Shell Wk 3

Felted Bracelets! For Show and Tell, Sandy, Louise, and Diane showed us their felted bracelets. I'm sorry my camera was not working so I did not get a picture.

Gourds
Linda brought the gourds which were cut, cleaned, and drilled. We will work on this project two weeks from this past meeting. Before that class, we need to prepare the gourd a little more. You may need to sand the gourd until it sits flat. You can sand the outside and inside. Also you can wood burn on it, use wood stain or shoe polish such as Kiwi on it before knitting. Let it dry and then buff it to a shiny gloss finish. You will need worsted weight yarn, a size E crochet hook, a cable needle, and six size 8 double point needles (bring 7s or 9s too if you have them).

Next Week
We will have a special treat. The hooked presidential portraits will be on display in class! Don't miss it.

Rug Book Update
Linda received a call from the publisher. They have finished taking photos of the rugs and are sending them back since they take up a lot of room in their office. They have enjoyed looking at them very much.

Knitted Presidents
Linda wasn't going to talk about the emails about the presidents' future, but she decided to address it. We spent some time discussing it, and Linda expressed her disappointment with the outcome. She has seen the special impact the knitted presidents are having all around the country, the importance of keeping them together and finding them a permanent home for others to see. She has spent hours of her time writing 50 letters and contacting museums. As of last Thursday, 13 presidents wouldn't be a part of the display which is a lot to redo, and we haven't heard from all of the knitters yet. At this point, she is not sure what to do about displaying the presidents in New Jersey at the Baron's Art Fiber which is a big deal. Debi explained the serious process of getting the presidents into the Smithsonian and the necessity of a release form. In order to get them into the Smithsonian, it can only be represented by one owner, and a presentation and portfolio have to be submitted. The decision was to have the ladies email the group without Linda being on the list and for us to discuss it after she left class since she had to leave early to be in Southern California the next day. I'm sorry I don't know what the outcome was after she left.

Future Class
Linda also expressed her discouragement of continuing the class. She feels we have lost our enthusiasm, do not need her help anymore, and the class is getting smaller. She puts in a lot of time and work behind the scenes for this class. For the next session, she is thinking about having class every other week or turn it into a club instead where we can get together. As of last Thursday, she wasn't sure if we should continue or not. Several of the ladies said the class is teaching them new things, and they look forward to being in class.

For next week's class, bring your yarn, needles, and pattern for the shell. See you there.

Shells Wk 2

Bracelets! Teri made these beautiful felted bracelets.



Toni felted the first two by hand. The third one was felted in the washing machine.
She likes the hand felted ones better.

Linda briefly went over all the patterns for class giving us information on the yarn used and needle size. We practiced the Channel Island Cast On which was sent by Irene as "The Sampler CO." This CO is cute making a little picot design on the edge. Linda had two show and tells. One was an afghan from a thrift store that was probably accidentally felted in the wash (thus in the thrift store). The other shown and tell was highlighters that disappear when heat is applied with a blow dryer. (I took photos of both, but they disappeared somewhere in cyber space...sigh) For next week, start preparing for the shell you want to knit.

We also had a special guest who taught us the latest craze for kids.

Linda L and her granddaughter, Alex. Alex made all of the items on display out of bright colored rubber bands and a plastic loom. It is hard to see from the photo, but there are bracelets, a necklace, and a little coin bag.

Alex teaches the class how to make a flower.

 Future Small Projects
One of the small projects that Linda plans to incorporate into the class is the knitted gourd. You can either prepare and bring your own gourd or buy a prepared gourd from Linda for $5. In preparing a gourd, one has to clean and scrape the inside and outside, cut the shape, and drill the holes.

Bits of Info
Rosemary and Linda L shared that the information for Stitches West is on XRX Insider online. Linda P will reserve a bus for Sat., Feb 22.

Linda P read a cute article about knitting up coffin liners from the Yarn Market News magazine.

