Monday, July 25, 2011

Treasure Trove

The internet continues to be an amazing resource for knitters around the world. We can look up a pattern on Ravelry, find information on yarn when we've lost the ball band, and download a new lace chart instantly. There are plenty of videos, blogs, and other helpful sites when we get stuck on a technique. And there are even reference libraries!

Winchester School of Art has made .pdf files available of various nineteenth and early-twentieth century knitting publications from the collection of Richard Rutt, author of A History of Hand Knitting. Apparently, Montse Stanley's knitting collections are also housed nearby, making the University of Southampton a prime location for conducting knitting scholarship. If you have a few moments, indulge your curiosity by following this link to more than five dozen free downloads of old time pattern books.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Upcoming Mini Workshops

One of the main purposes of our guild is educational. To that end, we have a couple upcoming workshops to expand your knitting skills.

Shadow Knitting
Saturday 17 September 1-4 PM
Shadow Knitting is a technique that alternates rows of light and dark yarn transforming into a color pattern. The effect can be stunning. In the Shadow Knitting Mini-Workshop, students will make a beautiful evening bag with simple knit and purl stitches while learning the basics of this magic technique.

Jean Kammerer is the instructor for this class. Jean is a longtime guild member who is a Master Teacher. She has taught numerous workshops for the guild as well as several knitting courses at the Emory University Evening at Emory Program.

Cost for the mini-workshop is $10 for guild members, $15 for non-guild members.

Beginning Entrelac
Saturday 13 August 1-4 PM or
Saturday 24 September 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM.
If you are taking Gwen Bortner's "Entrelac: Beyond the Basics" workshop on 8 October, you need to be fluent in basic entrelac knitting. If you are feeling a little rusty, this workshop is your opportunity to warm up.

Students will learn the basic entrelac shapes by knitting a small stockinette square in the yarn of your choice using the appropriate size needles for that yarn. You will have an opportunity to learn how to knit backwards. We will discuss alternate approaches for the shapes and adaptations such as incorporating stitch patterns and joining in the round.

We are delighted to have the August 13 class taught by Master Teacher Linda Fetter. Linda is a very special person to the guild and has been a member of AKG since its inception. She is an exceptional teacher and has taught numerous workshops for the guild and classes at local yarn shops.

The cost for the beginning entrelac mini-workshop is $10 for guild members, $15 for non-guild members.

You can download registration forms and get more information on the workshop portion of the AKG website.

Monday, July 18, 2011

July Show & Tell

As always, plenty of knitted goodness at the July meeting. Not as common, quite a bit of felted goodness as well. We certainly had a lot of fun playing with ArtFelt.



If you are working on the intentional pooling knit-along, here's a little project to inspire. The "argyle" pattern forms by almost stacking -- being off by just a stitch or two, so that the colors overlap but slowly migrate.


There were several lace shawls. This is Lynn showing off her first lace! There's a reason classic patterns like feather and fan are classics. Not too hard to work, and the results are nearly always lovely.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

More Crochet and Knitting Art

You've seen some of these before, but this time there's a lace piano, too.
Follow this link to Woman's Day.

Monday, July 4, 2011

October Superstar

Of course, one of the great advantages of being in the guild is being able to take workshops with nationally-known knitting superstars at a budget-friendly price. Gwen Bortner, author of Entrée to Entrelac, will be at Atlanta Knitting Guild the first weekend of October. In addition to speaking at our Thursday 6 October meeting, Gwen will be teaching workshops all weekend. Here's the lineup:

Friday morning, 7 October 9 AM – noon
Start with the Finish in Mind
Many times what happens at the end is greatly influenced by what happened at the start. In the case of knitting, this is particularly true. Decisions we make starting with the cast on selection and on through the knitting of the project greatly influence the look of the final project. Start by learning the pros and cons of decisions we make in the knitting of a garment. Next, gain hands- on experience developing skills we typically associate with “finishing.” Finally, get answers on fixing problems “after it is too late.”

