a few quick things

• This Friday night 7 pm Nov 9th, I'm the guest speaker for the Common Cod Fiber Guild. I'll be doing a slidetalk on my favorite subject (or, one of them, anyway); 10 Tips for Fabulous Photography of Knitwear, and Beyond . It's a best hits of ideas from classes I teach. All wrapped up in a bow, with very little jargon. If you're not a Common Cod member no worries, $5. gets you in the door.
So..that's, like, 50¢ a photo tip? Good deal.

 • Where?  In Cambridge Massachusetts, at MIT. Heh, I am giving a talk at MIT. 
You have no idea how dorky I've been,  saying this (over and over and over).

• On Saturday, I'm teaching an all day class in Needham MA, same subject. But hands on, with plenty of shooting time plus time to do a quick edit and review/critique what we shot. We're meeting in an historic school house, which should be an amazing setting for shooting your knits. Thanks to Creative Warehouse for making this happen! There's till room for a few more students , last minute is OK.  This is going to be a special class.
 
Best use of pompoms that I've seen in ages, right? 
• I've already misplaced my wonderful new mitts. I wore them at Rhinebeck and then they evaporated. I know I brought them home. This is so disheartening. And, my hands are cold.
  
Pompom style. Only the very few can carry it off. In this case, on a kindergarten field trip to the US capitol. 

smarter by proximity

Photographing Your FO's class (taught by yours truly) Fiber Camp 2011

I'm pretty sure I have more brain power than I did yesterday morning.  

Saturday at Fiber Camp, this year at MIT. When I sat down in one of the classrooms, this is what was on the board. Do you love it? In the photo above, see  the lower right, in particular.

 

It seemed smaller than last year, but with a nice assortment of classes on the board Saturday. The MIT hallway of rooms was a different vibe than the big party feeling at last year's venue. This did not stop the spinners from settling in one bit. That's Guido Stein, Common Cod knitting community impressario on the left.

 

My class was full of awesome students (as usual). I mean truly, I am blessed with having a great group every single time. I taught a quickie 1 hour class.

 

We ditched the classroom in favor of a foyer, to work with light. I like teaching in the round for a demo rather than to a rows of seats.

 

Special thanks to my niece Ariana, who was shooting some footage for her senior project documentary film (Tufts 2011) nearby, so stopped in to see me. She wound up being the class model. For anyone who was there: this is a photo about her, not about the knitwear.

 

Knitting with beads class. I learned 3 ways to put beads into my knitting.

 

Until now, I only knew zero ways.

See? Smarter. Although just spending the day in a building with this kind of entrance grew me some new synapses. Or at least I felt that way.

 

Much thanks to the Common Cod Fiber Guild. Nice work !

it snowed, i worked

 

and the Miami dog searched for a way out of snowy hell. Not on Calle Ocho anymore!

Actually, I spent today putting together my Ignite: Boston craft presentation, this Friday , should be quite the night of craft related storytelling. Ann Weaver and Maryse are also presenting, so I'll be in great company. See you there ?

UNusually fab day at camp

Fiber Camp Boston:  It didn't feel un-anything, at all.

  I should have known, if ANYONE can pull off a crowd sourced fiber Unconference, taught by the attendees, everyone is a star, on a freakin frakkin freezing day on the Charles, it'd be Guido Stein & the Common Cod

First order of business, consult the board of classes and decide where to go. Click to see a view of our little CT delegation: me, Katy , Rebecca, by the big board.

 Rebecca taught Intuitive Heel knitting. Very freeing. We don't need no stinkin' instructions! I've officially faced down my slackass sock attitude. You heard it here. Rebecca  figures out the architecture of a 3D knit project in an instant, she's our local SnB's secret weapon against failed projects. Maybe you've knit some of her wonderful  designs , many are on  Knitty . It set the tone for the day, lots of friendly sharing & inspirations.

After lunch I had a fabulously good-natured group in my class, Photographing FO's on Real People. If you've met me , you know I have no trouble talking, um, A LOT  on this subject. Condensing it into 75 minutes was the challenge,  Caro jumped in wielding the reflector, and being all kinds of supportive.  And- I'd just met Caro right that minute, so talk about cool. Here's her view of the class (thx!)

Alice modeled, I tried to demonstrate how I choose one aspect of a sweater to  highlight. It was all kinds of spontaneous, heh,  wouldn't you know,  I chose a model FO that had great yarn, an unusual construction (big. drapey. sleeves.) AND wonderful small details. Challenge.I hope I wasn't too bossy, it's so easy in a short class to have the train go off track.

