Field Trip: Knitting Along the Viking Trail Exhibit

The "Knitting Along the Viking Trail" exhibit opened at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia in March 2011 and closes July 3, 2011. If you are reading this when I actually wrote it there is still time for you to dash down there and see it. The trip would be worth your while.

As I was preparing for the visit to mom's house and the museum over Memorial Day weekend I wracked my brain to figure out why I didn't go in March when the exhibit opened and Elsebeth Lavold was there doing workshops. Then I remembered it was the same weekend Hubby and I left for our March Break trip to Park City, Utah (which I never told you about). Well, a girl can only do so much.

Since we were there on a Friday afternoon, mom and I had the exhibit hall to ourselves, which gave me plenty of time and space to run from one end to the other examining each piece from many different angles. It was very exciting to see in person the sweaters I've been mooning over for years in the pattern books.

Trud
I discovered Lavold's designs in 2004, pretty soon after I learned to knit. Even at that time I knew cables would be a love of mine and bought the "Viking Patterns for Knitters" as soon as I saw it. Seeing the sweaters in person gave me a new appreciation for how they are put together and the details that went into the designs. It seems silly to say that seeing them in person allowed me to see them in a new light. Of course the sweaters look different in person than in a picture.

I was especially excited to see the Trud sweater, which is from the first Viking Knits Collection book. I fell in love with Trud in 2004 and bought the book and the yarn even though it was beyond my skill level at the time.

Then my skill level caught up and I wondered if I really wanted all that fabric from the pleats around my hips. So I started considering other ways to use the yarn, but kept coming back to Trud.

Well, seeing the sweater in person I found that the pleats don't add a lot of bulk after all. The Silky Wool yarn is light and has good drape so there isn't really a massive amount of fabric around the waist. That was very exciting to see. Trud was back on my to-make list! All I have to do is scale down the top. The size small has a 34" inch finished chest, which will be around 3" of ease for me and a tad more than I like.

Hoods
The other change in perspective I had was from seeing Vigdis from Viking Patterns for Knitters and Skjalf from the Second Viking Knits book.

They both have these form fitting, detached hood. I always thought the hood on Vigdis was a little goofy looking in the book. Turns out they are really cute in person! The Vigdis one is just plain stockinette stitch, but the one for Skjalf has cables on it.

In fact, mom and I left the museum discussing how practical they looked. They keep you warmer than a hat since they cover your ears and neck, but they don't block your peripheral vision and catch the wind like a traditional hood would. Having seen them in person I really want to make one now.

Dragons!
It was also inspiring to see the dragons in person that I want to use in my Celtic Critter Cardigan. There don't seem to be patterns for Urd and Saga, the sweaters I'm standing with in the first picture on the post. But they gave an idea of what can be done with the cables. Getting to examine the details of the sweaters up close and see how they were put together was very informative. I took lots of close up pictures of shoulders, sides, collars, and other parts unseen in the pictures in the pattern books.

Well, I could go on and on about how wonderful all the sweater were, but I think you get the idea.

I'll wrap up by mentioning the blanket picture from my last post.

The afghan was massive! It was all her swatches from Knitting Along the Viking Trail sewn together. Once again, some of the patterns that didn't impress me in the pictures in the book turned out to be very attractive in person.

But I think my favorite part of the blanket was the filled in spaces. Little areas where the swatches didn't come together square that were just filled in with grey garter stitch. That amused me terribly.

I guess because those little grey spots showed it was handmade.

Book Bonanza

Well, I had quite the exciting weekend. I wasn't sure where to start, but now it's late so I'll start with the easy stuff.

On Thursday I trooped down to my mom's again. My weekend odyssey covered eight hours, five states, and four yarn stores.

Actually, 16 hours if you count the drive home, too.

Anyway.

Since I've realized I have more pictures to take, I'll start with the easy stuff of the books.

Ooooh, the books. A veritable plethora of knitting books.

As I told you back in April, in a moment of insanity I signed up for the Master Knitter program. I've been conspicuously silent on it since then because I haven't actually started it. I bought and set up the binder then hit a wall.

There are a lot of questions you need to answer and that report to write...anyway I convinced myself I couldn't start until I'd bought a few basic, knitting overview type books. Sure I might already know the stuff, but you are supposed to sight references in the report.

