Purls of Wisdom December 2011

December 2011

Purls of Wisdom

T I D E WAT E R O

Election & Gift Exchange.

We meet the first Monday of the month (except for holidays) at Westminster Canterbury, 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach.

Check tkgv.blogspot.com to confirm the meeting date. Questions? Please email us at tkgv1@yahoo.com.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 Member Birthdays, Calendar, Charity Knitting, Newsletter Deadline 3 Sally Melville Wrapup, A Little of This and That 4 Historically Speaking, LYS Ads 5 Free Holiday Patterns, LYS Ads 6 November Minutes, Custom Knitting Graph Paper

T

V

I

R

G

I

N

I

A

G U I L D

President’s Message

DEC.5 MEETING Meet and Greet, 7 p.m.

Business Meeting, 7:15 p.m.

Program will be

F

K N I T T I N G

Dearest Guild Members, I hope your holidays have gotten off to a wonderful start with Thanksgiving! I got to do something new: I went to my daughter’s house for our big turkey day celebration. This was the first time she ever prepared a big holiday meal. And if you will pardon the motherly pride, she did a great job.

It is now time to vote for a new board. We are very fortunate to have Debbie Henderson (president), Lora Marin (vice president), Katie Gerwien (secretary) and Bev Boler (treasurer) as our slate of officers for the upcoming year. Please join me at our December meeting to vote these women into office.

During the meeting, I would like to celebrate our 20 years as Tidewater Knitting Guild of Virginia. This Guild was founded in 1991. I will open up the floor to anyone who would like to share some stories from the past with us. If you have a story, please share it with us. Many, many people have been officers or have volunteered in one capacity or another over these 20 years.

Many thanks to you all for making the Guild what it is today.

We also will be having our annual hat contest and gift exchange at our December meeting. If you would like to be a part of the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped knitting-related gift valued at no more than $15. We will put a number on the gifts as you arrive and then when we are ready to exchange gifts we will give each person a number. That number will correspond with the number on the gift that will be yours.

Thank you all for allowing me to be the president this past year. This is my last "President's Message;"next month, Debbie will be the one to do this.

It has been my privilege to serve you this year.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Allison Hun t

R E A S U R E R General Fund: $2,533

’

S

Charity Fund: $54

R

E P O R T Total Funds: $2,587 Bev Boler

Member Birthdays This Month Amy Upson Dec. 7

Ruth Coleman Dec. 9

Jacqueline Scott Dec. 16

Maureen Cahill Dec. 22

Mark Your Calendar s

Guild meetings start with Meet and Greet at 7 p.m., followed by the Business Meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 2-4 & 9-11 – Countryside Artisans Fiber Farm Tours, Sugarloaf Mountain, Md. www.countrysideartisans.com Dec. 5 – Guild Meeting. Election of officers, annual hat contest and gift exchange.

Jan. 13-15 – Knitter’s Weekend Getaway “Winter Wonderland Knitting,” Stonewall Jackson Resort, Roanoke, W.Va. www.yarnandcompany.net/knitterweekend-winter2012.html Jan. 13-15 – Friends & Fiberworks Winter Retreat, Asheville, N.C. http://friendsandfiberworks.com/ winter-retreat/ Jan. 14-16 – Vogue Knitting Live, Hilton New York Hotel, NYC. www.vogueknittinglive.com/shows/ ny12/home

Charity Knitting: Caps for Kids

By Debbie Henderson Every year for our December meeting we have a “Caps for Kids” competition. Knitters can enter a hat (or hats) to be judged by Guild members for originality, technical merit, best in show or quantity knitted.

Due to member interest, this year we are expanding the field to include slippers. However, a pair of slippers counts as one item, not two separate items. Just remember that all hats and slippers must be machine-washable in hot water and machine-dryable.

For Guild members who have little time to knit even for themselves, please consider donating a storebought hat or even mittens. A special raffle will be held for all members who donate items for charity. You must be present to win.

If you can’t attend a meeting and have any questions or need to submit your charity count for my records, you can email me at hendersonjb@cox.net.

D E A D L I N E F O R JA N. N E W S L E T T E R : D E C. 1 5 Please send your questions, comments, suggestions, ads, photos, stories and patterns you’d like to share to editor Sonja Barisic at snbarisic@gmail.com or 734 Delaware Ave., Norfolk, VA 23508. Items submitted after the deadline will be held until the following issue. Thank you, and happy reading and knitting. Sonja Ba risic 2

Our Weekend with Sally

By Trink Dahl-Prince Thanks to all who participated in the classes and activities of the Sally Melville Weekend. It was a wonderful experience.

