March 2013 Purls of Wisdom

T I D E W AT E R K N I T T I N G G U I L D O F V I R G I N I A March 2013

Purlsof Wisdom NEXT MEETING Monday, March 4 Help Clinic, 6:30 p.m.

Meet and Greet, 7 p.m.

Business Meeting, 7:15 p.m.

Program will be

Healthy Hands.

We meet at: Westminster Canterbury 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach Check tkgv.blogspot.com to confirm the meeting date.

Questions? Email us at tkgv1@yahoo.com.

INSIDE 2 Calendar, Charity Knitting, Birthdays, Meeting Photos 3 Quick Spring Knits, Roving Reporter 4

Knitting in the Wild

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Wet Felting, Get Social

A message from our president March is going to be a busy month for the Guild. It kicks off with our March 4 meeting and Marilyn Estrada’s self-help program of keeping healthy hands and fingers -- a “must” in our business. A few days later, we head to the Outer Banks for our Knitting by the Sea Retreat and loads of fun. Our group has grown and we should be a lively crowd. Other guests will leave the hotel with a whole new impression of knitters.

The following weekend (March 15,16 & 17) is the Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market. We still need people to staff our booth; volunteers get free admission to the fair. Guild members also will have the opportunity to sell their crafts, but I will need to know what you are selling and the price for the events coordinator. You must also be present to sell your crafts. Before you know it, March will be gone.

For those of you who set goals for the year, how are you doing? I worked frantically trying to get projects off needles by either finishing them or ripping them. However, for every project I crossed off my list, I put at least two more on needles (yes, I am out of needles again). But I have made some progress working through my stash because it is either on needles or has moved on to other homes.

OK, who am I kidding? I have made room for more yarn, and I know just the yarn. I have seen the colorway for the retreat and it is absolutely beautiful (sorry you have to wait). I have also seen the yarn from Unplanned Peacock, one of our retreat vendors, and I am in trouble. I look at this situation as a minor setback, and I still have nine months to get back on track. Right now, however, I am going through patterns to use with my future yarn. Besides looking at patterns, I need to see if I can finish any projects to free up needles. I have a feeling I may be ripping a lot out this year. I am a very goal-oriented person.

Debbie Hen derson

Knitting contest rules revised

By Debbie Henderson

The board reviewed the knitting contest rules and time frame at their recent meeting and decided to make a few changes based on feedback received last year. Most notable are the addition of an originality category and the turn-in date of September, with winners being

announced in October. There also has been a change of monetary amounts to include more people, accommodate the new category and stay within the Guild’s budget. Contest rules and entry form are attached to the newsletter.

6 Meeting Minutes Plus Knitting Contest Rules & Entry Form

TREASURER’S REPORT The Guild’s current bank account balance is: $5,356.60.

Beverly Boler

PURLS OF WISDOM March 2013

Mark your calendars Guild meetings start with Meet and Greet at 7 p.m., followed by the Business Meeting at 7:15 p.m. The Guild also offers a Help Clinic, starting a half-hour before the meeting.

March 4 – Guild Meeting. Program will be Healthy Hands, by Marilyn Estrada.

March 15-17 – 27th Annual Virginia Beach Spring Craft Market. Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St., Virginia Beach, Va. www.emgshows.com/avbsp April 1 – Guild Meeting.

April 6 – Gathering of the Guilds. Francis Land March 7-10 – TKGV Outer Banks Knitting House, Virginia Beach, Va. http://goo.gl/pVGKi Retreat, Knitting by the Sea. Hampton Inn, Corolla, N.C. Details in previous newsletters.

April 12-14 – SoXexperience, Chincoteague, Va. http://goo.gl/5JPNq March 8-10 – KnitXperience Lite, Chincoteague, Va. http://goo.gl/d6C3o May 4-5 – Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, West Friendship, Md. www.sheepandwool.org March 9-10 – Virginia Classic Llama & Alpaca Show, Lexington, Va. www.llamalife.com/classic/ May 6 – Guild Meeting.

Charity knitting: Use your leftovers

By Chris Goudeau

Thanks to all who took home some of the charity yarn that I brought to our last meeting. I’ll be bringing some each month for you to use. You can always use your leftover/oddball pieces of yarn for hats or pet blankets; here’s a hat that I made from leftover yarn.