Well, right before my trip I got I postcard and email announcing a sale at The Elegant Ewe down in Concord. I figured the books I wanted might not be on sale, but since I'd be practically driving by it wouldn't hurt to stop.

I bought "Knitting in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti and "Power Cables" by Lily Chin. I was aiming for the Righetti book as one of my reference manuals for the MK program. I figure I liked her "Sweater Design in Plain English" so I'll probably like this one. It was not on sale. The Chin book was an impulse purchase because it was on sale. But then I like cables and after flipping through it thought it might also make a good reference manual.

They were out of Lucy Neatby's new book "Cool Knitters Finish In Style," proving I should have bought it when I saw it a few weeks ago.

Back In My Store
I continued on to Westport Yarns to pick up the yarn I'd ordered when I passed through for mom's heart attack. (I still have to take pictures of it.) (Um, the yarn that is. Not mom's heart.)

I had a nice time chattering away for a while, then decided I should get back on the road.

They also were out of the Neatby book. However, I bought a tin of the lavender scent Lavishea lotion bar. It's very pleasant and seems to be doing a good job.

Philly Stores
On Friday mom and I went up to Philadelphia to see the "Knitting Along The Viking Trail" exhibit at the American Swedish Historical Museum.

That is a big post for tomorrow, but here is a taste. The exhibit is from the Elsebeth Lavold book "Viking Patterns for Knitting." This afghan is made from the swatches she knit when researching the book.

How very cool to see the swatches I've mooned over all these years! I like the way there are odd bits of grey knitting to fill in gaps between the swatches. I guess they wouldn't jigsaw together properly and someone said, "Well, just fill it in."

We took a turn around the rest of the museum as well and hit the gift shop. (As Dr. Who says, "I love a little shop.") I wasn't really expecting to see anything, but I found this very cool book called "Swedish Knits" by Paula Hammerskog and Eva Wincent.

I don't believe I've ever heard or seen this book before. I flipped through it several times before I bought it. There are basic instructions, tips, a stitch dictionary, and patterns. Once again, I think it might come in handy for the MK program.

After leaving the exhibit we got a bite to eat and then went questing for yarn stores since I knew there were two within spitting distance. I was still looking for the Neatby book but was also fired up to get the Second and Third Viking Knits Collections books by Lavold.

First we tracked down Rosie's Yarn Cellar. It was a cute little store with wall to wall yarn. They had yarn I've knit with, yarn I'd heard about but never seen in person, and a few yarns that were new to me.

Which is what you would want in a yarn store, no?

They did not have either the Neatby or the Lavold books I was after. However, having been in the biz (actually, I guess I still am) I always like to make a least a token purchase when I visit an LYS. In this case I bought a handful of the sample size Soak Wash laundry soaps sitting on the counter.

Then we moved on to Loop. This was a little of a jackpot. Once again the yarn ranged from the familiar to the new. Once again they didn't have the Neatby book, but they did have the Second Viking Knits book. score!

They also had a offer on FourSquare. Yeah, I set up an ID on FourSquare. I don't know, it's another social media site. When you go places you check in and can leave tips and see other tips and...yeah, I don't really get it. Probably because I only have one friend on it and he doesn't even live near me.

Anyway, sometimes it amuses me to spend the day checking into places, especially when I'm on a trip.

Well, Loop had an offer of 10% off a $20 purchase for you first check in. Finally, I found a place that actually had an offer I'd be interested in! That, of course, opened the flood gates. I would have bought the Lavold book regardless, but since I was getting a discount I also bought both "Sensational..." and "More Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. They are good books and I've been thinking on and off for a while that I should have them since I love knitting socks so much, and there they were, so now they are mine.

I also bought some yarn, which I need to photograph.

In the end I bought six knitting books. Combined with the book I bought at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival and the book JelliDonut gave me, I acquired eight new knitting books this month. phew!

Not Knitting
You will notice in the top right corner of the picture that a non-knitting book slipped in as well. We stopped at Barnes & Noble on our way home from Philly because mom had some coupons to use and titles she wanted.

B & N also did not have the Neatby book, but since mom's coupon was going to expire over the weekend I thought it was about time I read "The Princess Bride."

This could be dangerous. I like the movie very much and I understand the book is a bit different. However, William Goldman wrote the book and the movie script, so I hope it isn't too shocking.

