Here in the Bay Area, Stitches West is THE go-to event for knitters.  Hundreds of classes and vendors over a four day weekend means non-stop knitting and crocheting fun!  This year I was there a bit on Friday to shop and then took classes Saturday and Sunday.  In between, I got to say hello to many friends!

My Saturday class was called Think Proportional…for Garment Design with Susan Lazear.  This was a 6 hour class that started with looking at our own measurements and examining what they told us about our own proportions then moving on to analyzing how garments fit proportionately and how we could apply the same proportions of a garment to our own work.  I’ve taken other classes about using measurements, but Susan’s emphasis on proportions really made me think differently about my design work!  Susan was a great teacher and really tailored the talk to our needs.

In between the two halves of the class, I got to meet the Knitmore Girls, my all time favorite podcasters!

On Sunday I took a class called Slick Set-in Sleeves with J C Briar.  In that class we practiced making a top down no seams set in sleeve on a child’s cardigan sample and then learned how to adapt the same concept to other top down and bottom up garments that are written for sewn sleeves.  She also gave us some hints for applying the technique to our own garment design.  As with all of J C’s classes, this one was really well organized and informational.

I also attended the Student Banquet and Style Show on Saturday night where I took to the catwalk and showed off my Seacliff Beach Poncho!  It was a fun event with lots of inspiring knitted and crocheted garments.  You can see the photos of all the garments from the show on Facebook.  I also won a prize for participating!  Thank you, Stitches West!

With the help of a friend, I picked out some yarn from Stunning String Studio to make another Custom Fit sweater and a couple of skeins of sock yarn from Leading Man Fiber Arts and Seven Sisters Arts.  My younger daughter has already claimed one of them.

 

 

I had a great time and look forward to next year!