More Magazines

Well, if you’ve been reading along you might know that I’ve been amusing myself with going through my magazines for lace patterns. At least that was the idea though I keep getting sidetracked. I’m halfway through my complete collection of Interweave Knits and I’ve found a few interesting things.

Interweave Knits has obviously not been around as long as Knitter’s and it definitely didn’t go through as many formatting changes. Even with ever-changing editors it keeps a pretty familiar style and content through the years. There are more sweaters and accessories in here that I would make and wear, but maybe that’s just my taste. Luckily we’re not all the same, hey? I do think there’s a better mix of technique vs. pattern vs. story in IK. Since I rarely use a pattern as is and I have an insatiable desire to know how to do things (rather than being one of EZ’s “blind followers”), I crave more than just pretty pictures and the same styles. What is not enough. I want to know when and why as well as how. I even want to know who is doing it.

Interestingly there isn’t as much in the way of lace scarves, stoles and shawls so far as I thought there might be. I did find the pattern by Sarah Swett called the Fairy Tale Scarf (Spring 2000) that I made a number of years ago in lace weight 2-ply handspun very dark brown (considered black) llama. I love the scarf but it refuses to block out and stay blocked! It sort of collapses when I wear it. Must be the limpness of the llama fibre or there’s too much twist in the yarn making it less cooperative. Something. It’s purty though a wee bit tickly from the bit of guard hair in the fibre. Luckily I'm not particularly sensitive to not-quite-as-soft-as-you-might-think yarn. This stuff is nice as any adult alpaca I’ve seen but cheaper and I got it from these guys. Yes I know it looks like a fly-tying supplier. Honest, they used to have lots of nicely processed llama fibre but they’ve retired to the Sunshine Coast (for the fishing of course) and are selling their animals. Wonder how much Angelina (Flash) comes in a package? And if the Jelly Cords are the same as the S’Getti String that I use for drive band material? And is that beads? Fly-tying stuff looks rather familiar even if it comes in super-teensy packages. Who knew?

In other news, I registered for the ANWG conference Wild Fibres this morning on the first day of registration online. It will be held at Red Deer College (Alberta) in June. I haven’t gone to one of these in quite awhile so I thought it would be fun to combine a camping holiday with the conference in the middle. It’s always nice when it’s in Canada and I don’t have to cross the border with my purchases. Of course I go to buy stuff! The seminars and fashion show and exhibits are fun but it’s the vendor floor I love best. As well as chatting with old friends and acquaintances and seeing what's new and interesting. I’ve been around too long for there to be much that excites me in the seminars so I had a difficult time choosing what I wanted. And the ones I did want all conflicted time-wise. Sigh. If I get bored, I’ll just skip out and go shopping. Heh. Next problem is to find camping close enough to the college for comfort. The only one I know of is a glorified parking lot without any shrubbery between sites about 2 miles away. However, it’s a lot closer than the nearest provincial park with campsites which is about 20 minutes away. Slightly cheaper too. Since there’s 2 of us, the camping cost is about half what it would be in the college residence and I do prefer to sleep in my own (van) bed. Decisions, decisions.

BTW, the Imbolc issue of The Anticraft is up (button in my sidebar). This is a small but intense issue. Don’t go there if you have an extra-sensitive nature! Of course, if you know anything about The Anticraft you knew that already. However if you’re cold it’ll warm your cheeks (all of them) instantly. Don't say I didn't warn you!