Knitting with Company

We are thrilled to be hosting Amy Swensen (Indigirl) who is coming to do a workshop for her fabulous Cloudchaser Vest – a Ravelry favorite. The workshop will run for 3 hours on the morning of Saturday, September 18th and for 3 hours on the afternoon of Sunday, September 19th with all that knitting time in between. The cost for the workshop is $55 which includes the amazing pattern. Space is very, very limited, so please get your name on the list ASAP. We will be giving the information on homework and yarn selections etc. after we have moved.

A little belated but better late than never.

Here’s Gretl’s podcast of part of the Sock Summit 2009 proceedings. She describes the registration process and how she helped to crash the servers – then she describes a couple of the workshops that she attended.

Carson Demers – KnittersRX.  By day, Carson is a physical therapist who runs an ergonomic program for a San Francisco Bay Area medical center. Every other moment, he’s knitting, spinning, designing, or otherwise up to some fiber fun with a watchful eye toward ergonomics. His passion and experience in fiber arts combine with his expertise in physical therapy and ergonomics to create a unique skill set that he eagerly shares with the fiber community to keep us all creating healthfully ever after.

In KnittersRX Carson teaches us that knitting is not a “no pain, no gain” activity. Yet many of us take better care of our favorite stash fiber than we do the fibers that allow us to knit—our bodies. Tired muscles, sore joints, and aching backs and necks needlessly plague too many knitters.  Listen in to hear what Gretl had to say about this workshop.

Also, hear about Lucy Neatby’s, “Discover the Sock Toe Chimney!”.  Where Gretl learned to understand stitches and how to graft joyously without needing to refer to a book.  This method of grafting (a.k.a. Kitchener Stitch) involves no loose stitches and gives two neat corners regardless of your style of knitting.

from Jared Flood’s Made in Brooklyn

Wow! Our Bridgewater KAL filled up in 24 hours – it promises to be a lot of fun. But don’t despair if you missed out – we have added another KAL from “Made in Brooklyn” by Jared Flood – this time the Princess Mittens (using the pattern “Grove”).

Sunday Afternoon from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, starting on October 11th, and continuing on the 25th and November 8th. There will be no charge and you are welcome to join the Knitalong which will be held in the store. Once again, we expect that the KAL will be over-subscribed so sign up soon, and we have some requirements:

• You must register either online here or by calling the store.
• You must attend the first session on October 11th to be able to attend subsequent sessions.
• You must own a copy of “Made in Brooklyn” – you can purchase it here if you don’t already own it.
• You must purchase yarn for the Princess Mittens from US before the KAL starts.

This project is for the knitter with an intermediate skill level. You will use a variety of stitches, basic lace techniques, and charts. Perfect this mitten and you’ve solved a lot of holiday gift giving problems.

Designed by Jared Flood and featured in his Classic Elite Collection “Made in Brooklyn”, this what Jared says about his creation:

“These mittens have an intricate, twisted stitch motif that creates a beautiful relief pattern – inspired by twisting vines and tree roots. Knitted stitches are all worked through the back loop to create the sculptural texture characteristic of twisted stitch motifs. Multiple- ply and high-twist yarns will maximize stitch definition and let the stitches sing. Shaping of the vine-like motifs on th hand is done with the use of yarn overs and decreasing – aside from the cuff, no cabling occurs in the main portion of the mitten. The cuff motif, a spiraling 1 x 1 rib is mirrored on each hand, and involves moving the marker as you work, to keep the spiral pattern unbroken. I hope you enjoy knitting these as much as you will in wearing them”!

Read more from Jared on the Brooklyn Tweed blog.

We’ve got loads of classes lined up over the summer for your knitting, crochet and felting pleasure.  There’s a few of our classics as well as a lot of new ideas. You can see everything and book your spot with our online schedule or you can download our trifold and print it out … it’ll fit nicely in your purse.

Always wanted to knit or crochet? Then our Knitting 101 or Crochet 101 is just for you.

The Knitting 101 class is for those who want to pick up knitting after a long lay-off or for absolute beginners. After four two-hour sessions you will have mastered all the fundamentals and completed a sampler scarf and be ready to tackle one of the many projects that we teach.

In Crochet 101 we will get you started on the crochet adventure. You’ll learn the basics and beyond (slip stitch, chain stitch, foundation chain, single crochet, double crochet, shell stitch and much more). You”ll learn enough to start your first project and pick up the skills needed to complement your knitting. You”ll make squares, washcloths and learn how to do edging.

See pictures and descriptions of all the classes on our website or you can subscribe to our RSS Feed for classes and events – that way you’re certain not to miss the additional classes that we plan to add in the coming weeks.