MOL knitters

Sunday 1/31, 8 pm, Coda in Maplewood, I've reserved a big table, so we can throw all the yarn/books/needles you don't want on the table, dive in and take what you want and give the rest to the Boyden school's knitting program. Hope to see you there!

As a teacher I will say that projects for classes are chosen to give students the opportunity to work through the skills or techniques being taught. In a 3 hour workshop it's important to have all the students be on the same page. It's also important for the teacher to be familiar with the pattern students are using. 

jasper said:

Coffeegretchen said:

snowmom said:

jasper said:

Okay, all you woolly people, this is months away, but worth putting on your calendar now and attending in September: http://www.njsheep.org/festival/index.html

Great variety of yarns without being completely overwhelming and overcrowded, all within an hour's drive.

HAs anyone been to this?  How does it compare to the October festival in Rhinebeck NY?

It's much smaller, which may not be a bad thing. Rhinebeck is extremely crowded on Saturdays, long lines for vendors, some stalls you can't even get into. There are lots of animals and stuff to see and buy but it can also be overwhelming. Sundays are better, but it's still massive and crowded, just less insanely than it is on Saturday. 

I haven't been to the NJ festival, but I really want to check it out this year. 

I haven't been to the Rhineback festival, but was told by one of the vendors at the Ringoes show that the Rhinebeck one is like the Ringoes one on steroids. Personally, I'd much rather avoid the much longer drive and the crowds. This was my first time at the Ringoes show, but it was perfectly pleasant with plenty to see and buy, and no contention at all.

I think the other big difference is the classes/workshops. There are tons of them at the Rhinebeck show per their site, but this is the only workshop listed for last year's Ringoes show: http://www.njsheep.org/festival/spinning_workshops.html, though it certainly sounds worth doing for $10, even if you never spin again, and I would try it if offered this coming fall.


While the classes at the Rhinebeck show sound very appealing, they're quite expensive, and I sometimes find with these kinds of classes that you have to make the prescribed thing the instructor is teaching rather than what you would choose to make, so it can be a bit limiting on top of the cost.

Can you list exactly what is needed for projects at SB?

Coffeegretchen said:

As a teacher I will say that projects for classes are chosen to give students the opportunity to work through the skills or techniques being taught. In a 3 hour workshop it's important to have all the students be on the same page. It's also important for the teacher to be familiar with the pattern students are using. 

Hi JR, I'm not sure what you mean by SB.

SB = Seth Boyden. The elementary school has a knitting program.

Thanks, addiemoose! In a different context I would have recognized that. I'm not a school teacher, just a knitting teacher. I was commenting about why classes at a venue like Rhinebeck would have all students working through the same pattern. I don't know what the materials are for the school program. 

thank you for clarifying  @coffeegretchen -- I misunderstood that you were a SB teacher  can anyone comment on materials the school program needs? I would like to donate   (And I will bring a pile of stuff tonight!) 

How long do you think you'll be there? Doubtful I'll make it, since I've still got a ways to go to get home, but just in case....

Coffeegretchen said:

As a teacher I will say that projects for classes are chosen to give students the opportunity to work through the skills or techniques being taught. In a 3 hour workshop it's important to have all the students be on the same page. It's also important for the teacher to be familiar with the pattern students are using. 

I hear what you're saying, but some classes are more fixed in terms of what you make than others, and I prefer having some latitude where color/pattern come in, or I like to have a very clear picture of what will be produced so that I know if I want to spend the time/money to come away with that project.

All hail @addiemoose for organizing the first yarn potlatch. We were a small group, but everybody came away with something "new" and I think the Seth-Boyden program will benefit. Let's do it again!

thanks! yes! with more notice, so we can get even more people! It was lovely!

Just came across this: NJ Wool Walk

Did anyone (else) go on the Wool Walk? It was great to check out some stores I hadn't previously been to. 

I got this lovely pattern book as a "goodie" at one of them and don't see myself using it. Would anyone like it? It's Bergere de France origin' collection #004 (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/bergere-de-france-origin--04/patterns). I'd love to trade it for a nice 25ish-gram sock-yarn scrap, but I'd mostly like it to find a home with someone who might use it.

