Random tidbits

There are two crafty bloggers, Kat of Kat Knits and Susi of Craft Room, who are taking on the Project Runway challenges and using dolls as their models. Seriously awesome.

Speaking of awesome, um, True Blood plus Snoop Dogg. Fanfic-tastic!

Okay, one more. I heart Carlton. I know you do, too, don't lie.

Ugly Blanket 2.0

So this year at WWKIP Day (World Wide Knit In Public Day), Seoul SnB started working on their second Ugly Blanket.

The Ugly Blanket is made up of a number of squares knit by various members of our community and crocheted together by one lovely Ms. Siobhain. It's being raffled off to raise money for the Korean Sexual Violence Relief Center. We did the same thing last year and raised quite a bit of money. At 2,000 won a ticket this year we're already reaching 200,000 won and tickets are still on sale. Our draw date is November 7th at our SnB meeting. 100% of the money goes to the center.

Below is the blanket in progress and some closeups of the squares. If you're interested in buying a ticket please contact marielynn AT gmail DOT com or siobhain DOT rivera AT gmail DOT com. You can watch the progress of the blanket on Ravelry.

The yarn in the following two squares was actually dyed and spun by students at Eunhaeng Elementary School during our Fiber Arts Winter Camp. Most of the students brought their yarn home with them but some left it behind. After months of waiting for it to be picked up, I used it to knit some ugly blanket squares.

And in case you're wondering what last year's blanket looked like completed. Here it is:

Happy Crafting and I'll be sure to let you know the results of the raffle.

motivation

i've been silent for a long time. truthfully, i've just been a slacker at knitting for the past several months, and that makes the little hater in me go, "you are disqualified from knitting circles, nyah!" but it came to me that perhaps i'm not the only one with this motivation problem. it almost always hits me at the same time as the hot weather--i suddenly lose interest in knitting and fixate on something else. in my case, that would be the beach/ocean.

i suppose there's comfort in the fact that at least this particular inconstancy is cyclical?

in any case, here's my question for you folks:

Do any of you suddenly lose your knitting mojo for an extended period of time? If so, do you just trust that it'll find its way back and wait, or do you make a conscious effort to power through the slump?

KIP Day is coming!!

Or, for those of you who don't share my love of acronyms, Worldwide Knit in Public Day. It's almost here! This Saturday, June 12, in fact. Seoul SnB is having a meetup to celebrate, swap yarn, and chill.

Details!

Yarn Crawl at Dongdaemun Shopping Town: Meet at Dongdaemun Station, lines 1 and 4, exit 9 at 1030 am. (If you're coming, give me a heads up by emailing me or leaving a comment on this post siobhain.rivera at gmail.com) My phone number is on the google group thread for KIP Day if you get lost or are going to be late.

Meetup at 2 pm: Euljiro 1-ga Station, line 2. Exit for Korea Electric Power Corporation. (Walk away from the underground plaza in the center of the station toward the underground arcade to Euljiro 3-ga, it's the second exit on your right.) Walk straight out of the exit toward the main part of Myeongdong. It looks like this:



We'll be doing a yarn swap, so bring stuff to trade! It shouldn't be raining, but if it is, there are myriad cafes we can escape into. We're also going to be working on another ugly blanket to raise money for the Korean Sexual Violence Resource Center; last year we ended up donating about 150,000 won to them with all the tickets we sold, and it would be great if we could top that! So bring your 6" squares for the blankie and I'll start selling tickets then. (Don't worry, I'll be selling tickets/collecting squares for a few months at least.)

After the meetup: Subway Knitting!! We'll be getting on the Green Line (Line 2) and going around the circle. It will probably take an hour and a half or so, but of course feel free to get off at your stop, or whenever you feel like it. But think how awesome it would be to have a bunch of us knitting on the subway together! Bet that would catch some attention. (Beware the ajumma! They tend to grab knitterly things out of your hands to examine them.)

So... We'll see you there, right? Great! I'll post afterwards with pictures and possibly some video. I'll leave you with a video of our interpretive yarn dance (read: detangling) from last year's KIP Day.

Meeting Schedule

Seoul Stitch n Bitch currently meets every Tuesday evening and Sunday afternoon. Bundang Stitch n Bitch meets every Saturday.

Here is our Google Calendar.



You can find directions to our meetings on our Google Group page.

If something seems odd about the above schedule and you're not certain it's correct, please email seoulsnb@gmail.com for clarification.

Thailand Travels: Yarn in BangkokP

I was in Bangkok for a month this October, I decided to see what kind of yarn I could find. There didn’t seem to be many people on Ravelry who could help, but I found some helpful blog posts and went out exploring. I only found 3 stores, but I’ve heard there are others, I just didn’t have time to get them. I figured this information might be helpful to other knitters out there - Thailand is a pretty popular vacation spot, and you might need a yarn fix while you're there!

