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.]

If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

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