I stopped by Blue Purl, where they had a great trunk show of Shibui yarn, which I don't see often. The prize was a skein of olive Schurlana  kid seta print mohair, which I'd love to swap. I wound up with a Shibui pattern (Etch) and yarn for it (black) as well as a couple of balls of Crazy Zauberball. That was an impulse purchase, after I saw the sample Zick Zack scarf on display. Fun pattern, and free on Ravelry. I think this will be a good summer project.

@zucca I have leftovers from a pair of socks made with KnitCircus in a slow gradient of blue to green. I'll leave a bag on the porch this morning and pm you my address.

Thank you, @j_r! I seem to remember we knit the same KnitCircus socks. I used the pigeon colorway--by the end, the stripes were nearly indistinguishable. I've always wanted to knit with Shibui, and I like that pattern. I bought Berroco Mykonos to make an Odele top for my mother. I also got a kit to make a super cute baby sweater.

I'd like to make that Zick Zack scarf sometime. Not so keen on how it feels in the recommended yarn. The Zauberball is a good idea. I have a zauberball skein (not the crazy kind, just the regular kind), and it's the gift that keeps on giving. I've used it combined with another yarn in socks and hand mitts, and there still seems to be plenty left. 

I also wouldn't mind swapping my prize skein from Blue Purl: Lana Grossa Aria cotton in the 003 stone grey colorway.

does anyone have advice on how to make crocheted cotton hat from the pattern's 19-1/2" size to 23"? Hat is worked in continuous rounds, beginning with chain 2, working 6sc in first chain, joining with a slip stitch. Hat is worked in one piece in continuous rounds.

Help on making this hat bigger would be much appreciated. TIA

Sorry, @mtierney. The most I can manage out of crochet is a border on a knitted thing. You wouldn't think the crafts would be so compartmentalized.

@mtierney, bet you could ask on ravelry.com there are a ton of crocheters there. I know nothing!

mtierney, how many increase rounds are there? You are starting from the center, I assume, and as you go the circle gets larger until you begin the curve from the crown down toward the hairline, as it were. You just need to keep on making increases for a bit longer before you start the turn from crown to brim.

Am I making that at all clear? Without more details on the pattern it is difficult to be more specific, and you might need to experiment and tear a few rows out while you are figuring it out, but it should not be hard.

So, I follow the directions, try the circle on, so it speak, and continue to increase until  my noggin fits in?

I'll try to post the pattern if I can. Thanks!

here's a go.....

and

mtierney said:

So, I follow the directions, try the circle on, so it speak, and continue to increase until  my noggin fits in?

I'll try to post the pattern if I can. Thanks!

I think what you are proposing should work. It's a cute pattern. I will try to read it when I have had my second cup of tea and am a little more awake.   

Just glanced through it. Your increase rows are continuing up through row 12, then it straightens out somewhat for a bit until 40, where it flares for the brim. I would do exactly what you suggested and try it on as you go. You might need to keep repeating the increase rows until it is a little broader across the top, but it says it stretches. I think if I were you I would do the pattern once exactly as written. It looks like a very forgiving fit.

Another trick to make the size a little bigger is to use a larger hook. If it recommends a G, try an H or even I. You might have to experiment a little, but it should not take long to get it right.

I appreciate your suggestion about using a larger hook ! Easier than messing with the pattern   

Thanks!

Yes, it would be easier, and could be all you need!

Because j_r asked, here's a photo of the blanket/quilt squares, laid out in no particular order. I have more that I haven't blocked yet, but I'm wanting this for a queen-size bed, so there's still a long way to go! I should probably start sewing them together, though I'm also not sure I can do that till I have them all, so I can obsess on the order. There are a bunch of Noro squares at the end that might have to be their own thing.

Also working on the Odele v-neck. What's on your needles?

That's going to be fantastic! I'm working on a pullover for a young man who is 6-4 and the sleeves are going to be the end of me. And a Mainstay pullover in cotton-merino for me.

Some of the squares are really ugly, but hoping the overall effect will be good! Sometimes kind of wishing I'd been organized about it and picked a color scheme or one particular yarn (so they'd all be more precisely the same size) or something, but it is what it is! I like the Mainstay.

zucca said:

Some of the squares are really ugly, but hoping the overall effect will be good! Sometimes kind of wishing I'd been organized about it and picked a color scheme or one particular yarn (so they'd all be more precisely the same size) or something, but it is what it is! I like the Mainstay.

Wow! They are all the exact same size as far as I can see and that is a major triumph in my book. Varied textures are a good feature to me.