As you might imagine, knitting isn’t terribly popular in a place like Thailand; it seems to be mostly a hobby for the more well-off, and the yarn prices definitely reflect that – they were nowhere near the cheapness of the yarn in Korea. There was a wide variety of Western and Japanese brands of yarn, and things generally started around 300 baht (US $10) a ball and went upwards.

Zawa Knitting: a very small shop, I went one Saturday evening and there was only the girl who worked the shop. They had Clover needles, but no KnitPros in sight – I wrote down the word, and she seemed to know what I was talking about but didn’t show me any, so the rumor I read about Zawa having them remains that. Their entire stock consisted of a large selection of Filatura di Crosa yarn, and not much else. The girl there looked friendly, but was clearly discomfited when I attempted to ask for things, and could only tell me that she didn’t speak English. This was the branch on Sukhumvit 49; there is another branch in Paragon

Hobby ____ in Siam Paragon: This was a multicrafting area in Siam Paragon Mall, in the Paragon Passageway on the 5^th floor. They had a large selection of many kinds of yarn, some familiar to me and some I’d never heard of – it seemed to be mostly Japanese and Italian brands. Lots of Clover and Takumi needles in various sizes. There were also sections for scrapbooking, jewelry making, and sewing/quilting, with smaller tables in each area and a larger central one. The girls who worked there were very friendly, although still a bit uncomfortable with dealing with a foreigner, but there was one who seemed to be in charge of speaking to anyone in English.

Big Knit Café: Literally down the street from the Zawa Knitting store on Sukhumvit 49. It’s a very cozy place, lots of little tables and chairs for sitting and eating and crafting, as well as a big table for groups. The food was good, the desserts looked yummy, and I love the way the yarn is organized – on shelves with balls of everything out for fondling. I ordered and went to look around, and one of the girls who worked there came over to help me. She was a bit nervous, but when I described some mohair I had seen at the Paragon shop, she showed me all the stuff they had that could be similar to what I wanted. She was very helpful, and they had quite a large selection. Lots of Filatura di Crosa, as well as some Anny Blatt and a brand called Mondial. Quite a bit of novelty yarn, and interestingly enough, there was a house brand as well, with a pretty rayon/cotton blend. There were also lots of books, in both English and Japanese. There was knitting going on, of course, but needle-felted animals seemed to be very popular as well. I bought a needle-felting kit and got one of the older women who worked there to teach me how it worked. She didn’t speak any English, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

Directions to Big Knit and Zawa Knitting on Sukhumvit 49: the closest BTS station is Thong Lo. From there, Sukhumvit 49 is pretty easy to find - it's a few blocks away from the main intersection that Thong Lo occupies. The streets have signs on them, so no worries there. Both stores are a ways down from the main Sukhumvit Road - probably about a 15 minute walk, with Zawa Knitting being closer to Sukhumvit Road than Big Knit Cafe. Both stores have maps on their websites.

Directions to the store at Siam Paragon: Siam Square BTS station. Go out exit 5 or 6 for Siam Paragon. Follow the signs in the mall for Paragon Passageway; it's on the 5th floor, near the Paragon department store.

happy thanksgiving from this mee-guk

...to you! Now go forth and eat something with corn! (i.e. get a pizza delivered)

Finding Stationary & Toys in Dongdaemun

Look no further than Changsin-dong Toy Street. It's an elusive little street, located on the back side of the block that you'll find shoes and pets. I hunted high and low for it after my tour books advised me that they were along the Cheonggyecheon, where the pets are located now. That was true in the 70's, but not any longer.

Easy directions would be to follow this little strip map I found on Google. I'll elaborate a bit to help those that may not be familiar with anything but the fiber in the Dongdaemun Shopping Complex and anyone who might be arriving on foot from a bus or from a cab.

Coming from the South, you'll cross the Cheonggyecheon and you'll see shoes, shoes and more shoes. You can head up the little alley way facing you straight on and find yourself on the far side of the block (where you would take a right) or you can take the long way around to the left and circle the outside of the block along the back side of Dongdaemun gate. Either way, you find yourself along the road that the map indicates has the Dongdaemun Station exits on Line 1. Keep walking until you see the Dokil Drugstore, you're going to be turning down a little alley/road just past it.

Dokil Drugstore does not have a big sign but the store windows are well labelled, so be on the lookout. I've been able to easily spot the correct road because every time I go, the road is so crammed with parked delivery vans blocking the road that I could hardly get down it.

You'll find everything from wrapping paper and party supplies to stationary goodies like you'd find at Alpha to stickers to toys, toys and more toys. While I did not personally find a significant amount of scrapbook supplies, there are some stores that have some paper and punches. Anyone looking for Halloween costumes should start here. There is a crossroad towards the middle of the alley, I have never explored much off the main road, there may be some great shops hidden off the beaten path.