Friday, afternoon 1 – 4 PM
Sneaky Shaping with Short Rows
Knitted fabric has some wonderfully unique properties when it comes to garment creation. One of the best is the ability to create a three-dimensional fabric through the use of short rows. Short rows can be used in a variety of ways including sock heels, shoulder shaping, bust darts and even interesting stripes. Learn the basics of short rowing, practice techniques for minimizing any holes and explore the many options that short rows offer.

Saturday all day, 8 October 9 AM – 4 PM
Entrelac: Beyond the Basics
If you understand the basics of entrelac, have completed a project or two, and are ready to see what more the technique can offer, then this is the class for you. Learn alternative methods for starting entrelac including one that is completely invisible. Gain insights on creating a variety of shapes and forms with entrelac fabric. Explore the differences between entrelac worked flat and seamless entrelac. All the while, you’ll gain hands-on experience and create a small envelope style bag.

Sunday, 9 October 1 – 4 PM
Help and Tricks for the Intermediate Knitter
So you have some knitting under your belt and you have arrived at that nebulous level of intermediate. How do you move on from intermediate to advanced? Do you have questions but have never quite found the right class to ask them? Are you sure the advanced knitters know something you don’t? If so, this is the class for you. We will provide a variety of helps to help you take your knitting to the next level and along the way provide some tricks that you may not have thought of yet.

Friday and Sunday workshops are $30 each for members, or $35 each for non-members. The all day Saturday workshop is $60 for members and $70 for non-members. Remember, slots are filled on a first come basis, so be sure to sign up right away if you see something you want!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Back to School, Part 3

Just a few days after Sally Melville is in town, The Whole Nine Yarns will be hosting Gwen Bortner! Gwen will be teaching several classes that are different from the ones she is teaching for us in October.

Saturday 17 September all day is Entrelac Mix and Match. This is a chance to try out designing with entrelac using fabric types other than stockinette or garter. Gwen does have a few examples in Entrée to Entrelac. Class will include a discussion of what adjustments you'll need to make, and the challenges with using certain stitch types.

Sunday morning 18 September is Knitting in Both Directions. This is the class for learning how to knit back backwards -- back and forth, without turning your work. This method can improve your speed, and it can also make certain patterns easier to work.

Sunday afternoon's class is Introduction to Sweater Design. If you've ever seen a stitch pattern you wanted to use on a sweater, but just weren't quite sure how to do it, here's your chance to try. You'll learn basic pattern drafting, measuring, how to use the swatch, and the basic rules of shaping. You'll leave class with a basic pattern!

The Saturday class is $120, and the two Sunday classes are $65 each. More information and compete descriptions can be found at The Whole Nine Yarns blog.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Back to School, Part 2

Local shop Knitch is bringing superstar Sally Melville to teach on Wednesday and Thursday, 14 & 15 September.

Wednesday morning is Emergency Measures, a workshop about what to do when something goes really, really wrong! This covers not just fit issues, but also color choices, edgings that don't wear well, laundry disasters, even running out of yarn.

Wednesday afternoon's workshop is First Choices, Basic Shapes, which shows you how to make good choices before you being, and covers some basic pattern drafting so you can alter patterns to look marvelous on you.

Thursday's workshop is all day covering the topic Making the Most of Your Yarn Collection. This class covers some design issues, such as how to combine colors, different yarns, or even which stitch patterns to use with which weights of yarn. But this class will also cover how to arrange and use your stash. And it will show you how to use a few skeins to knit something wonderful that doesn't look like oddball knitting. The Wednesday classes are $65 each and the Thursday class is $120.

Find more information including complete workshop descriptions at Knitch.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Back to School, Part 1

It may seem a little early to be talking about school, but there are a lots of learning opportunities coming up in the next few months. The posts over this holiday weekend will fill you in.

First up: the local spinning guild, The Peachtree Handspinners, is having a weekend retreat on 5-7 August at the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens. Plying the Arts will feature classes from 20 different teachers over three days. The cost for most sessions is $35 or $45, and you can have lunch provided to you on Saturday or Sunday for $6 each day. Classes cover spinning, but also knitting, weaving, dyeing, kumihimo, and needle felting. This is a beautiful venue and a wonderful range of classes and a market! The downside? Registration closes on Tuesday 5 July. See the brochure and register online by going to www.worldinaspin.com.