Sticks 'n' Stitches

A number of both professional and minor league baseball teams have been hosting Stitch 'n' Pitch events during the baseball season. (Our local Atlanta Braves were, ahem, not amongst that honorable roll last year.) Apparently, there are also hockey aficionados who are doing the same thing at hockey games. Follow this link to a blog post that describes the experience.

(Kudos to Woofgangpug for the link!)

Knitting with Your Food

Those of us who have been through graduate school know that Ramen Noodles are the unofficial food of broke intelligentsia and have fueled many a brilliant thesis or dissertation. And there is no denying that noodles and chopsticks look familiar. To see the video, follow this link.
(Thank you to Valerie!)

More on Sally Melville

Sally Melville will be teaching workshops that entire weekend in Atlanta. For those of you looking for something to do on Friday 22 May, Sally will be teaching two classes at The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock.

In the afternoon from 1 - 4 PM she will teach "Borders and Buttonholes."
This workshop explores the best techniques for these finishings that make such a difference in our knitted garments. It covers basic maneuvers, four or more basic edging stitch patterns, and the very best buttonholes. Participants will never again struggle with instructions to "pick up and knit 137 sts along right front" nor with the question of how to make virtually invisible buttonholes.

In the evening from 5:30 - 8:30 PM she will teach "Learn to Love Intarsia."
Intarsia (also known as picture knitting) is glorious stuff but not without its challenges. This workshop will explore techniques to create beautiful fabric, tricks to minimize the 'mess', and possibilities to design your own.

Notice that these are different classes from the three classes at Knitch. So, you have five different choices! Mix & match!

Sally Melville visit

From the e-mail in box, from Knitch:

We wanted to let you know about our latest visiting instructor! We're extremely excited to announce that Sally Melville, knitwear designer, teacher and author extraordinaire will be teaching at Knitch in May. Sally is an amazing teacher and these classes are already filling quickly. Here are the details:

Saturday, May 23rd - Knitting Essentials for the Self Taught Knitter
11:30AM - 6PM - 6 full hours of instruction!
If you only take one workshop this year, let this be the one! Most of us are self-taught. And no matter how advanced and accomplished we are, there are holes in our experience. Perhaps we rely upon the same cast-on, the same increase, the same decrease. Perhaps we are not confident of our seaming or are confounded by the instruction to pick up and knit 101 stitches around the neck edge . . . evenly! This workshop explores the best methods that we should all have in our repertoire and provides hands-on experience for each one. In addition, students will have the opportunity to ask questions about other knitting techniques. There is always room for the content of this class to be influenced by the students in the class.
SKILL LEVEL beginner, intermediate and beyond
Here's the link to reserve a spot.

Sunday, May 24th - Knit to Fit and Flatter - 10:30AM - 1:30PM - 3 hours of instruction
A knitter who spends the time and energy to make her own clothes should be rewarded with a result that makes her happy and proud. It should fit, it should flatter, and there should be no mystery as to how this happened. But sadly, and too often, this is not the result. Why? Because the knitter chooses the wrong pattern OR chooses the right pattern but follows the directions without questioning them OR makes the right garment but wears it with the wrong thing. There are a few simple rules to follow for successful knitting: start with styles that flatter, knit with appropriate decisions for a personalized fit, and then wear it with something that makes it look
wonderful! This workshop covers all these decisions and puts the power for successful results into your competent hands.
SKILL LEVEL: anyone!
Here's the link to reserve your spot.

Sunday, May 24th - Pattern Drafting, Beginner to Advanced 2:30PM - 5:30PM - 3 hours of instruction
Whether or not you will ever 'design your own,' pattern drafting is an important skill: it helps you understand what you are doing while following a pattern, it allows you to modify parts of a pattern as needed, and it makes you a more accomplished and intuitive knitter. In addition, you'll make garments that suit you, that fit, and that can be worn proudly! How wonderful is that! And what a way to honor your craft!
Here's the link to reserve a spot.