Upcoming Meeting Schedule

Hey craftyfolk!

Here's 2 weeks worth of schedule. This coming weekend is Chuseok vacation and then I'm gearing up for a big test for my kids. I suspect I will neglect my duties so I'm posting 2 weeks reminder right now.

Tuesday 9/29 7pm Itaewon - Starbucks
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-starbucks

Thursday 10/1 7pm Myeongdong - Baneul
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-baneul

Sunday 10/4 2:30pm Edae - Homemade Cafe
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-homemade-cafe

Tuesday 10/6 7pm Itaewon - Starbucks
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-starbucks

Thursday 10/8 7pm Gangnam - Namu Keuneul
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-namu-keuneul

Sunday 10/11 2:30 Gangnam - Cafe Obliviate
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web/directions-to-cafe-obliviate

At 106, Santa Ana woman still helping kids

At 106, Santa Ana woman still helping kids | blankets, wheeler, orange, knits, county - News - OCRegister.com

I just found this really sweet article about a 106 year old woman who's still knitting. If I make it that long, I hope to be like her!

Don't forget to check out the photo gallery of her and her knitting.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Directions for Sunday's meeting

I'd like to try a new cafe this coming Sunday, September 20th in the Edae area.

For those of you who don't want to walk alone to the cafe, please meet me and Hanna at Ehwa Women's University Station (Line 2) Exit 3 at 2:30pm. If you miss us, here are the directions:

Go out exit 3 of Ewha Women's University Station (Line 2). Walk
straight down until you reach the second side street. (It's the one
after passing Olive Young.) Turn right onto the side street and head
straight up until you reach the T-intersection. Take a left and head
straight another minute. The cafe will be on your right. It reads
"Homemade Cafe" or some such on its sign. Really, it's the only cafe
on that hill, so you can't miss it.

If you're lost, please give me a call at 010 5265 3825

we need ugly yarn, y'all.

let me rephrase that - we need more of it. perhaps you may have heard that this summer, seoulsnb-ers undertook a project. we decided that in honor of international knit-in-public day, we were going to make a blanket. (Or we might have decided it at our KIP day celebration, i'm not really sure which.)

At any rate, at some point the decision was made, and we all started knitting what were supposed to be 6" squares, but which turned out to be - well, let's just say that they were of varied sizes. Nikki crocheted them together for us, and it came out like this:
isn't that just the ugliest thing you ever saw? it's awesome, we know. and since it was so awesome, we decided the only fair way to determine who would get it would be to raffle it off. so we did. Angie sold the tickets - 2,000 won a piece, and with the proceeds going to the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Centre . when all was said and done, we raised almost a 150,000 won for a good cause.

then there was the drawing of the winner... it was definitely a tense night. there were quite a few people who wanted to win, but in the end, carson went home with the blanket. she seemed very pleased...marie won second prize, so she received one of angie's famed sock monkeys...of course, there were some disappointments, as there was only one blanket to give away. but as i pointed out on the ravelry thread, i'm fairly certain that making one blanket didn't kill anyone's stash of ugly yarn. i know i have plenty left. with that in mind, we decided to make ugly blanket n0.2 (ravelry link). sadly, i'll be going home in a bit for a vacation, but i'll try to get the full details and post them here. i'm thinking that we're aiming for this one to be done by our last meeting before christmas, so start knitting (or crocheting!) those squares! i've already done two, and using them to practice my new crochet skillz. if you want to donate a square/buy a ticket, but you aren't in seoul, just email us, either at seoulsnb@gmail.com or find our group on Ravelry.

that's all from me for now!
- siobhain /cinnamingirl

Socktoberfest!

Calling all sock knitters! Lolly from Lolly Knitting Around is hosting Socktoberfest again this year. What is Socktoberfest you ask. To quote Lolly:

A very simple concept with very few restrictions – Socktoberfest is a month-long celebration of socks. It is a simple celebration of the accessories that we make as crafters to cover our feet. Think of it more as a festival than a knitalong – people who love something come together and celebrate it!

I finished my first ever pair of socks during Socktoberfest last year and I have all sorts of lofty goals for this year. This October, I want to finish at least two pairs. I'm thinking about making Hedgerow (rav link) and Cotty (rav link), but my list of patterns is twenty long, so who knows what I'll end up making. What are your favorite sock patterns?

The website is here and the Ravelry group is here. Come join in the fun.

Never-ending scarf.

Have you ever noticed that scarves seem to take forever.
The KnitPrincess has unraveled the mystery of why.
Go check it out.

mind over mitten!

So I've got mittens and wrist/hand warmers and the like creeping back into my mind as fall weather begins. And because I'm a good little worker bee (ahem), I went to Knitty and got enmeshed in a pattern list.

