Weekend Update: Stitches South

This weekend I went to Stitches South, a big knitting convention in Atlanta.  Given the fact that exams start this week and I haven't done nearly enough studying yet, I could only stay for one day, but it was spent productively.

First up was a class called Design Your Dream Sweater with Leslye Solomon (can I just say, I love this lady).  I learned the basic skills for designing my own sweaters.  Seemed pretty intuitive, but doing that much swatching doesn't sound like much fun.

This is a sweater chart.  It's hard to see here, but each little grid square represents a stitch.  You do calculations based on your gauge, translate that into how many stitches to cast on/cast off and then draw out what you want your sweater to look like.

Over lunch I visited the market area.

Hundreds of booths hosting all kinds of knitting related items from yarn, to bison fiber to baskets and yarn bowls, to knitting needles and patterns.

I got some silk mawata, which are squares of silk cocoons stretches out and layed in layers.  You pull the layers apart and just knit them like any other fiber or yarn.  I resisted jumping on the mawata band wagon  a la the Yarn Harlot but now it might be time to try it out. They were dyed by Fiber Charmer, a local Atlanta dyer.  The colors are a lot more interesting and complex in real life. 

This yarn bombed bike was in the Atlanta area knit shops booth.  I wonder if it works...maybe my bike needs an overhaul...

In the afternoon I took a class on entrelac, the process of knitting in a cool diamond shaped pattern. 

The practice project was a beer cozy.  I feel very proud (of the knitting, not of the heinous color choices).

The teacher, Gwen Bortner wrote the book on entrelac.  Very, very smart, if intense, lady.

Great day.  Now I am hitting the books REALLY hard.  Property exam Wednesday, followed by Crim on Friday.  Whew....