Sue Von Ohlsen shows off a piece of fiber art she created by fulling yarn.

Member Birthdays This Month Sandy Westbrook March 5

Marty Blow March 17

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Remember, if you have donated your charity items to an organization out of town that still counts for our purposes. Remember to sign the charity signin sheet each month, or email me with details at chrisgoudeau64@gmail.com.

Sue Von Ohlsen demonstrates wet felting with roving during the February Guild meeting. (photo by Lynn Clements)

PURLS OF WISDOM March 2013

Hop to it: Quick knits for spring

The Roving Reporter Master knitter Linda Johnson has another talent. She is a pup raiser for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Linda and Kodiak attended the February TKGV meeting. Kodiak, who recently celebrated his first birthday, is a traveling kind of guy. He's been to the mall on the Tide, to the library and even to The Knitting Corner. Let's hope Kodiak's new partner gets out and about with creative people a lot because that's what Linda's trained him to expect. -- by Lynn Clements

Teeny Tiny Knitted Toys photo courtesy of www.littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk

Little Cotton Rabbits (http:// littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk) is a lovely blog written by a knitter who is raising a son with autism. Thanks to Linda Johnson for passing on the link.

Besides being generally adorable, the blog offers free patterns for some cute, quick knits (please note that items made from these patterns may not be sold, other than for charity fundraising): Teeny Tiny Knitted Toys (bears and bunnies): http://goo.gl/IDKlT Itty Bitty Dress, for your tiny toy: http://goo.gl/DoqrE Knitted Easter Egg: http://goo.gl/oT11L

Knitted Flower: http://goo.gl/nm424 Knitted Cupcake Decoration: http://goo.gl/8yavN

Knit Easter Peeps: http://www.justcraftyenough.com/? p=635 Easter Bunny Plush Toy: http://www.craftbits.com/project/ easter-bunny

Here are a few other animals to add to your spring menagerie, all from free patterns:

Easter Finger Puppets: http://www.purlbee.com/knitfinger-puppets/

Crème Egg Covers: http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 18733650/Easter-Chicks

Knit Bunny Peep: http://www.justcraftyenough.com/? p=7269

The Yarn Club loves sock yarn! Before you go to the retreat this month, stock up from our wall of amazing fingering weight yarns from local artisans Hazel’s Hallucinations, Unplanned Peacock, Shalimar Yarns and Dragonfly Fibers. Check out the new Dragonfly Pixie fingering weight in our exclusive color, “Sunset Over the Yarn Club.”We also stock a fabulous assortment of Malabrigo, Madelinetosh and new yarns from Manos Del Uruguay. Don’t miss the color explosion of Done Roving Frolicking Feet or the amazing softness of Zen Yarn Garden. We also carry Tili Thomas Artisan Sock, which is a favorite yarn of Fickle Knitter Designs. TYC has recently expanded our pattern line to entice all knitters to the magic of fingering weight yarns. We are also here to help you with any knitting question or problem. Get advice from our expert knitters, sign up for our fabulous classes, and join any of our many knit-a-longs or social knit/ crochet times.

Join us the last Thursday of each month for a Spin-In. Bring your wheels, spindles, fiber and more to spin with friends starting at 5 pm. *Special retreat promotion:* Bring in your retreat 240 Mustang Trail registration and receive 15 percent off any two skeins of Suite 8 Virginia Beach, VA 23452 fingering weight (sock weight) yarn. Relax and enjoy!

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PURLS OF WISDOM March 2013

Knitting in the Wild The Historic Roanoke City Market (also known as the Farmer’s Market) in downtown Roanoke, is believed to be the oldest continuously operating open-air market in Virginia. The market is open year-round, closing only on Christmas and New Year’s Day. More than 40 permanent tables are filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants. Plus, artisans display their wares -- including these handcrafted gloves, scarves and hats spotted this winter -- at additional spaces in Market Square.

Thirty-One Gifts’ motto is CELEBRATE, ENCOURAGE & REWARD. March is a great time to celebrate friendships, to encourage those who come into your home with kind words and hospitality and in turn you will reward yourself with close friendships.