Marybeth made an announcement about the Flower Farm Inn, a beautiful garden with a nursery, bed and breakfast, and coffee shop that is near this area.

Candi brought in a bag full of Persian yarn and threads to share with the class to decorate the felted bracelets.

Debi knitted these cute baby pants that will be a sock monkey design.



I forgot to mention that Debi is going to have a grandson. Here is a jacket she is making for him.

Toni's hats. She made a unique third one that I didn't get a picture of.

Toni made a dog pencil case for her granddaughter. It is lined and has a zipper.

These ankle slippers are made just like the pocketbook slippers, but the ends have 42 rows instead of 6. The ends wrap around the ankles for a chic look.

Toni's favorite: a garter for her daughter's upcoming wedding. 

 Happy knitting!

Shells Wk 1

Welcome back! We have a great group, and it is so nice to see all of you.

The project for the week is the felted bracelet using cotton thread as part of the design. Linda made 18 of them for a friend who likes soft bangles.

The Fall session projects will be on shells and sweaters, two of the "S's" Linda wants to concentrate on. Here are a few samples of shrugs Linda showed us. Irene will be scanning the patterns and sending them to you by email. We will also be learning or reviewing cast ons and bind offs, so always have extra scrap yarn, needles, and a crochet hook on hand. A $5 materials fee is being collected. The other two "S's" (shrugs and skirts) will be visited in the Spring session.

Ribbed Shell

Mosaic Shell

29 Button Vest

The Challenge
Wow, a challenge!  Linda brought Skiff bags for us to make anything we can come up with. It can be sewn, embroidered, crocheted, knitted -- anything! It will get those creative juices flowing. First, take a picture of the bag before starting the project. An "after" picture will be taken by the due date, the Christmas party in December. Almost the whole class is participating!

Knitted Presidents
The knitted presidents were warmly received in Sauder Village, Ohio. Linda and her sister, Nola, were interviewed on television at Nola's studio which was carried throughout the US through USA Today. You can Google the 1-1/2 minute news clip called "Hookers Get Busy with All 44 Presidents" to view the clip. They will be on display briefly in Colfax at a historical society, then shipped to New Jersey for a grand reception at the Baron's Art Center in February. Linda would deeply appreciate it if she can have all of the presidents. She would like to find a permanent home for them as the whole set so they can be on display for years to come by the public. Please let her know privately if she can have your president(s).

Tea
Linda announced that she does not want to be host to the tea and be in charge of the supplies anymore. She asked for volunteers to take care of setting up the tea, making sure the pot is full of water, and putting it away if we still want tea this session. Karen and Linda L volunteered to help out. A sign up list may go around for weekly volunteers.

Show and Tell

Marybeth finished a darling vest and a sweater.

Toni busy knitting. Here are a few samples of her summer knitting here and below,.

Rosemary knitted the two cute ruffled girls' dresses.

 

Teri's crochet shrug, pattern from Hip to Knit.

 

Louise's construction sweater turned out great!

Sent by Cynthia

 

Linda bought this colorful afghan at Vintage Redeemed in Auburn.

Happy Knitting!

Class Starts This Week!

Here is a message from Linda,

 

"Hello Knotty Knitters,

I am really looking forward to this fun filled semester of knitting and look forward to seeing all of you this coming Thursday for the first night of class. I have lots to share and show and tell. As you probably know, I am going to cover the 4 S's of knitting with shells, sweaters, shrugs, and skirts. In addition to all of that, I want to focus on teaching some different cast ons and bind offs, so always have an extra pair of needles and scrap yarn at the ready. 

For a kick off first project, we are going to make some adorable bangle bracelets to go with all the great garments you are going to create. I made 18 of them this summer for a friend's birthday. Bring some scraps of worsted wool yarn or bulky yarn, a pair of size 11 needles and an extra size 11 needle for a three needle bind off." 

 

See you this week.