My Aha Moment

I worked in the financial services industry starting in Jan 2001 and saw my first round of layoffs 3 months later, with the tipping point of 9/11 and been through at least 8 to 10 rounds by the end of the last decade with the same company. I watched the economy spiral out of control during the end as we went through the Great Recession and many of my friends and family lost their jobs and/or homes. I stopped actively going out to the mall. I noticed how much stuff I had in my closets and drawers, lots of it were the same. You know, jeans, black shoes -- flats, pumps, loafers, sandals, etc. --, t-shirts and sweaters. I stopped what I call "recreational shopping" in 2009 and don't miss it.  

To relieve my stress from work and watching 40% of my department laid off right before Thanksgiving 2008 through February 2009, I picked up knitting thinking I would get some control over my life. That year, I believe, I knitted 12 scarves. It was cool because I was learning new stitches and knitted different yarn weights. It also helped that I made all my Christmas and birthday gifts. They were well received. I was shocked how some of my friends, grown adults, were emotionally touched, to the point that some teared up and felt very honored.

It had me think about getting more crafty and making my own stuff vs buying at the mall. My mom taught me the basics of sewing, mending and knitting when I was a teenager. I remember sewing my first outfit. I was really stressed and not very fast in sewing it, but I felt a major accomplishment when I finished it. I remember you could buy fabric at JC Penneys, The Emporium, Singers besides Joanns. But now the only place left is Joanns and the quality of fabric isn't that great. Also its cheaper now to buy than to sew, when it use to be the opposite during my mom's time.

I recently found Over-Dressed and it has reinforced my thoughts about what is going on with this country, how we lost our manufacturing prowess and what are future can be like if we don't make steps to prevent it.

Thought provoking. I couldn't put this book down once I start reading it. Like Fast Food Nation, I will never look at my closet full of clothes the same again and will think about what I buy, wear, store and get rid of has consequences locally, nationally and globally.



Everyone should read this. It will change your

way of thinking.

So what does this have to knitting? It's cool to know who made it and where the yarn comes from. I have control where I buy my materials. I try to buy locally so that the rancher and hand-dyer can make a living which then the monies go back to support the local community. It's my part to help keep jobs in the U.S.

Survived Stitches West (SW) 2014!





 The good things:

Where I spent the day at Feb 23, 2014

• Spent the day with an old family friend walking up and down the aisles of booths touching and feeling all the wonderful yarn and fiber.
• Got our SW passports stamped by going to 16+ vendors one hour before the 1 pm deadline (This was new and fun because we walked the entire floor in 2 hrs and got to visit many new exhibitors I wouldn't have seen.).
• Dropped off my 3 hats at the Halos of Hope booth and received this cool Thank You ribbon. 

  

  Read on Ravelry's SW Group that Halos of Hope collected

  over 3,500 hats! Mine were in the General Hat, non-Team

  category.

•  WON a $50 credit at Wagtail Yarns!  First time I won something by filling out a survey ever!! Was committed to buy their wonderfully silky soft 100% kid mohair yarn if I didn't win the 2:30 pm drawing. Lucky me, my friend and my knitting group friends both called and text me to let me know I won since I was in the middle of buying yarn at WEBS and didn't hear my name called over the PA. Was at their booth last year and was so overwhelmed by their gorgeous kid mohair I walked away because I couldn't decide what to buy. They are from Australia, yes, down under. I have never touched mohair that was that soft. It feels like silky, airy cashmere.

What I chose for my $50 prize:  830 yards

of luscious heaven (2 ply 100% Fine Kid
Mohair, Blackberry Bloom) and a pattern.

• Got everything I wanted to purchase and I stuck to my list! My belief is to buy from local or small independent businesses, unique, one-of-kind stuff I can't get from my local LYS at fiber events like SW.

Phydeaux designs - I was first introduced by my knitting group Brenda's lovely, well written patterns and she has them up on Ravelry. I made a mental note when I saw she had a booth on the SW site. This is my first time I saw her yarn collection and I had to buy something! Soie: Danaerys - Fingering 50/50 Superwash Merino Wool/Silk.  Her unique hand-dyed yarn is gorgeous, and it didn't hurt she had this for $5 off!

 

Truly an artisan! Brenda's hand-dying skills
are amazing. This looks like a shimmering
Monet watercolor.

Alisha Goes Around - Read about Alisha on the Ravelry's SW Group site. It was her first trip to SW. She had a very limited quantity of this Superwash Merino Wool/Silk/Nylon/Sterling Sliver floss, yes sterling silver, Tiding of Magpies fingering yarn that peaked my interest because her vendor will only be using aluminum going forward. I made a beeline first thing since she was at the very last row in the corner across from the eating tables to check out this yarn. Because I was there on the last day, there was only this hand dyed black brown and green color left. It's one of my 2014 knitting goals to knit with metallic floss woven into the yarn.

 

It's going to be interesting, will probably go blind, to knit this almost black color yarn. But it's so soft, not scratchy and machine washable I am ready for the challenge. Now I just have to search for the perfect pattern. 

Had a hard time trying to take this picture.

The black and dark brown colors are evenly

distributed. The 2% sterling silver makes

the yarn twinkle.

