LA Update

Last Thursday Cathie and I headed to Los Angeles for Vogue Knitting Live LA. 



The view from our 11th floor room at the Hyatt Regency Century City.
Can we say smog?

On a clear day according to Cathie you can see the ocean.  That did not happen while I was there.

We had taken an earlier flight then needed so we could visit Mood Fabrics.  Using an app on Cathie's phone we were able to find the bus needed to take us to Mood.

The store is overwhelming.  Since we didn't really have any projects in mind we simply wandered the store in awe, fondling all the beautiful designer fabrics.  I found some beautiful dark purple Ralph Lauren cashmere I would loved to have brought home.

I did get a tote bag for myself and Rachel.

And also got these wonderful leather buttons that will be appearing on some knitted garment in the future.

Friday at 8:00 a.m. we began our class with Catherine Lowe on The Basics of Couture Knitting.

After fifteen hours of class through Sunday I have a greater appreciation for the finer details in constructing a couture knitted garment.  Catherine is a wonderful and informative teacher and I'm looking forward to purchasing her yarn and pattern for the fiesole coat in red.

Our classroom was in one of the suites at the hotel and we came to call our group Room 1802.  This is a picture of our class. 

Friday after class we headed to the vendor area.  A good portion of the vendors were knitting shops which really did not offer any new yarns but there were a few independent sellers. 

I did meet Anna Hrachovec and got her to autograph her new book, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi.
They all are so cute.  My favorites are the caveman and the dinosaur.

I couldn't resist buying the kit for the Seaside Shawlette from the Knitters Brewing Company .  I got the color Jungle Juice.

I also got a lavender scented Lo-Lo Bar and the colors just called to me for the lace weight yarn in color grapevine from Freia Fine Handpaints.  I can envision a lacy cowl.

I attended Vogue Knitting Live LA to take the class with Catherine Lowe and it was everything and more than I anticipated but I do not expect to go the Vogue Knitting Live in the future.  I much preferred the venue and atmosphere at Madrona.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane....

Actually I'm leaving on Southwest Airlines tomorrow for Los Angeles for Vogue Knitting Live LA.  Cathie and I are heading to Mood Fabrics on Thursday to check it out then we will be spending 15 hours with Catherine Lowe over Friday, Saturday and Sunday learning the Basic Techniques of Couture Knitting.  My homework swatches are drying, my knitting is ready and my bag almost packed.  Looking forward to a fun and mind numbing jam packed few days of learning.

I'll post next week how our adventure turns out.

Low Calorie Knitting

Someone mentioned (Janice) that I recently have had more cooking content then knitting content so I thought I'd share a just finished knitting project. 

Okay, it looks like food but it is knit.

  This very low calorie, truly delectable deliciousness is the Cupcake Pincushion from Spud & Chloe that I made for a very special friend for her birthday.  I used some Plymouth Fantasy Naturale which is 100% cotton I had in the stash on a US 4 needle.

It just needs a birthday candle.

Four Pounds of Tomatoes

What do you get with 4 lbs of home grown tomatoes?

A pint and a half of basil garlic tomato sauce.

I think Saturday I will be going to the farmers market to buy a larger quantity of tomatoes.  My two tomato plants are just not producing enough fruit to make canning worth my while.