World Wide Knit In Public Day & July Program Prep

BLKG WWKIP 2011

June begins our summertime knitting in the park.  We meet in the park just south of our regular meeting place.  In case of rain we will meet at our usual place in the Zeimer Building.  (Remember Monroe Ave. is going to be closed between Chicago St. and Main St. until October, so plan your route accordingly.)

Join us for the BLKG Knit in Public Day at our regular meeting time.  (We're jumping the gun a couple days early.)  KIP Day is a chance for knitters to gather to knit in public places so that people see that knitters aren't just gray-haired grannies knitting afghans in their rocking chairs.  Bring a chair, something to drink, and your knitting.  Come knit with us on June 12th and let people see what a group of sassy and creative people looks like.

READ THIS!

If you want to take part in the Knitting with Wire program in July, Andy needs to know soon so she can made sure to have enough kits.  We did a hand count at the picnic but not everyone was there and she'd like the commitment of having the names of those who'd like to participate.  She counted 18 hands at the picnic and only 4 have signed up. The kit will cost a couple bucks and consist of wire and beads.  (If you desire a special color, BYO beads. Andy will email you what size you'll need.)  Andy knitted her shawl pin Design-A-Thon entry with US 8 plastic needles but says you can use any type of straights, maybe not your very favorite ones but she hasn't noticed any damage to the ones she used.  Do not go out and buy size 8 needles if you don't have any or can't find any, US 7 or US 9 will work just fine.  It's a shawl pin, not brain science!  (See me or Andy at the June 12th meeting/knitting in the park for an explanation of that last bit.)  Be sure to bring $2 cash to pay her for your kit.

Please email Andy (put BLKG in the subject line) and she'll have a kit for you at the July meeting.  eastconsingirl (at) gmail (dot) com (without the spaces and with the symbols, of course).

Remember, this is your guild.  If there's a technique you'd like to learn or teach, please email Andy at the above address.


A Note from Our Prez:
I’d like you all to consider running for an office. It is not fair for the membership to lean
on the same 4 or 5 people year after year. Surely you all can see that. New leadership
can only infuse the guild with new energy, so jump on board. Those officers that you
replace won’t leave you high and dry; I know I can speak for them when I say that they
will be right next to you for as much guidance as you would like.
                                                                                                                  --Vicki Jicha

May Picnic Fun & More Fun to Come

The picnic was great.  We had perfect weather to sit outside.  The food was delicious.  The talk was flowing.  The friendships were evident.

 

 

 

 

 
The Design-A-Thon awards were presented with much cheering and applause.  In the Professional category, Vicki won first place for her Alpaca Sweater.  Zoe took second place for her Fair Isle Cable Mittens.  In the Non Professional (or as I like to refer to it, Recreational) category, Beth won first place for her Funky Purse, and Andy won second for the Wire Shawl Pin.  The winners even received ribbons to remind them of all the work they put into their winning entries.

 

A huge THANK YOU to Interlacement Yarns and Spin for the wonderful donations of yarn, patterns and needles.  And a special thank you to our guild for the donation of the Signature Needles gift cards.

Thank you all for making both the picnic and the Design-A-Thon a success!  The guild members voted to have this become an annual event, so start planning your entry for next year NOW.

June Program

June begins our summertime knitting in the park.  We meet in St. James Park across the street, just south of our regular meeting place.  In case of rain we will meet at our usual place in the Zeimer Building.

Bring a chair, something to drink, and your knitting and join us for the BLKG Knit in Public Day.

 

NOTE!!!  READ THIS!

If you want to take part in the Knitting With Wire July program, I need to know so that we are assured of having enough kits.  We did a hand count at the picnic, but I think we need to get names.  The kit will include wire and beads (if you have a special color lot in mind, you may want to supply your own beads).

Please email me your name (with BLKG in the subject line) and I will have a kit for you at the July meeting.  eastconsingirl @ gmail . com (without the spaces, of course!). 

