One day our customer Rasha came into the store seeking some help. She had seen a version of Stephen West’s Old Forge blanket which used 3 colors instead of just 2, and she loved the look, but she wanted to make a baby blanket. Old Forge uses worsted weight yarn, and it is a full sized (65” Diameter) blanket. So we discussed what to do, and I suggested she use a lighter yarn and smaller needles to size the blanket down. In the end we choose Dale of Norway’s Baby Ull because it is machine washable and comes in a ton of colors. We did some quick math and figured out that she could do the pattern as written and it should be perfect. Of course, it was hard to know how many skeins to buy, so we guessed and hoped for the best. In the end she used 1 skein of pink, 2 skeins of lavender and 5 skeins of the dark purple.
And it turned out FANTASTIC. Give it a gander:
Rasha with her fabulous blanket!
Always remember that there is more than one way to resize a pattern and that you are in charge of what you knit. You can make any pattern yours with just a few simple changes.
Sunday was a very special day for us! Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably stopped here in Minnesota to treat us to a full day of color. Not just any color, but rich, vibrant combinations that spark the imagination and tempt you visually! I can’t say enough about the completely wonderful experienceI personally had, and I think (hope) that all of the students in Brandon’s Persian Poppies class and the audience at Kaffe’s ‘Concentrate on Color’ lecture feel the same.
The day started at 10am when Brandon had 20 of us start knitting, stretching our personal color senses to bursting. Here are some photos of from class.
Brandon demonstrating separating our colors into lights and darks/brights.
We borrowed from each other to make our own colorways.Diane combining colors into her personal ball of yarn.
Helping Anna.
At the end of the day, Brandon pinned all of our swatches to the board and gave us constructive critiques and pats on the back.
We all left tired but energized by our day.
A short hour and a half later, Kaffe took the stage for his mesmerizing lecture on color. With a wonderful sense of humor, he gave a brief introduction into how he became the artist he is today, then immediately progressed into a breathtaking slide show. Almost every screen elicited a gasp of awe. We saw photos of pieces that inspired Kaffe and Brandon; knitted masterpieces; fabrics from the Kaffe Fassett Collection; paintings; and more. Many of these same photos can be seen in Kaffe’s new book, Dreaming in Color, but having Kaffe’s commentary as we viewed them was magnificent.
At the end of the evening, Kaffe and Brandon signed books for the 30 or so people who stood in line waiting patiently to meet these amazing Color Guys.
I want to thank Kaffe and Brandon for giving us their time this weekend. We have a wonderful staff, so I have to give a special thanks to Cecilia, Janine, Hillary and Liz for helping Julie and me out organizing, taking tickets at the door, schlepping boxes in and out of Mendakota Country Club, etc. Plus, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our vendors and reps who donated items as door prizes: Westminster Fibers (distributor of Rowan Yarns in US), Lantern Moon, Arnhild’s Knitting Studio, Elemental Affects, and Nancy Kleiber (our local yarn rep for Westminster Fibers and Colinette).
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