this concept is covered in several different books, usually a "history of knitting," and I read about it in a friend's copy of the History of Hand Knitting, although I see that Samurai Knitter discusses it in a thoroughly humorous and instructive manner.

This gets really cute, I now realize, when I follow some of the more interesting patterns, such as the leaf pattern from the Super Stitches stitchionary. Actually, it's called "Horseshoe lace" - but honestly it looks like leaves to me, so I've been using it for a sweater pattern that's in progress.

After a while we decided to head over to the DeCordova to see the 2008 Annual Exhibition, which had some great stuff from people like Mark Schoening and Yana Payusova, Lea Gauthier, whose work deals with food, agriculture and the interaction between people and food through plant growth, and another artist, Niho Kozuru, whose statues were inspired by New England architectural details, but were made from some colorful polymer material that really made me (and other exhibit attendees, I gathered) think of yummy jello... Also, "Moving Through New England" - selections from their permanent collection - some amusing paintings if you're a local, since many were from the 70s. My favorites were "Beach Peas" and an image of the Providence River on a very calm, foggy dawn.

I think my next museum jaunt should be to catch the "Keepers of Tradition" exhibit over at the Museum of Our National Heritage (and hey, it's free, which is never a bad thing.)

Until next time,

How is that again?

I just found out this morning how to pronounce (knitting pattern designer) Nora Gaughan's name. See, that's the trouble with only ever seeing things online or otherwise in print. I was thinking it was "Gowan," as in Rowan - but, it's not.

It rhymes with 'dawn' - so it's pronounced 'Gon.' I was guessing how it was pronounced, but the owner of one of my awesome LYSs had hosted a book-signing with Ms. Gaughan, so I take her word for it. In addition, thanks to this shop I actually own a signed copy of Knitting Nature (which is itself a pretty cool book).

...and now, I have to go knit.