Saturday

November meeting 11-8-2007

There were 6 in attendance at this November meeting - Charisse, Liana, Sue, Janet, Peggy, Barb.

Charisse and Sue had gone to the Fiber Fest in Murfreesboro and raved about the hand dyed silks and wools.

Charisse shared her copy of the new Big Book of Yarn, we discussed Ravelry and how wonderful it was. We are able to search for patterns and yarns and what people on Ravelry are knitting with those items. Ravelry is a huge database of yarns, patterns, photos, books, designers, etc.

Secret Santa (rules here) will be exchanged at our December meeting on December 13.
Rules: $25 limit, has to be knitting related and gift certificates are ok.

As for Show and Share:
Janet was working on gloves made from Koigu and Satakieli (a yarn from Finland)
She also showed off her beautiful shawl made from Koigu.

Peggy was working on some socks knitted with Regia silk.

Charisse was working on a top-down cashmere sweater and a baby shrug made from Dale of Norway.

Barb was working on a blue and green scarf using the Brioche Rib and knitted with Schaefer Esperanza.

Liana was working on a knitted bathrobe made from Crayon cotton from Knitpicks.

Sue showed off her beautiful baby booties from the book 50 Bootees to Knit by Zoe Miller.
She also showed a finished object: an all-in-one baby bear suit knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and it had adorable pewter bear buttons.

Thursday

Sally Melville coming to LYS Angel Hair Yarn Co

Here are the two options for the upcoming Sally Melville Workshop at Angel Hair Yarn Co.:

SATURDAY, NOV. 10........ Sally will be teaching:
ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE SELF-TAUGHT KNITTER

Most of us are self-taught, and no matter how advanced and accomplished we are, there are holes in our experience. Perhaps we rely upon the same cast-on, the same increase, the same decrease. Perhaps we are not confident of our seaming or are confounded by the instruction to (i.e., pick up and knit 101 stitches around the neck edge .. . evenly!)

This workshop explores the best methods that we should all have in our repertoire and provides hands-on experience for each one. In addition, students will have the opportunity to ask questions about other knitting techniques. There is always room for the content of this class to be influenced by the students in the class.

This class will be held from 9-4, with a one-hour break for a provided box lunch (let us know if you have food allergies/issues). The cost willbe $125.


SUNDAY, NOV. 11,.......Sally will teach: EMERGENCY MEASURES

Sometimes the most insight comes from the struggle one faces when something goes REALLY wrong. But there are remedies for most any kind of 'disaster' in knitting. Using these can turn a problem into a wearable garment while teaching us to be more intuitive and more confident knitters!

This workshop will discuss the problems that confront most knitters plus what to do if the garment is too wide, too short, too long,too narrow, too outdated in style, if a bad colour choice was made, if the edgings are not holding well, if the knitter has run out of yarn or forgot to make pockets, or if the garment has suffered a laundering disaster.

This workshop will run from 12:30-3:30 (drinks and snacks will be provided). The cost is $60.

If you sign up for both classes, you may pay $160, saving $25! Sign up soon, as seating is limited.

Come visit Angel Hair from KY, AL, and other parts of TN! Make it a road trip with your friends! You won't be sorry...both Andrea and Pam have taken classes from Sally, and they can vouch that she is very knowledgeable and has a great teaching technique. The skills she is teaching in these two workshops are skills any level of knitter can use at any time in his/her knitting career.

Remember, these dates are just around thecorner, so don't wait to call us and reserve your spot now! Call 615-269-8833 today!

Tuesday

September and October 2007 meeting

September meeting: The secretary nor the president was in attendance, so there aren't any minutes nor a listing of the Show and Share items. At the meeting, there was a lot of discussion regarding the Tennessee State Fair and the display and judging of the knitted items. There never seems to be an adequate amount of space for displaying the knitted items as there is for the quilts. Why does quilting take such priority over knitting???


At the October meeting, there were only 4 of us in attendance...Charisse, Barb, Kim and Liana.

We discussed a couple of upcoming events:

Cheryl Schaefer is visiting Angel Hair Yarn Company (LYS) on Monday, October 22, 2007 from 6-7:30 PM. It is knit night that night too, so make sure you bring a folding chair with you. She'll be bringing some of her fabulous yarns with her.