Here are a few that piqued my interest:

Broadstreet
Corazon
Dashing

I may try Broadstreet just for the hobo fingers. Corazon caught my eye because of the top-to-cuff adaptation. And Dashing is just in my tickle-fancy zone. Mmmm...

I'm afraid to pop into Ravelry. I won't look away for hours(days). So, um, NO. For now.

What's YOUR favorite mitt?

Meeting Schedule (the short version)

Seoul SnB is in transition. We're no longer meeting at Cafe T+. In fact, we no longer meet only on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month. In fact, we meet every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday somewhere in Seoul.

Tuesdays (7pm)- Starbucks near the Crown and Capital Hotels in Itaewon (directions).

Thursdays (7pm)- Alternating weeks: Baneul in Myeong-dong (directions) and Namu Keuneul in Gangnam (directions).

Sundays (2:30pm)- Alternating weeks: Cafe Obliviate (directions coming soon) in Gangnam and Meeple in Sinchon (directions).

This week (Monday Sept. 7 - Sunday Sept. 13) the meetings are at: Itaewon, Gangnam, and Gangnam.

Meeting Location for Sunday August 30th

Since we're no longer meeting at Cafe T+, the Seoul SnB group has been looking for a new cafe to meet at. One of our wonderful members, Hanna, has located a cafe in Gangnam that sounds delightful. Here are the directions:

Go out exit 7. Head straight about 3 blocks until you get to the side
road just before the CGV movie theater. Turn right and go up that side
road until you see a 7 Monkeys (coffee shop). It'll be on an alleyway
on your left as you head up. Enter the alleyway and Obliviate will be
straight ahead. If you get lost, call/text Hanna at 010-7706-0352.

Meeting schedule for August

This is directly cross-posted from the Seoul Stitch n Bitch mailing list. Please join our mailing list for the most updated information about our meeting schedule.

Hey craftyfolk!
I'm headed out of town to China on Friday and I won't be back until the end of the month. I won't be able to send out updates so this is it :) If I get something wrong, please reply to the thread. I'm a skatterbrain.

11 Tuesday 7pm Starbucks near the Crown and Capital Hotels in Itaewon
I think some people are going out to dinner at Indigo to say goodbye to Laura before the meeting. 6pm, IIRC.

13 Thursday 6pm Namu Keuneul in Gangnam

16 Sunday 2:30pm Location still to be decided. Please keep an eye on the mailing list and someone will make a final decision. So far I think it's 2 votes for Hobby and 1 vote for Tea Purple

18 Tuesday 7pm Starbucks near the Crown and Capital Hotels in Itaewon

20 Thursday 7pm Banul in Myeong-dong

23 Sunday 2:30pm Meeple. I will call and make that reservation today. I'll post on the list to confirm that.

25 Tuesday 7pm Starbucks near the Crown and Capital Hotels in Itaewon

27 Thursday 6pm Namu Keuneul in Gangnam.

30 Sunday 2:30pm Location presently undecided. Again, I'll need you all to decide where you want to meet. Cafe T+? Hobby? Tea Purple? Elsewhere? If this gets decided in the Korea forum on Ravelry.com, can someone please post here on the list so that those of us who aren't on rav get the info?

Directions to everywhere but the undecided Sunday meetings:
http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web

Have a great August folks!
Happy Crafting.

Yarn in Itaewon

Living outside of Seoul I rarely make it to our weekly meetup at the Starbucks by the Crown and Capital Hotels in Itaewon (Tuesdays, 7pm). However, last week I didn't have to work so off to Itaewon I went. I ran some errands, stopped by the Foreign Food Mart, What The Book, and while I was killing time before my esthetics appointment at Pro-Nails, I met Calvin.



Calvin and his Korean business partner run a yarn business in Itaewon. They used to have a stall in Dongdaemun and also in Insadong but now they're operating an open-air location. It's really easy to find. Go out exit 3 or 4 of Itaewon Station and start walking up the street, well I used to say the street with Burger King but I'm pretty sure it's a Coldstone and a Quizno's now. Calvin's shop is on the corner of the first alley turning right (going to the Wolfhound).



They sell pre-made bags and hats. The bags run about 30,000-50,000won and I didn't ask about the hats. They also do sell yarn. They have books of colour cards so you choose the yarn you want to buy and it gets delivered in about 2 minutes. Calvin also said he welcomes new knitters. But some yarn from him and he'll help you with your project. You can sit and knit with him and stop by anytime for help with a new technique. Since the Seoul SnB only meets three times a week, that's a pretty useful service :)

Meeting locations posted

This is just a really quick post. I've created Google Pages with all of our meeting locations.

We meet on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. If you join the Google Group you'll get email reminders. You can see all the directions here:

http://groups.google.com/group/seoulsnb/web