Vest & Free Form, Ext 4

Diana looking sexy in her Easter bra.
Fran is adorable in the vest.
Sharon made another tank; way to go, girl!
Fran made this single crochet beaded necklace and gave us a copy of the pattern.
Bev brought patterns from the 1980s to give away.
Linda and Fran shared their new books from the sale at Joann's last week.

And, we had lovely, delicious cherries from Noelle's yard!

Look at what we miss when we are not in class, and there are only three more sessions left. The knitting knoddy and yarn meter were available for anyone to get started tying up yarn for the June 26 dying class. Sign up sheets were also ready to fill out for the following events: 1) Potluck on June 26. Sign up for a sweet or savory dish. Bring your own beverage. 2) Indigo Dying plus fee. 3) Retro Pattern Exchange; patterns from 1980s or earlier. Copies are to be put into plastic sheet protectors. Linda also introduced Ray, a new member who paints with Park in the back.

Tips
Both Linda and Linda L shared a tip. Linda L’s tip came from Knitty Gritty. She wrapped small leftover yarn around a medicine bottle. The yarn turned into a mini skein that you could pull from the middle.

Linda’s tip is on keeping the bind off from turning up at the end. Just knit the last two stitches together when binding off.

Bra Challenge
Bras are due next week. They are looking good. Diana talked about the Art Walk display. A docent sign up sheet will be available in class next week. She will order torso forms this week; the cost is $8. Diana also needs to know the title of your bra at the next class. Besides participating in the Art Walk, Diana will contact the State Fair.

For Your Calendar

June 5. Bras are due. Bring to class.

June 12. Art Walk, 6-9 p.m. No class. Preparation starts at 5 p.m.; tear down at 8:30 p.m.

June 19. Class night.

June 26. Last class and party. Starts 5:30 for indigo dying.

July 17. Summer Pool Party & Potluck at Carolyn’s on Glenview Drive in Auburn. 6 p.m.

Knit on!

Vest & Free Form, Ext 3

Georgia orderd these nice shirts through Linda L. They say, Let's Dance! 5.. 6.. 7.. 8.
Georgia's sister made the pretty necklace and earrings by crocheting single chains; they are light and airy.
Bea looks great in her vest; she is holding the matching scarf she made as well. This is her fourth vest!
Irene's ongoing free form shawl.
Don't they look fine in their hit and miss scarves? This is a really fun project.
Teri made these stylish bracelets out of plastic tubing.
This is a 3 in 1 tool: seam ripper, tape measure, stuffing tool; Linda says it is handy.

Are you interested in dying your own yarn using indigo dye or onion skin? Indigo dye will result in a blue color, and the onion skin will result in colors from pale yellow to reddish brown. Linda is having a dying session in class on June 26, the last night of class. Most are interested, so she demonstrated how to use a knitting knoddy. It is important for everyone participating to know how to use this since the yarn will need to be tied in this particular fashion. It takes a little time to use, but it saves a lot of time in the long run. She will bring the tool to class so every person will be able to tie their own yarn starting next week. Bea has plenty of yarn for everyone.

The cost of this session will be $4 which includes the cost of the dye and the yarn that Bea is contributing; if you bring your own yarn (no more than 2 oz), the cost is $2 and it must be all natural such as wool, alpaca, mohair, or angora – no synthetics. Class will start at 5:30 that night since it will take time, and you will need to bring money, a little string, a plastic bag to take home your wet yarn, and a plastic label to ID your hank.


In using the knitting knoddy, it is important to wind the yarn towards the center without any overlapping. Overlapping causes tangles. This tool is good for making hanks for kool aid dying as well. You do not need to buy one, but in case you are interested, you may be able to find it at Woodland Woolworks, Rumpelstiltskin, Babetta’s, or look online.

Warning: Indigo dying stinks. If you are sensitive to stinky, rotten egg smell, you may not want to do this. It smells like sulphur. However, as we wait for the yarn to dye, we will have our last class party and group pictures.

Catalog
Linda brought a Halcyon Yarn catalog for anyone to look at. They specialize in knitting, spinning, and weaving supplies.

Hats
Auburn Faith is looking for preemie and baby hats if you are interested in making them. Linda’s beginner group is making some since one of the nurses is in the class.

Books
Linda recommended Vickie Howell’s new book, Knit Aid. It is a great reference book and inexpensive. She also brought in the crochet book, 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects, and Ideas, where all the patterns for the free form handout came from. One section is on crocheting your own initials.


Card
Ruth sent us all a card that was read to us. She is doing well even though she is in a cast.

Bras
Our participation in the Art Walk has been approved. Bras are due on June 5 which is two weeks away. Diana is in charge of coordinating the Art Walk, and she will be sending us emails confirming the month we signed up for since many students were absent last week and this week. Linda wants to make sure that all months are covered; Diane volunteered to switch from February to October.

Buttons
Diane brought extra business cards for Marquis Etc. on 345 Commercial Street in Auburn. They carry some vintage buttons.

Website
Bev mentioned an interesting website for knitters that features more graphics and details than most knitting sites. It may be worth your time to go to this website: TECHknitting.blogspot.com. She wanted you to know that Technoknit.com which was written on the board is incorrect; the first one is the correct address.

