Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Follow Up
Last week there was a post about some of the many upcoming shop activities in the area. I thought I'd follow up by posting the picture of one of the afghans made by The Whole Nine Yarns. A number of yarn companies generously donated pink yarn. Customers were encouraged to take a ball of yarn home and knit it up into garter-stitch squares or single-crochet squares. They were then sewn together and a border crocheted around the edges. This one and the other afghans will be raffled off at various breast centers around the metro Atlanta area. Proceeds will be used to fund local breast cancer support groups.In addition to this being a lovely community service project, I thought I'd point out artistically just how great this worked! Many of us are looking for ways to keep knitting in this sour economy. A simple afghan made from scrap yarns can be a great way to use up leftovers. One or two skeins of something fairly basic can be used to visually unite the whole work. Even squares that change halfway through provide interest. A whole blanket of novelty yarns might be a little too crazy, but you can see that a patch here and there lends just the right amount of interest to the composition. A good work on more than one level.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
November Superstar
Our November superstar is Theresa Gaffey. Theresa has a reputation as a wonderful teacher. And the guild is able to offer her workshops at a very affordable price. Also, a number of these workshops are appropriate to advanced beginner and intermediate knitters. As it says on our home page, our guild welcomes "any knitting enthusiast regardless of skill level."
This link will take you to a listing of her patterns. Both Needle Nook and Knitting Emporium carry her patterns, so you can acquire them at your local yarn shop.
The classes include:
Designing with Colors, which will teach you how "to move beyond the colors shown in the sample garment."
Design a project, in which you will "learn the basics of designing a knit project" as the "workshop will offer you suggestions for translating your designs from a rough idea to your needles."
Sock Knitting, in which "you'll learn the basic shape of socks and the techniques you'll need for knitting your first pair. For more advanced knitters, Theresa will also discuss how to knit socks on various needles: double pointed needles, two circular, magic loop, or two-at-a-time socks."
All That Stash, in which you'll "find out how to mix yarns and put colors together, how to choose appropriate projects, and how to figure out how much yarn you'll need." In other words, how to stash-bust!
This link will take you to a listing of her patterns. Both Needle Nook and Knitting Emporium carry her patterns, so you can acquire them at your local yarn shop.
The classes include:
Designing with Colors, which will teach you how "to move beyond the colors shown in the sample garment."
Design a project, in which you will "learn the basics of designing a knit project" as the "workshop will offer you suggestions for translating your designs from a rough idea to your needles."
Sock Knitting, in which "you'll learn the basic shape of socks and the techniques you'll need for knitting your first pair. For more advanced knitters, Theresa will also discuss how to knit socks on various needles: double pointed needles, two circular, magic loop, or two-at-a-time socks."
All That Stash, in which you'll "find out how to mix yarns and put colors together, how to choose appropriate projects, and how to figure out how much yarn you'll need." In other words, how to stash-bust!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Sharing
Atlanta Knitting Guild and North Georgia Knitting Guild are currently extending workshop benefits to members of each others' guilds. What this means is that if you are a member of one guild, you can take workshop classes hosted by the other guild at guild member rather than non-member prices.
NGKG has two workshops coming up. Antje Gillingham will be teaching Two Socks on Two Circulars on Saturday 18 October from 9AM to 4PM. The member cost is $50. This is a great technique for avoiding second sock syndrome. Antje is a well-respected teacher in this area. She has also written a wonderful and very readable book on the topic. Perhaps she will be willing to autograph copies?
On Saturday 15 November from 11AM - 1PM, Cheryl McLane is teaching a button workshop on polymer clay that specifically focuses on holiday ideas and color. Cheryl does adorable work with polymer clay. This can be a great way to make the perfect button for a special hand-knit garment, instead of hunting all over town only to come home with something that's not quite right. Cheryl's class is $20 total -- $15 for the class plus $5 for materials.
And Atlanta Knitting Guild will be hosting Theresa Gaffey in November. More on that in a separate post.
NGKG has two workshops coming up. Antje Gillingham will be teaching Two Socks on Two Circulars on Saturday 18 October from 9AM to 4PM. The member cost is $50. This is a great technique for avoiding second sock syndrome. Antje is a well-respected teacher in this area. She has also written a wonderful and very readable book on the topic. Perhaps she will be willing to autograph copies?