Saturday October 27th brings the Fiber Festival to Cannonsburg Village in Murfreesboro. Great place to pick up some fine rovings. 10 am to 5 pm.


Sally Melville, author of the series "The Knitting Experience" will also be at Angel Hair Yarn Co on Nov 10 and 11.


Crazy Aunt Purl will be visiting and doing a book signing at Barnes and Noble-Opry Mills on Monday, October 29 at 7 PM.


As for Show and Share:

Kim showed us her beautiful FO Lady Eleanor stole. Knit in Noro Silk Garden, pattern by Kathleen Power from Scarf Style.




Kim also showed the Icarus Shawl from Interweave Knits. Knit in Malabrigo Lace weight yarn.


Barb showed us the King Harold Street Hat from The Art of Fair Isle Knitting, yarn is a pure Shetland wool by Jamieson & Smith.

Charisse was knitting a basic hat in Berroco Pale merino yarn. She was also working on the Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for the Tomten Jacket. Yarn used Rowan Scottish Tweed.

Liana was knitting on sock #2 of the Handpaint Highlights pattern from Leah Oakley. Yarn used Mountain Colors Bearfoot.


Sunday

August 2007 meeting

August 9, 2007: Due to vacation schedules, we skipped the July meeting and there were 7 in attendance at the August meeting: Charisse, Liana, Peggy, Janet, Elaine, Ethel and Sue. Eleanor came for a little while too after she enjoyed her whirlpool and massage, we should all be so lucky. :-)

Charisse was looking marvelously pregnant and was definitely counting down the days. (Update, Izzy was born on August 29th at 9.5 pounds)

Charissa opened the meeting, we talked a little about business, a possible field trip to Chattanooga or Huntsville. Left it open for further thought and discussion.

Peggy showed off her purchase of Yak by Shokay (clickable link)

Knit Shops announcements:
Angel Hair has new shipments of Koigu.
Haus of Yarn has started a monthly sock-knit-a-long on the 1st Thursday from 5:30-7:30.

We watched a video called "The Wong Way of Knitting". It was a very unique way to knit and the purl stitch looked wonderfully easy. We agreed that it might be a good way to do FairIsle and decided it would be good to try as a group next month.

Show and Share:
Charisse - baby sweater made from koigu.
Sue - Gypsy Shawl made from Koigu, Baby dress in pink (MinnowKnits), Brittan Jumper made in cotton fleece and 3 pairs of socks.
Peggy - she has tackled the Long Vest in the Vogue 25 years issue.
Elaine - baby lace project and also another lace project from the book Gossamer Webs
Janet - Gypsy Shawl as well
Liana - socks

Thursday

Knitting blocks for VA Tech

Through the month of May, Joann at LYS Angel Hair Yarn is collecting knitted or crocheted blocks, size 8" x 8", and they will eventually be sent to another yarn shop in VA to become afghans being assembled for the families in VA.

You can view the information link for the VA yarn shop here.

"Color choices for squares: Maroon, Burnt Orange, White, Black. Please knit or crochet squares out of the nicest, softest yarn you can afford. Any Fiber content, any gauge, your choice of pattern. It's all up to you. Just a tidbit, the blankets will be on display in several very high profile museums before delivered to the families and injured."

Should you have any questions, feel free to post them in comments or send email directly and we will forward the questions to Joann.

Monday

Knitting Retreat

April 28th and 29th was our knitting retreat and fun was had by all. We met up at the Green Hills Hampton Inn and even Ann Shayne joined us for Saturday's class. We learned some wonderful techniques. Saturday was the Fair Isle Tam and Sunday was the Gansey technique. There were 20 of us for the Fair Isle class and the color choices for the tams were very diverse. We learned how to knit two colors at a time, one in each hand and we learned some wonderful cast-on methods. Sunday's Gansey group was a tad smaller but again we learned some new techniques.


Beth Brown-Reinsel was a very patient and accomodating instructor and she was a joy to have as class instructor. We even took a moment to share the Parthenon with her Saturday evening, so she could see a little bit of Nashville.

