Shell Wk 6

Several knitted gourds were finished this week.

 

 

Besides finishing up our gourds, Linda showed us the invisible cast on for us to practice.

Next Week
There is no class next week; however, Linda has reserved the room for us to come and knit. Several of the ladies plan to attend.

Halloween Thursday
There is class on Halloween night. Please bring snacks for the evening. Linda showed us some of the patterns for us to knit: 3 different pumpkin pins (need ww orange and green yarn, sz 5 to 7 needles for size 10 1/2 needles for felting), candy corn (need orange, yellow, white yarn, fingering wt or ww wt yarn ok, will need dpns), mask of glasses, nose, mustache (need black, flesh, brown yarn, sz 8 dpn, 3/4 " elastic), spock ears (need sock yarn or ww wt yarn), or knitted wig (any color yarn with needles), felted pumpkin bowl (ww wool orange and green yarn, size 16 dpns).

Spinning Wheel Class
FYI, Linda is teaching a spinning wheel class on Nov. 9 in Meadow Vista for $24. You will need to bring a wheel.

Applique Pictures
Nola will have a class on Dec. 12. Details and photos are in last week's blog. Also the bag challenge is due on the same day.

Stitches West
Linda has reserved a bus for SW on Feb. 22. She is hoping to keep the price as low as possible, but it may go up a couple of dollars from last year since diesel gas as gone up.

Next Session
Linda is thinking about continuing Shrugs and Skirts in the third session. During the next session, she would like to do toys such as the topsy turvy dolls or the nesting dolls. She brought some examples. She would like our toys to be entered in the state fair. Linda L. suggested that we knit animals of California for the state fair.

Linda bought this Topsy Turvy doll from a friend.

Monkey Survey
Louise thanked us for taking the survey that she sent by email regarding the future of the knitted presidents. She has received half of the results, which are anonymous. The results will be revealed at the Oct. 31 meeting and in this blog. If you would like to make a comment, there are two places on the survey to do so. Please contact Louise if you cannot find a place to make comments.

　

Penny made the football hat and a headband besides a gourd and a matching scarf.

Linda dyed this yarn with lichen today.

Sauder Village Photos by Tracie at Sauder Village

Shell Wk 5

Gourd night! We were in our own world knitting the top of our gourds.

It was also Penny's birthday, and coincidentally, Lynette brought the best pumpkin bread with orange cream cheese to put on top.

Dates to Remember

Feb 22, Stitches West Bus Trip

Oct 24, No class but the room will be open for us to come knit even though Linda will not be there

Oct 31, Halloween night; we decided to bring snacks for class. We will receive sweater patterns and make a knitted felt pumpkin pin that night.

Dec 5, Christmas Party

Dec 12, Nola's Class, $24 includes kit, need to bring chenille needle, tapestry needle, scissors. Choose from sunflower, cat, or pumpkin basket.

 

Sign Up Sheets
Two sign up sheets were passed around: one for a wool fabric strip yarn scarf, $8 and the second to be the tea hostess.

　

Linda dyed this yarn with lichen from a side of an oak tree. She explained the process. Diane volunteered to bring poke berries for dye if you are interested.

Sandy made this pretty beaded yarn ball holder.

Toni knitted this beautiful shawl.

Toni knitted this dress for her granddaughter to wear with tights.

She also made this poncho for her daughter-in-law.

Lynette made these colorful hats for her grandkids.

Lynette also knitted this cute baby pants.

Debi brought in this baby hat book to share. She bought it for $5 at Ben Franklin's.

Happy knitting!

Shell Wk 4

We had the wonderful privilege of viewing the presidential hooked rugs. They are amazing!

Cabled Gourd Next Week
The pattern for the cabled gourd was sent out by email this week by Linda L. Don't forget to prepare your gourd for knitting: sanding, buffing, burning design (optional), adding shoe polish or stain. Details are in last week's blog. You will need to bring the following items: crochet hook E, cable needle, worsted wt yarn, six size 8 dpns (not a bad idea to bring size 7 or 9 dpns too).

Linda explained the type of gourds used and the step by step process of cutting them for this project. Cannonball gourds are used, and they can be bought at Davis Ranch in Sluice House.

Shell Patterns
Linda briefly went over the patterns again.

Mosaic: CO 240 to knit in the round.

Grid: Can be converted to knit in the round.

Ribbed: Can be knitted in the round. Adjust the amount of CO stitches since 1-2 stitches were part of the seam allowance if not knitted in the round. Do not need to use ribbon yarn; any ww yarn will do.

Rouche: Rosemary brought two of her sweater samples. One was made with worsted weight yarn, and the other was knitted with Marble yarn. She left out the key hole in one of them.

Sweaters
There are two more classes before the sweater patterns will be introduced.

Tea Hostess
Do we want tea? Linda is looking for a tea hostess to sign up each week to take care of getting the tea box out at the beginning of class, filling the tea pot during class, and putting the box away at the end of class. Thank you to Debi, who bought an electric tea maker for class and brought mini canisters of loose tea.

Christmas Party
Our traditional Christmas party with the potluck and gift exchange will not be held on the last class of the session this year. It will be held on Dec. 5, the second to the last class for a good reason. 

Last Class
The last class is Dec. 12, and Linda's sister, Nola, will be visiting. Nola will be teaching a wool applique class for $25 which includes the kit of either a Halloween bucket or a sunflower. You will need to bring a couple of items (I think she said sewing needles and scissors). A sample

Apology
Linda apologized to each of us, especially the presidential knitters (about the reaction to the emails). She was very frustrated during the week. Her decision is for all of the presidents to be presented in Colfax, and then she will return the presidents to the ones who want them back. The knitted presidents that have been released to Linda will go on to New Jersey (and then to Kansas). Linda explained the reason for not including all of them at the NJ exhibit. The reason is there will be curators from other museums who may want to make their museum the permanent home for them. The curators may think they are getting the exact set on display, so we need to show the ones they will be receiving. We will be replicating the ones that will be returned to their owners, even though it will not be the same as the original. Some of the ladies have volunteered to help; please let Linda know if you would like to help replicate one or some.

This past week Linda contacted the curator of the Daughters of the American Revolution museum to see if they would be interested in giving the knitted presidents a permanent home. Linda L. also found two other museums (one in TX and one in VA) that showcase not just one but all of the presidents that Linda may look into. Linda will ask us beforehand if we approve of the museum that they go to.

By the way, Linda received a note that we won a special award from Sauder Village for making their summer special. I think the award will be mailed shortly.

　
Show and Tell

Linda's beginning crochet class are making these cute stackable bowls.

Linda's bead knitting class is making this beautiful pouch. She announced that she will be teaching this project using five different kinds of beads in the Thursday night class in the Fall of 2014.

Toni knitted up this darling cat and the mini pumpkins. The cat pattern is from the book, "How to Knit Your Own Cat."

Toni also knitted this awesome hat. It looks good on her, but the picture didn't turn out good.

 

Candi made these cute felted booties, and here's her felted bracelet. She wrapped most of it with different colors of thread.

Finally, Debi's sweet baby party cap.

 Have a good week.