Fiber Fest Love Reaches Boston

Our wonderful manager Missy is in Boston today, attending her daughter's graduation (congratulations, Kathryn!). She was enjoying coffee and breakfast in a cafe this morning and casting on a sweater when a woman at the table next to her leaned over and told Missy that her family would be interested in what she was working on.

They got to talking about knitting and the StevenBe Creative Community Foundation came up. She and her brother were very interested in the therapeutic knitting that the foundation is sponsoring. Missy told her about the foundation's plans to work with a major Minneapolis hospital this summer, specifically with adolescent in-patient girls with eating disorders. At that point, the woman and her brother were overcome with emotion and told Missy about why they were there.

Her two nieces, the daughters of the brother there with her, are at Tufts Medical Center, just across the street from Missy's hotel. They were waiting to celebrate with their mom at the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off. One niece lost a leg and her younger sister is battling to keep both of hers. They have had regular 12 hour surgeries for the last two weeks.

Their father called the family knitters who were taking turns sitting bedside with the girls, keeping them company. Missy told them about Fiber Fest and all of our celebrity teachers who were spending time with us this weekend. As it turns out, they are big fans of Stephen West and when she mentioned the Yarn Harlot, they were positively gleeful.

Today, Stephen West picked out one of his patterns and a skein of Madelinetosh for our Boston knitting aunts and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee signed one of her books for them. While they're standing vigil for their nieces, we want them to have something special to work on. Our hearts go out to everyone in Boston and the knitters who love them.

Fiber Fest 2013: Select Classes Still Available!

There's still time to grab a seat and take in some knowledge from your favorite knitting celebrities! There are still a few spots left in select classes! Register through the links here or come in to StevenBe or Yarn Garage and we'll help you get signed up and pick out your class materials at the same time.

The best way to start your Fiber Fest experience is with Steven at the Pillsbury House Theater tomorrow night for our Kick-Off Party! Steven will be interviewing our fabulous teachers in the style of Joan Rivers-meets-Oprah-meets-Wendy Williams (or as we usually just call it, "StevenBe-style").

Ragga & Stephen West--a package deal!

4/25 @ StevenBe: Icelandic Chevron Mittens from 10am-1pm
The Icelandic Textile Museum has a few very interesting pieces of mittens and socks knit in beautiful chevron patterns. Most of these pieces are older than the lace shawls that also show many variations of chevron and feather and fan patterns. Learn how to create your own Icelandic Chevron Mittens with the expert!

4/25 @ StevenBe: Ragga & Stephen West Exclusive Preview Trunk Show from 2pm-5pm

In this two hour program Ragga and Stephen share their experience of working as a design team on their collection, to be released in fall 2013. Samples will be shown and photographs and videos from photo shoots shared. The book is due to be released in October 2013 as a part of the Iceland Airwaves music festival.

4/26 @ Yarn Garage: Mixology with Ragga & Stephen West from 10am-1pm

In this class it's all about mixing, matching and juxtaposing different yarns, shapes, techniques, colors and textures. We'll break down the walls between knit and crochet and disregard all boundaries between bulky and fine. Participants will find new confidence in planning projects and taking control over their stash.

4/29 @ StevenBe: Ragga & Stephen West Present Party Tricks for Knitters from 10am-1pm

In this class we cover various tricks that will come in handy in a wide variety of projects. We will cover 4 different types of casting on, 4 different types of casting off, various uses for i-cords and different techniques of making buttonholes. We’ll discuss how you can take control of your knitting and make smart decisions that will refine your knitted pieces and make you the master of your knitting!

Mary Scott Huff!

 4/26 @ StevenBe: Two Strings = Not Scary from 10am-1pm

In this introduction to stranded colorwork, we will learn the basic moves for handling two strands at the same time, and what is special about the construction of stranded colorwork.  We will practice stranding by swatching in class, then begin this stranded colorwork hat pattern.  No stranded knitting experience is necessary and we promise--it's not as scary as it seems!

Julie Weisenberger of Coco Knits!

 4/26 @ StevenBe: Pick Your Girl from 10am-1pm

This is your chance to have your own "Cocoknit-along" where everyone chooses a Cocoknits pattern to fit her own personal style and shape and choosing the right yarn for the project is a guided experience. What a perfect opportunity to make something to suit you and work with the designer!

4/26 @ StevenBe: Coco Knits, Habu, & Claudia Handpaints Trunk Show from 2pm-5pm
FILLED!
Learn how to read Japanese patterns from expert Takako Uekei, owner of Habu Textiles. This class will give you the keys to decipher a Japanese pattern and the confidence to knit one of Habu's beautiful garment kits! Experience fabulous fibers coming together in Julie's amazing designs!

