All about Stitches East: I
All about Stitches East:
I just got back a couple of hours ago from Stitches, I got to spend the weekend helping sell at Lanaknits Designs, Hemp For Knitting. It was so much fun being there! I couldn't believe my eyes at some of the stuff I saw! I met several people from KnitU and the Knitlist, too, which is always fun! I was told by someone who was passing, that the winter IK was out, so I ran out of the booth to buy it, but couldn't find it of course, because it ISN'T out. And how did I find out the truth? The editor of IK (!!!!!) told me that the issue's at the printers! How crazy is that?
I didn't even spend much money (which is REALLY GOOD), I only bought a $9 cone of fuzzy, funky yarn from WEBS (which quickly became a set of pulse warmers, pattern here, the rest will be used for scarf/hat set for my DSis), a set of Bryspun DPN's, and a hank of 100% WW wool, which will become the felted entrelac Market Bag from Summer 2001 Knitters (finally getting to do this! Yeah!). I also came home with some chunky 50/50 Hemp/Cotton from Lana, which will become a purse, and some handpainted DK 100% hemp, in a beautiful bright rainbow colorway, which will be a nice accent scarf.
Complaint: I was charged TAX ON THE WOOL!!!!!!!!!! The vendor (who will not be mentioned, mainly b/c I forgot who it was) said the hank was $15, then asked for $15.90. This is the argument that ensued:
Me: I thought it was $15.
Her: Well, then there's TAX (in a "duh, don't you know anything?" voice)
Me: There's no tax on yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (exasperated voice)
Her: YES THERE IS. There's tax on practically everything!
Me: Well I've never paid taxes on yarn, I buy it all the time and have never paid tax, both in PA and in NJ, even when I buy it at WalMart!!!
Her: Well there's taxes on yarn, there is no tax on patterns or buttons (!!!!!!!!!) but there is tax on yarn. [emphasis added]
Me: Hum. I wonder if it's different here. . . I live in PA and I know I don't pay taxes where I live . . . OH WAIT! WE'RE IN PA!!!!!!!!!!!
Her: silence, waiting for money
Me: Ok whatever, it's only $0.90
I paid her, then quickly ran out of there, and back to my booth (we had NOT been charging taxes on yarn). I said to Lana, "is there tax on yarn?" she says no. So I ask the vendors across from us, they say no. I ask the vendors next to us, they say no. AND they add that the coordinators TOLD EVERY VENDOR THAT THERE WAS NO TAX! They said they'd been coming for years and never charged tax. Someone who was shopping there also pitched in with, "no, there's no tax." Another lady we were talking to said, "No, there's no tax in PA, there is in Vermont and some other states, but not PA". Mind you, I argued with this woman about the tax, told her I knew there was none, and she was RUDE and insisted. AND this was on SUNDAY, at 3:35 PM!!!!!!!!!! Right before the whole thing closed. So I'm sure she charged everyone needless taxes the whole time. I almost didn't buy it b/c she was so rude, but it was a good deal. I'm not so much mad at having to pay needless taxes, I'm more mad that someone would do business without knowing what they're doing. And then argue about it. GRRRRRRR All in all my weekend was great, and I have some new yarn to play with.
[knitting: Matt's Wizard scarf, hemp purse, hemp scarf]
[fos: none]
[wim's: the market bag, a scarf for my sister, wristlets . . .]
I've put the AV sweater
I've put the AV sweater aside for a little while because I decided to knit squares for the Phoenix project, since Stitches is in like a week, I can hand them in there. I bought a random skein of pretty variegated Red Heart and made one of those side-to-side squares where you increase one stitch every row, then decrease to form a square. But I added a pocket to the middle of it! I did it using the two-needle circular knitting method, which is not hard to do but was hard in this case, because I was working the tube in the middle of a flat piece, so I had to go around the tube 1.5 times on one round, and then .5 times on the next round, otherwise it would have been shorter than the surrounding fabric. Garter stitch is really too thick for a pocket in the middle of a square, but it worked out OK and actually looks pretty neat (though it's not centered! GRRR). I think I'm going to put a small teddy bear inside the pocket.
I've also been working on my new top, I got a bunch of it done and it's looking good, except that I messed up the shaping decreases so they're not in the right spot -- one side is right but the other is not, so the shaping will be on my back instead of on my side. Oh well, no one will be able to notice. Though it's upset me enough to stop working . . .sigh.
[knitting: the top, Phoenix squares]
[fos: Phoenix squares]
[wim's: actually, nothing!]
I've put the AV sweater
I've put the AV sweater aside for a little while because I decided to knit squares for the Phoenix project, since Stitches is in like a week, I can hand them in there. I bought a random skein of pretty variegated Red Heart and made one of those side-to-side squares where you increase one stitch every row, then decrease to form a square. But I added a pocket to the middle of it! I did it using the two-needle circular knitting method, which is not hard to do but was hard in this case, because I was working the tube in the middle of a flat piece, so I had to go around the tube 1.5 times on one round, and then .5 times on the next round, otherwise it would have been shorter than the surrounding fabric. Garter stitch is really too thick for a pocket in the middle of a square, but it worked out OK and actually looks pretty neat (though it's not centered! GRRR). I think I'm going to put a small teddy bear inside the pocket.
I've also been working on my new top, I got a bunch of it done and it's looking good, except that I messed up the shaping decreases so they're not in the right spot -- one side is right but the other is not, so the shaping will be on my back instead of on my side. Oh well, no one will be able to notice. Though it's upset me enough to stop working . . .sigh.
[knitting: the top, Phoenix squares]
[fos: Phoenix squares]
[wim's: actually, nothing!]
I am still working on
I am still working on the AV sweater, it is even slower going right now, because I do NOT want to be working on it, I want to be working on something NEW! You know how it is when you just get sick of a project and get that itch to start something else. But I will NOT do it! I have way too many projects going as it is (sigh) and I need to get this sweater finished for Stitches East! Yes. (that was my pep talk to myself)
This isn't helped at all by the fact that last night, I couldn't sleep and in my mind, thought up a new top! I am going to deign it hopefully for sale, so I am not going to be going into too many details yet, but after thinking this up, I didn't want to stay in bed, I wanted to get up and start working! But I was a good girl and stayed in bed trying to sleep, even though I had to evacuate the building at 3:30 am because of a fire in the apartment below me (everything's fine, just a drunk guy who was heating something on the stove when he passed out on the couch and the something caught fire and filled his place, and the whole building, with smoke). We got no sleep last night, obviously.
[knitting: AV sweater]
[fos: none]
[wim's: this really cool new top!]
Matt actually went with me
Matt actually went with me to ANOTHER yarn store today! We hit Knitters Underground in Centre Hall, where I picked up a replacement set of size 6 DPNs and a pattern book for teddy bear sweaters (his mom is going to LOVE her Christmas presents!). They don't carry the yarn I needed for my bear, which is OK because I'll go back to the Sewing Academy on Mon. to get the skein I need. I don't know what is wrong with the people who work at this store; today the woman who helped me was not Molly, the owner, who had helped me last spring when I went in there. But this woman could have been Molly, for she had the same unhelpful attitude and no sense of humor! I'm not saying they're mean, or rude, or terrible, but they are definitely not how I would expect yarn store owners/workers to behave! I've been to other stores, such as the amazing Patternworks in NY and The Stitchery (also in NY), and both those stores have helpful, friendly, interested people who make an effort and are in a good mood. I just don't get this store. I'll probably still shop there on occasion, but if they were nicer, I'd probably be there every weekend! Oh well.
[knitting: AV sweater]
[fos: none]
[wim's: nothing special]
