2d Trimester, Wk 2

Christmas Party 2009!

We had a nice time eating, watching Noelle on the Martha Stewart Show and hearing all about what it was like being there, having a White Elephant Exchange with ornaments we made or bought, and knitting through a Treasure Hunt. Bea did a good job covering for Linda who was in Florida visiting her daughter.

Of course, we always start off with food! (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

The food and wassail were great. The ARD kitchen was reserved for the night, but Linda L discovered there were no utensils or pots or pans anywhere! She had to warm up the wassail in individual cups in the microwave. It turned out well, but it took longer this way.

The Christmas Ornament Exchange gifts came beautifully wrapped. We were curious to know what was made or brought.

The ornaments and gifts were beyond my expectation. At the last minute, Linda L decided that she had to keep the darling snowman she made; her granddaughter had commented that "she never gave her anything." :) We had a good exchange; the knitted sheep, the elf, and heart stocking were passed around at least once.

The Treasure Hunt Challenges

Ladies knitting all over the building for one of the challenges. Do you see Diana knitting by the waste bin? The man on the right is wondering what all these ladies are doing knitting in odd places.

More Photos of the Treasure Hunt: Some singing, some drawing or writing a poem.

Getting through the challenges.

Class will resume on Thursday, January 7. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

2d Trimester, Wk 1

Noelle was on the front page of the Auburn Journal last Sunday! She will be on the Martha Stewart Show this coming Monday, Dec 14. At the end of Friday's show, Martha Stewart said something like, "...and I will be sharing a warm hearted letter with a surprise," talking about Monday's show.


It's the first class of the second trimester, and we're looking forward to more projects, patterns, and techniques. Some of the projects will include Knit Picks gloves and mittens in several fashions and more difficult square projects.

Class is smaller, but the feeling is warm and intimate. It is nice that we can share both good and bad news with each other. The good news is Noelle went to NY for the taping of the Martha Stewart Show this week. The bad news is Sarah was in a terrible bike accident and broke several bones near her left shoulder. She will be immobile for 3 months and cannot attend this session. You will be missed, Sarah. Another bad news is Wilta's husband passed away last Friday after some time with a serious illness. Laurie brought a card for us to sign. Wilta, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

This Week
Linda demonstrated the two color square which are two triangles knitted in a fair isle method to create a square. This square is great for knitting a quilt design.

Four patterns were handed out in class:
Two Color Square
Square Variations
Three Block Cap (Linda will go over this one on Jan 7. It calls for DK wt yarn, sz 3 needles, & 32" circulars or sz 3 dpns (gauge 6 stitches per inch.)
Hat & Scarf pattern from Vickie

Next week Teri will be bringing a cute News Boy cap pattern for the class. Yea!

Also, Diane shared that the school she teaches at is having a raffle worth $25,000 off your mortgage for one year. The ticket costs $100 which will go to purchasing supplies for the school. Contact Diane A. for details and a form.

The Challenge
The day finally came for the challenge: an octopus/jellyfish with at least one square.

Click on photo for a larger view. Clockwise from Sponge Bob Square Pants (Diana?), Blue Measuring Tape with a rubber shark and several fish charms (Teri), Red Octopus doll (Diane), Food Color Dyed Large Plastic Bag Container (Vickie), Orange replica of the challenge photo (Sandy), Pink Knitting Octopus doll (Irene), Colorful Blue Squeeze Me Toy that really squeeks (Louise).

Here's another view.

They were all so good and cute that it was hard to pick only two favorites. First place went to knitting octopus doll by Irene. Second place went to Vickie for a plastic bag container and Teri for a measuring tape cover. Congratulations to all!

The prizes: An alligator-shaped zippered pouch for notions and a crochet ring from Tin Thimble.


Next Week: Christmas Party!
Bea will be our substitute instructor. Linda will be flying to Florida to spend time with her daughter and couldn't get a flight later.

Items to bring:

Food for the potluck (I think so far 4 signed for meat/cheese, 2 signed for fruit/veggies, 4 signed for desserts, 1 for wassail, 2 for plates, silverware, and napkins).

Wrapped knitted ornament if you are participating in the swap. (By the way, I'm knitting my 5th ornament. The 1st four did not turn out good enough to share. It has been a good learning lesson, so don't give up.)

Pen or pencil, size 8 needles, and about 25 grams/yds of worsted weight scrap yarn (enough to knit for about 30 minutes on and off) for a treasure hunt.

Don't miss it!

Isn't this beautiful? Irene bought this crochet Christmas tree over 1 ft tall at the annual Georgetown Christmas fair for only $3. A couple of ladies wanted to know if there are any left to buy. After making a call on Friday, Irene heard that she bought the only one. Sorry ladies.

Sandy made another pair of cute miter square slippers. Are these the fourth pair? She says that she has a lot of grandchildren, so the slippers will fit someone.

This coming weekend, Dec 12 & 13, is the Alpaca Farm Holiday Boutique. The link is on the left column of this blog under "Knitting Events."

The weather is finally cold enough for showing off our hats, scarves, and mittens. Wear them proudly. Happy Knitting!

Hip 2B Sq, 12

Happy Birthday December ladies! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

How cool are these felted slippers? Cynthia made a pair of size 10, and Laurie made a pair of size 6-1/2. Cynthia said she felted hers for about an hour to get them to her size. She tried them on every so often for fit.

It was the last class for the first trimester. Linda went over the pages for the heel increases and decreases. She demonstrated the wrap & turn and the double wrap which is so helpful to see done in person.

I hope many of you will return for the second session that starts next week. Don't forget to register! At the present time, the enrollment numbers look low, so please encourage friends, family, and strangers to take the class.

The octopus/jellyfish challenge is due the first night, Dec 10. It will be fun to see different takes on these knitted creatures, so I hope there will be good participation.

Linda will be teaching us how to make projects out of two triangles that forms into a square. For next week's class, bring solid scrap yarn in two contrasting colors and knitting needles (who doesn't bring knitting needles?). Besides "square" projects, she will cover all kinds of gloves and mittens from Knit Picks during the second session.

Also we will have a sign up sheet next week for our Christmas potluck on Dec 17. An optional knitted ornament exchange is planned. If you bring one, please have it wrapped for Dec 17.

Did you hear the good news about Noelle? This is huge. Diana told us in class that Noelle wrote the Martha Stewart Show about how well her MS pot held up in the oven when her house burned down in the Auburn fire. (She had a pot of beans in the oven during the fire.) They wanted to interview Noelle by phone on the air. However later, they called to invite her and her son to be on the show in NY instead. She will be aired on the Dec 14 telecast. Way to go!

Pat made this beautiful hat out of mitred squares. Here's a top and side view.


Vickie finished her cute, petite green alligator scarf with beaded eyes. Bea and Irene are in the process of completing theirs. They used worsted wt yarn, and Vickie used light wt yarn. Bea brought copies of the pattern for the nice ruffle sweater she showed us in the last class.

Teri made this sweet knitted scarf for her new darling puppy.

Jesse made this pretty scarf from the book, One Skein Wonders, the designer edition.

Diane crocheted this cute little snowman, and knitted the hat using Boucle that she bought at a Dollar Tree store.

Happy Knitting!