Thirty-One Gifts offers exclusive products for women that are beautifully designed with many fabric choices from flashy and sassy to reserved and classy. Items include skirt purses, various thermal totes, a wide variety of organizing bins and totes (great for holding knitting projects and yarn) and Mini Zipper and Zip-Up Pouches for your knitting notions. What a better way to get your knitting and yarn organized then with Thirty-One products!

Monthly Customer Special: For every $31 you spend, get any of the following totes for 50 percent off: Cindy Tote, Inside-Out Bag (new), Lil Expressions Tote, Easy Breezy Tote (new), Cinch Sac, Retro Metro Tote and Retro Metro Weekender.

Just shy of $31 … personalize something for a flat fee of $7 or Icon/personalize it for $10.

Remember all personalization counts toward your $31 total. No party-required orders can be placed at anytime.

Visit my webpage to view the complete catalog and the monthly special, or place an order. Should you have any questions, or want to receive the monthly specials flyers via email feel free to contact me directly.

Mention my ad when ordering -- 5 percent of sales will be donated to the Guild.

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PURLS OF WISDOM March 2013

Wet felting how-to for Easter eggs, and more During our February Guild meeting, Sue Von Ohlsen of The Knitting Corner demonstrated how to use the technique of wet felting to create beautiful felted Easter eggs, as well as other objects. If you missed her terrific presentation, or just need a refresher, CraftPassion.com has a wet felting tutorial, including a video, at www.craftpassion.com/?p=19525.

The blog Resurrection Fern also offers a good written tutorial on making wet felted Easter eggs, at http://goo.gl/ 70S3j.

Martha Stewart’s website offers much more than housekeeping tips and recipes. There’s a lot of crafty information to explore, such as these instructions for using wet felting to create beaded jewelry: http://goo.gl/7sKUN. Her website also offers some very easy, kid-friendly directions for making wet felted balls, at http://goo.gl/RnHMY. You can use wet felting to make bigger objects as well. For example, the Creative Caravan blog will show you how to use wet felting to make a hat, at http://goo.gl/6VpmM. Cloth Paper Scissors offers a free ebook with four projects using needle felting and wet felting techniques. Download it at http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/Felting-Techniques/.

Wet felted egg Sue Von Ohlsen created this egg using roving, a small egg from a dollar store and some elbow grease.

Get social with the Tidewater Knitting Guild of Virginia Facebook

http://on.fb.me/ZRBbFe

Ravelry

http://goo.gl/BqGQK

This is my most exciting news to date. Baa Baa Sheep LLC is the first local yarn shop in the United States to carry Americo Yarns. The company is based in Canada with their flagship store in Toronto. Their yarns and colors are absolutely gorgeous. I am currently stocking Linen Tanguis, Cotton Flamme and their newest yarn, Abrazos, which is 44.7 percent pima cotton and 55.3 percent bamboo. One skein has 1,028 yards and they recommend a US size 0 needle. Linen Tanguis is 50 percent tanguis cotton and 50 percent linen on a US size 5. Cotton Flamme, a thick/thin yarn, is 100 percent organic pima cotton on a US size 4 needle.

I've started a spring top using Cotton Flamme so you can come in to see how it knits up. You can check out their yarns at their web site: www.americo.ca. Their patterns can be viewed on Ravelry as well. The best part is that their patterns are free with a purchase of their yarn.

Speaking of spring, my spring and summer yarns are here with more on the way. I've added Berroco, Tahki Stacy Charles, Thank you TSCArtYarns and Knit One Crochet Too to my list of vendors.

Cotton, linen, llama, bamboo and silk blends are available in every to the members of the Guild yarn weight. My favorite so far is Juniper Moon Farm's Findley who have made me feel Dappled. It is a 50 percent merino wool/50 percent silk lace welcome in the Tidewater knitting community. I look weight in nine different color ways. My sock yarn selection forward to meeting many continues to grow with the addition of Knitcol by Adriafil and more of you. Roz Klein Denali by Pagewood Farm. I splurged when I bought KFI's Luxury Baa Baa Sheep LLC Silk. It is 100 percent silk with 252 yards; I quickly found a free 754 W. 22nd Street shawlette pattern that only uses 197 yards, so I only feel a little bit Norfolk 23517 guilty.

