Défi 13 de décembre: Froid, moi? jamais!

Je l'avoue, je n'ai pas participé au Défi 13 depuis quelques mois. Mais je suis prête pour Décembre (et même Janvier!). Ce mois-ci ma création est une écharpe grace à un atelier crochet avec Katherine (qui a aussi écrit le tuto). J'ai utilisé trois pelotes de Noro Silk Garden pour obtenir cet effet multicolore mais je n'aime vraiment pas cette qualité à cause des noeuds et des drôles de fils présents dans la laine. J'aimerais bien refaire cette écharpe avec une laine toute douce de SweetGeorgia.

Tiens, puisqu'on parle des couleurs, ça ne vous rappelle pas une autre écharpe? Il va falloir que j'utilise une nouvelle palette de couleurs...

La galerie des copains et copines sont ICI.

FAQ

Pardon my French

You might be wondering why some of my posts are written in French. That's because I take part in Défi 13, a fun challenge for French-speaking bloggers. The idea is to show a finished project on the 13th of the month (with a different theme every month) in order to ward off bad luck, but really it's about having fun and knitting/crocheting/sewing something outside of your comfort zone. If there's something in a post that you'd like to know more about, just say so in the comments.

Parlez-vous franglais?

Je suis née en France mais j'habite désormais aux Etats-Unis. Etant de nature paresseuse, j'écris en français pour Défi 13 et en anglais le reste du temps car la plupart de mes amies tricoteuses sont anglophones. Si vous avez une question, n'hésitez pas à me laisser un commentaire.

2011 KR retreat

Canandaigua Lake

I decided that it would be wise to post about the 2011 Knitter's Review retreat while it is still 2011 (for those who are interested, there are more pictures on flickr). Every year I try to extend my time at the retreat to soak in the atmosphere, this year I arrived on Wednesday evening so I had plenty of time to mingle with others and relax on my own.

Without violating the rule What happens at the retreat stays at the retreat, I can tell you that there was (in roughly chronological order):

- a ride from the Rochester airport to the inn with the lovely Cat Bordhi

- a morning of fun doing prep work with Martha, Jane, and others prior to the registration

- a tasty tarte tatin at the nearby New York Wine and Culinary Center

- two great classes: Knitting on the Diagonal with Cookie A and Sweet Tomato Heel with Cat. My New Beginnings project is to knit a pair of socks where I will use the concepts from Cookie's class and Cat's new heel. Cookie's class was eye-opening, I have been fiddling with swatches so we will see what I come up with.

- a marketplace that was so tempting that I had to buy a large bag from Julia Hilbrandt to carry my purchases and make several trips back to my room to get rid of my loot. I plan on knitting a cardigan (perhaps Emelie) out of String Theory Caper Sock and Finial out of Foxfire CSA.

- a hilarious 10th anniversary retrospective of the KR retreat in pictures by Clara (this was my 6th retreat so I enjoyed learning about the retreats in Virginia)

- chatting with friends, old and new, jotting down the name of many patterns for future projects, and downloading Ann Budd's new iPhone apps as soon as they became available

I have a few meetups planned before the 2012 retreat so hopefully, the wait won't be quite as bad this time!

Cookie's rib class

Cat and her zebra socks

Knitters everywhere!

Knitters moving at the speed of light when the marketplace opens

(I know that many were disappointed that I was not the first in line this year!)

Kristopher, aka The Bodyguard, ready to protect Clara from unwanted yarn attacks

(Psst: if there was a Sundara-aholics anonymous group, it would not be very anonymous as Jane, Kristopher, and I would probably be the founding members)

KRR retrospective by Clara

Show and Tell

I have been remiss in blogging due to a flurry of trips but whether I am travelling for business or pleasure, there is always some connection to fibery pursuits:

- London with a stop at Loop, where I was able to buy a signed copy of Alice Yu's book (aka Socktopus) and pre-order Juju's Loops

- Chicago with a stop at Loopy Yarns

- Rhinebeck where I attended the NY sheep and wool festival for the first time

- Canandaigua where we celebrated the 10th Knitter's Review Retreat (more on that later)

- Bermuda where I diligently worked on homework for a crochet class

In order to catch up, here's a little show and tell. The first two items are going to new loving homes:

Pattern: Sweet Bunting Cardigan by Laura Chau, Yarn: Dirty Water Dyeworks

Pattern: Baltic Beret from Vintage Modern Knits, Yarn: Fibre Company Canopy Fingering

Pattern: Rocketry baby cardigan, Yarn: Dream in Color

No, it's not a string of bikinis! It's a bunting for a friend's baby who will also get to wear the sweater above. Crochet bunting (pattern by Katherine), Yarn: Julia

Over the last few months, I have been taking many classes at Gather Here such as crochet with Katherine (bunting above, granny square scarf, and granny square pillow), embroidery basics and sewing with Virginia (napkins with mitered corners, box bag, Schoolhouse tunic). I am quite proud of what I sewed in the last class I took. Wanna see?

This is a Serious Canvas Totebag: it has an exterior pocket, a water bottle pocket, and two inside pockets (one of them with a zipper). It's big enough to carry my current knitting project (Quince's Belfast Hoodie) or materials when I go to the shop for classes.