The bad things:

• The day before my car wouldn't start in front of my garage (Luckily, DH was able to fix it and get it to start while I was at SW!) so my friend had to drive us down.
• Did not finished my current shawl project because I missed a stitch which I was now off and I can't have imperfection so I frogged 7 rows back at around 300 stitches/row to figure out where my mistake was Saturday night. UGHHHHHH!!!!
• Overwhelmed by so many booths and so much yarn and fiber to choose.
• Had a hard time figuring out how to spend my $50 credit because I was so overwhelmed and wanted to maximize my winning. My poor friend had to wait for me.

Sensory overload -- Only a small portion to choose from!

• Didn't win the SW Passport, $1,000 in cash, prize -- A girl can only dream, can't she!

OK, really, I don't have anything to complain. Luckily, I have more than enough shawls to wear so I wore what I already had. Received a few compliments.  A couple ladies came up and touch it and asked what the pattern was.

Since we went on a Sunday, it wasn't a zoo. Able to easily move around. Had a great time and spoke with some great exhibitors. Thought the Yarnover Truck, yes, it's a fully operational truck that happens to sell yarn and stuff in it, was very clever. You walk right through it and they sell their wares in custom built shelves on either side of the truck, kinda like a Librarymobile. They're from SO CAL and they drive this like a food truck and go to local events, such as farmers markets, festivals, etc. Saw many taking pictures, like me. I'm sure they got a lot of social media buzz from all of us posting! 

Brilliant branding! Using a truck as their retail storefront.

Saw one of my knitted shawl samples at Black Diamond Alpacas. Donna told me they sold a quite a bit of their CA raised, hand-dyed Charcoal and Chili Pepper fingering yarn for this free pattern. Donna and Mike have a great alpaca ranch out in Brentwood and she dyes a rainbow of colors in her kitchen. They do tours if you make an appointment.

Always feels great to see my handy work help make

sales for wonderful small business owners and

pattern designers!

Got some great, one-of-a-kind deals. Especially love, love, love WEBS. Every year they have a selection of name brand yarn where you can buy one or in packs of 10 for usually half off or if you spend $60 or $120 they will give you 20% or 30% off. The 20% or 30% is great if you want Malabrigo or Madelintosh  and they had Noro at 50% off (Another one of my 2014 goals is knit a large self-striping shawl for me.)!

What Heaven looks like -- 5 skeins of colorful, fluffy Nadeshiko!

So all together, here is my haul for this year. Not as much as last year's because I was very good; there wasn't any impulse buying.  I returned one skein of cream mohair I bought last year at Terilyn NeedleArt for one skein of sport weight Chocolate alpaca because I only needed one skein for a fluffy scarf I knitted for a friend and wanted to reduce my stash to only yarn I would use. Terilyn was very nice and did the exchange with no questions asked. I will remember her service and kindness!


My 2014 Stitches West haul.

Hello World!

I'm taking the plunge into the vast blogosphere. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a couple years, but didn't know what my subject or theme would be and if I could sustain having enough material for one. Knitting and all things fiber-related with be the purpose of having this blog. I hope, I can be informative, entertaining, and show my pent-up creativity.

Little about me, I can be perfectionist and if I don't feel I am ready I won't do it. I got as far as signing up last October for this account.  I have been active (known as kvchin) in the Raverly community since 2010. I have learned and received great inspiration from this site. At the same time, I received my first iPhone and the best thing about it is THE CAMERA.  I have been posting my finished projects, including all of my notes and photos because I found it very helpful what other members who knitted before me would share their tips to save me time and frustration if the pattern had an error(s) or I was inspired by their color or yarn choices. I really love the collaborative nature and when I started getting PMs from total strangers all over the world that my finished projects were inspiring and that my write-ups and my photos were helpful and that they wanted to link to me I was hooked! It's in my DNA to be helpful so I thought why just be on Ravelry.  I can be a knit blogger!

During last Fall, I was inspired to knit for my entire family and friends their Christmas gifts because I didn't want to go to the mall. It gave me a chance to take my time to look for the perfect pattern and to knit new patterns or come up and create and design my own patterns for each person on my list. I was feeling towards the end I could have opened a small accessories store. In total, I knitted almost 2 dozen hats, cowls, scarves and shawls! 

Just some of my Christmas 2013 hand knitted gifts.



I stopped knitting after Christmas, but was motivated to knit for Halos of Hope end of last month when I learned about their cause and had some leftover gift knitting yarn that was taking up space in my stash. They are a wonderful non-profit that collects knitted, crochet and sewn hats from volunteers like me and hands them out to cancer centers throughout the US. At the end of the week, this organization will be having a booth (#904) at Stitches West (SW), the largest all things fiber convention held in the US every year for 4 days at the Santa Clara Convention Center, to collect hats.  The goal is to beat Stitches Midwest and collect over 2,150 hats. Below is my 3 -- 2 wool, 1 cotton -- for the cause. 

My contribution for Halos of Hope.

As part of the Ravellenic Games 2014, I am in the middle of knitting a shawl that I can also wear for SW next Sunday. I will post shortly.