Nutmegknitter Recap | Vogue Knitting Live NYC

I love going to New York City! Each time really feels like an adventure – I take the train in to Grand Central Terminal, and when you walk through the terminal and then out on to 42nd street it feels like you’ve landed on a completely different planet. This was my first time to attend a Vogue Knitting Live event, it was interesting that’s for sure.

I hit the marketplace on Sunday morning. It was busy but not mobbed, though a lot of the vendors seemed to be a bit dazed – who can blame them? It was the 3rd day! My plan was to make a loop of the marketplace, then return to the places that I wanted to shop, but I started to get mixed up moving about the aisles. I switched gears to shop as I went along. I saw a lot of kits, loads of mini-skeins of assorted weights for projects that could be kitted, gradients were also really big. Surprising to me were many of the booths / vendors were shops. The yarns in their booths are yarns that I can get at my LYS, with one exception. New River Fiber Co was one of my first stops and I happened to fondle a skein of Kismet Fiber Works Rooted, an alpaca-silk blend. Then I held a skein of Pamiri Yarn, also Kismet Fiber Works, that is 100% handspun cashgora. It’s heavenly.

I spotted the Narwhal Needlework tag in more than one picture on Instagram, and they are even better in person. I was sorely tempted by their “Lorelei” base – a nice big bulky, but instead went with a skein of their MCN base Lyra in the “Espresso Bean” colorway and Superwash Merino / nylon base Ravenwood in the “Sound of Silence” colorway. Nice colors for socks for Dan & myself. They were super sweet and fun to talk to as well.

My last marketplace purchase was from Knit Circus. I’ve heard about this yarn but have never seen it in person. I’m totally sold and easily could give them a lot more of my money. I had a lovely time talking with Jaala and I ended up with a kit of the Greatest of Ease yarn in Over the Rainbow & Creamy Sheep to make the Chromatic Cowl. Brioche is one of those items I was thinking about trying this year! I also picked up a Swatch Ruler by the brilliant Ann Budd. Makes me look forward to my next swatch!

Aside from indulging in stash enhancement, I also attended a “Fit to Flatter” lecture by Amy Herzog. It was motivating to me and I did pick up a few ideas and tips. One of my knitting goals for the year was to have a few sweaters for me that I love and that fit right. I’m just not happy with the sweaters I’ve knit myself and I should be able to rectify that. After the lecture, I headed to my class / workshop with Susan B. Anderson to learn how to knit a little dragon. That was so much fun! I didn’t finish my dragon by the end of the class, but I did get up to the neck and I learned a boatload of tips from Susan. I’ve been a big fan of her books for ages now (look how little Lorelai was – that’s the Birthday Cake Hat! and the Upside Down Daisy hat!) and taking this class did get me excited about making toys again! She was so sweet and signed a bookplate for the Kids Knitting book we picked up for Lorelai too!

A few notes about MY VKLive experience: the lighting in there was horrible, hence my very few photos. In the marketplace the lighting was not good to really tell yarn colors, and an in the classroom the overhead lights were like spotlights, so you had to position yourself to get optimal lighting. Their website needs some updating for mobile users – I couldn’t see my class materials that were needed except on a desktop. Many people in my class made a similar complaint. I also thought this yarn / fiber / knitting event skewed towards the older age group. And I would consider myself right in the middle of young and old. I felt like one of the younger people there. There were a few handknit sweaters, scarves, shawls, and hats I noticed, but nothing like Rhinebeck. Maybe because we were indoors? I like going to these events for the motivation in the knits I see on real people, not just samples on display. I would go back for the classes and lectures, the marketplace maybe / maybe not.