4/28 @ Yarn Garage: Seamless Sweater Construction and Japanese Pattern Reading from 10am-2pm
Do you hate seaming sweaters? This class will teach you how to transform a seamed sweater pattern into a seamless pattern. We will use the Gisela pattern from cocoknits and go through the pattern in class to transform it into seamless construction featuring set-in sleeves and English Tailored shoulders. Also includes Takako's Japanese pattern reading workshop!  

Melissa Leapman!
 
4/26 @ StevenBe: Two Color Double Knitting from 2pm-5pm FILLED!
With this fascinating knitting technique, both sides of the knitting appear to be stockinette stitch. In just a few fun hours, learn how to knit—and even design!—these beautiful reversible fabrics. 

4/28 @ StevenBe: Flatter Yourself from 10am-1pm
In this fun hands-on workshop, learn how designers use fully fashioned shaping to create flattering sweaters. No matter your shape, use your knitting prowess to create knockout pieces that fit and flatter.

Franklin Habit!

4/28 @ StevenBe: History and Methods of Lace Knitting from 10am-1pm FILLED!
In this three-hour session, we’ll examine the fundamental principles and techniques of knitting's grandest tradition. Students will learn about the history of lace knitting, and the development of the art in three parts of the world (Russia, Estonia, and the Shetland Islands) in which the craft was developed to the highest level of artistry. We will not only discuss, but practice and play with some of the methods and motifs that distinguish each of these traditions. 

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot!

  4/28 @ Pillsbury House Theater: Exclusive New Lecture by the Yarn Harlot from 6pm-8pm
Even if you were lucky enough to see Stephanie in October when she was last here with us, you'll be in for a treat on Sunday night. She has created a brand new lecture just for StevenBe and you get to be the first to hear it! Also, the last hour will be our fabulous wrap-up party, another not-to-be missed opportunity to see Steven interact with Stephanie and our other teachers.

Fiber Fest Teacher Feature: Melissa Leapman

We're pleased as punch to have Melissa Leapman teaching two classes for us this year!

Melissa taught herself how to knit when she was in high school. "Amazing, isn't it, how I've written 16 knitting books in just five years, right?" she joked, with a saucy grin. We're certainly impressed...and she doesn't look a day over 21.

 



She loves working on books but it gets to be a struggle near the end. "I think every author curses towards the end of the process of writing a book, and usually the last project I design for each book is the toughest for me to finish," Melissa said. "I'm always torn between wanting to finish it up quickly to get it off my desk and slow the pace down to savor the final moments." But at least she gets to work with some really fantastic yarn while she's writing! "Usually, my favorite yarns are the ones made by the yarn company I'm currently designing for," she told us.

Melissa also loves knitting in public. "I love to knit on airplanes. It's the only time I'm literally tied to a chair with no excuse to stop knitting to do something else!" she laughed. She and Steven have a common knitting in public location, too. "I've knitted while on a jeep on safari in Zuzuland," said Melissa. Knitting safaris are the best kind of safaris.

Sign up for Melissa's classes before they fill!
Friday, April 26th, 2p-5p @ StevenBe: Two Color Double Knitting
Sunday, April 28th, 10a-1p @ StevenBe: Flatter Yourself

Fiber Fest Teacher Feature: Franklin Habit

We're delighted to have Franklin Habit teaching two fantastic (and incredibly helpful) classes for us during Fiber Fest this year!

Franklin is largely a self-taught knitter, we discovered. "I learned the long tail cast on from a classmate during my senior year of college, when I was supposed to be studying for exams," he said. (We call that "procrastiknitting," Franklin, and we're very familiar with it!) His classmate got tired of teaching, though, and he had to turn to books to teach himself the rest.

He does an amazing job taking vintage patterns and reworking them for modern knitters. Some of our favorites are Summer Neckerchief (1843) and Miss Lambert's Lace Sampler. Franklin's current project, a 1915 men's sweater, has been the bane of his existence. "It has been pulled back twice already, and may have to be pulled back to the beginning again," he explained, "And I am three-quarters of the way through it." We can't wait to see it finished--and neither can he!

When we asked Franklin about his current knitting celebrity crush, he was coy with us. "The terms of the settlement forbid my mentioning the name in a public form," he quipped. Yarn, however, can't get a restraining order so he felt free to share this week's favorites with us:
Cascade 220 Sport (we have a rainbow of colors of the superwash)
Jamieson and Smith Shetland Jumper Weight
Lopi Einband
Madelinetosh Vintage (we just got a huge shipment of this fantastic yarn yesterday!)
Zitron Lifestyle from Skacel

Franklin is just like us in his love for knitting in public. His favorite place to KIP is Green Park in London. "Very comfortable, very beautiful, and when it starts to rain you can take refuge in one of the hotel bars on Park Lane," he reminisced. The strangest place he's knit in public was "the set of a porn movie." With an answer like that, we had to know: what was he knitting? "A Baby Surprise Jacket. No, I am not kidding," he laughed.

