New Calendar for March

Well, I've gone back to the tried and true way of a calendar for our monthly classes and projects. Here is what we have planned:

Every Tuesday at 11:00 we are working on the Great American Afghan, March is block #2. Block #1 was great fun, we are just 'tinking' along. Julie Thompson offers her classes from 4-6pm (see below for a list of projects) Kaylee repeats her classes on Friday mornings at 11am. The fee is $25.00 per project. You are welcome to come in anytime for help between classes.

Wednesdays are when we have our Groups. From 11-12 we have a group of Seniors that are refreshing their skills. At 3:30 the young kids come in, our beginners work (talk) from 3:30 to 4:30 and the Advanced kids knit from 4:30 to 5:30. The fee is $10.00 for 4 one hour sessions. And in the evening, from 7-9 we have Girls Night Out, bring a project and join the fun. There is no charge it's just fun to share stories and laugh.

Thursdays Kaylee is offering a Technique of the Week. The fee is $10.00 for 30 minutes of instruction. These lessons are on a drop-in basis, so no appointment is necessary. Some lessons have homework, homework should be done with worsted weight yarn on size #8 needles, so please check below for more information.

3/1 & 3/8 Linda Casey will teach Crochet Socks from 10-12 and Knit Socks from 1-4. She requires a minimum of 4 students to hold her class, so please sign up 1 week in advance. $25.00 per project, plus pattern and materials.

3/4 4:00-6:00 Julie Thompson will do class #2 of the Fair Isle hat. We had a great time last week and it will be fun to see how everyone is doing.

3/6 Picking Up Dropped Stitches - Homework 20x20 swatch and crochet hook.

3/11 & 18 Fair Isle Felt Easter Basket.

3/13 Kitchner Stitch - 2 swatches, different colors, 20 sts X 10 rows, darning needle

3/15 Knit Pattern Reading 2-4 $15.00 What do those letters mean??

3/20 Basic Cables - Cast on 28 sts, knit 5 rows, cable needle

3/22 - 24 Closed for Easter

3/25 & 4/1 Entrelac Head Band

3/27 Toe Up Cast On - 2 #6 circular needles and Worsted yarn

3/29 2-4 Mini Bird Houses - Fiber Trends pattern $25.00 project fee, plus materials

Thank you again for your interest in our shop. It is a great pleasure to work with our current friends and if we haven't met yet, come on in! TTFN (Ta Ta For Now - Tigger says that)

Stitches West was a blast!

I hope everyone who wanted to got a chance to make it over to Stitches. It was amazing, as usual. Don't forget to bring your goodies on Wednesday night to show everyone what you came home with. I seem to have an overabundance of sock yarn even though I keep saying I don't knit socks! I do know that two of the skeins are going to make a lovely pair of fair isle wristwarmers. One of those two has 350 yards on it and I only need 175 yards for the wristwarmers so maybe I will make some anklets. Then there is the 1100 yards of fingering weight cotton, and the Mountain Colors sock yarn I got at the banquet and ... Oh well, it's all pretty and I didn't go completely bankrupt so that's a plus. The next Stitches West is the last weekend of February next year so write it down now. There, no excuses! It's already in your appointment book so you know not to make any other commitments on those dates. See you Wednesday night at GNO. I'll be the one lugging in two bags instead of my usual one.

New Extended Hours - YES!!!

I am very excited to report that I will be here in the shop full time now! I love it here and I love the friends I've made and now I get to be here all the time!

Everyone has been asking about a new calendar of classes, and I am changing the format a little. Instead of a calendar I will put out a monthly newsletter that will highlight our projects, etc. This is a rough outline of what we will be doing:

Tuesdays:

11:00 to 12:30 We are doing a Knit-A-Long (from now on, I will lovingly refer to it as a TINK-a-long) of the Great American Afghan, XRX Books. The 25 block patterns have been redone in Cascade 220 yarns. We are going in order as they are presented in the book, so February is #1, March #2 and so on. At this rate, it will take 2 years - I love it!!! But of course, members can knit at their own pace, in the colors they chose doing the blocks they want.