Yarn Crawl-ing

On Saturday, May 3 thirteen BLKG members and one friend met in DePere and set off to crawl through a few yarn shops down Madison way.  Kathy Potter organized and arranged the day, and she did a wonderful job.  She arrived at the DePere Park & Ride with a cooler full of bottled water and a box of fresh Uncle Mike's sweet rolls.  Thoughtful and delicious, what more could you ask?  We got ourselves sorted into three vehicles and set off to Beaver Dam and...

Firefly Fibers which opened its doors half an hour early for us.  Kathy had them draw for a little guild-provided gift certificate and they had a little gauze bag with a tape measure and a few pins for each of us.  Alissa and her husband were friendly and helpful, and she showed us the Hitchhiker Bias Scarf pattern that has been popular there this season.  Firefly Fibers has a wide selection of fine yarns and books in a relaxed, modern setting.












Our next stop was outside of Columbus at Susan's Fiber Shop.  This shop is out in the country on a working sheep farm in a newly remodeled building that goes on and on, with a library's worth of books, rack after rack of yarn (Tracy Schuh's Interlacements Yarn, dyed just north of Green Bay in Abrams, was a feature), roving and fleece to spin, spinning wheels, and looms.  Pete welcomed us, drew for a gift certificate, caught a lamb for us to pet (the lamb was not as enchanted as we were), answered questions, demonstrated spinning and weaving, and worked the register.  We were not the only customers; the man was a whirlwind.







Then it was on to Madison for lunch at The Laurel Tavern where we enjoyed luscious burgers, green bean fries, and a restful sit in a hospitable setting.  (My Brewmaster Burger was so tall I could barely get my mouth around it but, man, was it good.)

Across the street from The Laurel is The Knitting Tree, our 3rd stop, where there was a breathtaking selection of knitting bags and interesting sample knits.  This is also where you find Patternology, which they describe on their website as "our passion for the study, concepts and design of knitted garments, inspired by the hip and eclectic knitters of Madison, Wisconsin.  Presented exclusively by The Knitting Tree."

Our last stop was at Stitcher's Crossing, also in Madison, which is (brace yourself) half yarn shop and half quilt shop.  This time there were drawings for two gift certificates and a short lesson on knitting jogless stripes in the round by one of the staff.  The lesson was clear, concise, and well-presented--and there was a handout.  It was hard to decide whether to buy yarn or fabric, so I got some of each.  I suspect a lot of the BLKG-ers did the same.

By then it was late in the afternoon so we tired Yarn Crawl-ers made our way back to DePere and went our separate ways.  I don't know about the other cars but we made a pit stop in Beaver Dam on the way home.  We needed a little treat after our long day of shopping, riding, and talking.

This was my first yarn crawl and it won't be my last.  You should start saving a bit of yarn money and blocking out Saturdays in early May so you can go along next time.  It was a blast!

Design Triumphs

The April BLKG meeting crackled with excitement.  That was the night we all got to see the Design-A-Thon entries and vote on our favorites.  After the voting entrants reclaimed their projects and talked a little about their inspiration and challenges.  Entries ranged from an alpaca Fair Isle sweater to a wire and bead shawl pin and just about everything in between.  There were two-color mittens with cables, cabled fingerless mitts, wool headbands with applied flowers, amazing wine bottle covers, socks, hats, a felted purse, cowls and scarves, each one more fun to look at than the last.  I was happy to hear that a few of the designs came about because the knitter wanted to try a new stitch so they found a simple vehicle for that stitch, just like I did.  (I wanted to get better at cables so I found one and built fingerless mitts around it.  Simple, not easy exactly because there was a lot of ripping and re-knitting, but it was a simple idea at the start.)  There was unanimous support for making this an annual challenge.  Start planning your 2015 design entry now!

The other important thing that happened at the April meeting was the chance to sign up to go along on the May 3 Yarn Crawl to Beaver Dam, Columbus, and Madison.  There will be special demos and patterns at each stop.  We'll be in Madison for lunch at The Laurel Tavern.  If you didn't sign up at the meeting you can contact Kathy at kpotter(at)new(dot)rr(dot)com to get on board.  Hope you've been saving your yarn money for this fun day.  I sure have.

Annual Picnic! Mark Your Calendars!

