Back ... finally with goodies,

yes I am back, I spent the weekend here - where I had fun, real fun, and I knit some. Today there is the conference report and the knitting report. Which means conference goodies, some discretionary spending, and two things knit or rather progress on two knitted things. And lastly while there I presented a paper on drum roll please .... hand knitting & even better, people knit. That is right, five or more were knitting as I talked! Even better several came up after and said how they enjoyed it, I've already had a few emails saying the same thing .. and a few others have provided leads so I might be able to track down the knitting pattern for one of the vintage cardigans I featured.

Then there was the conference goodie bag .. you know 'cause its all about the goodie bag. Well the team at Napier has style, I have to say that. The first hint of the incredibly stylish nature of how they do things is the conference badge ... which gains one free entry to all conference things. Cool isn't it? I'm keeping mine and wearing it proudly. Oh I know it looks like a political badge ... but in the middle it has a symbol of the British Empire .. cause the conference theme as the Empire. The opening line of the conference theme paragraph was
"When in 1979 Farah Diba, Empress of Iran, fled the fall of Tehran she did so in a dress designed by Valentino. It was neither the first, nor the last, time that luxurious textiles and high fashion were intimately linked with the image of an Empire."

All the papers were fantastic ... not a dud amongst them. And the conference goodie bag ... well usually one gets booklets about the host town/city, discount vouchers for things one does not usually buy .. and that universal pad and pen. We got Op-Shop* finds ... each bag was like a lucky dip, filled with collectible buttons, haberdashery items like vintage cards of sock mending thread, or packets of vintage needles, or vintage embroidery iron on transfers, old sewing patterns or knitting magazines, old hooks and eyes or sets of zippers or lace (you can tell it was a textile and costume conference can't you and you get the old-vintage theme?). I got the best thing .. actually I did, there was a bit of swapping going on -- but I was holding tight to my ...


embroidered calico apron! It has a few 'age spots', but anyone and anything older than 30 years with no signs of age is ...well its not right, age is a virtue, and its ok to be old, even if you are an apron. I love that it was made by someone without sophisticated skills, and look - they cut and made the pockets but forgot to add seam allowance so the pockets ended up to small ... cute isn't it? But the embroidery is wonderful ... stunning. I was even tempted to wear it to the dinner ... but I didn't want to get it dirty.



I did do a little shopping. I saw something I liked on on Friday, fell in love there and then. I tried not to, I told myself that I couldn't afford it .... but you know the more I thought how I couldn't afford it .... well the more I figured out how I could. Finally Monday, when it was still there and unsold, and I was about to fly home, I texted Bear "You don't want to buy me a necklace do you?", but - alas - he was no help. Bear texted back "Actually, I think I do"(I think I may have forgot to provide a price - that could have affected his answer). I've borrowed the image from an online site, the piece is by Zita Wespel-Rose, mine has a three black outline petals, and the recessed detail is black, with the center in gold, and a silver (not red) 'chain'. And its got nothing to do with knitting, but its pretty.

and the knitting?
Well one leg warmer done, a single Peggy, just a tad longer than her little seven year old arms, with a thumb hole so they can do double duty as a arm warmer or as ballet leg warmers. The next one started and I'm maybe 1/6th of the way into that one.


and Bayerische is still there, its pretty, I've worked 5 repeats for the knee to calf, and have worked 3 of the 5 lower leg repeats. Once they are done I can work the heel and then it will look more like sock. You can see a hint of the leg shaping, where 16 stitches are removed to narrow the leg under the calf.

so that is me ... up to date and off to knit.
na Stella

* OpShop = a New Zealand term to describe the Opportunity Shop, usually a church run shop stocked with items donated for sale. A good place to rummage for second hand clothes, toys, diner wear, or vintage things.