Stephen West At AVFKW

Well it almost feels like my birthday, which is almost here. I got to meet Stephen West at A Verb For Keeping Warm in Oakland. We have been Internet connected, but never met in person. Stephen West has been a great contributor of patterns to our MFKR in the past, and I do admire his work and designs. I don't like all of them, but I do like 90% of them, the 10 % is things I just can't see myself wearing. lol. Nevertheless it was fun to talk to him and the other people that were around. I met some new friends like Mark and John.

 

The great Wonder Mike was the one that took my picture with Westknits, and I returned the favor for him. I got Westknits 3 book, which I have been eyeing for some time. I got the opportunity to get his signature, and I am like a 10 year old boy with his new GI Joe. SO I was very excited, lol. Wonder Mike has this ability to always look like he has his hand in the cookie jar, but he is such a delightful guy to talk and hang out with. I like his positivism and his enthusiasm is very contagious. I love this guy, he is such an inspirational and great teacher.



My friend Bill Jones was there as well. I was glad he decided to join me and he is such a pleasant guy to chat about lots of things. I enjoy his company a lot. He is such a good conversationalist and has lots of things to share..





Skacel was Present today with the help of Cirilia and the testing of all kinds of Skacel goodies. All kind of clicks, natural, lace and regular, short and long and even the crochet hook clicks extensions.



These ladies make A Verb For Keeping Warm Store shine. Kristine and Aday are such a versatile and talented couple of artisans. If you want to know about natural dyes and how to make them happen, they are one of the greatest people to learn from, here in San Francisco Bay Area.



So here is my treat for my Birthday, what better than my own personally autographed copy of Westknits Book 3. I can tell you that I felt very special today. Having visited with so many fun people and having them in my circle of friends.



This has made my birthday weekend  AWESOME!  Thanks for stopping by!

Vancouver Souveniers

VancouverSouveniers (1)
Originally uploaded by Crafty Andy

We will start from the end to the beginning lol! These were the souveniers from Vancouver and Victoria that we brought with us. There were also some T-Shirts and some yarns  which I will show in below this  post . Canada was a great country to visit. In Vancouver people are not in a hurry, they have a very easy going way of life. They are very different from Americans, not better nor worst, but they do think different.

At any rate I love the chocolates we found and the Maple and Birch Syrups. Canadian beef is fantastic and their organic burgers are everywhere for a reasonable price. Organic produce is very common in Canada which was something I liked. They have started to recycle, but not as much as we do in San Francisco. San Francisco is hoping to have 100 % recyclable and 0% trash by the year 2020. I think it is possible and I will do my best to make it possible. Our behaviors have to change, we go to the grocery store with our own bags and the same when we go to the Pharmacy.

This yarn is from Sweet Georgia yarns, it is called "Tough Sock Love" and I purchase it at another store. More on the store with pictures later on.  This is eye candy for now.


This yarn and more  were purchased at "Three Bags Full"

Three Bags Full Blog

4458 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5V 3R3, Canada
(604) 874-9665

Bus: NB Main St FS E 28 Av



I will leave you for tonight knowing that I have already classified my pictures by folder and that means within a few days we shall have pictures of the trip by venue along with some short videos. Thanks for stopping by.

Baby Alpaca and a walk

This is the Castro District and as you can see if very hilly, yep that's a hill you see there and it is very steep. The day was nice around 19 Degrees Celsius or 67 Fahrenheit. It is a little cool, but you get accustomed to the cool weather and it feels natural. Is like living in an air conditioned city. There are three yarns stores and a yarn store Annex walking distance from my house. The one at Cliff's Variety is the Annex as this is a Hardware Store. The other One is ImaginKnit by 18Th and Sanchez and , Atelier at Divisadero , between Pine and California Street.

All this places have wonderful yarns,but Cliff's Variety has a handful, due to space, but is clean and some of the attendants know a lot about the crafts they are very Helpful.

Atelier has more yarn than Cliff's Variety, and is family owned. The neighborhood is the Lower Pacific Heights. There are some cool yarns and the attendant knows her stuff. They have classes and lots of needles and hooks. It is out of my way and I just don't find it a very cozy place.

ImagiKnit is the Biggest and nicest, very clean, this place they have to throw you out. There is something about the place that wants you to stay in. Maybe the hundreds of different skeins of yarn are the attraction and lure. Their pattern section is very nice and very complete, there is even a table where you can sit down and read or spin your yarn. A yarn winder and a swift are there for people to use. Their yarn selection is very vast and the prices are not bad. Attendants are very knowledgeable of their stuff, the owners are usually there and just looking at the yarn you get a rush of creativity.

So I went to Atelier as I have not been there in over 4 or 5 years. Not much difference, and no place to really chat or sit. I made some questions about sari yarn patterns, did not get a great response, but understood the message. Sari yarn is heavy and should be mixed with other yarns. It is hard to create something to wear as it is a weighty yarn. I saw this great Baby Alpaca yarn and thought I may make myself a hat with some of the Gold Sari Yarn and this. I don't know if I will knit it or crochet it. We shall see if the mixture of the yarn above mixes with the yarn below in this picture.

Sari yarn is definitely great for Women's purse or a shawl done with huge Needles.. Thanks for stopping by.

A Man that knits

I guess it is all for the fun of having a great sweater, pair of socks, scarf , skull cap and if you have made it, it is all that counts. I have made at least four or five sweaters in my life. Three of them have been knitted, two crocheted . There was one cabled that was the talk of town. I was very proud of that sweater. Now in my old age I have decided to revive my knitting along with my crocheting.

I just went to my LYS ImagiKnit (visit their website at www.imagiknit.com) and bought these three books. There is so much for women out there, but not enough for men.

who like to knit for themselves , I think the same happens in crochet. I know one of the authors of one of the books and I like to sponsor designers I know like Drew. He is co-author of the "Men who Knit and the Dogs who Love them".

These are the Books:

Men in Knits would be a good volume for men who like to knit for themselves
ISBN-13: 978-1-931499-23-1


Men in Knits Tara Jon Manning is another great book that if you casually flip the pages, you can see it has a lot of Cable Sweaters, Vests for the boys and the men in your life and that includes you the Man who Knits.. There is something for everyone and the cables I was looking for Woohoo! Is that a word? lol!.




Never Knit Your Man a Sweater (Unless You've Got the Ring)
Refreshing batch of projects for brothers and fathers, too!,
ISBN 13: 978-1-58017-464-0

This book by Judith Durant this book has everything, hats, scarves, gloves, socks, cardigans, mittens. It has 22 handsome projects for every level of commitment. What does that mean lol! I think the book is nice, different and a good addition to my small library



Men who knit and the dogs who love them
ISBN -13: 978-1-57990-874-4

Flipping through the pages more than casually I was able to see how much detail and care Drew and Annie, the co-Author, took for this book. It has a nice variety of patterns for you and your pooch or the man in your life.

All these books are great for the projects that I am planning on making. I have my Christmas presents on queue with these three books. I want to get rid of my yarn stash so that I can buy something different, something nicer in the yarn department. Thanks for stopping by and come back later, there is more to tell.