I wanted to share some of the participant comments describing the best parts of the weekend: • Better than expectations!

• Good instructor-energetic and informative.

• She gave practical information and hands-on tips.

• Sally answered all questions.

• Great environment.

• Learned a new way to organize stash -- by colors and not weights.

• Fabulous -- Fit to Flatter was a favorite.

My communication with Sally began in February of 2010. We Sally Melville teaching. (photo by Trink Dahl-Prince) emailed back and forth looking at dates for her visit to Virginia. I was so surprised to find out that she was booked until October 2011. Little did I know we were “lucky;” usually booking a date is two years out.

Once the date was set, we corresponded every few months. This past summer the frequency increased as we worked on travel and housing arrangements and the details of her classes, homework and handouts. By the time I picked her up the morning of our first workshop day, I felt like I was The original Einstein Coat, one of Sally Melgreeting an old friend. That feeling continued all weekend. Sally Melville is ville’s famous patterns. (photo by Trink Dahlnot only an amazing knitter, designer and author, but a very down-to-earth, Prince) friendly person who talks about her travels, her children and grandchildren -- much like the rest of us.

My personal favorite part of the weekend was enjoying pizza with her at a local restaurant before taking her to the airport. And when I dropped her off at the Norfolk airport, I felt like I was seeing an old friend off. She hugged me goodbye and thanked me for hosting her. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

A Little of This and That

By Karen Richardson Cat Bordhi tells us on http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php that when Judy's Magic Cast-On first appeared in the online magazine Knitty in spring 2006, she ignored it. However, she kept hearing knitters rave about it so she tried it and discover it to be “the best invisible cast-on on the planet.” She goes on: “Judy’s Magic Cast-On and Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off are real soulmates. I’ve been using the JSSBO for about two months and each time I finish binding off a pair of socks I am stunned at how springy and stretchy the edge is, and how it snugs right back up when you let go. The bind-off even hinges at the bends of the ribbing, accentuating ribbing’s accordion quality. It is a superior, stretchy, springy and satisfying bind off.”

Note to readers: Step-by-step illustrations are provided at the above knitty.com website and are not included in this column because it is too large of a document. Enjoy! I’m going to try it as soon as I finish this article.

3

Historically Speaking

By Karen Richardson For those of you interested in knitting competitions such as “Who Can Knit the Fastest,” check out the International Back to Back Wool Challenge.

In 1811 at Newbury in Berkshire, U.K., there was a 1,000-pound wager made to make a coat from the sheep’s back to a man’s back in one day. This event was observed by 5,000 people. The coat was completed in 13 hours. The sheep was eaten with much quaffing of beer to celebrate.

From www.About.com: The team with the Canadian record for the fastest time in the International Back to Wool Challenge completed their try at the competition and managed to beat their own record for taking wool from sheep and turning into a sweater in the same day. The team, the Toronto Spiders, includes one of the world’s fastest knitters.

Cutting out breaks and having helpers to feed and massage the knitters slimmed their time from six hours, 18 seconds to five hours, 55 minutes and 50 seconds. The competition is ongoing around the world.

Timekeepers, coordinators and assessors monitor each competing team. Regulations state that each team will consist of a blade shearer, a country-of-origin sheep and seven hand spinners (with spinning wheels) and knitters who follow the identical Challenge rules and pattern to knit the adult size jumper.

The competition promotes the wool industry and international goodwill and creates publicity for wool tourist museums and centers.

World record time: Five hours and nine minutes, Shetland Isles in 1997.

Please support our advertisers, as they help defray the cost of this newsletter.

Happy Holidays to all my Fiber Fans!

To brighten your holiday gift giving The Yarn Club has tons of gift ideas and gift items. We are all having a great time making the “Honey Cowl” from Madelinetosh made in our favorite Tosh DK, Tosh Sport or Pashmina. Photos are popping up on the website weekly as these beauties are being wrapped up. Did you get to see the awesome and easy “Burberry Cowl” made by Lisa in Cascade’s Eco Duo? WOW! That was one amazing gift! Even if you did not get to see it before it was shipped off to a colder climate, we have the pattern just for you. Knit One, 240 Mustang Trail Crochet, Too has come out with two adorable kits: “The EterSuite 8 nal Colors Scarf ” and the “Guinevere Scarf.” These knit up Virginia Beach, VA 23452 quick and cute. We also have tons of shawl pins, note cards, buttons and notions. Don’t forget every knitter’s favorite game.

“Last Knitter Standing” has been a big hit. Get yours while we still have them.