Seven characters in search of a ply? Some groups met on the BlackBox Stage

Katy did amigurumi, and some double knitting,  Rebecca checked out the drop spindlers/pliers , I was in a yarn tasting swap. I'm scheming a more pimped out version of the One Way Trip scarf, so want short yardages from others. The gathering, hanging around and niddy noddy sharing was fun ,too.  Maybe more than anything else, so energizing to feel the creative spark of everyone organizing a day together become something better than the sum of our parts.

I'm heading south to work in Washington most of this week. Back at you with some FO's, and red scarves.

ps. yes, that is me, in Real Simple magazine this month on page 107. I am wearing 2 handknits, btw. It cracks me up every time I see it, we really do look like that ,sans the son away at school, you can barely see Gabe in the fold of the mag, Dave cut his hair & beard unusually short of for the occasion, and no fluffy drifts of dog hair show on the floor. phew!

on un-convening

Doesn't the first Monday of the new year feel like you're plunging back into the water after a break out on the floating dock?

I'm jumping in with plans of happy collaborations. There's the new book project with Joan Tapper (my Shear Spirit co-author)  about craft & knitting & community & action. It gives me the chance to collaborate with a bunch of folks I enjoy and  admire. And to travel!  There's the upcoming Photography for  Knitters Workshops, (btw? New Haven on January 24 only has 2 seats left but Hartford area on January 16, come on down, plenty of room).

I even took a leap of faith and signed on for Fiber Camp Boston next weekend, January 9 & 10.   Do you know about this? It's  an Un-conference for knitters &  spinners. Another brainchild of the Common Cod Fiber Guild.  I have to admit at first feeling partly confused and partly not quite cool enough. An un-conference? There's no staff, it's crowd sourced. Umm, yes, really.  You register online. That part's not  hard at all. Then you look to see what classes are being offered, in 1/2 hour or 75 minute sessions.  It's updated all the time.  Or you can teach any class you want- you describe it in advance on the wiki that's linked online to the home page, and people comment on whether they're interested. Or you can list a class you're dreaming of taking and someone might offer it. Anyone who signs up can teach. When you get there you can take any class that's listed until it fills up on the board. I haven't seen anything about pairing wines with what yarn you're knitting but if they offer a tasting, I am all over it.

Sounds so crazy it might just work. The oddness of going in and editing the website to join in might be putting some folks off. Do not fret! Somehow it's going to all fall in place, and the fee to play is small.  You can't actually break the wiki. If you put something in the wrong spot, it'll get edited by someone else correcting the flow. So very MMX isn't it?
I offered to teach Photographing FO's on Real People Models, on Saturday, if you're interested in playing along for 75 minutes.  Bring your camera, of course. Maybe I'll see you there?

3 glimpses

Still putting the final touches on showing the whole Make Mine Local indie fiber fashion experience from the Common Cod Fiber Guild. You know, fixing the collar and getting the ID's straightened out for the models & designers.

Until then just this little peek.

Back soon with the real deal.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

You can enter to win the Harry Potter audiobook giveway until midnight Wednesday Nov 18th, leave a comment here.

you've been volunteered

My niece was drafted into being photo assistant and subject for some swift dramatic lighting tests just before the models and their fab fiber designs posed at Make Mine Local last Friday night in Boston .( I'll show and tell them tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.)
It's not that she minded helping me out for the night. She just didn't have any choice.

I know how she feels. My neighbors have decided we will have a knitting group and I will teach them how to knit worsted weight socks. Or ....whatever. This has been the buzz on the beach, half jokingly , for the last few summers, that we'll have a knitting society in the fall. Never happens. Just found out I've been drafted, Thursday night is our first gathering.

Not that I mind.

Still time to enter the giveaway for the Harry Potter audio book. Go ahead, leave me a comment here.

goings on of note

This Friday evening (tonight!) in Boston, the Common Cod Fiber Guild is putting on Make Mine Local, a fashion show of area indie fiber fashion design. Shannon Okey was the juror and will be there in person to emcee.( Her blog. ) There'lll be some live music and plenty of interesting knits.
I'm going to head up there to photograph and wallow in fibery creativity.

It'd be great to see you there, its at MIT, 50 Vassar Street, 7 pm.
But if you can't make it -- you can see us thanks to a live streaming feed.
That should be nothing to yawn at!