What a fantastic evening!

There was certainly a lot going on tonight with plenty of eye-catching projects, skill-sharing and glossy knitting books all around. So what was there to see? At one end of the table was an adorable donkey jacket and boots (Debbie Bliss pattern, see below), Feathers McGraw was back and continuing to take shape and a first-time sock in Opal variegated yarn was tentatively being introduced to dp needles. In the middle of the table another first was taking shape: a turquoise-blue handbag knit on recently uncovered jaeger dk wool from the 50's soon to become a first felting project (Booga bag - http://www.blacksheepbags.com/booga_bag.html ). It was also a first project with circular needles and a first time for knitting i-cord. All in all, a good learning project then! The other end of the table was dominated by crochet learning and teaching: a circular bag for clothes pegs, some practice of the rudimentary techniqies and finally, a colourful baby blanket knit in a cheery yellow garter stitch but with a rousing finale planned for a bobble stitch garter edging in magenta, green and turquoise (edging from Nicky Epstein book below).

There were also some good knitting books on display. Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein made quite an impact with its impressive range of edgings to give a great finish to any project from garter stitch to lace. The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Blis was met with steadfast approval from a group more than familiar with the task of knitting for babies and young ones whether their own or those of friends. I don't think many knitters can escape the inevitability of knitting for a baby, so it's always good to see some stylish and simple patterns and, of course, some trickier ones for those wishing to show their skills.

A good tip discussed for those looking for new patterns but not wanting to buy a whole book was Knitting Patterns Central. This site contains lots of links to free patterns online from knitty.com to lesser known sites. Here's where to check it out: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/

Enjoy the post-fringe peace and quiet!

Clare

Festival City Knitty in the Daytime

We couldn't have picked a nicer weekend to end the festival. The sun was shining and there was plenty of breezes to keep things cool and fresh. It was a very laid back group of knitters that sat in the Spiegel Garden sipping cool drinks and discussing the weekend's adventures. There were two finished objects to be admired: one machine knitted blue cardigan with handworked edging, and a baby blanket knit in a pinky-purple-bluey Koigu sock yarn for extra durability (the pattern came from the Stitch and Bitch book. :). Still in progress were a 1x1 rib swatch in merino 4ply, a fun yellow crocheted baby blanket with a really interesting stitch pattern and the body and first wing of that deadly villain Feathers McGraw of Wallace and Grommit fame. We also had our youngest attendee yet, a lovely 8 week old baby girl who fit right in to our relaxed and peaceful ambience. It was a small but relaxed group that met this month (my bad, last-minute organisation) but plans are afoot for next month and then we should be able to get a good crowd together again.

Come along next time!

Clare

Fair, fair lace

There was some beautiful lace knitting to be seen tonight. One freshly blocked and perfect rust reddish alpaca scarf in an off-the-cuff modified mix of leaf and tree lace patterns. It was beautiful. Still in progress was a cardigan knit with cotton tape using a baby fern lace pattern and then a plainer pattern creating an empress line style bust and body. This one's going to look gorgeous when it's finished and the pattern naturally made a neat scalloped edge at the bottom. Very sweet. Last of all, a swatch of 1x1 rib in 4 ply merino was being knitted to prepare for a random prime number width stripy scarf. So all projects present were custom designed by the knitters themselves.

Here's to designing it for yourself!

Clare

City Knitty: 16.08.2006

The weather was fine as was the company this evening as we gathered to knit, drink and chat. A good variety of projects were on the needles. There was a green snake eating its own tail being knit on circular needles, a 6 colour sock (knitting for friends and family can yield some unusual projects), an ivory baby blanket with an asap deadline (does that scenario sound familiar to anyone else?), a wee little ivory baby hat knit on straight needles, and finally, the fuzzy blue legwarmers were finished (or more accurately, the yarn ran out).

May your knitting times be pleasant!

Clare

City Knitty: 9.08.2006

Hey all,

The good news is that the City Cafe was a lot quieter this week and we were able to snag a table quite easily. While the sky above us may no longer have been blue, all the projects being knitted this week were. The blue fuzzy legwarmers were ever present and an adorable blue Tachikoma torus toy was being created. Just to explain, a Tachikoma is a very cute robot tank with artificial intelligence from the japanese anime cartoon series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Conplex. They look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikoma

Now imagine one handknit and shaped like a doughnut. Very cute!

A blessing to all your unusual projects!

Clare

The festival arrives...

Wow was the City Cafe heaving tonight! Although, sadly it wasn't all knitters. With some dilligence and patience we were able to snag our usual table though. On the needles tonight were a crocheted afghan from granny squares of soothing tones of cream, fawn, light blue and some yellow, a not yet determined cardigan/wrap/top with a baby fern knitted lace pattern in blue and blue fluzzy yarn legwarmers from my excess novelty yarn pile. Plans were discussed for a meet up later this month while the festival is in town.

May your needles and hooks be deft and swift!


Clare