State Fair Applications
Talk to Georgia for details on submitting your project(s) at the California State Fair. The fine arts application is already available.

For Your Calendar
No class on June 12. That is the night of the Art Walk. Come by and see our display.

June 19 is a class night.

Summer Pool Party. Carolyn has invited us to her house for a summer pool party; I think the date is July 17.

Intermediate Class. The intermediate class for the Fall session will be held on Monday evenings instead of Tuesdays. Linda mentioned that it starts the week of September 8.

Hope I didn't miss anything else. Have a good week knitting.

Free Form & Vest, Ext. 2

Julie shared with us how she made her own purse form by purchasing two round plastic canvas and one big square one to use on the sides and bottom.
Linda L. has a new grandson; here is a little hat she made for him.
Fran crocheted this beautiful beaded necklace using a #26 wire and single crochet; it is long and has three strands.
Fran completed her vest! She used three different yarn and just that little ball is left. She shortened the vest, and it is really cute.
Guess who completed her vest? It's Mary Jane! Here is the front and back of her pretty vest. The stitch marker is on the back for a reason...I forgot what it was.
Knitters also excel at other handicrafts. Here is a quilt Gordi made. It is beautiful, and the details are lovely.

We had a wonderful substitute instructor Thursday evening who also happens to be a Knotty Knitter – Julie! She led us in Show n’ Tell, gave us several pages of handouts from Linda on more crochet motifs for our free form project, went over announcements, taught us a couple of exercises for knitters and, most important of all, took role.

Julie reminded us the importance of taking a break and stretching our hands and arms while knitting. To relieve tension and stress in hand muscles, Julie’s chiropractor taught her to use a stretch band that looks like black licorice. We were each given one to hold above our chest and stretch and hold on both sides for 10 seconds several times. Another exercise was to hold our arms twisted from the elbows, see photo for demo. She also noted that there are 10 exercises in the back of the book, “Knitting for Dummies.”



Noelle and Diana were Julie’s assistants, and they also did a great job preparing the tables, starting the fans, and helping with the handouts. Many were confused with the bra pattern, so Diana explained it to us by writing the instructions on the board. When using worsted weight yarn, use size 8 needles and cast on 90 stitches. Then where it says to knit 21, change the numbers to the following.

Row 1: K11, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 2 and all even rows: Knit
Row 3: K10, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 5: K9, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 7: K8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 9: K7, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 11: K6, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 13: K5, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 15: K4, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 17: K3, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 19: K2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 21: K1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, rep. to end
Row 23: k2tog to the end

The deadline for the challenge is June 5 since the Art Walk is June 12. There is some confusion on which month has not been filled yet to complete the whole year. It is either the month of October or November. Linda is having a professional photographer there so let’s fulfill our commitment if we signed up.

Bea shared with the class to be careful with the alpaca yarn we bought in class. She knitted a vest with it that stretched so bad that she had to take it apart. She suggests using another yarn with the alpaca when knitting.

The Hit & Miss scarf class meets next Monday evening for their second session; I hear everyone is having fun with it.

Keep cool and knit on!

Vests & Free Form, Extension

Hi. Reminder, there is no class today, May 8.

Also, don't forget about the Hit and Miss scarf class this coming Monday. If you made one before, you may want to make another one for a Christmas gift.

Diana sent an email message regarding the Focus on the Face seminar. It is this Tuesday, May 13, and it is free. See email message or blog from last week.

See you on May 15.

Vest & Free Form, Ext. 1

Look how cute Carolyn is in her knitted vest.
Karen crocheted this sweet baby blanket.
Sharon's free form purse turned out great. Her purse is large so you know she put a lot of work into it.

Linda completed her free form purse.
Here is the lining and the handles. The handles were made by sucking the yarn up into the tube.

A tool called a Weave It.

Happy Birthday to May knitters! Tonight was the first night of the spring extension. Linda showed us her beautiful free form purse that she finished. She also brought in a “weave it” tool for anyone wanting to try it; it is a tool from the 1930s. Also a get well card was passed around for Ruth who dislocated her hip.

Hit & Miss Scarf
Linda brought brown lunch bags again for anyone participating in the hit and miss scarf on Monday, May 12 and 19.

Yarn Tasting
The yarn tasting at Fibers was nice. See photos by clicking “Yarn Tasting” on the left column.

Art Walk
Linda asked for volunteers to help Diana set up for the Art Walk on June 12.

Challenge
Our bra challenge is due on June 5, so Linda can preview our handiwork before the Art Walk.


Out of the Box
Andrea reminded us about visiting the Out of the Box art show in Auburn and the handweavers conference in Sacramento.

New Dentist
Diana announced that she is working for a wonderful dentist named Dr. Dunn on Bell Road. If you are looking for one, she has a coupon for you. Roberta agreed that you cannot find a better dentist than Dr. Dunn. He will also be speaking at a free seminar on May 13 from 6-8 p.m. at the Winchester Swimming and Tennis Club on 1400 Lodgeview Drive in Meadow Vista. The seminar is about the advancement in visual cosmetic procedures and treatments.

There is no class next week. See you on May 15.