August and September 2014 Days I Will Not Be Attending

I will not be attending on August 18 and September 22, 2014, but the room will be available for you to gather and help each other.  Please also note that the library will be closed for Labor Day on Sept. 8, 2014.

We Are Still Knitting at Fairview

Knitting lessons and support continue at Fairview on Mondays 5:00-6:30.  We also now have a Ravelry Group called Mondays at Fairview.  Please join Ravelry-- all it takes is an email address, a username, and a password--and then join our Group.

Notice re Upcoming Meetings

Molly will not be teaching Sept. 30, 2013,  October 7, 2013, and October 14, 2013 but the room will be set up and knitters may get together to knit and help one another.

We Are Still Here

I have not posted for quite a while but the Fairview Knitting Circle is still meeting at the Fairview Branch.  Information is in the top link of the sidebar.

Summer Knitting

We had three new knitters on Monday. Welcome to E, S and N. We also welcomed back S, K, and T, who hadn't been with us in a while. B learned how to make a heart of the blossom closure on her practice helmet liner and T began the decreases in her garter stitch hat.

S bought in her recently completed baby sweater. It is the Garter Stitch Cardigan from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. See a review of the book here. I have made two of those sweaters myself and love the pattern. I think S did a wonderful job and I love the closure she used instead of the buttons and button band in the pattern.

Congratulations!

Dye Day

In our summer class the students will learn how to knit a "treasure bag" using yarn they have dyed themselves with Kool-Aid and food coloring. My friend Ana suggested we have the students dye preknit yarn "flats" rather than skeined yarn and I thought that was a wonderful idea. The flats are easy to paint on and they can contain pictures, designs and words. Those elements won't show up in the completed knitting but the children will know they are hidden in the yarn.

The yarn we're using is Knit Picks brand Bare Superwash Merino Worsted. Ana prepared the flats on her knitting machine and knit acrylic scrap yarn between the flats. Each flat is 50 stitches wide, about 70 rows long, and uses 50 g. of yarn. Here is a photo of the flats before I divided them:
I cut the flats apart at the scrap yarn and used a crochet hook to bind them off. I cut up a priority mail envelope into squares for name tags, punched a hole in each square and used acrylic scrap yarn to attach one square to each flat. At the class the students' names will be written on the tags with permanent maker. The priority mail envelopes are made of a strong fiber that doesn't disintegrate when it is wet, which means the labels will survive the soaking, painting, steaming and drying processes.

Then I prepared the soak water. Soaking opens up the fibers and enables them to absorb the dye. I used about 1.5 gallons of warm water for the 12 flats.

After the flats soaked for at least an hour, I squeezed them out, put them in a large plastic bag and took them to the library.

We set up the class on the center patio. It was a beautiful sunny day and the shady patio was a lovely setting for the class.

My helpers and I mixed up the dye. For each color except Kelly Green, we dissolved 4 packets of Kool-Aid in one cup (8 oz.) of water in a plastic pitcher. For the Kelly Green we used 30 drops of food coloring and 1 T. vinegar in 1 cup of water. We used 10 colors--Strawberry, Blastin' Black Cherry, Tropical Punch, Pink Lemonade, Orange, Lemonade, Lemon Lime, Kelly Green, Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, and Grape.

While some of the students were learning to knit,


others used sponge brushes to "paint" the flats with the dye liquids.
The students used the yogurt cups for their own custom blends. We had plenty of dye for most of the colors but did have to make extra blue and yellow.

We wrapped the flats well in plastic wrap and I took them home where I steamed them for 30 minutes.

Here are some of the flats after they were steamed. The front one is partially unwrapped:
Because the yarn is superwash I was able to dry the flats in the dryer on low heat. Here are the dry flats:
As you can see, stripes were quite popular. The one in front was prepared by two of my helpers and contains their initials. The colors aren't as vibrant as I had hoped they would be. When I do this again I will used 6 or 8 packets of Kool-Aid per cup of water.

At our next class the students will unravel their flats and learn how to wind yarn in a ball. They will also continue to learn to knit. I hope they continue to have as much fun as they had on the first day.

I could not have done this without my wonderful helpers-Ana, Brenda, Jaime, Charlotte, and Jessica and without the support of Sylvia and Catherine of the Fairview Branch Library. Thank you very much!

Summer 2010

During the summer of 2010 we will continue to meet on Mondays.

I will also be teaching "Make Your Own Treasure Bag" on Thursday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. The students will learn how to dye yarn in multiple colors and how to knit. They will then knit a treasure bag to keep. Class will last for 6 weeks beginning on July 1st, is for boys and girls ages 8 and up, and is limited to 12 students. Please sign up in person at the Fairview Branch or by emailing librarian Sylvia Anderle at sylvia.anderle@smgov.net.

K's and N's Knits

We have continued to meet every Monday that the library is open. Here are some progress photos:

K finished one of her first projects--a purse. Nice work, K, congratulations!

N has been away for a while but has not stopped knitting. She made this beautiful pale green lace sweater:


and this cabled red one:


We've missed you, N; welcome back.

Making a Pom Pom

C made a pom pom to sew to the top of a hat. First she wrapped the yarn around two cardboard circles, then she cut the yarn between the circles. Here is a photo of the yarn after it was cut. You can see the two circles of cardboard in the middle:
Next she wrapped yarn between the circles and tied the yarn tightly. After a she removes the circles and does a little trimming, her pom pom will be ready to sew to her hat.

We've Been Busy

We continue to meet every Monday but you wouldn't know it from looking at this blog because I haven't done much posting. Here is sample of what happened on Oct. 19, 2009.

