Color Techniques Wk 7

Isn't this fantastic! Karen finished Lord Farquaad from Shrek. She said it was a lot of fun making him. She dyed the red yarn herself using Kool-Aid.


We practiced making two- and three-color i-cords. Linda demonstrated these techniques plus Mosaic knitting. Here are samples of Linda's Mosaic knitting projects: an eye glass case, a knitting needle case, and a needle holder.

On the lower left corner of Linda's free form purse is a sample of a horse she knitted using the Mosaic knitting technique.


Mosaic knitting can be done flat or in the round. You do need to read a chart. It can be knitted in stockinette or garter stitch. Linda prefers the garter stitch method. Please read through the notes on Mosaic knitting in your handouts.

Next Week
We will prepare hanks for the Marigold dying that will take place in two weeks. Linda will bring the knitty knoddies to make our hanks of yarn. If you are interested in dying yarn with Marigold, bring string or crochet cotton and no more than 100 yds of any 100% animal fiber (wool, angora, alpaca, mohair...) No acrylics, synthetics, cotton or linen yarn.

Charity Project
We started a charity project this week. Linda's instructions are to make a square by knitting loosely two strands of acrylic worsted weight yarn together (colors can be different): 20 stitches, 40 rows, garter stitch, size 17 needles. Rosemary brought two pairs of straight needles we can borrow, and Irene has a pair of size 17 Denise needles to share. It is not due for several weeks. Project will be explained in class.

Next Sessions
The second 12-Week Session of Color Techniques Continuation will start on Jan. 6. Tuition will be the same, but a $5 material fee will be included. The third session will be 8 weeks long with a tuition of $50.

Show 'n Tell
Noelle showed us yarn that she bought from Ross. Yes, Ross! She said there is a lot of Etta Rae, 100% wool, yarn in the household aisle in the back of the store. The price was marked down from $9.00 to $4.99 to $2.49! And, there is plenty for everyone. The wool comes in sock wt, sport wt, and I think, worsted wt.

Pat made a scarf using the probability math method. She used alpaca yarn, so it is very soft.

Sandy finished her felted modular purse. She made a matching coin purse too.

Lynette also finished her felted modular purse!

Pat made a felted modular purse too. She made a Kumihimo string that we learned to make earlier in the year for a fastener.

Diana brought her Knit Boutique items to sell, and several ladies bought gifts for the holidays.

Diana also treated us with M&Ms in these cute little boxes.

Happy Knitting Everyone! P.S. Hi Linda L!

Color Techniques Wk 6

This week we continued to work on variegated yarn. The variegated yarn experiment turned out very well, creating some interesting looks. Teri made a scarf with several different variegated yarn combinations below.


Linda demonstrated how to make several swatches that changes the texture and color of a variegated yarn:
Color of the Stitch - Adds texture and it is used to highlight one of the colors in the variegated yarn.
Color of the Working Yarn
Slipping Based on Stitch Color
Slipping Based on Working Yarn Color - Minimizes the color you select.
Varying Yarn Position

We also celebrated Linda's birthday which is this weekend. Karen made this delicious, moist cake with almond-flavored white frosting. She also had time to make a couple of felted pumpkin bowls. And, did you know that she is already putting finishing touches on her finger puppets? Wow!

Next week we will learn how to make a two-color and multi-color i-cord, and we might start mosaic knitting. Bring at least two different color yarns for the two-color icord, three different color yarns for the multi-color icord, and double point needles. For mosaic knitting, you can knit either flat or in the round.

It was announced that there is an alpaca show at the Auburn fairgrounds this weekend.

Rosemary bought this very useful color chart from a quilt store for about $18.

Teri knitted this multi-color sweater. She also showed us a beautiful gold color yarn which she dyed from marigolds and a pine needle gourd bowl that she learned to make from one of Linda's various classes.

Teri also finished the cross slip stitch scarf.

We all had fun laughing with Lynette as she showed us how big her bee hive hat turned out.

Irene models Cheryl's beret that she made for the Thurs. morning class.

Vickie knitted a hat using the Seed Stitch Speckles technique.

Penny made a baby pumpkin hat. You can see the sample swatches she made underneath.

Bonnie knitted this sweather using an alpaca blend.

Knit on!

Color Techniques Wk 5

What a warm night! It's still not cool enough to wear our knitted accessories, but there were so many excited ladies holding up their Stitches West brochure. Linda plans to reserve a bus that will depart from Auburn to Stitches West and back. We had a great time last year.

This week we went over four stripe techniques: the Circular Knit Stripe Jog, Seed Stitch Speckles, Solid and Variegated Single Row Stripes, and Two Variegted Single Row Stripes.

For the Circular Knit Stripe Jog, cast on 36 stitches and knit in the round to form a tube. There are two different techniques to learn which were demonstrated. Linda suggests that we knit 4 rows of color A and then 4 rows of color B without using the techniques to show the regular way with the jog. Then knit 4 rows of color A and 4 rows of color B using Option 1. The last 8 rows are color A and color B using option 2.

For the Seed Stitch Speckles, use three colors of yarn that are harmonius. You do not want a lot of contrast.

Next week we will do nothing but variegated stripes. Linda showed us samples of the first two variegated stripes. The first one is subtle. To be most effective, use a solid color yarn that has the same color in your variegated yarn.

For the Two Variegated Single Row Stripes, the two variegated yarns do not have to match. It will give a totally different look.