4:00 - 6:00 Julie Thompson will teach class. $25 per project + materials
2/12 & 2/19 Double Knit - Heart of Hearts Pot Holder.
2/26 & 3/4 Faire Isle Hat
3/11 & 3/18 Double Knit - Four Leaf Clover

Wednesdays:

11:00 - 12:00 Beginning Knitting for Adults, $10 for 4 sessions
3:30 - 4:30 Kids Club, Beginner childrens class, $10 for 4 sessions
4:30 - 5:30 Kids Club, Advanced Knitters, $10 for 4 sessions
7:00 - 9:00 Girls Night Out, Bring a project and "Come In and Unwind"

Thursdays:

Kaylee will teach a technique of the week through out the day. $10.00 for a 30 minute class.


Fridays:

11:00 - 1:00 Kaylee will repeat Julies Tuesday class of the week!

Saturdays:

3/1 & 3/8 from 10 - 12 Linda Casey will teach Crochet Socks
3/1 & 3/8 from 1 - 4 Linda will teach Knit Socks

Please sign up and prepay for all classes and get a materials list and homework assignment if necessary.

Private Lessons and/or dropping in for help is welcome when we don't have a class scheduled. The first 5 minutes of help are free, then the fee is $10 for up to 30 minutes.

Also this month, we will be closed on Friday and Saturday 2/22 and 2/23 so we can attend Stitches West. See you there !
Thank you so much for reading all of this, I hope to meet you in the shop soon. TTFN

Christmas Gifts

For Christmas this year I gave a several of gifts to my family.

The first one, was a pair of socks for my grandpa. They were my second pair of socks and they gave me a little bit of trouble, but they turned out great!

My grandpa loved them and he wears them a lot!

The second one, was a felted hat for my grandma. It was very fun and I knitted it up very quickly!

She was so surprised and she loved it.

Everybody was thrilled and really appreciated my hard work.

Panda Silk Contest

Hi everyone, I've been blogging (I know, finally) and I saw that Straw.com the web page for Crystal Palace Yarn is having a contest on their Socks and More Blog to win some Panda Silk. Please go to their web site and log in to their blog and post a comment and you are entered. Too easy to pass up. Here is the link to the Crystal Palace Yarn site. We will have Panda Silk in the shop soon but this is a chance for a sneak preview.

Also, the new Knitting Calendar (in the box) has tons of patterns using Crystal Palace Yarns. I am planning on selecting at least one a month for a class or a knit-a-long depending on the size of the project.

Dishcloth? Facecloth? Dishrag?

Does it really matter?

I call it a washcloth, it washes everything! I think that a facecloth is specifically for your face and a dishcloth/dishrag is for dishes and they are more heavy duty.

Though, I can see how people can get upset when others call their work a dishrag when you put all of the work into it.

Dishcloth Gift Exchange

Anita and I have entered a Dishcloth gift exchange and here is our questionnaire:

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? Knit

2. What types of needles do you enjoy using for making dishcloths?Bamboo and Wood

3. What types of cotton do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? Is there any that you've been wanting to try? Cascade, Sierra, Cotton Chenille and want to try Sugar and Cream

4. What color(s) are your kitchen and bath decorated in (if any)? Bathroom- white and blue But I like pink!

5. What are your favorite colors for yarns? Least favorite? Favorite Pink and purple Least Fav. Green and Yellow

6. Do you like Winter, or do you count the days until it ends? Love Winter but really love Spring!

7. What's your favorite way to brighten your day when you're down in the dumps? Spend Time with my husband and or friends and a GOOD CUP OF COFFEE! Also, ofcourse knitting and reading!

8. What is your favorite treat to indulge in and when your down in the dumps? A good strong cup of coffee w/ a little whip cream on top. Love hot chocolate with whip cream.--- Please no sweet coffee!

9. Do you drink coffee? Tea? Cocoa? Coffee and Tea and Hot Chocolate

10. If you could take a vacation starting tomorrow and go anywhere for one week and money were no object, where would you go and what would you do? I'd go see the Grand Canyon or maybe Hawaii or take a cruise to Alaska. Also go on a trip to Europe!

11. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should be aware of? Anita is Diabetic.