Stitches West

This weekend in Santa Clara there was one of my favorite knitting events: Stitches West. As I mentioned before, I am working on a big project and my deadline is coming up rapidly, so I could not allow myself to have any fun lately. Today I saw the tweet from Bijou Basin Ranch about my Star Pullover. It was in the Fashion show. I was happy that at least my design was there. Doesn't it look nice on this model?

Today I put some final touches on the big jacket that my new sample knitter made for me. I am so grateful that I have met her. She is very professional and highly skilled. I wish I could show my latest designs, but I have to wait. Here is the button I have found in our local yarn shop.

I love good-looking buttons. I strongly believe that buttons, buckles, etc make a design stand out.

There are a few interviews and book reviews coming up. I will post them as son as I have a minute.

BOOK REVIEW: CIRCULAR KNITTING WORKSHOP

 Margaret Radcliffe's new book with Storey Publishing is everything I was hoping for. I love her writing style and respect the amount of research that goes into her work. This time her focus is on mastering techniques of knitting in the round.
The 320-page book called Circular Knitting Workshop has a feel of a classic classroom with the chalkboard background.
Read full review here...

A new app for knitters

When Vicki Square published her book The Knitter's Companion in June of 2006 (Interweave Press) it was received so well by knitting community that later in 2010 this book was put on a DVD. This is an interview with Vicki on Knitting Daily. Since then we have moved on to our iPhones and iPads and we want the convenience of having this information with us at all times we are at our knitting project. Our wish came true in this new application for an iPad. More...

Interview with Jill Wollcott

Jill Wolcott has a great combination of knowledge of the technical side of fashion design, pattern construction, body fitting, and creativity that we see in her stylish and urban designs. She shares her experience and expertise at her day job, teaching at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in San Francisco, doing some online classes (I am one of her students), and for the past 10 years as part of Y2Knit Events and Retreats. Jill has dozens of designs, and has begun doing more focused collections for Jill Wolcott Knits, her new business. She also has done work with Skacel Collection Inc. Here is one of them (copyright of Skacel). 
Read the full interview...

Yarn U app

When Mary Beth Klatt contacted me about reviewing her app for iPhone or iPad called YARN U, I agreed to take a look at it since we all love apps and if it is about knitting we say, how can I pass this.

Full review...

BLOG TOUR for Seamless Crochet

In my hands yet another masterpiece by our beloved crochet designer Kristin Omdahl.  Kristin is never satisfied with producing one project after another. Her search for innovation and excellence, love for geometrical shapes, and the way they come together takes her this time on a journey of joining motifs as you go. Thus, seamless crochet!!  This is a cover of her new book published by Interweave Press. 

This shawl is called Blissful Flowers and it is divine. Kristin managed to fit the motifs perfectly and made in one piece.

I am one of the crocheters who avoided all projects that made out of little motifs that were joined together later. The thought of hiding all the ends was stopping me no matter how beautiful the design was. Thanks to Kristin I can now learn how to deal with that.

Here are more designs from this book and each one of them is very interesting and artistic. There are shawls, accessories, home decor projects, and something for little ones. The choice of motifs and colors bring these projects to the look that you want to wear, make, or just look at them.

 

The book is beautifully done with soft background colors. All the charts and instructions are very clear and easy to read. What can I say, just a beautiful book.


I am honored to have this book signed personally by Kristin at TNNA in January of this year at Phoenix AZ.
Learn more about this designer's work on her website and read her interview for my Designer's Studio.  

The rest of the blog tour schedule is posted here. Do not miss on seeing all of the posts on this tour. There are some awesome things go on.

TNNA January 2012 update and the tour schedule for Seamless Crochet

TNNA is very important for me for many reasons. It is an energy boost, creativity endless supply, a place where everything in this industry comes together: yarn, books, magazines, people, shop owners, website owners, fashion, education, new exciting projects made and designed by very talented people, events like book signings, dining together, hanging around with friends and meeting tech editors, authors, designers, yarn company owners and so on.
Being consumed by all of this makes me forget to take pictures that really show what is going on there. Most of the photos I have are the ones that my friends and I take when we stop and one of us remembers that we need to take some. We all take out our cameras and iPhones and one-by-one take all the photos. This one is done, so until the next stop. It is seriously so busy there in a good way that taking pictures is the furthest thing from our minds. Later we all complain that we did not do enough of it.
This TNNA was very productive for me, but there were some commotions before I went in. First of all, my plane from San Francisco was late and finally cancelled. I was put in the hotel  for 3 hours and on to the next flight. When I came to my Phoenix hotel, I needed to take a taxi to go from the hotel to one place and later realized that my iPhone is lost. To make this story short (and it was about 4 agonizing hours long) I am very grateful to people in lost and found at the airport who contacted my cab (for some reason I remembered the cab number) and they have found my phone. I was so happy about this! It is an absolute confirmation of our attachment to technology. Well, at least mine:)

Other than that I had a wonderful time and here are the pictures to prove it.

It happened that many of the book signings were on the topic of crochet. Here are some of them.

Dora Ohrenstein always have a good time together. This is her book signing event. Her new book Custom Crocheted Sweaters is published by Lark Crafts. It is a beauty full of tailored beautiful garments with a lot of great insights from a master of crochet herself. If you like to crochet, check it out.  On both pictures Dora is wearing her garments from the book. Isn't she fabulous?

 

 Kristin Omdahl is a well-known crochet and knitting designer. She has a new book out called Seamless Crochet. There is a blog tour going on and I will be a part of it. Don't miss it. I am posting the schedule at the end of this post.

Next signing was of Simply Crochet by Robyn Chachula. Two of my dearest friends Simona Merchant-Dest (left) and Marly Bird (right) have patterns in this book.

 They were signing copies of the book to each other in our private little party. I got the book with all three signatures. Great memory. Here Simona is signing for Marly and Marly is taking our picture.

Three of us on a different day at Meet and Greet.  

 Good picture of Simona and me.

Melissa Leapman and I were caught by Stefanie Japel having a deep conversation at the booth of Craftsy. com, a new and incredible website that offers online classes, workshops, and in February it launches designer pattern stores. I will have one, so come on over to see what I have there.

Other photos: Stacey from KnitPicks has to bend her knees to look a little less tall next to me. Next picture is with Sarah Wilson a.k.a. The Sexy Knitter. You should see her low back on this dress. Fantastic!



And here is one of my favorite yarns Claudia Hand Painted Yarns and Claudia herself, warm and fun as always.

 

I know you had enough, but... two more. 

Left to right: Robyn Chachula, Simona Merchant-Dest, Linda Permann, Jill Wright, and Faina Goberstein

A sensational designer Josh Bennett who has a new collection of menswear designs for Rowan yarns is a great guy and we had a wonderful chat with hi. He works with Irina Shabayeva , the winner of one of the seasons of Project Runway, and has many big things happening with big-name designers. I am going to have his interview as soon as I am done with the book.

The schedule of blog tour for Seamless crochet

1/25   
AllFreeCrochet.com
1/26  
Crochetville.org
1/27  
CraftGossip.com Crochet Guide
1/30  
Crochet by Faye
1/31  
About.com Guide to Crochet
2/1   
She Knits When She Should be Writing
2/2    
Sara Likes to Make Stuff
2/3   
Jimmy Beans Wool Blog
2/6    
Rebecca Velasquez Designs
2/7    
Yarn Thing Blog and Podcast
live interview with Kristin, 12 pm Eastern
2/8
Hook and I
2/9
Faina’s Knitting Mode
2/10
The Crochet Doctor
2/11
Stylish Knits