Spinning Seminar 2010

I have been remiss in reporting on the lovely time Kris and I had at the 2010 Spinning Seminar at '>The Mannings back on June 12.  This is an annual event that we just discovered last year.  I’m sure the word “spinning” scared me off in earlier years.  The format is this: many demonstration/exhibition tables set up on the grass outside the shop, a lunch/snack booth run by the local church ladies, some animals on display, some local 4H groups practicing for Sheep to Shawl contests, and free time for spinning or knitting.  There is no charge (unless you buy pie, which we usually do – though this year we went with some good looking chocolate chip cookies, instead).

Here’s my Flickr slideshow of the day.  Double click to open it bigger and see the captions, too.  Enjoy!

Just in case you don’t watch all the way to the end, I want to show off Kris’s version of the Night Gulls sock.  She’s knitting this in a perfectly lovely Cascade Heritage handpaint that is such a great match for the pattern.  Doesn’t it look good so far? Now, who wants to knit dog hair?

Night Gulls – new sock pattern!

I’ve been knitting socks for a while now, challenging myself with different stitches and architectures.  I can substitute heels and toes and resize patterns.  But still, it never really occurred to me to publish a sock pattern until after I took Anne Hanson’s sock design workshop a couple of months ago.  Then I knew I was ready.  Exercise Before Knitting threw down her Reviving Socks design challenge a couple of weeks later, and I decided to finish the sock I began at the workshop and release it.
And so, I give you Night Gulls: The name comes from the gulls-and-garter stitch pattern on the top of the cuff and the yarn’s colorway, which is “Night Watch.”
This sock brings together two main stitch patterns that show off the veil-dyed, variegated Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn. It should work well with other non-pooling semi-solid yarns, as well as heathers and solids (I recommend avoiding wild multis and pooling yarns, as they would obscure the stitchwork).Because several stitches are used, these socks have a “sampler” feel that helps maintain the intermediate knitter’s interest while resulting in a cohesive design. The gull stitch used on the cuff features floating strands which highlight the color variation in the yarn. The diagonal rib stitch used around the ankle and on the instep pulls is very elastic, providing stretchy snugness just where you need it most.
Socks are knit cuff-down on 2 circular needles, but feel free to use your favorite cuff-down technique. I’ve used a flap heel and star toe, but again, feel free to substitute your favorite heel/toe.
The blue version is size medium (64-stitch circumference).  But wait, there’s more!  My great friend and fellow knitting librarian Steven test knit the large size (over 72 stitches) in another Smooshy colorway, “Cocoa Kiss.”  I just adore how Smooshy will not pool.  It provides the satisfaction and entertainment of knitting with a multi-colored yarn, but the overall effect is that of a semi-solid.  Didn’t he do a great job?  And he put a slightly different heel on his version.  Thanks, Steven!!!
Thanks also to my knitting friends who encouraged me to do this and proofread the pattern.  Know that I’d do the same for you.  And a huge thank you to my sweetie, who designed a very cool logo for me today and then reformatted the entire pattern in Illustrator so it would look clean and sharp.  You rock!The pattern is available as a pdf download for $5 (Ravelry account not required).
And of course, you can also find Night Gulls in Ravelry.