Unraveled

Casey and I are preparing to head over to the United Kingdom next week. It is our first time visiting the UK and we couldn’t be more excited! We have a few fun events planned for our trip, both in England and Scotland and in between, but first up is Knit Nation, organized by Alice and Cookie, at Imperial College in London!

This awesome knitting and spinning expo starts on Thursday and ends with our Ravelry party on Saturday night. There are classes with amazing teachers, our talk on Ravelry on Friday, booksignings and a really incredible marketplace!

Our party should be tons of fun! We are borrowing Ysolda‘s photo booth and have lots of room to spread out knit, hang out and get a drink. It would not be possible if it weren’t for our sponsors:

(Click on the logos to get more information about our sponsors!)

Please check out Knit Nation if you haven’t already and are accessible to London- there are class spots still available and Marketplace tickets will be available online until tonight at midnight GMT. (They will also be available in person for £8.)

For party details and to RSVP, please go here. There are no tickets for our party, to make it welcoming to all, but RSVPing will help us get a head count.

You can also chat about all the fun happenings at Knit Nation in the KN group on Ravelry!

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A few months ago, Elizabeth from Squam Art Workshops wrote me an excited email asking for some photos of Casey and myself to use in a new project.

“I wrote your story as a fairy tale and I think you are gonna love it!”

Experience has told me that when Elizabeth writes you, don’t ask too many questions and just give her what she needs. The result is always the same: she will surprise you with something wonderful.

I have a feeling that this journal book will be no different. I hope that you check it out and get a peek at the rejeuvenating, calming, exciting and educational experience that is Squam Art Workshops.

Last Thursday, we had a really nice visit with Yarnmarket and got to meet some local Ohioans! We usually are so busy when we come to Columbus for TNNA in June that we fly in and out pretty quickly, so this was quite a treat!

Deborah and Alex from Yarnmarket were such great hosts- they let all of us run around their (omg yarn up to the ceiling!!) warehouse and hang out in the lovely showroom and office.

They even invited the great people from Della-Q, Kollage Yarns and Denise Needles to come show off their products and hang out with us all.

We wished we got more photos but apparently we were too busy talking with all the Ravelers and enjoying our sandwiches. Thanks so much to Yarnmarket and to all the Ohio Ravelers who came out to see us!

If you are in the Pickerington area, definitely stop by and see Yarnmarket! They have a nice showroom to sit and knit, with couches and lovely yarn to touch. Info here!

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Casey and I had an amazing time at the beginning of June when we traveled up to New Hampshire for the Spring session of Squam Art Workshops. We relaxed, hung out with new and old friends, and had fun learning new crafty skills from the amazing teachers!

We also had a little table at the Squam Art Fair- we brought some yummy cake and beer to share.  We were in great company, the vendors were just incredible. My only regret was that I didn’t bring enough cash ;) Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to say hello to us- next year we will bring a little more cake!

Thank you so much to Elizabeth and all of her helpers!

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Casey and I have almost finished preparing for our weekend at the Squam Art Workshops up in Holderness New Hamshire- we have all our class materials ready and are doing the last load of laundry!

Before we head out, I had to remind local folks of our event on Saturday- we will be at the Squam Art Fair on Saturday, June 5th.  There will be some great vendors there, including:

• Ysolda Teague
• Susy Pilgrim Waters
• Maya Donenfeld
• Angela Ligouri
• The Woolen Rabbit
• Cal Patch
• Juniper Moon Fiber Farm
• Jill Bent
• Lettuce Knit

We will have some local beer and some Hello buttons so come by and say hello!

Directions here!

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Happy Birthday, faithful and snorty mascot!!

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I am so excited that we are able to attend Squam Art Workshops (SAW) again this June!  Last year we had such a wonderful time at this lovely New Hampshire summer camp/ art retreat for adults.  We took classes with amazing teachers, enjoyed the scenery and delicious food and we were so thrilled when Elizabeth said that she was holding another Spring session this year.

Registration begins February 1st and we are busily trying to pick our classes- it is really hard since there are so many great ones!  There are classes on so many subjects: spinning, knitting, writing, yoga, sewing, printmaking, embroidery and more!  The teacher list is incredible again this year, including:

Beth Brown-Reinsel Cal Patch Charlotte Lyons Christine Mason Miller Denny McMillan Gudrun Johnston Jared Flood Jen Lee Laura Nelkin Lizzy House Marisa Haedike Maya Donenfeld Megan Ingman Michelle Smith Rebecca Ringquist Terri Dautcher

There will also be some fun activities after the classes are over for the day!  Jonatha Brooke is coming back for another concert, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee will be giving a talk and we have some Ravelry fun planned for Saturday night during the Squam Art Fair. The Fair and Ravelry event will be open to all, not only SAW attendees and we’ll post more information about that as June approaches.

If you want to read more, you can check out my blog post from last year (where I have linked to other attendees’ blog entries) or you can look at the Raves section on the SAW site.

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The Ravelry team had a great time last weekend as we headed to California for the Anniversary party at Unwind in Burbank and also for the TNNA trade show in Long Beach.  I found it so hard to leave snowy and slushy New England but sometimes you just have to sacrifice for your job, you know? ;)

First we headed to the event at Unwind- it is such a nice spacious shop and we always have a great time there!  We got to see some new and old friends, see some beautiful yarn, and Casey found another crocheted guy to play with. Thank you to Stephanie,  her wonderful staff and all the Ravelers who came to say hello!

