The Nashville Knitting and Crochet Guild

August 2008

2008-08-17T19:07:00.002-05:00

Regretfully, the Nashville Knitting and Crochet Guild is ceasing its existence.
We will no longer meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month.
Due to a lack of attendance at the monthly meetings, it was decided by consensus, that the Guild would disband.

There are 6+ local yarn shops serving the Nashville area with all of them having knit nights in addition to many other knit nights around town that are not LYS affiliated.

The current members agreed to meet up on an unofficial basis at the Tuesday night Nashville Meetup location, Stillwaters Cafe on Jefferson and 12th.

Hope to see you there.

March 2008 meeting

2008-03-16T12:15:00.004-05:00

There were 6 in attendance, including 1 guest: Elaine, Liana, Barb, Peggy, Janet and Montana.

The meeting opened with the apology of the January minutes not yet being posted.
Discussion among the members concerning the "guild" in comparison to "knit-nights". Mostly the members look to the guild for discussions about knitting and crochet and learning new techiniques that general knit-nights don't provide. We discussed upcoming learning opportunities and Elaine (master knitter) has agreed to have a class at the April meeting on edgings. In May, Peggy will share her vintage sock collection with us.

More discussion about Charity knits.

Show and Share was next:

Elaine shared a baby Fair Isle Sweater and Tam. Done in Baby Ull on US 3-4 in a beautiful teal and white. She also shared some Fair Isle socks also done in Baby Ull, a beautiful Alpaca triangular scarf with a crocheted edging bind off. (maybe she'll teach us this one sometime) Pattern was from Elann.

Barb shared her Quant, an Entrelac Headband in a variegated blue. She also showed her crocheted Afghan for Gabriele done in Encore. She was working on a shawl in Merino 5 yarn.

Peggy was working on a dog sweater that was going to have dinosaur-like triangles on top of the back. very cute!!

Janet was working on the 2nd sleeve for lace cardigan. Yarn was Gong, an Italian yarn by Ornaghi Filati (a mercerized cotton) in cream color.

Liana was working on a piece of a scarf from Knitters winter 2008. Also working on socks, pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, Pennants, knit from Wildfoote.

Montana (guest): was knitting on 2 socks, made from her own spun yarn. (maybe she'll come back and share her spinning with us)

February 2008 meeting cancelled

2008-03-16T12:14:00.001-05:00

Due to our Guild night meeting on Valentine's Day, the general concensus of the group was to cancel the February meeting.

January 2008 meeting

2008-03-16T12:13:00.002-05:00

January 10, 2008

There were 8 in attendance: Charisse, Sue, Eleanor, Kaleng, Barb, Janet, Meredith and Liana.

Charisse opened the meeting by reminding everyone that the 2008 dues are due.
Charity projects were discussed and our Charity Project for 2008 is the Nashville General Hospital. We are to make and donate baby blankets (preemie and newborn) and baby hats. Some suggested that there are stashes of yarn available for knitters at the yarn shops and since we had a representative from both Angel Hair Yarn and The Knaughty Knitter, they both indicated that they would have a drop basket for knitted/crocheted items at the store for collection purposes.

The Retreat weekend in February has been cancelled.

We decided on a Knit-a-Long project, the very popular Clapotis. Suggested yarns are Lorna's Laces, Euroflax, any sportweight alpaca. Nothing too hairy due to the dropped stitch in the pattern. For other suggestions, for those that are Ravelry members, take a look at the yarns used for the 1,723 Clapotis projects uploaded on their site.

Sue announced that she will be attending Stitches West on Feb 20th with her daughter. She will talk about her trip at the March meeting.

New officers were elected: President: Liana Treasurer: Alice Secretary: Liana and Members in a joint effort.

Show and Share:
Sue: Baby Sweater from Minnow Knits Baby knit out of Manos in a cream color. Socks made from Bamboo, Einstein jacket made from BabaJoe grey

Kaleng: knitting socks out of Zebrato II, self striping pine/brown.

Barb: working on her Wallaby sweater made from Encore. Also showed a vest where she added sleeves from Cottage Creations, and a "fake-isle" hat made from Wisdom yarn.

Janet: "Ridged Raglans" cardigan made from Paton's Katrina.

Charisse was working on some more Fetchings wrist warmers.

Meredith: was working in the Inga hat made from Whiskey yarn.

Liana: working on socks made from Wildfoote yarn.

December 2007 meeting

2008-01-05T09:38:00.000-06:00

12-13-07
There were 8 in attendance: Alice, Charisse, Ann, Kim, Liana, Janet, Peggy and Kaleng.

We discussed charity projects for 2008 and we came to a consensus about knitting for Nashville General Hospital. Examples: blankets, hats, bibs, and squares for blankets that we could put together as a group.

Field trip: still in discussion.
We did decide that in February we would have a knitting slumber party at Ann's house in Bellevue. It would be a pot luck with snacks too. Bring your air mattresses and sleeping bags.

We discussed getting a speaker for a class but haven't decided who yet. Maybe Elaine can hold a class for us?

The Gift Exchange was a huge success. Great new books, yarns, accessories was had by all.

Show and Share:
Peggy - her favorite...socks. Basic sock pattern using Regia silk. Also some Latvian socks from the Folk Socks book made from Koigu.

Kaleng - Seaman scarf (self pattern) made from Red Heart soft yarn.

Charisse - 7 sets of Fetching fingerless gloves and hats for Hanukah and Christmas. Using Malabrigo, Rowan, Mountain Colors.

Alice - Cashmere scarf using the faggot stitch from the Stitch a Day calendar, April 23.

Janet - slipper socks for husband using Berroco comfort. Pattern: Philosopher's House Socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways book.

Ann - Babette crochet blanket from Interweave Crochet Spring 2006 using Louet and Koigu. Also showed a linen shawl using linen yarn.

Kim - wore an adorable completed felted bucket hat, pattern from ChicKnits.com using Cascade 220. Also working on Hemlock Ring blanket using Brooklyn Tweed and Cascade Ecological Wool.
Liana - socks - Pennants pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks using Wildfoote.

November meeting 11-8-2007

2007-12-01T11:52:00.000-06:00

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.

Sally Melville coming to LYS Angel Hair Yarn Co

2007-11-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

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!

September and October 2007 meeting

2007-10-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

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.

August 2007 meeting

2007-09-09T07:17:00.000-05:00

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

Knitting blocks for VA Tech

2007-05-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

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.

Knitting Retreat

2007-04-30T13:05:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-19T08:36:00.000-05:00

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.

February Monthly meeting

2007-02-11T10:39:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-21T13:18:00.000-06:00

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.