Home again, Home again

I've actually been home since Monday night. I have a 5 pm train out of Philly. I take back what I said about it being a civilized way to travel. The train randomly stopped on the tracks out of Penn Station and south of New Rochelle. With no explanation offered. Well, after we'd been sitting there a while, a guy came on the loudspeaker and said something obscure about letting another train go east before we continued north. Anyway, we were supposed to get back to my desired station at 8:19 and didn't get in until 9, which made for a late night.
I took some time to read the plaque explaining the sculpture in the freaky big room at the convention center. (You probably can't read that.) It was all about how the rail shapes of the sculpture (it did remind me of a roller coaster) was meant to honor the original use of Reading Terminal as a train station. And there was stuff about glass forms that represented various constellations. So I found Orion, which is my favorite constellation because I can always find it in the sky. I actually think the dippers are a little tricky. So I suppose I developed more of an appreciation for what was going on. However, my mom and brother had the same reaction to the room and the stuff hanging from the ceiling that I did, so I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my "what the heck?" reaction.
Speaking of them, we had a nice visit. The food at the Hard Rock was fine. There was a bit of shocking moment when the music stopped and this guy started yelling for everyone's attention. But it turned out to just be the birthday for the 8 year old boy at the next table--so everyone in the restaurant yelled "happy birthday" and we got back to our meal.
Oh, and remember that wine the other night? Yeah, well, as I was carrying it back to my room I spilled some on my superhero sweater. Aaarrgh! I rinsed it with cold water as soon as I got in the room, so I think it survived. I think I'll wash it in the normal manner before I start busting out the Wine Out or other extreme measures.
As for knitting. I moved along on the Arrrgyle Socks much faster than I expected. What with how fiddly they are and on US1 needles and all. But I suppose this is the third time I've attempted them (kept calculating an incorrect number of stitches to cast on. Yeah, is was fun creating the chart in excel 3 times, why do you ask?) so I guess I've got the hand of it. When I hit the eyes I took a moment to count--17 bobbins in play. No wonder they kept getting tangled. It wasn't so bad. I actually made it passed the nose and was trying to figure out how to manipulate the yarn for the mouth when I stopped working on them.
I went to a number of sessions on the first floor of the convention center on Monday. As soon as I came down the escalator I was greeted by this:
Which got another "what in the world" reaction from me. Can you tell I'm not into the modern art so much? In case you can't make it out, I took a close up. Yeah, bowls and cups and little Chinese restaurant spoons. They are all stacked under an set of escalators and there are numerous "do not touch" signs around it. Which of course made me want to touch it, but I didn't.
At least the sessions made more sense than the art.
I finished the lettering for "ravelry" on my bag on the train ride home. So I can safely say it took about 7 hours. Wheeee. No picture because I haven't taken one, and don't you think this post has enough pictures as it is? I got the "a" in my ID done last night while I was watching "Enchanted". It's a Disney movie about a cartoon princess who is sent to NY City but retains her bubbly personality. It was so preposterous it was good. But then I looked down and realized I had managed to mess the "a" up. Rather than dealing with it, I went to bed. Tonight I yanked it out, and rather than redoing it, I came up to drop all my pictures into my posts.
Well, the bag was looking good.
I guess that's about it for now. I'm sure there was other stuff I was going to tell you about my trip, but it escapes me at the moment. Maybe I'll go work on that "a" now, maybe I'll clean the kitchen. Or maybe I'll just flop into bed.