Some of you may remember that Sally taught workshops here for AKG in April 2006. At that time, she gave a talk on creativity at the guild meeting. That weekend she taught workshops on Basic Maneuvers, Stripes and Stripes That Aren't, First Choices/Basic Shapes, Learning to Love Intarsia, and Advanced Shaping. If you are interested in taking a workshop, there are many guild members who can tell you first hand about Sally Melville and what a wonderful instructor she is.

Fighting Ovarian Cancer

Here's the information from local shop Needle Nook, directly copied from their e-mail:

This beautiful shawl was hand knit and donated by our own Shirley Robb. It will be raffled off on April 18th. Tickets are $5.00 each and are tax deductible if checks are made out to "Ovarian Cycle". So come by and see this beauty and support our fundraising effort. Our customers have always been very supportive of our community service projects and events and for that we thank you very much.

Our second Customer Spotlight Sale and ovarian cancer fundraiser will be held on Saturday, April 18th, from 2PM-6PM. We are looking for craft persons to set up tables outside on our sidewalk and sell their wares to the public. We need folks who make beaded jewelry and wearables, knit, crochet, weaving, quilting, sewing, polymer clay, felting, painting and more. Sorry, we cannot accept yarn or original patterns. After the event the vendors would donate 15% of their sales to the "Ovarian Cycle" event being held on April 25th. Volunteers cycle for 6 hours to raise dollars to fund research for a test for ovarian cancer. Currently, no such test exists. Last year we had wonderful merchandise for sale by 15 vendors and $1,800.00 was raised. We hope to top that this year. So call us to register and reserve a space. Even if you can't participate as a vendor, you can still support the effort by shopping our event. We will have a bake sale and possibly a silent auction if we get enough items. So let us know if you have anything to donate. You can score great gifts for Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays and more. Please join us on this important day.

A Little Internet Attention

Looking ahead to the coming months, Elizabeth C. has scheduled DK the Nautical Knitter as our June speaker. In a recent blog post, she mentions Atlanta Knitting Guild and her upcoming appearance. Nautical Knitter has done some historical costuming and knitting. She is also known for her secret lace knit-alongs, and will be speaking about what it is like to run a knit-along.

Putting it all Together

It is time to assemble the Stitches South flower centerpieces. If you have a kit out, do try to get it back into the hands of someone from the committee (Megan, Elizabeth C., Marian, Linda F., or Whit) as soon as possible and certainly by the end of February. If you can't get your kit done by then, at least let someone on the committee know about it so that contingencies can be planned.

There will be a major assembling party at Whit's house this Saturday 21 February beginning at 1 PM. Some things to bring if you can:

* power strip
* glue gun and glue sticks
* wire cutters
* needle nose pliers
* corrugated cardboard or stiff poster board
* assorted knitting needles, tapestry needles, scissors
* portable Ott lights?

In the picture at top, Elizabeth is holding a very cool flower that was made by LaVonne. Whit is the one on the right, modeling a pink flower.

Game Nights in Watkinsville

For those of you waiting for an excuse, Main Street Yarns and Fibers in Watkinsville hosts game nights two Fridays a month. The upcoming schedule:

February 20th
March 6th and 20th
April 3rd and 17th

If you call ahead of time, you can even get in on dinner. Alternatively there are several good restaurants in Watkinsville if you are in the mood to explore on your own. And there are other craft options to explore, include a bead shop, a quilt shop, and the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation.

And if you've forgotten how to get to Main Street Yarns and Fibers, driving directions are in this post.

More Than Just the Needles are Sharp

Okay, we all knew this already, but for those of you who want the proof, read this article on BBC news. Summary: people who have mentally active hobbies, such as knitting, quilting, or playing games, have a significantly decreased risk of developing memory problems as they age. Maybe this is why as children our knitting grandparents could always catch our mischief.
(Thank you to Jack for this link.)

