3d Trimester, Wk 11

We won a special award from the Camellia City Stockinettes Sacramento Knitting Guild Award! Diana sent us an email today (Friday) that says we won an award for our state flowers at the state fair and they will be displayed in the Crafts Art Exhibit Hall. Please check your email.

We had a nice party sharing food,

playing YARNO,

learning to make Japanese rope called kumihimo,

which was our mystery project for the night.

Next Week
The next class will be our last one. Linda will not be able to make it, but she would still like us to meet if we can. A Yarn Tasting has been planned. About six ladies signed up to share yarn. Irene will email the ladies who were absent to find out whether they are interested. Linda says to prepare about 9 sets of the following:
Pick a yarn you really like.
Make little balls for everyone (about 9 sets of 10-20 yds ea).
Label the ball by using cut up index cards stating name of yarn, fiber content, suggested needle size.
Bring different size needles.
Briefly share why you picked that yarn.
We will cast on and knit the yarn in a stockinette stitch using appropriate needle sizes.

Picnic in the Park
We are planning to meet on Jul 20 at the park off Race Track Rd in Auburn for a summer potluck and knitting. The time will be 6 pm by the picnic tables. Mark your calendars.

Several ladies are interested in going to the state fair together, so that might be a possibility this summer too.

Fall Class
The Fall class at ARD will start on Sep 16.

Teri made a shopping bag by recycling a tank top. She also showed us a similar bag that she bought made out of a t-shirt.

Teri also recycled sweatpants, a shirt, and a sweater to make this rug using size 35 needles.

Diane's needle felted art project.

Pat made a scarf out of pom poms.

She knitted this pretty scarf too.

Irene took Linda's class on recycling chip bags to make this coin purse.

Happy Knitting!

3d Trimester, Wk 10

Diana delivered the flowers to the state fair! The watering can was rejected as a prop, but that's okay. The plan is to enter the flowers this summer at the state fair, the county fair, and the August art walk.

Party
The last class will be in two weeks, but we are having the potluck and party next week. There were three signed up in each of the categories: meat/cheese, veggies/fruit, desserts/other baked goods. Besides food, please bring your own drink. Linda will furnish the plates, paper goods, and eating utensils. Also bring a skein of yarn or other knitting goodies to receive your bingo card; it will be used as a game prize. We will not be having the spin class next week since it was Linda's last day at the middle school and she is very busy packing up her classroom. However, we will have a mystery project to do. So, bring one of either tools: a nut or washer that has a little weight to it. The kind used in the tool necklace is perfect. Linda also suggested that we all wear our class knitting shirt if you have one.

Fall Class
Linda will teach on exploring color techniques in the Fall. Some of the projects will be brand new, and some will be repeats from the past. Techniques include Fair Isle, intarsia, double knitting, brioche knitting, Swedish knitting, techniques for stripes, and more.

Look at all these pretty colors. You'll have to come to class to find out whose it is, what type of yarn is being used, and what it will be.

Candi and Irene's needle cozies. Candi's is the longest one.

Irene's flip flops.

Linda made this felted basket from squares.

Pat made this delicate vintage-style peddlar doll.

Happy knitting!

3d Trimester, Wk 9

The flowers are wonderful! Everyone did a great job. I'm sorry that I didn't take individual photos of the flowers grown by Candi, Linda, Linda L, Linda's daughter, Gloria, Nancy, Claudia, Diane, Diana, Cynthia, Eileen, and Teri. Here are photos from different views. These are the flowers that were turned in this week and do not count the ones turned in a few weeks ago.

The last person to reveal her flowers was Teri, and they are fabulous: big, bold, and beautiful with a lot of detail. Hers are on the back row on the right. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Linda's daughter made the cactus. Diana made the sunflower. Linda L's flower is in between the two; she added a tiny mosquito after the photo shoot.

Claudia's white flower, in front, has a little orange spider hanging on a web.

Claudia donated the water can that Linda painted.

Summer Art Walk
We were accepted in the June Art Walk, but Linda had to decline the offer since Diana is taking the state flowers this Friday for the state fair competition. Laurie has offered her salon's porch to display our flowers in August.

Party
Our last class is June 3; even though Linda will be out of town, she would like us to attend. A potluck party is scheduled for the week before, May 27, so she can party with us. We will play knit bingo and learn how to spin. Linda will make the spinning sticks and supply us with roving for $5. A sign up list for the spinning was passed around. Please bring a skein of yarn or a knitting prize for the bingo game.

