Happy New Year, blog pals! I hope you had a magical holiday season – I'm already feeling like 2016 is off to a solid start. But now I'm beyond ready to get back to the routine. Enough of the endless lazy days spent in pajamas. (Which were nice, I admit. The knitting time was pretty stellar too, but reality awaits.) My next adventure is a visit to my beloved NYC for Vogue Knitting Live. I can't contain my excitement, truly.

I am teaming up with my friend Steven Berg from StevenBe, and he's going to make your head spin with the hottest trends right off the runway, uber-chunky yarns and combinations of fibers that will blow your mind. Such an inspiration. I'll be popping in during his class on Sunday morning at VK Live and I've designed an exclusive cowl pattern just for this event. (It has a subtle NY skyline knitted right into it!)

I'll also be at the StevenBe booth at the VK Live Marketplace doing book signings. Stop by and see me on Friday (Jan. 15th) from 5-7, Saturday (Jan. 16th) from 5:30-6:30 and Sunday (Jan. 17th) from 1-3. Pick up at copy of 'Weekend' and get it signed! It's going to be such a fun time. I cannot wait to experience the energy and to hang out with knitters from all over the world. (Plus ... shopping.) I'm a first-timer, so if you have tips or advice to share, I'm all ears.

Will you be at Vogue Knitting Live NY? Have you gone before? (Tell me everything.) :)

You all know about Swants, right? Swants. The sweater-pant phenomenon created by Stephen West. (Watch Anderson Cooper talk about Swants here. Or check out the Swants Dance video.) If you were unfamiliar with Swants a minute ago, now you know.

So here's a story about a Minnesota adventure. A few months ago, I discovered the Stephen & Steven Tour was making a stop and hosting a Swants workshop at StevenBe, which lucky for me is just a four-hour drive to the Northland. And when Stephen West is nearby (hello, he lives in Amsterdam) you must find a way to see him. I asked my knitting friend Emily if she would Swants with me and if you know Emily, you know that Swants are totally her kind of thing. So we went and here is a massive photo dump of our Swants day of wonder.

We brought our thrift store sweater treasures and cut them into pieces. With wild abandon.

Stephen West was our fearless leader, and he was a delight. I repeat, a DELIGHT. He was so friendly and fun, spending time with everyone in attendance to make sure that our Swants would be a success.

We practiced our mattress stitch.

We listened to many songs with the word 'dance' in the lyrics, which we obviously switched to 'swants.'

There was Whitney. "Ohhh, I wanna Swants with somebody!"

And Robyn. "I keep Swantsing on my own." There were more. I forgot the rest. It was great background music for stitching.

We sewed up our crotches with smiles on our faces. Some took of their swants and stitched in their underwear. It didn't matter. It was a day of freedom and creativity. And crafting in undergarments.

(And selfies in Steven's fabulous bathroom.) We would like to move in, please.

We worked and concentrated and stitched. And before you knew it, boom. Swants were born.

After our little Swants fashion show, the Ste(v)phens brought out all of their fabulous knits so we could seem them in person with our own eyeballs. Such a thrill!

This large version of Dotted Rays blew my mind. The colors were perfection.

And we were all excited to see this swingy tank!

Emily was thrilled to model (and swing) in Parachutey.

And I got to try on Royally Striped. I really should have taken more pics of their fabulous projects but I was too busy sitting there with my jaw on the ground.

Legendary knitter (and store owner) Steven Berg was fantastic to meet and we got to see his gorgeous pile of Ponchinis.

The two Ste(v)phens collaborated on this awesome tour book, which they shared patterns from and signed. And then sadly ... our Swants day was over.

Sigh. We were a bit sad to leave but what fun we had! A huge thank you to Steven Be and Stephen West for the wonderful workshop. I wish I could have stayed all week and taken all the workshops. You made our Swants dreams come true.