Sign up for Franklin's classes today!
Sunday, April 28th, 10am-1pm @ StevenBe: History, Methods, and Styles of Knitting
Sunday, April 28th, 2pm-5pm @ StevenBe: Photographing Your Fiber

Fiber Fest Teacher Feature: Mary Scott Huff

We're so excited to be hosting Mary Scott Huff, author of Learn to Knit Visually: Color Knitting, for Fiber Fest this year! She's a rock star teacher and her book is the first one we put in the hands of anyone interested in learning colorwork.

Mary Scott Huff, working with color!

Mary's mother taught her to knit when she was young. "I used to climb trees and knit sitting on a branch," she reminisced. She stopped knitting for about 20 years but picked it back up when she was pregnant for the first time. "I got tactile, rather than food cravings," Mary explained.

Every knitter has something that trips them up, and Mary's is a common issue: she always runs out of yarn! "That's what they'll put on my tombstone," she laughed, "'Failed to Estimate Yardage Correctly.'" Steven recommends that you always pick up that extra skein!

Getting her daily dose of fiber!

All knitters know that it's hard to stop working on a project, no matter where we are and sometimes we don't realize that it may look a little odd to other people. When we asked Mary about the strangest place she's ever knit, she had to consult her family. "While playing miniature golf," she said, "Also, I freaked out my seatmate by drop-spindling on an airplane once."  

We love spreading the word by knitting in public and so does Mary! Her favorite place to knit in public is "the ice rink where my kids practice, because all the little kids are fascinated by it and fearless about asking questions."

As accomplished a knitter as she is, Mary has great aspirations. "I want to be [Kate Davies] when I grow up," she told us. With Kate's fantastic colorwork and adorable cabled owls, her patterns are fun to look at and fun to knit! As for us, we want to be Mary when we grow up--write about knitting and then ride off into the sunset on our motorcycles.

Here is Mary's Fiber Fest class--click to register before it fills!
Friday, April 26th @ StevenBe, 10am-1pm: 2 Strings = Not Scary!

Fiber Fest Teacher Feature: Stephen West

We're thrilled to be hosting Stephen West for Fiber Fest 2013! We're looking forward to his classes with Ragga--Steven spent some time with them in Amsterdam last month, so we know we're in for some big fun!

Ragga, Stephen, and Steven knitting in public!

Stephen first learned to knit when he was a sophomore in high school. "I did a lot of musical theater and many of my friends were crafty, so I asked them to show me backstage during a rehearsal for Once on this Island," says Stephen. We all admire his designs and beautiful stitches now but was he an immediate knitting prodigy? "It was a disaster," he laughed, "but it was enough to get me interested and I later bought a book and yarn from Michael's to teach myself more." He's designed some remarkable pieces since then, some of our favorites being Earth & Sky, Vulpix, and the Moose River cowl, samples of which you can see at StevenBe.

One of our favorite things that Stephen does is his YouTube channel, Places Where You Can Knit. You can check out his fabulous video about knitting in Reykjavik here. The strangest place he's ever knit? A lava field in Iceland! Stephen also loves knitting on trains and planes because "I'm forced to sit down and I can't escape so I always get a lot of knitting done."

Stephen knits at the Eiffel Tower!

We all have projects that were less than successful and Stephen is no exception. "One of the first sweaters I made was a raglan style pullover that I tried to make up without swatching or measuring," he confessed. "I didn't try it on until the whole body and yoke were knit and the bottom was fitted, but the yoke was 8 sizes too big." He has, of course, mastered the sweater since then, as you can see in his marvelous Vaila pullover on Ravelry.

Stephen's worked with fibers galore but his current favorites are Malabrigo Finito (which we carry!), Quince & Co. Puffin, Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER, Still River Mill Harmony, and Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk (one of our favorites, too!). For one of his more unusual projects, Stephen knit with strips of plastic bags. "The finished result was beautiful for a gallery exhibit, but the process was laborious and slow," he told us, because the plastic "was so sticky and difficult to work with." Sometimes it's more about the product than the process!

Here are Stephen's Fiber Fest classes, click to register before they're full!
Thursday, April 25th, 10am-1pm @ StevenBe: Top Down Shawl Tips & Tricks
Thursday, April 25th, 2pm-5pm @ StevenBe: Trunk Show & Lecture with Ragga & Stephen West
Friday, April 26th, 10am-1pm @ Yarn Garage: Mixology with RaggaWest
Monday, April 29th, 10am-1pm @ StevenBe: RaggaWest Party Tricks for Knitters