Meeting 7-21-18 14 attending
Old Business:
Re: our calendar
- we will try to get a field trip scheduled for Sept. 15th, as the church cannot accommodate us that date.
- some suggested options: Untangled Purls, Fredericksburg; Flying Needles, Williamsburg; Yarn Matters, Williamsburg; Laughing Sheep,
Charlottesville. Consensus preference was Fredericksburg as fewer of us have been there yet. We'll also try to arrange for a presentation
on "brioche" stitching for that event.
Our August meeting will be a "sit 'n knit."
Requests for programs:
brioche,
button holes,
set in sleeves,
2 socks on a single needle,
baby sweaters
Discussion: charity work
Gene suggested we could organize our charity work so that we are supporting some group each month. We could set up a calendar of which groups we'll be supporting which months, with a member serving as liaison to that charity group. Currently Elaine K. is liaison with our First Responders and the women's shelter. Gene is liaison for the Red Hats for Newborns each February, for which we can knit all year and just hand in our offerings in Jan., as Feb. is the month the hospital distributes them.
Discussion went around as to whether or not we already have enough groups to support, to what degree we are able to provide support, etc. as we don't want to spread ourselves too thinly. We need to find out from Becky if there is a particular charity the church supports that we could add to in appreciation for using church facilities.
Contributing to a homeless shelter was suggested. There's one in Ashland called, Moments of Hope, who will take anything and everything; food, clothes, etc, all sizes adults and children. Also tossed into the discussion was churches supporting Caritas, but someone thought they no longer go from church to church as they have their own location now. Collecting/knitting winterwear for them would be an option.
More discussion next meeting.
Show 'n Tell:
-In preparation for her program on "slip stitch" patterns, Mary modeled a beautiful wine colored short sleeved sweater whose design she modified from a plain T style to have a yoke with multicolored fiber knit in a "slip stitch" mode. The original pattern was a Barbara Walker. The fiber was flat, narrow ribbons creating a nice draping weight and a slight sheen. She also completed a boys zig zag blanket with 2 shades of blue zigzags on a white field, and a crescent scarf in shades of peach variegated for inner half and light blue for the border half.
- Corky rejoined us having mostly recuperated from her foot surgery, which gave her lots of knitting time. Our hands down favorite was her alpace, ivory lace shawl, with beads incorporated into the end borders, and a central motif area. An heirloom piece for sure! The patterns is from Michelle Hunter's book, Building with Lace, [Amazon $25]. She also completed a blue and green baby blanket with a kind of bubble/honeycomb stitch effect. Her current project is a #772 Chloé cardigan from Valley Yarns/WEBS, in teal. It's a cleverly designed, loosely shaped, buttonless cardigan made from 2 rectangles with the shapes joined at a back seam and under the arms to create sleeves. Can't wait to see it when it's done! Tip from Corky: https://www.alpacadirect.com has excellent prices for alpaca yarn!
-Marie has forayed into the world of cake yarn knitting, making a garter stitch triangle scarf in a gradient of colors called, Boom. She's had fun finding bargains getting $2 skeins of yarn from Michael's from which she made a feather/fan scarf in shades of lavender, lilac, medium and pale blues, each color with a different pattern. In keeping with todays program, one of the bands had a slip stitch effect.
- Susan S. is currently working on a vest in cocoa for her husband. She has finished a shrug in ivory from bamboo and nylon fibers. Pattern from Sirdar. Perfect for air conditioned places in summer.
- It was great to see Lydia who showed us a long, garter stitch scarf she is making for a granddaughter in gradient colors.
- Maria is working on a scarf in a small zigzag stitch with sock yarn. The turquoise and variegated turquoise colors were another bargain from A.C. Moore at $1.99 for 2 skeins!!!!
- Keeping the zigzag theme going, Suzanne T. is working on another sock yarn scarf in shades of celery and peach variegated that she found at Dances with Wool on our May field trip. She also finished a blanket for a brother recuperating from hip surgery. She has certainly had some busy fingers!
- Elaine B. gave up on the project she had intended to work on during her stay in MA, and instead went to her favorite yarn shop, Craftworks in Northboro, MA, where she bought a triangle scarf kit of Transitions Lux gradient fiber with a thread of gold in it, to complement the colors going from sand, to tan, to cocoa.
- Taking a break from crochet, Deb B. knit up some tomato red washcloths, and a white one with a sheep knit into it.
- Deb T. has a project in mind, but hasn't yet started using variegated yarn in shades of yellow, fushia, royal blue, and bright green. Great color combo, can't wait to see the finished project.
- Linda has also been working on washcloths, two different patterns in the same cheerfully bright green, and one in red with a cat knit into it. We are in awe of her brave decision to knit a "mile long" black scarf for a granddaughter going through that "wearing black" stage.
- Elke decided to recycle a knit bag that wasn't going as she hoped by tearing it out and making a new market bag. Her fiber is a sturdy linen yarn in a cinnamon color.
- Gene finished a baby blanket in delightful ivory, lime and yellow.
PROGRAM: Mary offered us Variations with Slip Stitches
While explaining that the actual stitch is quite simple and basic, she passed around dozens of swatches from projects she's made using this very variable and easy stitch. We were all enthralled to see how diverse her patterns were, and, quite frankly, envious, at the array of projects demonstrating her considerable talent. All the swatches incorporated at least 2 colors, which is one of the clever secrets of this stitch....incorporating different colors while only keeping one on the needles at a time! Mary had also hauled in a considerable stack of reference books, which I will list below:
Mary's references: also listed on the "HELP!" page
1. A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, by Barbara Walker 398 pages
ISBN 13:978-0-942-018-17-2
2. Mosaic Knitting, by Barbara Walker, fair isle style geometrics
ISBN 13:978-0-942018-15-8
3. Vogue Knitting Stitcher 3, the ultimate guide to color knitting
ISBN 10: 1-933027-02-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-933027-02-9
4. The essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques, by Margaret Ratcliffe
ISBN 978-1-0342-040-2
5. A Treasury of Patterns, by Barbara Walker 31 pages, 500 different patterns
ISBN 0-942018-16-8