Y is only in elementary school but already she's learning to make hats in the round. The earlier portion was knit on a size 9 16" circular. Today she began using double pointed needles for the first time and left the knitting circle wearing her work in progress, sporting the needles.

J has been knitting Fuzzy Feet with a Malabrigo yarn on very large needles. (Edited on 11.07.09 to add: see the comment below for yarn and needle details. She plans to felt them. This is what they look like now:

Watch this space to see how the felting process will completely transform these babies.

M completed another one of her cell phone cases worked using the double knitting technique. This one was particularly challenging because, at the request of the person she was making it for, she added a strand of gold thread to both the purple and green sections. That meant she was working with four threads simultaneously. The photo is washed out and is more accurate in the full photo, but in real life the colors are gorgeous.


S is a brand new knitter but is already working on a log cabin lapghan following the principles set out in Mason-Dixon Knitting.

And C, our expert crocheter, is working on a beautiful ripple baby afghan.

Elsa's Hat

Before she left for Paris, Elsa stopped by the library to show us the hat she recently completed. Excellent job, Elsa. We will miss you.

Summer 2009 Knitting

Join us this summer and learn to knit or improve your skills if you already know how. Our special summer knitting program begins June 22nd and continues until August 17th! We meet on every Monday from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

The program is free but participants must supply their own materials. Click on the "When, Where and What to Bring" link in the sidebar for more information.

Elsa's Headband

Here is Elza modeling the headband she completed recently. I think it is her first project. Since then she has knit two pairs of fingerless mitts and begun a hat.

Recent Projects

I haven't posted much recently but we have been meeting every week and members have been busy learning and creating.

SDB finished a hat made with yarn that produces its own Fair Isle pattern:

M made some spa washcloths out of hemp:


EC finished the scarf she's been working on for some time. She did a wonderful job with the knitting and with the attached fringe. I hope to post a photo in the future.

DD is making a baby blanket:


J is working on the cabled band of a hat:

Many other projects haven't managed to make it into the camera phone!

More New Knitters

We had four new knitters yesterday. M, who came to learn, her mother, L, and her grandmother, D. RT joined us at the end of the evening. HH, who has knitted with us before, also joined us at the end of the evening. Welcome to you all. D was visiting from North Dakota and it is always a pleasure to meet knitters from other places. We hope to see her again when she is next in town.

DD learned the knitted cast on and began working on a scarf pattern with very soft and very beautiful Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky. Here is a photo of her progress so far:

SC learned how to seam the stuffed toy she is making out of the The Michaels Book of Arts and Crafts, which is part of our library's collection. C measured her swatch and began to knit her first sweater. L is making another accessory for Shirley and learning how to make a striped item. She also learned the knitted cast on. P and M made progress on their scarves and R worked hard on her practice piece. L and D knitted ribbed ponchos using the same pattern but different yarns.

M is beginning a new scarf with a slipped stitch pattern. She brought the now completed scarf she was working on last week. Here's a photo:

The "blue" color is actually purple. Congratulations to M.

The library will be closed on February 16th in honor of Presidents' Day. We'll meet again on the 23rd. Have a great holiday.

Meeting But Not Always Posting

We have continued to meet every Monday but I have been a lousy poster.

On February 1 we had three new adult knitters--M, S and C. M is working on a scarf in two colors she is designing herself, S on a baby kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting and C on her first sweater. Welcome to all of you. I am looking forward to helping you with your projects.

L finished an arm band for Shirley but I failed to take a photo. Here, though, is a photo of the tummy band she finished several weeks ago:

At seven years old L is already designing and knitting items for her loved ones!

Quite a crowd

After a quiet September 15th, on the 22nd we were bursting at the seams. A new family joined in the fun--3 generations of knitters. Welcome O, L, P and Ma. My new helper, J, taught P how to purl. Ma and P showed us the lovely scarves they had already completed.

Mi was a first time participant also. After learning the long tail cast on she was knitting away because she already knew the knit stitch.

D returned and after trying both continental and English styles decided she prefers English.

I has made wonderful progress on her shawl. She chose some beautiful colors from our class stash of donated yarn. I'll try to remember to take a photo next time.

R began a scarf in yellow and white, also using some donated yarn.

Last Meeting of the Summer

Today we had 7 knitters and crocheters.

E learned how to bind off and weave in ends. She's almost finished with her first knitting project.

L and K are still at the beginning stages and worked hard to learn the knit stitch.

S is crocheting a blanket out of marled yarn with lots of turquoise it it. It is beautiful and looks as though it will be complete soon.

CRB learned how to wind yarn from a looped skein. She is looking through stitch dictionaries for cable patterns in order to design a scarf using baby alpaca.

I helped R with her sock by turning the heel and picking up the gusset stitches. Next meeting she will learn how to decrease down to the foot.

I won't be here next week and the week after that is Labor Day when the library is closed.

We'll meet again on Monday, September 8, 2008 to begin a new year of knitting and crocheting. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Vogue Sweater Complete

B finished her pink and white Vogue Sweater and bought it on Aug. 11, 2008 to show us. She did a beautiful job and has already started
another Vogue pattern in blue and white cotton.








No new knitters arrived this week but B, E, K and S returned. S crocheted and K made excellent progress in learning to knit. M continued to crochet her zig zag scarf.

R rejoined us. Welcome back, R, we missed you.

More New Knitters

Four more new knitters joined us on August 4, 2008. Welcome W, F, S and K.
M joined us for the first time as well. She is crocheting a zig zag scarf.

CRB finished the beret designed by Shannita of A Mano Yarn Center. She learned how to make i-cord and did a wonderful job of managing slippery dpns as she worked the final decreases. The hat is beautiful. Congratulations CRB!