Before we left the Burbank area, we had to give Casey something for his hobbies so we stopped at a great comic shop.  Mary-Heather and Sarah even found something special for their guys at home!

Then we were off to Long Beach where we reunited with our colleagues at the trade show.  As usual, we came away from the show energized and full of ideas on how Ravelry can help support the industry and our community so stay tuned for that!

This TNNA was also the launch of a collaborative effort between Ravelry, Louet and Soak.  As you probably know, we have been working with Jacqueline Sava at Soak already with our Unleash Soak and she had the great idea to come out with a color range of Ravelry inspired Louet yarn, with fun pattern support and kits.

There will be more information on this soon, in the Soak-worthy group, but you can see Jacqueline’s patterns here and the colors here, on the Unleash yarn page. The Unleash Soak, yarns, patterns and kits are going to be available soon at a yarn store near you!  Jacqueline will be updating this post here with the stores that are carrying them.

We have had a lot of fun working on this with both Soak and Louet and look forward to seeing what Ravelers can do with these fun Ravelry inspired colors!

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We are so pleased to announce that Sarah will be working for Ravelry full-time after the new year!  She will continue in her community support/ Hostess with the Mostest role and will then have time to work with Casey, Mary-Heather and me on other Ravelry improvement projects, large and small.

Thank you to all Ravelers for supporting us through these tough economic times so that we can make this happen- we feel so very blessed!

Thanks, Sarah!  We can’t wait!

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We had an amazing time at New York Sheep and Wool again this year- I can’t believe this is our third Rhinebeck since we started Ravelry. Time flies!  Thanks to everyone who participated in our meetups and party- we had so much fun!

This festival had to have been the best showcase of hand crocheted and knit items that I have ever been to- and that is saying something as I have been to a lot of wooly events!  It may have been because we were freezing but, man, did we look good.  ;)

The Ravelry party on Saturday night was an amazing success!  It was super chilly again this year but between the heaters, lots of wooly garments and bigger warm tents, we all had a great time! Our estimation is that around 550 Ravelers and their families joined us at the Elks Lodge but there was plenty of room to see friends.  Everyone did great with the shuttle bus to the larger parking lot down the street so thanks to everyone for your flexibility!

Again, we’d like to say a big thank you to our wonderful sponsors:

Quiviut Sponsor: Yarnmarket.com

Cashmere Sponsors:  Juniper Moon Fiber Farm, Unicorn Fibre, Namaste, and Loopsknitting.com

Merino Sponsors:  Signature Needle Arts, Twist Collective, Bijou Basin Ranch, Lantern Moon, St. Denis, Gardiner Yarn Works, Knit Picks, The Loopy Ewe, Miss Babs, Classic Elite Yarns and Sandra Singh.

We couldn’t have hosted this awesome party without you!  (Please visit those links and support our sponsors!)

There were some seriously great door prizes donated from the sponsors- lots of oohing and ahhing from the crowd as we announced the winners!

We also had some fun giveaway project bags printed up, designed by my friend Julie at symposi.com.  The sponsors provided some coupons and goodies for inside the bags.

Like last year, the printed cupcakes were a big hit at the party!  This year, we chose a cupcake design to complement the project bags and sponsor poster- matchy matchy! Fun!

Bob even made an appearance at the party and meetups this year!  This incredible Bob costume was made by  Ysolda with help from Laura– thanks so much you guys!  I am still laughing every time I see it.

We also had two great meetups during the day on Saturday and Sunday- here are two group shots!

Some Ravelers brought cupcakes and cookies to the meetups again this year- I think it is a rule that much fun is had when knitting and crochet, fun people and baked goods combine. :)

Finally, I would also like to personally thank our friends and family for helping us throughout the weekend- Team Rav worked tirelessly to hand out buttons and sharpies, take photos, run errands (again and again!), set up for the party, put lights in porta potties, hang twinkle lights (and getting stabbed by said twinkle lights), break down the party, welcome everyone and generally helped to keep Casey, Mary-Heather, Sarah and me sane.  Thank you so much, Cirilia, Emily,  Eric, Nichole, Maryse, Nancy, Ronan, Cheryl, Laura, Ysolda, Kyle and Erica!

If you have photos from Rhinebeck this weekend or any other Ravelry event or meetup, please add it to our Ravelry Events pool on flickr!  It is really fun to go through those pictures!  There is also the great Rhinebeck group where you can talk about what you bought and who you saw this past weekend!

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Cause I know you are going to ask… pattern links!

• Cirilia is wearing her Hill Country Hat from Clara Parke’s new book, Knitter’s Book of Wool.
• Vivian by Ysolda Teague (on MH in red above and Sarah and myself in sage green)
• Nichole is wearing a raspberry Dollar and a Half Cardigan (in front on team rav photo)
• My aqua hat is my Sideways Grande Cloche
• I am also wearing the original (!!) Vaila by Gudrun Johnston from Twist Collective, Winter 2008
• Sarah’s red hat is Berroco Vintage and the pattern is Ysolda’s Ripley
• My brother Kyle and Casey are wearing their Seamless Hybrids, both in Cascade 220.
• Laura’s pink shawl is her Hibiscus Shawl.
• Colorful Cheryl is wearing her Harlequin Yoke sweater with the very contagious Noro Striped Scarf.
• Erica is rocking Ysolda’s Rose Red.
• Mary-Heather’s magical green hat of joy (above in mosaic and in meetup photo) is Verity by Ysolda
• The Bob head has no pattern and Ysolda has no plans on creating one. She created it on the fly in 5 days, can you believe that? ;)

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