The BLKG Annual Picnic will be on May 8th beginning at 6:00 p.m.  (This is a time change from previous years.)

Victoria and Andy Jicha are hosting.  They will generously provide the burgers and all the trimmings.  We are asked to bring a dish to share, also our own drinks and a chair.  Pray for nice weather so we can sit outside, and no rain so Andy can grill and stay dry.

The April meeting will be a good time to organize car pools to make parking easier.

**Just a reminder that during the picnic the Design-A-Thon prizes will be awarded and entries will be returned.

Get Those Design-A-Thon Entries Ready!

One week from today, April 10, is the deadline for entries into the First (and possibly Annual) Bay Lakes Knitting Guild Design-A-Thon.

Program Chair Andy introduced the Design-A-Thon way back in September 2013 and gave us lots of direction and tools to make designing our own knitted "thing" if not easy then relatively confusion free.  President Vicki's January 2013 program, Pattern Writing & Charting, laid the groundwork for putting ideas down so that another knitter has a fighting chance of making what you dream up.

Andy asks that you bring your entry to the April meeting in a grocery store-type paper bag, one project per bag if you've entered more than once, and says that plastic is okay to get in the door, she'll have a few extra paper bags at the registration table.  Each entry will be numbered and members will not know whose design it is during voting.

Be sure to bring your pattern.  You wrote it down, right?  Look at a pattern you find easy to follow and model your pattern writing on that one.  That's what I did and it was a big help.  Be sure to include yarn weight, needle size(s), gauge, and finishing instructions. 

The patterns will be gathered together in a pamphlet that will be electronic for members with email and printed for those without.  Andy asks that you email your pattern to her to make the pamphlet job a bit easier.  Leave a comment if you need her email address and I'll have her contact you.

There will be a few head forms for hat display but no hand forms for gloves or mitts.  If you have a display piece that would work for your entry, please bring it to the April meeting.  No live props please! 
 We can't wait to see!

A Whole Lot of Learning Going On

The time flew by at the meeting with our March Round Table Techniques.

Barbara Malcolm taught Magic Loop knitting.  This method is used to avoid ladders (or visible “seams”) where the needles end and begin when knitting in the round with Double Pointed Needles.  One long circular needle going through contortions does make this magic.  Pretty amazing.

Zoe Moulton taught a crochet cast-on that rocked my world when she showed us.  I can understand why she was so excited about it.  The method is so easy and makes the most beautifully even cast on (beats a crochet chain cast on hands down!).  The beginning of the waste yarn is so easy to find and it removes easily.  I may go looking for projects that need a provisional cast on just so I can play with it.

Victoria Jicha took us back to the basics that some of us never learned, or learned incorrectly.  Seaming is such an important part of our finishing touches.  A poorly executed seam can make good knitting look as if done by a monkey (I speak from personal experience here).  Vicki taught us how to make our seams properly.

We lost track of time, and it was almost 9:00 before we broke for those fabulous little fruit-filled delights that Zoe brought.  Show & Tell followed so we were all a bit later than usual arriving home.  I think that is a sign that everyone had a good time and maybe learned a few things in the process. 

Thank you Barbara, Zoe, and Victoria!

by Andy Trotti

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our 92-year-old, preemie hat knitting sensation, Fern, sent along another bunch of hats.  She makes the cutest hats.  The Guild supplies her with yarn and she cranks them out.  Some of the rest of us make one here or there but that Fern, she's our mainstay.  Vicki and Mitch go over to Bellevue Retirement Center a couple afternoons a month to knit with the residents and carry Fern's hats to me to deliver to those tiny people who need help regulating their thermostats.  I hope I can be a hat machine like Fern when I'm 92.

I'm still working on my resolution to make 3 men's chemo hats every month in 2014.  Mitch regularly goes to the VA to deliver them for me.  We can always find a home for hats, mittens, and scarves if you get the urge to knit some.  Join us in a little charity knitting, it feels so good.  Contact Vicki Jicha if you need charity-knitting yarn.  The Guild has bins of it available for your charity knitting or crocheting pleasure, and with the way this winter is hanging on everyone's going to need hats for a while yet.