Linda also answered any questions we had about Color Theory and reminded us to pick out colors we wanted her to order for the finger puppet challenge.

Diana will have a booth at the October Festival this Saturday, Oct 16, at the Rec Park on Racetrack Drive. She will be selling her knitted and felted pumpkins and purses. See photos below.


Louise knitted this sweater from yarn that she bought at Stitches West.

She also knitted this sweater for her daughter that is exactly her style.

Linda B made this felted purse using three types of yarn: 100% wool, Fun Fur, and a sparkle yarn. The brooch is actually a ring that can be used to hold keys.

Lynette went to town making three hats and a purse that she lined.

Sandy is making round dishcloths that can be used as doilies or placemats as well.

Our warm thoughts and prayers go out to Bea who has been missing class due to medical issues. We also wish Linda L a wonderful two-week trip to Alaska where she will be babysitting her grandbaby while the parents are in Las Vegas.
Happy knitting!

Color Techniques Wk 4

Happy Birthday October knitters!

Tonight was all about color theory. Linda gave us a thorough lesson with handouts about various color combinations. The majority of the class made a color wheel with yarn. This lesson is important for us to know because we will make better choices of color that will look good on us based on our skin's under tone.

Linda showed us many samples of color combinations from this book, Color Works by Deb Menz. The samples were made from various fibers.

For next week's lesson, bring one skein of variegated yarn and one skein of solid color yarn that coordinates with the variegated color.

We also received patterns for the finger puppets. Fingering weight yarn will be ordered for us to use. Linda would like us to let her know what colors we would like her to purchase. The finger puppets are little tubes with embellishments. You do not have to knit everything such as the accessories to go with the puppets.

A stripe pattern called Cat Wrap was shared with the class.

Linda bought a grab bag at the Tin Thimble for $6. This wooden knitting needle case was in the bag. A big sale is going on this weekend there. They plan to specialize in felting and fibers in the future and not so much on fabric and notions.

Linda also sewed this cathedral window purse. She planned on having a class.

Debi knitted this scarf made from pom poms. She bought the yarn at Beverley's and was able to make two scarves from one skein.

Diana gave us this cross stitch scarf pattern in class. She bought this hand painted yarn at the Tahoe Yarn Company in Truckee. This pattern comes from the 101 Designers One Skein Wonders book.

Louise knitted a hat for her nephew and made this little purse choosing yarn from throwing dice.

Karen's cat. She studied Irene's sample and made her own. She also wore socks that she knitted and brought information about a lavender farm.

Happy knitting!

Color Techniques Wk 3

Welcome to Bekah, the newest member of the class!

Linda demonstrated the three stripe patterns below which is our assignment for the week: Odd Number Single-Row Stripes, Reversible Garter Stitch Stripes, and the Diagonal Stripes.

The Odd Number Single-Row Stripes use three colors of yarn.

Double point needles (dpns) are needed for the Reversible Garter Stitch Stripes. You will know when to slide: the yarn will not be waiting for you. Linda knitted 3 rows for her stripes.

On the Diagonal Stripes, the first line says to increase one stitch, use kfb (knit front and back). Increases or decreases will be made on the second stitch of the row, not the first stitch.

Just thought you'd like to see how Karen organized her swatches. She cut out the instructions and stapled it in the folder. Cheryl shared that she used post-it notes on her swatches.

A sign up sheet was passed around to make this Knitters' Color Wheel next week. If you are interested in making one, let Linda know if you did not sign the sheet. You will need to bring 50 cents, scissors, and a ruler.

We will also learn the Circular Knit Stripe Jog and Seed Stitch Speckles. You will need dpns and 3 harmonius colors of yarn.

The date to start the next session was discussed in class. The first session ends on Dec 9. We will take the rest of December off for the holidays. The majority voted to start the second 12-week session on Jan 6, with a few voting for Jan 13. We'll see what Linda decides. This session will end in March. We will probably have a six-week session in the Spring. Linda's sister, Nora, will be visiting at the end of May to teach a class.

The Fair Isle pattern for the tam below will be given to us in the future. Linda dyed most of the yarn in this hat herself.

Just a reminder, Linda will be bringing a few hand stands every week for the finger puppet challenge which is due May 2011. The puppets will be made with fingering wt yarn. Some ideas taken are Shrek, Gilligan's Island, Sesame Street, Hamlet, and Robin Hood.

A new phone and email list was passed around in class. Extra copies will be brought next week for anyone having difficulty printing it out.

Rosemary shared a pattern with the class to make 7 x 9 inch squares to send to the Warm Up America project. The squares will be attached to make blankets.

Laurie's coded purse that spells Sydney.

Bonnie made a kindle cover using the dragon scale pattern.

She also lined it with polar fleece.

Teri will use her coded scarf to yarn bomb a tree. She dotted the "i" in her name.

Sandy made a zebra scarf from Linda's pattern.

So did Karen.

Irene used the same pattern to make this cat scarf.

Diana brought samples of projects from past classes.

Diana will be selling these felted items at the October Festival on Oct 16 at the Regional Park on Racetrack Dr. Linda says that we can share a premium site booth. If interested, please contact Linda or Diana as soon as possible.

Karen made this darling sheep that unties into a little pillow. She got the idea in Apple Hill.

Britt knitted this tank top using a pattern from one of the One Skein Wonders book.

Diane finished her modular purse which is really roomy.

Until next week, live, love, knit!