Philly: Day 2

The lunch break is running from 11 to 2:45, which is pretty darn nice. And also means no demand for the email stations again. hehehe.
I hit Reading Terminal Market again, this time I got a salmon and goat cheese frittata with a little field green salad--and a chocolate cupcake. Chocolate frosting this time.
The mint one last night was very yummy, obviously since I went back. The cake was just the right consistency and the icing was very subtly mint flavored. I'd been concerned it would be cloying. I'm going to have to make time to go back tomorrow and get some to take home to Hubby. I think I can manage not to squish them, or at least I hope so.
I hit two sessions in the morning, which were informative, but I still managed to get the heel flap on the CPS knit. I was lounging in my room, but didn't trust the numbers I had for turning the heel so I came questing for the computers to check the "Heels by the numbers" website, which is really very handy to know about. Anyway, my numbers were indeed funky, well they might have worked but not for the heel I really prefer.
Since I was over here anyway, and housekeeping hadn't been to my room yet, I did a quick sweep of the show floor and then hit the press room to refill my water bottle. Usually I quest for free bottles of water, but I'm not seeing any--making refilling the one I bought this morning the way to go.
Mom called this morning and we decided on the Hard Rock Cafe across the street for dinner. I hope I don't have to make reservations. Well, there is a convention in town, but it looks like there are plenty of social events that should keep the crowds occupied.
Did I mention I'm on the 20th floor of the hotel? It's freaky high. I can't see Ben Franklin from my room, but I can from the windows right when you get off the elevators. You can see the asparagus buildings too.
And the convention center has this freaky big room with marble floors and some weird sculpture handing from the ceiling that you have to walk through on the way from the hotel to the session area. I took a picture of it, but with out a fish eye lens I don't think you get the impact. I could see a wedding reception being held there. It makes me wish I had clicky shoes on so I could make lots and lots of noise when I walk through.
Speaking of shoes, in a moment of insanity I brought my little blue flats that aren't good for walking. When I was back in my room for lunch I switched to my brown Timberlands, not perfect with stockings, but better. Even though it looks funky.
Ok, it's almost 12:45, hopefully housekeeping has been by. I want to flop. If I'm quick I might be able to get the heel turned and the gussets picked up before I have to come back. I didn't plan the stealth knitting very well this trip.
By the way, can someone tell my stupid head that a convention is not the time or place for a headache? I'm actually holding up rather well. I popped two Exedrine... at 5:30 when I woke up, but I'm finding the dark spots to sit in the rooms. Which is another reason I want to relax a bit.
Right, off to make use of my hotel room!

Dateline: Philadelphia

I'm at a convention in Philadelphia. (See I really do travel.)
There are women here in prom dresses. I'm running around in jeans and my superhero sweater. It's really quite strange. But I think they have some event tonight, so they aren't just dressed up for the fun of it.
Amy Tan was the keynote speaker tonight. She was really funny, which made me glad I came down tonight rather than rushing down in the morning.
The show floor opened after the keynote, there was food and drinks. Never saw that before, at least not on the floor. I've already collected some Tasty Cake chocolate cupcakes, a note pad, a flashlight (!) and numerous chocolates. And I turned in my ticket for a glass of wine. wheeee!
Now I'm going to head back to my hotel and flop.
I grew up about an hour south of Philly, so the idea of ever staying in a hotel here never crossed my mind. But here I am. I took the Amtrak down, such a civilized way to travel, and arrived at the hotel around 4. After registering for the hotel and the convention, I hit Reading Terminal Market, which is right across the street from the hotel. I think I was there once with mom when I was a teenager.
Man, you could get lost in there, and I don't think it's really that big. It's really cool, I wish we had something like that near us. I told Hubby I'd do my best to stick to our healthy eating regime while I was down here. In support of that I found a place making big salads and got their version of a chef salad, mixed green, prosciutto (sp?), grilled chicken and some veggies. Really, I think it's a bit protein heavy, if anything, although I did get a piece of foccaci (sp?) bread as well. I was starving, but the event that included the keynote started at 5, so I dumped it in my room and took off!
And as yummy as that sounds (I had a bit of chicken and it was very tasty), I also bought a mint chocolate chip cupcake from the Flying Monkey Bakery. $1.75 for a cupcake, it better be damn good. Luckily there is a Starbucks in the the lobby, so I'll be able to snag a cup of tea. There is tea in the room, but the choices are chamomile or Earl Grey, neither of which I'm in the mood for at the moment. Of course I still have to finish this wine....
I do have the camera with me, but no way to download the pictures. I don't have a laptop, I'm actually on the public computers at the convention. But as it's 8:45 at night, no one is in line. Still, I should wrap it up, I have a long day tomorrow. Sessions start at 8:45 am and my mom and brother are coming up for dinner tomorrow night.
But first, in knitting news, I finished the black detail on the ball on my Ravelry bag. Since hind sight is 20/20, I think I could have done the black by intarsia also. The lettering is moving along apace, as I suspected. I got "rav" done on the train down. During the keynote I worked on the large version of the Cat's Pajama's Socks. I finally made it past the first pattern round, sheesh, and can start the heel. Remember, I'm just doing an anklet to test the size. I also brought my arrgyle socks, which are at the point where the skull comes in.
I'm not sure I can work on any of this while I'm tipsy. Of course the wine will wear off once I get some food in me. And since the food is in my room, I really must go!