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PURLS OF WISDDOM March 2013

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TKGV PROPOSED MEETING MINUTES 2/7/13 The president opened the February 2013 meeting at 7:15 p.m. with a reminder to wear red in February to support education for women’s heart disease. The welcome committee chair welcomed and introduced our guests. The president extended the Guild’s happy birthday wishes to members celebrating their birthday in February.

The January 2013 meeting minutes were approved.

The treasurer reported the Guild’s balance prior to this meeting is $4,837.92.

The president advised the board approved the 2013 Guild’s budget, and the 2013 TKGV budget is the same as the 2012 TKGV budget.

The charity chair advised yarn is available for charity knitting. The Guild will hold a charity knit in on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the president’s home. The knit-in will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please contact the president to RSVP for this event.

The president advised the Spring Craft Fair is Friday through Sunday, March 15-17. The Guild will have a booth and needs members to support the booth during the fair. All members who support the booth will receive free entrance to the Spring Craft Fair provided they sign up prior to Feb. 28.

Members may sell their products at the fair if they sign up with the president by Feb. 28.

The president advised the Gathering of the Guilds will take place on Saturday, April 6. Again, the Guild will have a table and needs members to support the table during this event.

The president advised the board and program chair seek member input for two programs for 2013. The board has programs for the remaining months in 2013.

The welfare chair provided updates on two losses suffered recently.

Yarn Shop News: Baa Baa Sheep: is expanding the number of yarns it carries and will carry Americo yarn and will be the only U.S.

distributor of this Canadian yarn. The shop is receiving spring and summer yarns now.

The Knitting Corner: is holding a clearance sale for fall and winter yarns. The shop is receiving spring and summer yarns and is holding classes, to include a summer shawl class.

The Yarn Club: continues to receive Madelintosh yarns, as well as spring and summer yarns. The shop has classes posted on its’ web site.

The newsletter chairperson thanked those members who are submitting articles and requests members to continue submitting articles on topics of interest to knitters.

The TKGV Knitting Retreat team continues to receive registrations for the March 2013 retreat.

Four vendors will participate in the retreat. We saw the nice goody bag attendees will receive. The remaining goody bags, just perfect for yarn shopping, will be available for sale after the retreat.

Sue Von Ohlsen presented the program on wet felting with roving. She conducted a live demonstration and brought a sample of wet felting.

The Ways and Means committee conducted the raffle of red yarns.

The Guild enjoyed the show and tell.

The March program is Hand Care for Knitters. Members are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes for this program.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ka tie Gerwien Secretary, TKGV

TKGV Knitting Contest Rules 1. The contest is open to all.

2. All items should be recently knitted (within the last year), clean, blocked and free of all odors. All work must be the work of the participant.

3. An article may be entered in one category only. A maximum of one entry per category will be accepted from a participant. There is a $2.00 fee per article entered.

4. All entries must include an entry form, fee, and a 3x5 card with category and description of item to include the fiber used. Entries will be submitted in a sealed box, bag or container and can be turned in at a guild meeting, The Knitting Corner, The Yarn Club, or BaaBaa Sheep.

5. The deadline for all entries is 5:00 PM, September 7, 2013.

Winners will be announced at the guild meeting October 7, 2013.

6. A panel of qualified judges will judge entries. Judges have the right to move items to a better category or create sub categories if the number of entries warrants it. Judges are not required to award all ribbons, if in their opinion the entries are not appropriate quality. Judges’ decisions are final.

7. Ribbons will be awarded for 1st through 4th place and a cash award of $10.00 for each 1st place finish and $5.00 for each 2nd place finish in each category. A Best in Show will also be selected and awarded a ribbon and a cash award of $15.00.

8. All entries must be picked up at the October guild meeting or other arrangements made by a participant.

9. Every effort will be made to safeguard and care for the entered items; however, TKGV and the above listed knit shops assume no responsibility for damages or loss.

Categories: Hats and Mittens Shawls, Scarves, and Cowls Sweaters Afghans Originality

Socks Lace Baby Items Felting All Others

TKGV Knitting Contest 2013 Entry Form Include this form and a $2.00 entry fee and a 3x5 description card for EACH item entered in the contest. Checks should be made out to TKGV. Articles should be submitted at a guild meeting, The Knitting Corner, The Yarn Club, or BaaBaa Sheep in a sealed box, bag, or container by 5:00, September 7, 2013.

Winners will be announced at the guild meeting October 7 2013.

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