Where to be?

Filling in the calendar for an Atlanta-area knitter can be a frustrating embarrassment of riches. The third weekend of April this year makes one long for appropriate technology -- such as time machines or cloning.

We have STITCHES South at Cobb Galleria Center on Thursday the 19th through Sunday the 22nd of April. By now ya'all know what STITCHES is all about -- great classes by nationally-known teachers, an awesome marketplace, fashion shows, banquets, and the endless camaraderie that comes from hanging out with other people who share your passion. This year's opening day talk includes Anna Zilboorg, Myra Wood, Laura Bryant, and Rick Mondragon. There will also be a special presentation by Nicky Epstein. And there will be plenty of yarn companies showing us their beautiful new offerings. And of course the hosts of the whole party, XRX Inc., always bring their books and samples. (Will we get to see the projects in Betsy Beads up close?)

But we also have a second choice. This year some of our northerly shops including Cast-on Cottage and Needlepoint Garden, Main Street Yarns & Fibers, and Yarn Circle are sponsoring Wool in the Woods retreat at the Athens YWCO Camp and Conference Center. For those of you who are more interested in getting away to some place quiet and beautiful, hanging out with just a few friends, and taking just one or two classes, this is an alternative. The retreat starts on Friday evening around 4 PM and runs through lunch on Sunday.

Of course this raises the question -- what are all our spouses doing that weekend?

AKG welcomes Candace Eisner-Strick in October

Candace Eisner-Strick will be with the AKG for the October meeting and a weekend of exciting classes. Candace taught cello for 16 years before turning to designing, writing about, and teaching knitting. To learn more about Candace, click on www.strickwear.com.


At the October meeting, Candace will be sharing with us "Ten Things I Learned From Being a Knitwear Designer". Candace is very energetic and entertaining, so plan to catch this program.

On Friday, she will be teaching an all-day workshop on Strickmuster, The Beautiful Twisted Stitch Patterns of Austria. On Saturday she will teach a morning workshop on The Art of Knitting Backwards and How It Applies to Edging, and an afternoon workshop on a Little Beaded Bag. The Sunday afternoon workshop is Strick Nine, nine fabulous cast ons and bind offs.

There will be a pot-luck dinner for Candace on Saturday evening.

See the Workshops page of www.atlantaknittingguild.org for details of the workshops. The October newsletter will have details of the pot-luck dinner.

Roving & Dyes

Guild Member Gale Evans runs her own fiber business, Gale's Art. In addition to dying beautiful rovings which are available both through her Etsy store and through some of our local shops, she also teaches classes on how to dye roving, and how to have fun playing with roving. As you can see from these pictures she has provided, you can make some really lovely things in her classes. Her upcoming class schedule:

Gale’s Art
Studio Class offerings
May and June 2009

Felted Mosaic Scarf - One day class from 10:30am to 3:00 pm $60

A class that takes raw, dyed wool and shows you how to create a wonderful, felted scarf using soap, water and your hands. It looks complicated but it isn’t. Instruction and the creation of one scarf should take about 3 hours with the free option of after class “play” time should you wish to stay in the studio and create a second or possibly third scarf. Wool and felting supplies for the first scarf are included. ****4 students per class

April 10 (Friday) (2 spaces left)
May 15 (Friday)
May 16(Saturday)
June 12(Friday)
June 13 (Saturday)


Acid Dye Without Tears - One day class from 10:30 am to 5 pm $85

This is my very popular, ever filling class on the techniques of hand painted yarns and roving. In my studio, you will learn the basics of color mixing and dyeing and then apply these principles to your own masterpieces . Students will leave with at least half a pound of dyed material (blue face roving or sock yarn ) and a small dye kit to play with at home. ***4 students per class

May 22 (Friday)
May 23 (Saturday)
June 19 (Friday)
June 20 (Saturday)

If you are interested in taking one or both of these classes, you can get more information on Gale's blog. Gale often attends meetings as well, so you might be able to speak to her in person to learn more.