I want to wish everyone a happy, joyous and safe holiday season. Be merry and keep those needles clicking! Andrea

December sale: All Araucania yarns including: Liwen, Toconao, Nature Wool, Ranco, Lonco and Chaiten.

Have a Happy Holiday!

4

Knit for the Holidays

Here are links to a few free patterns for items to knit for gifts or holiday decorations:

Star of David Dishcloth: http://gimpykatkpatterns.blogspot.com/2007/10/star-of-david-dishcloth.html Snowflake Star: http://tiajudy.com/SnowStar.htm Child’s Christmas Elf Hat: http://www.craftbits.com/project/child-s-hat-christmas-elf Santa Hat: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/knit-santa-hat A Tiny Angel: http://www.lucybug.org/tinyangel.html Christmas Knitting Wreath: http://goo.gl/Vn9MH Burberry-Inspired Cowl: www.thegartergirl.com/2009/12/04/free-knitting-pattern-burberry-inspired-cowl-neck-scarf/

Please support our advertisers, as they help defray the cost of this newsletter.

Don't forget to ask for your military discount at checkout: 10 percent off to all active-duty military members and spouses.

And remember, our classes are only $5 or $10 each.

Happy holidays from Coordinated Colors, southeast Virginia’s largest yarn shop.

Hey, KnitWits! It's the home stretch of the holiday project race – where are you with your list? (Personally, we're somewhere between "Holy @#$%" and "I give up.") If you made promises or need to fill in gaps, we've still got some ideas for you!

Start with the Shawl Collared Cowl from Never Not Knitting. This practical pattern has been the single most popular thing flying out of here, and with good reason. Take 175 yards of Misti Alpaca Chunky or Andy's Merino and an afternoon or two, and you have a gift that's beautiful and practical.

Done that? Need something faster? Grab a little Cascade 220 Superwash and the Athwart Coffee Sleeve pattern (free via Ravelry) and knock out a few cool, totally "green" cozies for your office buds. We've got enough colors in stock to suit anyone's taste!

If you've got little stockings to fill, try taking the two-session

Toys class, Dec. 3 & 10. Pick your favorite out of Chris de Longpré's excellent Knitting at Knoon toy patterns and see how easy it yarn Ş patterns Ş notions Ş classes is to knock out a sweet wee stuffie for your favorite little hands.

(We're particularly fond of the dinosaurs.) all in the company of friends.

And of course, a gift card is always good… we'll put as much as you want on a card for your yarny friends.

945 Providence Square Shopping Ctr Ş Virginia Beach Full class schedules will resume after the holidays. Until then, 757-495-6600 Ş knitwitsyarn.com peace, love and yarn go with you and yours – Happy Holidays from your friends at KnitWits.

5

T IDEWATER K NITTING G UILD OF V IRGINIA M INUTES , 11/7/11 Editor’s note: Below for your review are the unapproved minutes of the November Guild meeting.

The TKGV president called the November 2011 meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. by welcoming our guests and extending birthday wishes to our members and guests celebrating their birthdays in November.

Katie Gerwien presented the program regarding what she learned at The Knitting Guild of America’s convention.

By acclamation, the minutes of the September and October 2011 meetings were approved.

We received the treasurer’s report. The general fund has a balance of $2,675.92 and the charity fund has a balance of $534.60. The treasurer confirmed we have some outstanding bills. By acclamation, the Guild approved purchasing a $480.00 knitting basket gift through Heifer International.

Debbie Henderson reminded the Guild of the hat and slipper contest which will occur at the December 2011 meeting. Awards will be given for the best in show, best technical merit, most unique and the highest number of contributions by one member. Debbie suggested members bring purchased hats if they don’t have time to knit hats. All of the hats and slippers generated for the contest will be donated to charity.

Trink Dahl-Prince presented the nominating committee’s slate of candidates for the 2012 board: Debbie Henderson, president; Lora Marin, vice president; Bev Boler, treasurer; and Katie Gerwien, secretary. The Guild will vote on the board positions at the December 2011 meeting.

The Guild approved having a Pollyanna gift exchange at the December 2011 meeting. The Pollyanna gift exchange is voluntary with the gifts being limited to $15.00 in value and knitting related. In addition, the Guild will provide light desserts at the December 2011 meeting.

The Guild enjoyed the show and tell of current projects.

There being no further business, the president adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ka tie Gerwien secretary, TKGV

Pr in t You r Own K n it t in g G r a p h Pa p e r

By Lora Marin Here are a few websites where you can create and download custom graph paper for knitting projects: www.sweaterscapes.com/lcharts3.htm

www.incompetech.com/graphpaper/

www.tata-tatao.to/knit/matrix/e-index.html 6