Last week I went to Seattle to attend Madrona Fiber Arts, an event I go to every year and love every time. This is the first year since I started attending that I didn't actually live in Seattle, so it involved a little travel.
A year ago if you'd told me I'd ride my bike from Canada to Seattle, I would have called you a liar, but that's exactly what I ended up doing. My main reason is that public transit from our beautiful seaside village is not exactly convenient. You may have heard me complaining about hiking three miles up hill both ways in the snow in the dark with a fifty pound pack just to get to the bus stop last time I went to Seattle. That may have included a few exaggerations, but it really wasn't any fun. The bike was actually a lot more enjoyable. For one thing, there are ferries that took me most of the way, so that my total riding time was around 3 and a half hours each way with lots of breaks in between. The only times I really noticed the weight of my luggage was on hills, and the ride was made easier by lovely bike trails so I didn't have to ride in traffic much. (The Interurban Rail Trail and the Galloping Goose Trail on Vancouver Island, and the Myrtle Edwards Park Trail in Seattle)
Because of the weight issue, I decided against bringing my camera, so I don't have any Madrona pictures for you, but the highlights were
- meeting Clara Parkes at the banquet and getting to hear her speak
- Franklin Habit's fascinating class on the history of lace,
- meeting Ravelry friends in person for the first time, and
- the Churchmouse booth! Of course because it was packed with Brooklyn Tweed yarns and samples, but also because Jared Flood and Leila Raabe were there to chat with. I even tried on a sweater that I really wanted to take home with me. (Ives by Jared Flood)
- spending time with Seattle friends and family (and more bike riding!)
I also got to see Wendee of Hazel Knits and she gave me this:
I really wasn't able to capture this color completely, but it's Hazel Knits DK Lively in Portabello. And the fact that I have these four skeins means that I'm finally going to knit a pair of Kalaloch's just for me! And I'd love for you to join me.
I'm going to be hosting a Pants Knit Along here on the blog and in my Ravelry group. If you've been wanting to knit something that goes over your bum, but are looking for advice or just company, now's the time to get going with it. I'm going to kick off the knit along next week with a tutorial on the provisional cast on since that's the first thing that needs to be done in order to make Kalaloch.
To participate in the knit along, just post your progress and finished projects to the Ravelry thread. Everybody who posts proof of finished knitted pants by April 30, 2013 will get a free Andrea Rangel Knits pattern! (So you can knit more pants, of course!)
The patterns that count in order to get the prize are:
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| Kalaloch |
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| Zoe Beach Shorts |
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| Issa's Bloomers |
If you want to knit other pants patterns, I'd still love for you to join us, but no prize.
So how about it? What pants are you going to knit?
How fun! I don't think time will allow me to finish Kalaloch by April but I think I could do the cute bloomers. I wish I could have met you last weekend when I was at Madrona.
ReplyDeleteWe'd love to have you join us in knitting the bloomers! I'll be back in Seattle for Vogue Knitting Live in April, so maybe we can meet up then. You'll be able to find me at the Hazel Knits booth.
Deleteyou are fantastic! biking from the island to seattle?! i think i'd love to try that!!! you know i've been wanting to knit kalaloch for ever but right now i can't. deadline knitting. it's soooooooooooo in my queue though, and i'm always on the lookout for the perfect yarn for it.
ReplyDeletealso, i can't believe you met jarred flood! gah what an amazing experience!!!
xoxox
Thanks! You should definitely do the biking to Seattle. From Victoria it's so easy and fun. I plan to do it again for VKL.
DeleteEven if you're not knitting along with us, feel free to check in with the KAL to see how it's going - maybe it'll be helpful when you do manage to get around to it.
It was great to see Jared Flood again. I took a Madrona class from him a few years ago and have been really fortunate to get yarn support from Brooklyn Tweed ever since. It's a really fantastic company.
That is an awesome touring bike setup! I'd love to have something similar.... does stuff tend to flip out of that rear basket or is it pretty secure?
ReplyDeleteThanks, it worked well. I didn't have any trouble with either my tote bag or dry sack flopping around or threatening to fall out, but I did stuff my scarf in the basket at the very end of my ride because I was exhausted and hot & it was never seen again. On the way home I actually had more stuff, so I used a second bungee net to secure the stuff in the back basket. Over all, it was a good set-up, but top-heavy. I might try to think of a way to secure things to the rack instead of the basket to lower the center of gravity next time. (I'm also contemplating a lighter bike.)
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! I've really been wanting to knit the Kalaloch tights. I have a pretty full docket with baby gifts until mid-March, but I'll try to add this to my list in time to finish by the end of April. Thanks for doing this!
ReplyDeleteGreat! We'd love to have you join us.
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