Monday, September 19, 2011

Busy Weekend Ahead

Sometimes it seems that everything is happening at once. I'd say that you have no reason to be bored, but ya'all are knitters, so you aren't ever bored anyway!

Atlanta-area Shop Hop
The 2011 Shop Hop began last weekend and runs through this week and weekend. Remember, if you visit all nine shops in the hop, your passport card will be in the drawing for the $900.00 grand prize! Even if you don't have time to visit everyone, there are still plenty of other awesome side prizes to win. And it is always good to know the locations of the yarn shops, as you never know when you will be in a strange neighborhood and suffer a yarn emergency. More information here.

TKGA
Atlanta Knitting Guild is a member guild of The Knitting Guild Association. These are the fine people who publish Cast On magazine and offer various correspondence courses, including Master Knitter certification. We are fortunate that this year's fall show is in driving distance over in Greensboro, NC. Like STITCHES South, this is an opportunity to take classes from nationally-known teachers and to shop, shop, shop! TKGA also partners with Crochet Guild of America (CGOA). If you want to learn more about crochet, this show has a lot of classes that will help you knock out an afghan in no time (with crochet, not knitting). More information here.

SEFAA Open House
Lastly, Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance will open their new home this weekend! Hurray! The new space will be available for meetings and classes. AKG has been very much involved with growing SEFAA from an idea (that didn't yet have a name) to an organization that now has a place on the map at 1705 Commerce Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. The open house is from 1-3 PM. If you attend, bringing a snack to share is much appreciated, if you can. This is a great opportunity to network with other fiber fanatics, and an especially fine opportunity if you are looking to learn about fiber arts outside the world of knitting. More information here.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Gauge and You

Notice that "gauge" is not a four-letter word. And while it is possible to just grab your needles and yarn and dive right in, it is also possible that the knitting gremlins will dive right in as well. Gauge is sort of the knitter's version of the Law of Gravity. You can pretend it doesn't apply to you, but you can't escape it.

To help deal with the fickle gauge monster, AKG is sponsoring a new Mini-Workshop, "Gauge and You" on 12 November. It will be taught by Susan Nease, for advanced beginners and intermediate knitters. It is designed for those who have knit more than scarves, maybe a few hats, a summer sweater, or some socks, and are branching out into experimenting with yarns and patterns. Students will learn and understand how their choice of yarn and their choice of needles affects the fabric they knit. There will be a limit of six participants in this hands-on workshop.

And a quick note here: Thank you to VP of Workshops Kathleen who has already organized an impressive slate of mini-workshops this year! Thank you!