Lace Learn-along

Only Ewe and Cotton Too continue with their lace knit-along. The latest information:

Hey, everybody. I just wanted to update you and say that we are meeting on Sundays at 1:00pm and Wednesdays at 12:30pm for our Lace Group. I have emails for people who have already joined the group and will be sending info (sort of like minutes of the meetings - what we've discussed and learned) SOON! I also would like to get some pictures of our progress to post on the blog! So come tomorrow or Sunday so we can update and show everybody what we're doing! I'm loving this! I really appreciate your input and willingness to share you knowledge. That's what it's all about.

Elyse's blog post about the lace knit-along can be found here.

But Will it Fool Zombies?

In yet another post of something completely different, here is a link not just to a knitted color-coded brain, but an entire museum of fiber arts devoted to brains. This could be very useful for those people whom you are sure have left theirs at home.

Thanking a Real Angel

I suspect that most guild members don't know a whole lot about what goes on behind the scenes. Most members show up at our monthly meeting and walk into a room that is all set up and ready for them. There is a podium. There is a microphone with speakers. There are tables with food and beverages. There are tables for the shops to set out their tempting goodies. There is a table for the library. There are tables for the trauma bears, the raffle, the speaker, and anybody else who asked for a table. There is even a spot for a swift and ball winder.

Some of these things are set-up by guild members -- the stuff that is set out on the tables, such as books, food, swift & winder, microphone & speakers. But all those tables and chairs are set up for us by Jimmy. If you were at the February meeting, you know there were many, many chairs and many, many tables. Jimmy also sets out the coffee pot and fixings for us as well. Even in the months when we didn't have a hospitality chair, we always had hot coffee.

At the end of February, Jimmy will be retiring as sexton at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church. He will be going back to school to study divinity and psychology. As we might say in the South, he is a real peach, and we will miss him. We thank him for making our meetings a little easier. My apologies that I caught Jimmy with his eyes closed in the photograph, but at least I got a warm expression on his face that conveys the kind soul he is. The hat he is wearing was knit for him by our newsletter editor Robyn, who wisely thought we should wish him well with some warm knitted goodness. (Thank you, Robyn!)

February Show & Tell

As always, a few pictures from the show and tell portion of our meeting.

In honor of our speaker's interest in baby outfits, or perhaps just because Linda's grandchildren are amongst the best-dressed in the area, Linda brought several baby outfits to show and tell. This one is the classic baby surprise jacket worked in blocks of three colors. More proof that it is impossible to make an ugly BSJ. So, if you have three partial balls, knit with the first color, then knit with the second color, then finish off with the third color. In blocks or stripes, it still works!

Whit showed off this very colorful shawl made from Koigu yarn. (Koigu was the yarn for the January yarn tasting.) This shawl pattern was designed by last year's membership chair, Lou. Thank you, Lou, for giving us an excuse to play with Koigu.

This final photo is Debra's rather well-dressed bunny rabbit. In addition to an adorable skirt, this high-fashion furry wears a Faroese shawl. Debra took Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer's doll-sized Faroese shawl workshop in January. This is the shawl she made in that class.

As always, more photos can be found in the picture gallery section of the Atlanta Knitting Guild website -- but you have to be a member in order to log in and look.

Pixie delight

Pixie Purls was our speaker for our 5 February meeting. She told us about her experiences as a blogger, a podcaster, and a knitwear designer. She talked about how she got into designing. Then she took many, many questions from the floor. She gave us a recommendation on microphones. She suggested that bloggers post about once a week, so as not to spam your audience. She recommended carefully branding yourself, including having a good logo. And she talked about her delightful designs for her daughter, and for others who have sweet wee ones to clad in hand-knitted goodness.

All of these patterns are available through Pixie Purls or some of our local shops, including Only Ewe and Cotton Too. You can see more at Pixie Purls' website and blog.

This first outfit is Countrie Kiddie. It is a cute top made from sock yarn. As you can see, self-striping sock yarn can do really nice things in a baby garment.

