Imperial Stock Ranch Desitination Event to Return

There are lots of knitting-related travel opportunities out there, but some of them stand out as dream events and destinations. That’s the way I felt when I heard about the Vogue Knitting Live destination event at Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon. The event was a weekend with Nicky Epstein and knitters from around the country flocked (ha, ha) there to experience the ranch, savor local food and music and learn Epstein’s block by block method of garment construction.

(She designed a piece, the Corona Circle Croplette, just for the event, and the pattern is available for $8 on Ravelry.)

I wasn’t there, sadly (I think it was the weekend of my 10th wedding anniversary!) but I might get the chance next year because Imperial Yarn announced that the event will be happening again next year. It’s slated for May 31 to June 2, 2013, and interested knitters can contact Doreen at Soho Publishing for more information or to reserve a spot.

Armchair travelers can check out this year’s event on Imperial Yarn’s Facebook page or read a great roundup of events with comments from some of the participants.

Have you ever gone on a destination knitting experience? Spill it!

[Photo: Nicky Epstein in her embellished cowboy hat, by Imperial Yarn.]

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

Have you read?

Leave a Reply