Stitches West 2012

We had a really fun time at Stitches. Here are a few photos of our group; I wished that I had taken more, but I got caught up in the booths. I ran into a few throughout the day. Most of the photos show them taking a break and resting from the hard work of shopping.

Leslie holding a 3D landscape knitted by the artist below.

The artist knitted both 3D landscapes and hand dyed her own yarn. These pictures are not flat. There are layers on top of each other to make them look 3D.

Claudia is going to get her hand slapped for sneaking into this vendor's candy dish.

Karen trying the different fragrances of cocoa butter.

Vickie and Judith bought the last two tiny llamas.

Karen showing Claudia the fiber pendant she bought.

The Lion Brand booth: a yarn bombed model and chair.

I liked these valances at Bagsmith's booth. They are knitted with chunky wool yarn.

The one on the left has berries hanging from the bottom.

Linda L and Sandy find a place to sit.

Coffee break

What did Pat buy? Their bags look full of goodies.

Rosemary knits while Teri looks out for the bus.

Hearth & Home II Wk 8

Stitches West is this Saturday! The bus will leave Raley's in Auburn at 7 a.m. in the back parking lot. Loading starts around 6:30 a.m. Bring size 8 needles for a surprise project that can be done quickly. A goody bag is being assembled, and a $10 off discount coupon was handed out in class. Linda may have some extras on Saturday.

Dizzy Rug
Wow, what a surprise! We were thrilled with Teri's show 'n tell. She used fabric, loopers, yarn, and an old pot holder to make this dizzy rug. She said it was really easy.

Pat brought vintage craft books and a box of cotton fabric for us to take home. 

Linda demonstrated how to cut fabric into making one long strip of yarn by folding into half and cutting it like making a paper lantern (it's easier seeing a demo than reading about it here). She will demonstrate how to assemble the piece so it will not cup in the center. She suggests adding 7 stitch markers during the last round for the decreases.
　

Presidents
Linda showed us how to pick up stitches to create a lapel on the presidents. She also told us about the conversation she had with the presidential archivist for the Herbert Hoover library. She received a lot of information, and he was so nice and encouraged all of us to call our presidential library. Only six presidents need to be adopted: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Benjamin Harrison, Warren G. Harding, Chester Allan Arthur, and Millard Fillmore.

Karen's two presidents: too cute! She created tags for the presidents that she received information from. She would like to hear from all of us who have not given her information for the tag yet. Also, these are the wooden stands to buy at Hobby Lobby (7-1/2 inches).

Gizzard Basket
Linda invented these pretty wool baskets. She will be teaching a class on how to make the basket on the right a week from this Saturday. Contact Placer School for Adults to register. The gourd basket on the left is a sample of what you can do with the wool basket, but it will not be a taught in class.

Third Session
There are only four more sessions left. The next session begins on March 29 until the end of May. If you plan to yarn bomb a chair, please start looking for one.

Knit and Sip
This event at the Power Mansion Inn will be on the first Thursday in June at 6 p.m.

Karen W. made this colorful rug. She ordered the loopers from a different company; thus, the bright bold colors. She is also ordering the cute little monsters for needle point holders that Linda showed us in class. Almost the whole class order a set (Sorry I forgot to take a picture). The cost is $2 a pair (I think).

Diane took a felting class to make this beautiful mural. Here are pictures of both sides.

Carol's first felted project. This fits her phone perfectly, and she hand felted it in 5 minutes.

Lynette is making leggings for a little girl adding two other colors.

Claudia experimented with cocheneal (an insect in Mexico) to make these beautiful yarn.

Linda L. is finished with the darling zebra.

Happy knitting!

Hearth & Home II Wk 7

This week was Presidential Help Week. Linda was available to help us with anything we needed on making our presidents look good. We got quite a laugh when Lynette said that last week her president looked like a sock monkey, and this week it looks more like Woody in "Toy Story" than President Lyndon Johnson. Yarn, books, wool felt, and mohair for hair were available, and Linda bought more white yarn. There are still a few presidents left to be taken. The due date is May 1.

President Tyler Johnson by Karen Muir.
She is almost finished with 2 more.

KBB Pattern
Note:  When you receive an email with "KBB Pattern" in the subject line from Linda L., that means it will contain a pattern for our class that you will need to print. "KBB Pattern" stands for Knit Beyond the Basics pattern.

Stitches West
SW is a week from this Sat. Please be prompt. The bus will leave at 7 a.m. behind Raley's in Auburn. Most people will be at the bus at 6:30 a.m. You can stop to use the restroom or buy coffee or tea at Peet's inside Raley's before the trip. There is a bathroom on the bus. You can also leave things on the bus while you are at SW. Donations are still being accepted for prizes.

Last year there was a problem with buying water, so you may want to bring plenty of water. The food there was okay, but not great; you may want to bring your own lunch and snacks. Also, bring a tote bag to hold your purchases.

There will be a beautiful surprise project on the bus that Teri found. Bring size 8 needles; it doesn't matter if the needles are straight, circular, or dpns. 

Also, Rosemary found a $5 off coupon for the Market Place. It was sent to us by email today.

Debi is knitting dishcloths from the book shown. She is donating this book of 15 dishcloths for the SW bus trip. Some samples are shown.

