VKLive New York!

I suppose I'm a little biased, with New York being my hometown and all, but how fabulous is Vogue Knitting Live NYC? We were lucky to be included, and snapped some quick iPhone pictures while we were there.

With two events already under their belts, VK had plenty of practice for this one...and it showed! There were art installations, unique vendors, an amazing class line-up and expert panels. Our very own Betsy Perry was on the "When Knitting Becomes a Career" panel, and was heard saying something we're used to hearing around the office here in Billerica--"On a bad day, I can say 'Well, at least I got to play with yarn today'"

Unique display/storage containers for crafty stuff

White wedding indeed...an art piece made of yarn!

Knitting and Yoga Adventures!

I asked CEY Creative Director Susan Mills to share some words about Knitting and Yoga Adventures here on the blog. Read on to hear about her experience!

The Monhegan gang in 2010

I've gone on the week long trip to Monhegan for 6 years. In 2011, Lisa added a long weekend in Vermont and I went and taught the Ariosa Reversible Cabled Cowls, this week's free Web Letter pattern.  Knitting classes are usually project-based and I try to come up with something new each time (for returning attendees) and structure the classes for all skill levels. 

Lisa Evans, founder of Knitting and Yoga Adventures

The yoga is suitable for all levels – The yoga teacher, Melora, is fantastic and caters to everyone’s level with special emphasis on  shoulders and neck – possible problem areas for knitters. And you can’t forget the massages. Mary Alice gives a wonderful massage – some people go for 2 or 3 massages. The camaraderie on these trips is incredible – women of all ages who all share a passion for knitting. And hiking and yoga. Schedules are very relaxed but there is a ton of stuff to do. 

Monhegan Island, from our Shoreline booklet shoot, 2010

Interweave Knitting Lab!

Did you go? Did you have fun? We had an amazing time!

If you have any pictures of your own, head over to our Facebook page and post them on our wall, we would love to see them. (Most of these pictures were taken with an iPhone, please excuse the quality!)

Setup at shows is ALOT of work!

The tasting area

We brought along Liberty Wool Print, Avenue, and Soft Linen.

People were excited to try Signature needles! We also had free patterns and ruler bookmarks.

We made 108" long (!!) scarves in Liberty Wool to be auctioned off.

Another auction prize: a bag of Avenue, booklet 9145, and a set of US6 Signature needles

A happy knitter and her haul of Alpaca Sox

The winner of our giveaway yarn grab bag, and her gorgeous Silky Alpaca Lace shawlette

Slow down, knitters! A speed bump a la Interweave

Nine Rubies in San Mateo brought along some Liberty Print. If you're looking for it, they've got it!

Tasting some yarn with Signature needles at the Classic Elite Yarns table

We can't wait for next October. See you in Manchester, Interweave!

CEY and Signature Needles, Together!

 

This has been a great year for knitting events. One particularly exciting one that's approaching is Interweave's Knitting Lab! As knitting creeps deeper into the public consciousness, knitters are becoming more and more advanced and their hunger for intermediate to experienced-level knowledge grows. Interweave responded with Knitting Lab, an event with shopping, classes, lectures, and special events, all catering to the inquisitive, post-beginner fiber enthusiast...and Classic Elite will be there!

Heather, our sales manager, will be walking the floor and checking out all the CEY knits out there (if you didn't catch the blog post on Friday, we are giving away a $75 gift basket to a lucky knitter wearing CEY). You can probably catch her by the yarn tasting area, where you'll have a chance to knit some luscious fibers with some fabulous needles!

This year, we are thrilled to be bringing along Soft Linen, Avenue and Liberty Print to the show floor.

Soft Linen is a blend of fibers that can only be described as perfect: 35% Linen, 35% Wool, and 30% Baby Alpaca. I love the crispness of bast fibers (linen, hemp, nettles, etc.) but find them to be hard on my hands. Soft Linen combines that crispness with the softness and drape of baby alpaca, and the insulating qualities of wool.

Avenue is a new yarn for Fall 2011, and, as the name suggests, it imparts a city feel. Not particularly "woolly", Avenue is a marled fiber in eight sophisticated colors made up of 42% extrafine merino, 29% silk, and 29% viscose. It is soft and knits up into a unique fabric that is perfect for simple silhouettes that benefit from a fabric with plenty of drape. Try it out, you might like it!

What can we say about Liberty Print besides that it's fabulous! The color shifts, the springy ply, the machine-washability without the weird squeakiness of "superwash"! Contributing to Liberty's buttery feel is a secret process that renders it machine-washable but helps it retain its soft woolliness. It can be difficult to see the spectacular colors without knitting a swatch, so we thought this would be a great yarn to bring along.

At this event, Classic Elite Yarns has a partner! Signature Needle Arts, cult producers of precision-crafted, lightweight aluminum needles, have generously provided us with needles for the tasting area! The opportunities to use these stunning needles are so rare, and their following so devoted that this is a must-visit if in San Mateo area. 

For updates from Knitting Lab, whether you're there or following along from home, follow us on Twitter at @ceyarns. See you there!

Going to Knitting Lab? Want to Win?

Interweave Knitting Lab is next week! Who's going? What classes are you taking? Interweave promises:

Hands-on learning experiences in how-to classes filled with "aha!" moments

Deep, immersive instruction presented by icons of the knitting world including: Barbara Walker, Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, June Hemmons Hiatt, Clara Parkes, Ann Budd, and Shirley Paden

Rarely-offered classes on unique regional, ethnic, and historical techniques, taught by authoritative experts in an intimate setting

Presentations by some of knitting's cleverest luminaries makes it worth a visit alone! Tea with Alice Starmore? Need I say more?

We know that these events are often the best places to show off your most impressive FO's. Rhinebeck is a veritable fashion show of handknits, and with a four-day immersive event teeming with intermediate to advanced knitters, this one will be a doozie too. Our sales manager Heather will be there, walking the floor and mingling in the tasting area. If you are wearing a FO in Classic Elite Yarns, say hi! (If you can't find her, follow @ceyarns on Twitter for updates). She'll give you one of these awesome pins to write what CEY yarn you're wearing.

Then, you're entered in a drawing! We will randomly choose one name to win a gift basket valued at over $75, containing a grab bag of CEY yarns including Kumara, Alpaca Sox, Silky Alpaca Lace Handpaints, and Liberty Wool Print, and the recently published Quick Knits, a book of 100 patterns compiled from our pattern archives.

So what are you packing?