One of the things we learned on Saturday was the corrugated ribbing. You can see an example of that on this tam, purple and orange make such a wonderful contrast and you can really see it.






Below are some pictures of the tams, some finished, some in progress.
























Below are some pictures of Sunday's group.






March 2007 meeting

We had a good crowd in March. 14 attended of which 2 were guests.

Members were: Anne, Alice, Charisse, Liana, Peggy, Eleanor, Sue, Julie, Elaine, Mary, Janet and Joann, the guests were Barb and Kim. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and told a little about our knitting background.
Charisse then called the meeting to order, Liana briefly reviewed last months minutes and Alice gave the treasurer report.

Charisse announced that she is with child and due late August.

We discussed events such as Beth's class and the Fiber Fest at Montgomery Bell the weekend of March 23-25.

During Show and Share, we saw the following from the group:
Keep in mind, if there are underlines below, it is a clickable link.

Alice: Easter dress for niece, Robin's pattern.
















Ann showed us a Fair Isle sweater that she had been working on, it was beautiful. She is also working on a shawl using Schaeffer yarn.















Peggy was working on a sock using self-striping yarn.















Sue is one of the Falk-Along members and she showed the progress of her Hanne Falkenburg Blue and Off-white Studio Sweater.














Sue is also working on a spring shawl, wavy pattern, using Malva and Tiago yarn in pink & yellow.














Elaine showed us her knitted lace jacket from the Fall 1998 Knitters magazine. She pointed out that there are wonderful patterns in those old magazines, so don't throw them away.
Sue modeled the jacket.



















Elaine also shared her red and white norwegian sweater from the Poetry in Stitches book.



Elaine is also working on Mock Croc Socks, a free sock pattern from KnitPicks in taupe wool from a yarn shop in Italy.







Julie was working on Monkey Socks, pattern from Knitty, with Riley yarn by Ruby Sapphire.
Barb, a guest to the guild, but you can find her at most knit-n-stitch get-togethers, is working on a swing coat for her granddaughter using Blue Sky Organic Cotton as well as a mitred square afghan using Boku.

Kim, another guest to the guild, was working a Cardigan for Arwen using Karabella Aurora 8 yarn. Pattern is from Interweave Knits, Winter 06.

She is also working on a sock, Oktoberfest Sock Kit, the sock is supposed to look like a mug of beer with foam on top.















Mary was working on a Modular Throw using Jo Sharp Cascade 220, Julie.
Joanne was working on her lace shawl made from Louey silk, a sweater for her grandson using organic cotton and socks.



A picture of Joanne's lace shawl.










Charisse showed off her project using the new Denim yarn.















Liana showed the multi-colored hat, Ollie from KnitWhits, the knitted cupcake she received for her birthday and the silk scarf.

Sunday

February Monthly meeting

It was a small group this month. 4 members and 1 guest.

During Show n Share, Charisse showed off her multidirectional scarf using Mountain Colors "Montana" from a free pattern from the internet.

Janet (guest) shared her Icarus shawl from Interweave Knits, Summer 2006, using a kid merino yarn "Crystal Palace".

Joanne shared her almost finished blue sweater, Raindrops, using a merino wool/silk combination yarn. It was lovely and we loved the buttons she chose for the sweater as well. She also shared a lace scarf in burgundy color and the Calorimetry from Knitty.

Marjorie shared her navy top down sweater using Nany Calmer, Alice was casting on a lime green dress for her niece and Liana shared her almost finished 2 socks at a time (Mock Croc socks) using Knitpicks merino wool/silk combo and also a lace scarf using 100% silk.

Eventually pictures of objects will be added so stay tuned.

Charisse, Alice and Joann are starting a Falk-a-long. The Diva sweater from Hanne Falkenberg.
See it here.

January Monthly meeting

A good time was had by all and we had some beautiful items in the Show and Share.
Elaine was working on a beautiful mohair lace scarf for a going-away co-worker from a pattern from the book Victorian Lace Today. Kay was working on a Tunisian Crochet baby blanket. Peggy was knitting a pair of socks as was Liana who was knitting 2 socks at a time on one circular.