Next Week: The Dizzy Rug
We looked over this pattern in class from our packet. This pattern uses medium weight fabric instead of yarn. Bring fabric remnants (start with 1 yd and go from there since we do not know how many yards it will take) and size 15 needles. Poly-cotton fabric or sheets are good. Or, knit with 4 skeins of acrylic yarn together (Linda is giving us permission to use Red Heart) or 2 skeins of chunky weight using size 15 needles. This rug can be made into seat cushions too.

Third Session: Chairs and Stools
The current session will end in the middle of March. Start looking for a chair or stool to yarn bomb if you are interested in this project. We will do other projects from our packets as well.

Sandy is a busy bee. She is holding a t-shirt rug that she made, plus a lace scarf, and  3 comfort dolls for Africa. Judith's wine bottle cozy in bright colors is shown in the foreground.

Teri knitted this happy cotton loopers rug for her bathroom in Kingvale.

 

Knit and relax!

Hearth & Home II Wk 6

This week was designated to working on the rugs. Linda also demonstrated the wrap and turn. This technique is used on the "Easy as Pie" pillow.

See Gloria's huge yarn ball? It is made of loom loopers.

Stitches West
Our bus trip to SW is in two weeks, 2/25. Only five seats are left. We will be leaving the Raley's in Auburn at 7 a.m. sharp. It's better to be there at 6:30 a.m. The bus will be parked behind the Raley's building. There is a nice parking lot there for you to park your vehicle.

Donations are still being accepted. A warm thank you to Teri and Lynette for their donations this week. Linda is asking us to go through our stash and donate an orphan skein to be put into a basket as one of the raffle prizes.

Finger Puppets
The fingerpuppets are still on display in the Foresthill library. Linda met a woman in Foresthill who is interested in buying some of the fingerpuppets for her granddaughter. Linda explained to her that the puppets are not toys but a work of art. If you are interested in selling your fingerpuppets, you will need to decide on the price and make arrangements on your own. Contact Linda for a phone number.

Turbo Scan
Thank you to Cynthia who turned Linda on to Turbo Scan on the iphone. Linda can scan any pattern on her iphone and have it scanned and emailed to us asap. A buddy system was established for the ladies who do not have a computer or a printer, so they can receive a copy of the patterns sent to us.

Presidents
A big thank you to Karen M. who offered to make the tags for the presidents. We will need to give her the following information: Name of your president, Ordinal number, Years served as president, some very brief fact such as the reason is your president holding a horse or a towel...

The doll stand we will be using has a wood base that looks like cherry wood. It can be bought at Hobby Lobby in the back of the store right next to the sock monkey socks. The cost is about $2.77. Make sure to get the right size since there are three sizes. You will want the one that is about 7-1/2 to 8 inches tall.

Next week is dedicated to working on the presidents in honor of Presidents' Week. The dolls are due by May 1.

Claudia dyed yarn using peach stems pruned at the nursery. The color makes a really nice skin color.

Penny brought this old school chair for anyone interested in using it for yarn bombing. The cost was $5 and went to a good home.

Judith is wearing a Knotty Knitter shirt that Linda L. was giving away. See what you miss when you are not here?

Cynthia is working on a beautiful lace shawl. Wow!

Penny knitted this lovely lace scarf.

Carol knitted this cute drink cozy.

Linda L. made this zebra using Diane's pattern. She will mail it to a little girl in Africa.

 

Christianson Nature Craft Workshop in Missouri. Linda and her husband will be teaching at this camp. If you would like to attend, you will receive tuition and 1/2 off your lodging. It will be held the week of July 29.

Happy knitting!
　

Hearth & Home II Wk 5

Teri made this felted yarn caddy. She embellished it with all kinds of beads.

Linda showed us what a short row design looks like. There is a pillow pattern in our packet that is covered with short rows with beads at the end. She was also going to demonstrate the wrap and turn, but decided not to.

Linda is wearing a scarf designed and made by Teri, our latest celebrity knitter.

Stitches West
Stitches West is just a few weeks away. Some beautiful yarn was donated for the raffle.

Presidential Challenge
Linda is willing to do the face and hair on your president(s) if you need help. There are 10 more presidents to be taken. I think three were taken in class. She also suggested that we use the dark stained, wooden doll stands from Hobby Lobby; these look more formal than the metal ones. Linda L. will order more books on the presidents for us if you are interested. She will wait for more orders next week.

Pot Holder Loops and T-Shirt Projects
Linda says to go ahead and start whenever you want. We will not wait until everyone is ready. Linda B. brought more t-shirts in bright colors. Next week will be devoted to these two projects. Both of these projects use size 35 needles and worked in garter stitch.

Rosemary is holding her finished looper rug.
Penny also finished one.

Linda L. and Candi take t-shirts to make yarn for a rug.

Sip and Knit
This event at the Power's Inn Mansion will be held on June 7 (a Thursday) at 6 pm. Save the date.

Claudia dyed these yarn using food color or natural plant dye such as plum leaves.

Vickie knitted this poncho.

Vickie also designed and made this entrelac purse.

Rosemary knitted a baby sweater and hat.

Sue knitted this little girl's sweater.

Sue also knitted this beautiful, soft shawl. My camera wasn't fast enough to get the right angle.

Four placemats by Sandi. Wow!

Happy knitting!