On Saturday 15 November from 11AM - 1PM, Cheryl McLane is teaching a button workshop on polymer clay that specifically focuses on holiday ideas and color. Cheryl does adorable work with polymer clay. This can be a great way to make the perfect button for a special hand-knit garment, instead of hunting all over town only to come home with something that's not quite right. Cheryl's class is $20 total -- $15 for the class plus $5 for materials.And Atlanta Knitting Guild will be hosting Theresa Gaffey in November. More on that in a separate post.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Happenings
There's a lot of good shop news going on in the area. To that end, here are some of the highlights of upcoming special events.
This weekend on Sunday 12 October at 1PM, The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock will be hosting their 3rd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness/Research "Kit/Crochet-a-Thon." Donation at the door of $5. All proceeds go to the sisters of Support breast cancer support group in Marietta, Georgia.
In another community service project, Cast-On Cottage is asking patrons to knit helmet liners for the troops. Their goal is to knit 201 -- enough for the commander and his unit. This is an ongoing project that meets on Mondays from 6-8PM. As additional motivation, every finished helmet liner is another chance to win a $50 Cast-on Cottage gift certificate.
And the community service bug extends to Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville. From 6-10PM on Friday 14th November, the shop will host a knit for preemies night. For every hat turned in that evening your name will be entered into a drawing to take place at 10:00 pm and a $50 gift card will be the reward. Dessert and coffee will be provided. The knit-in benefits Bundles Of Joy, a local group that puts together gift packages for parents of preemies and distributes them to both Athens Regional and St Mary's hospitals as well as one in Augusta. The 'bundle' includes products and information for these tiny babies and their parents and Main Street Yarns would like to include hats for them.
Only Ewe and Cotton Too still has just a few spaces left for the SAFF bus trip. This is a great opportunity to ride up and back with other knitters. Somebody else will have to find the gas, read the maps, and locate the parking. This is on Saturday 25 October leaving at 7AM and returning about 10PM.
If you would rather stay in town, Needle Nook is hosting a SAFF knit-in the same day, from 2-5PM. This month the shop has focused on one-skein projects, which are great for using up leftovers or those speciality, "I just had to have it" purchases. And don't forget that Needle Nook will host a Jojoland trunk show from 21 November through 2 December. That gives you a reason to visit during Thanksgiving.
Of course, there are many, many classes available from our local shops. But of special interest on Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 October, Knitch will be hosting superstar Leigh Radford of Alterknits fame. Workshops include jewelry making, needle felting, and shibori. These are interesting techniques for working with fiber in a non-knitting way. Many of these techniques are great for embellishing knitted garments and bags, or giving a garment a special handmade touch.
This weekend on Sunday 12 October at 1PM, The Whole Nine Yarns in Woodstock will be hosting their 3rd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness/Research "Kit/Crochet-a-Thon." Donation at the door of $5. All proceeds go to the sisters of Support breast cancer support group in Marietta, Georgia.
In another community service project, Cast-On Cottage is asking patrons to knit helmet liners for the troops. Their goal is to knit 201 -- enough for the commander and his unit. This is an ongoing project that meets on Mondays from 6-8PM. As additional motivation, every finished helmet liner is another chance to win a $50 Cast-on Cottage gift certificate.
And the community service bug extends to Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville. From 6-10PM on Friday 14th November, the shop will host a knit for preemies night. For every hat turned in that evening your name will be entered into a drawing to take place at 10:00 pm and a $50 gift card will be the reward. Dessert and coffee will be provided. The knit-in benefits Bundles Of Joy, a local group that puts together gift packages for parents of preemies and distributes them to both Athens Regional and St Mary's hospitals as well as one in Augusta. The 'bundle' includes products and information for these tiny babies and their parents and Main Street Yarns would like to include hats for them.
Only Ewe and Cotton Too still has just a few spaces left for the SAFF bus trip. This is a great opportunity to ride up and back with other knitters. Somebody else will have to find the gas, read the maps, and locate the parking. This is on Saturday 25 October leaving at 7AM and returning about 10PM.
If you would rather stay in town, Needle Nook is hosting a SAFF knit-in the same day, from 2-5PM. This month the shop has focused on one-skein projects, which are great for using up leftovers or those speciality, "I just had to have it" purchases. And don't forget that Needle Nook will host a Jojoland trunk show from 21 November through 2 December. That gives you a reason to visit during Thanksgiving.
Of course, there are many, many classes available from our local shops. But of special interest on Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 October, Knitch will be hosting superstar Leigh Radford of Alterknits fame. Workshops include jewelry making, needle felting, and shibori. These are interesting techniques for working with fiber in a non-knitting way. Many of these techniques are great for embellishing knitted garments and bags, or giving a garment a special handmade touch.
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