Feb 2008
February
Dear
Knitters,
I don’t know about you but my attention is being drawn more and more to the outdoors. I am wishing for the snow and cold to gently slip away leaving the bright sunshine and birds chirping.
Friends and knitters
Because of other commitments I have only attended one knitting circle this month. This forces me to reflect on the importance community. Knitting Circle Armstrong enthusiastically endorsed three meetings a month during the winter. I find myself looking forward to getting together with like minded knitters to share not only our joy of knitting but to get the inside scoop on community events. There is much laughter and sharing as we knit on various projects. The time just seems to fly by.
Buffalo Blues
Since I have a pattern for touks knitted out of buffalo wool I grabbed up some white, dark brown, and sand coloured wool to work with. I had forgotten that buffalo wool is made up of 4 to 5 stands and that these strands break somewhat easily. I also forgot how they were wound into a large, flat ball that you needed to draw from the outside, not the inside. Woe was me on the first touk as one or two strands were much longer than the others and I was forever trying to even them out. Obviously, the second and third touks worked up much better as my memory was refreshed. These touks will be donated to the Gleaners along with small blankets, scarves, and mitts made by the rest of the circle.
Need Expertise
I have been thinking about putting on a knit-out (where a number of knitters gather to knit and chat and invite everyone else to join them) and/ or Yarn swap (where knitters trade wool). If anyone has attended or organized one of these can you email me with some pointers? My email is jboling@telus.net.
Knitters are the nicest people
My friend Sophie and I went on a yarn spree on our lunch hour on Friday. We stopped in at the Showroom of the webstore www.woolneedlework.com located in Salmon Arm. We started out looking for some bamboo yarn but I settled on some beautifully hand dyed wool while she chose a hand dyed cotton. Our knowledgable knitting guide was Brenda. Before we left she gave us the skinny on felting.
Felt Tips
Did you know that you can felt your item in increments? Well according to Brenda start with 8 minutes of agitation. Then keep adding 8 minutes until you get the amount of felting desired. Put your knitted item in a pillow case and add a towel, set the washer to the hottest water and use the least amount of water. If you really want the item to pucker up add ice cubes to the rinse water.
March Meetings
Our group is good to go with meetings on March 6, 13, and 27. We keep gathering more knitters as the year progresses. Hope to see you all soon.
Judy
The Country Knitter
I don’t know about you but my attention is being drawn more and more to the outdoors. I am wishing for the snow and cold to gently slip away leaving the bright sunshine and birds chirping.
Friends and knitters
Because of other commitments I have only attended one knitting circle this month. This forces me to reflect on the importance community. Knitting Circle Armstrong enthusiastically endorsed three meetings a month during the winter. I find myself looking forward to getting together with like minded knitters to share not only our joy of knitting but to get the inside scoop on community events. There is much laughter and sharing as we knit on various projects. The time just seems to fly by.
Buffalo Blues
Since I have a pattern for touks knitted out of buffalo wool I grabbed up some white, dark brown, and sand coloured wool to work with. I had forgotten that buffalo wool is made up of 4 to 5 stands and that these strands break somewhat easily. I also forgot how they were wound into a large, flat ball that you needed to draw from the outside, not the inside. Woe was me on the first touk as one or two strands were much longer than the others and I was forever trying to even them out. Obviously, the second and third touks worked up much better as my memory was refreshed. These touks will be donated to the Gleaners along with small blankets, scarves, and mitts made by the rest of the circle.
Need Expertise
I have been thinking about putting on a knit-out (where a number of knitters gather to knit and chat and invite everyone else to join them) and/ or Yarn swap (where knitters trade wool). If anyone has attended or organized one of these can you email me with some pointers? My email is jboling@telus.net.
Knitters are the nicest people
My friend Sophie and I went on a yarn spree on our lunch hour on Friday. We stopped in at the Showroom of the webstore www.woolneedlework.com located in Salmon Arm. We started out looking for some bamboo yarn but I settled on some beautifully hand dyed wool while she chose a hand dyed cotton. Our knowledgable knitting guide was Brenda. Before we left she gave us the skinny on felting.
Felt Tips
Did you know that you can felt your item in increments? Well according to Brenda start with 8 minutes of agitation. Then keep adding 8 minutes until you get the amount of felting desired. Put your knitted item in a pillow case and add a towel, set the washer to the hottest water and use the least amount of water. If you really want the item to pucker up add ice cubes to the rinse water.
March Meetings
Our group is good to go with meetings on March 6, 13, and 27. We keep gathering more knitters as the year progresses. Hope to see you all soon.
Judy
The Country Knitter