So the yarn-tasting at the Hawai’i State Library downtown this past Saturday went well – but I didn’t take any pictures, and when I realized that, immediately thought “great, now nobody is going to believe me.” I had capped attendance at 25, figured we’d be lucky to get 20, and then 30 people signed up (and I think a couple more showed up).
Fortunately for me, Nadine Kam from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin was there, took photos, and blogged about it (thanks Nadine!)
Yarn ‘Tasting’ at the library (Fashion Tribe)
There were a couple of things I wish I’d managed to do differently – I’d wanted to talk more about knitting/crocheting for charity, and I also wanted to chat more with the attendees! I did get to talk briefly with a few people, but I wanted to hang out with *everyone* who attended – I hope I’ll get to see some of them at an Aloha Knitters meeting, ’cause like I said at the tasting, you people are the ones I need to talk to – you don’t need to be listening to me. Seriously, you should have seen some of the gorgeousness being kipped/cipped in that crowd! Thanks to all who attended, and for reals, I want to hang out with you all.
Most of the yarns in the tasting came from Isle Knit. The Maui Yarns came direct from Sara, and the Peaches & Creme came from Wal-Mart (and as I mentioned at the event, Wal-Marts nationwide are closing their craft departments – Ben Franklin has Sugar ‘n Cream; if they don’t have Peaches & Creme you might want to ask them about carrying it).
Oh, and someone had asked about a knit clothes hanger cover pattern in a book – I knew I’d seen at least one.
Twinkle’s Weekend Knits by Twinkle Chia, and Glamour Knits at Home by Erika Knight both have a pattern. However, the library doesn’t have those books at this time. There’s a free online pattern by Sara Golder (Easy Coat Hanger Covers), though!
Most of what I’m doing with this blog and website is currently happening in the form of updating links, re-loading images, and otherwise continuing the smaller bits of the transition from the old blog to this one. It takes quite a bit of time, but as it’s been really hot here lately and I’ve been doing a lot of shovel-monkey work for the archaeology firm lately, there hasn’t been much knit or crochet action so I don’t mind.
I’ve also done a revision to the free Top Down Ribbed Beanie knit recipe, as I will be licensing the Good Karma Spinning Co. to offer it as a promo item with their yarns. The worsted weight alpaca/wool blend is springy, soft, and delightful, and the Yarn Randomness dk/heavy sock weight alpaca/wool blend would, I think, make a great extra-long beanie to scrunch up.
available as a free PDF download through Ravelry.com
I’m not done tinkering with it yet – for starters, I’ll be replacing the single photo on the cover with multiple views, and I’m considering adding a chart for the crown section. Mostly I wanted to have a cleaner looking layout, and I have been wanting to upgrade the free patterns so that they are all available as PDF downloads that are representative of what can be expected from the patterns for sale.
A bit last minute, but just in case anyone has been wondering and didn’t get the updates on Ravelry, Twitter, and the Aloha Knitters Yahoo! Group:
Worldwide Knit In Public Day: June 13 2009 (today!)
Aloha Knitters will be meeting in the center courtyard of the Aloha Tower Marketplace from 2 – 5 pm. I’ve added the marketplace to the map below in case anyone needs directions (the red marker sitting in Honolulu Harbor). If you plan to drive, I recommend finding street parking downtown and walking over – the Aloha Tower Marketplace does have a pay parking lot, and it gets very full rather quickly. Also, the Kamehameha Day Parade is today – it starts in downtown and goes to Waikiki; by 2 pm I’m thinking downtown will have cleared up but just in case, you may want to allow a little extra time for traffic.
View Larger Map
My current plan is to have a short talk on the library collection of knit/crochet books and specific books particularly applicable for our climate, and then a quick review of the yarns. I haven’t chosen and acquired all the yarns yet; Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton and Skinny Cotton, Cascade Eco Wool, Lana Knits Hemp for Knitting, and a seacell/silk blend are on the for-sure list, though.
Quick update:
“Come to the library for quick reviews of knitting and crocheting books in the library collection and a yarn-tasting! Sample bags will include mini-skeins of yarns good for tropical-weather garments as well as yarns good for use in felting and making warm garments and accessories for cold-climate friends, relatives, and charitable organizations. Feel free to bring a project to work on during the presentation, or to show off afterwards if you like. There will be a brief Q&A session if you have any questions about knitting/crocheting in Hawai’i. No how-to knit/crochet/spin lessons will be given at this event; reviews of instructional books, videos, and DVDs will be included in the presentation, though, and a handout of yarn shops and where you can take lessons will also be available.”