Fall Classes
Linda will continue teaching this class with ARD on Thursday evenings in the Fall. She has changed her schedule to teach GED to Monday and Tuesday nights.

Happy Knitting!

3d Trimester, Wk 8

We have more flowers! The bar has been set to expand our creativity to greater heights.

Clever, realistic Oregon state flower by Louise. She said the key was to use two different gauges of wire to piece it together. She also shared that she would like to submit a photo of our state flowers with a little article to a magazine called Country Woman since it will fit their style.

A sweet but wild rose on steriods according to Laurie. A wire was set inside the top petals for shaping.

A pretty peony by Rosemary with a clever use of the button in the center. Also, Rosemary showed us two 3-tier modular purses that she has already felted. She is now going to add the handles.

Bea's lovely peach blossom for the state of Delaware. Bea is moving to Folsom, so she will be attending class again in the Fall. Welcome back!

Colleen amazed us with her felted lady slipper! So creative and humorous!

Pat's flower fairies left us in awe. The cutest things ever! Her friend sculpted the fairies from clay (front and back sides below).

See the light, delicate wings?

Reminder: the deadline to turn in the flowers is next week.

Linda went over the instructions for the modular purse and demonstrated picking up stitches from the bottom of the purse to start the first tier. Please get notes from classmates if you need them.

A few of us also learned to paint our own yarn using acrylic paint on plastic bags.

Other News
Linda wanted to know if it would alright if the class was moved to Wednesday nights in the Fall. She has been hired to teach a GED class two nights a week since her art class at the middle school was cut. From the response, she will probably keep our class on Thursday nights.

Georgia announced that she will be organizing an intermediate and advanced line dance classes on Thursday nights at the Race Track Park & Rec site, so she will not be able to continue with us.

Louise knitted this pretty scarf with beads. She learned to add beads to the edging at Stitches West.

Vickie made another colorful plorn bag for her daughter's friend. This one is slightly bigger and will be very handy.

Sandy felted a cute needle cozy. Looks like candy!

Candi's hardware jewelry made at Linda P's jewelry class last weekend with Diana, Laurie, and Teri. Laurie and Teri also showed us the cool things they made. They had a lot of fun and have already received positive comments from cashiers and store owners.

Happy Knitting!

3d Trimester, Wk 7

Happy Birthday May knitters! The flowers are blooming!

Vickie made two beautiful flowers: a carnation and a dogwood. The pretty tags she made that look like seed packets are all finished. By the way, she has a laminating business on the side if you need anything laminated.

Georgia felted a lovely black eye susan.

Irene knitted pine cones and tassels for Maine.

Linda found an owner who is willing to lend us a metal head board and foot board for our display. Diana sent us an email Friday saying that it has been "decided to continue working on flowers in class for one more week, for those who need inspiration or help. Whether you are in the class or not, anyone making a flower can come to Linda's Thursday night class next week on May 6th. REMEMBER THE FLOWERS MUST BE COMPLETED BY THURSDAY MAY 13th. THAT IS ONLY TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY. If you cannot turn your flower in at the Thursday night knitting class on either 5/6 or 5/13, you need to call me (Diana) to make arrangements to get your flower to me. My husband and I will be delivering the flowers to Cal Expo on Friday May 14th."

Handouts
We received several handouts in class:
1) Felted coaster pattern
2) Needle cozies (this was the secret project)
3) The Modular Purse

Next Week
We will continue making state flowers, learn how to make our own plarn (plastic yarn; it was postponed this week; please see last week's blog for a supply list), finish the moebius scarf, or start the modular purse.

The Modular Purse
Linda went over the modular purse pattern. Please write on the pattern the following instructions for the bottom of the purse.

Row 1: knit 47, purl 1 (the last stitch)
Rows 2-48: slip 1 knitwise, knit 46, purl 1

Here are some tips:
Paste a piece of yarn to the chart or color the squares with color pencils.
The olive and blue green sections use the least amount of yarn.
Using the same color for the bottom and the top edging frames the purse nicely.
Adding an i-cord edging on the bottom of the purse looks great.
Some have added more than one row of i-cord edging on the top of the purse or fun fur for a different look.

The Order Is In
The DVD and book Louise ordered have arrived. The DVD is about 50 socks and 50 states, and the book is about teaching knitting visually.

Jewelry Class
Linda is teaching a jewelry class using tools this Saturday morning. She brought samples to class.

Pat used a pom pom yarn to make this fun scarf.

Happy knitting!