VKL NYC 2024

So much fun! Mom treated me and Liz to a fun day and night in NYC as our Christmas present. 

VKL (Vogue Knitting Live) takes place once a year in NYC at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. I have attended many times, sometimes taking classes, some years just hanging out and shopping and meeting up with friends. This year we did a little bit of wandering around the marketplace. We weren't looking to buy anything but I was very inspired by all the knitted samples. I don't know if there are always lots of knitted samples or I just noticed them more this year, but it was fun to see so many sweaters I've only seen online in person. I immediately wanted to knit all the things!!!!

After we walked around Vogue we headed to see Moulin Rogue. What a fun show! We LOVED it!

Back to the room for a drink and then out to dinner at Becco. I lost my mind when I walked in to let the host know we were there for our reservation!!!!! There was Lidia Bastianich (the chef, owner, tv host) and her son, Joe. I was thrilled and totally geeked out! She was so nice. I think she thought I was a bit crazy at first! I mean...I was freaking out! My mom bought her cookbook for me, which she signed. Our meal was delicious as always. It's always a highlight of my year.

We headed home on the train the next morning just in time to watch playoff football. 

I am so thankful for times like this. I also finished up a cute little baby knit over that weekend. 

Booties and a bonnet for a co-worker's third baby-to-be. Details on Ravelry here and here.

 

A Day with Mary Jane Mucklestone

I just got home from spending the day in New York City with this lady!

Mary Jane Mucklestone is awesome.

If you ever have the chance to meet her and take a class of hers, do it.

My cousin and I took her 2 Part Fair Isle Class at Vogue Knitting Live today in NYC.

For those of you that are not familiar with Mary Jane, she is the Fair Isle Queen.

The author of three popular books, 200 Fair Isle Motifs, Scandinavian Motifs & Fresh Fair Isle,

this lady knows her fair isle and use of color.

 

After waking up much earlier than I usually do, I was ready to go.

My fabulous cousin picked me up, coffee in hand and we were off.

A WHOLE DAY WITHOUT KIDS!!! 

Ahhhh. It was glorious.

Vogue Live was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

The class we took was mostly about color and how to use it successfully in fair isle style.

It was very interesting. I loved it.

We were all asked to bring yarn from home to work with and then we were pleasantly surprised when Mary Jane opened up a gigantic box of yarn to share!!

Her friend has a yarn company called Elemental Affects.

She graciously donated this yarn to the class and we were thrilled.

The yarn is made from North American shetland sheep. The colors were beautiful.

Mary Jane had us lay them out on the floor and align them light to dark.

How ugly is that hotel carpet?! Blech.

We got to see tons and tons of swatches.

All of them from her books and more....

 

 

 Mary Jane demonstrating all different ways to hold your yarn.

 Mary Anne hard at work.

 Our project was to make wristlets. These are the cutest darn things! They're like fingerless gloves without the thumb hole. More like a wrist warmer. So cute. We all had the same pattern but we could all use different color combos to experiment. This is mine above.

 Above was the woman's at our table. The pink yarn was Brooklyn Tweed Loft. First time I got to feel it. It's very nice. Just a thinner version of the Shelter. Hmmmm....might need some of that.

 More swatches

 Yes, those are Arrow Acres socks on the table!

I thought Mary Jane needed a pair. She seemed very excited!

Below are some of her wristlet examples

Lunch break!

MaryAnne and I had a great lunch. So glad she thought of it. Much better than the fast food in the hotel! It was also nice to get out into the city and the hustle bustle of Times Square.

 

 Back to work

 Below, MaryAnne showing off my first finished wristlet project.

 At the end of the class we gathered together around all of our projects to compare.

It was fun to see all the different outcomes.

 These are some examples of everyone's projects.

Thank you to Mary Jane for a wonderful day.

I learned so much and will remember the day with fond memories.

It was fun to be the student again. And thank you to my husband for encouraging me to go have fun and taking care of the boys while I was gone. Sounds like we all had a great day.

Again, if you have the opportunity to take a class with Mary Jane Mucklestone, do it!

It was worth every penny and she is so nice and knowledgeable.

It's a pleasure to spend the day with her. Now...if only she could fit me in her suitcase on her next trip to Shetland. That would be nice.