The second picture is Fruit Loop. This looks like a very fun pattern, the color and texture adding visual and knitting interest.

Bitty Bolero is the most recent pattern. We wouldn't want our wee ones to be chilled on those autumn and winter nights. (It isn't spring yet!)

If you would like to read what Pixie Purls had to say about her experience at our meeting, you can read this blog entry. Thank you to Pixie Purls for agreeing to speak at our meeting. And thank you to our programs chair, Elizabeth C., for her work bringing us interesting speakings such as Pixie Purls.

Lost & Found

What a night! On what will probably be our coldest meeting night of 2009, we easily had a packed house -- at least 100 people, 4 yarn stores, a jewelry merchant, a yarn manufacturer, and our speaker. There was a table full of donated bears (We have some mightly sharp bargain shoppers in this group!), the raffle, the library, hospitality, yarn tasting, and the swift & ball winder just in case ya'all needed something to do besides visit and shop. In all the hubbub, a few things were left behind.

As you can see, a scarf pattern, a Rubbermaid container with little muffins, and eyeglasses. (Surely whoever lost the eyeglasses is going to notice!) If any of these items belong to you, they are at Jolie's home. Just let her know where they belong in the world.

A Surprise Guest

In addition to our speaker tomorrow night, Pixie Purls, we will have another guest. Joe from South West Trading Company is in town showing off garments and yarn samples. Joe will have a table at our meeting. Come early to the meeting so that you have time for the raffle, yarn tasting, the swift & ball winder, the shopping, and to see the many wonderful samples that Joe has brought to share. Let's show Joe some Southern hospitality!

February Meeting with Pixie Purls

From the newsletter:

Our program in February is local blogger, podcaster, and pattern designer . . . who goes by the "handle" of Pixie Purls.

There are now three Pixie Purls patterns available for purchase at yarn shops around the country. Only Ewe and Cotton Too will be selling these patterns at the February guild meeting, so you can buy one and have it autographed! Our guest will be talking about how to start a blog, a podcast, and how to start designing your own patterns. You can read the Pixie Purls blog, and listen to the podcast . . . by visiting her website at http://pixiepurls.com/.

This month is a raffle month -- a great chance to de-clutter if getting organized was one of your resolutions for 2009.

There will also be the usual opportunities -- library, swift & ball winder, and yarn tasting.

And if you are working on Stitches South centerpiece flowers, now is the time to get those back to the committee so that they can be assembled! April will be here before you know it, so the more we do now the more relaxed we can be in the spring.

One final reminder -- we need bears for the trauma bear table at Stitches South. If you don't want to knit a giant flower but you do enjoy teddy bear fashion, Jean would really appreciate some finished bears that will help get the table off to a good start.

Another special event

Here's hoping everyone had a good time yesterday, whether you watched the game or attended one of the many non-football Superbowl knitting parties in the area. Tomorrow night, The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock is having a special guest. From their e-mail:

Our Tuesday Knit Night will be welcoming a special visitor on February 3rd! Join us as Joe from South West Trading Company crashes our knit night to show us what exciting NEW things SWTC is rolling out. Joe will be bringing all the goodies SWTC has to offer and maybe even a door prize or two. Knit Night is always free and open to anyone (even crocheters)! See you there!

So, if you are anywhere near Woodstock after work and before 9 PM, drop in and be amused!

Lace Knit-Along

Only Ewe and Cotton Too will be hosting a knit-along of a Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer design, Heartstrings pattern #A26 - Hanging Vines Stole. First meet-up is Sunday, 1 February at 1:00pm. From there out, it will be Sundays at 1:00pm and Wednesdays at 12:30pm. People will be knitting at their own speed, so no need to be shy. If you are interested in trying lace but want someone along just in case, this is an opportunity to jump in! There really is something magical and wonderful about knitted lace and wrapping yourself in a web of loveliness.