Camellia City Stockinettes

Stay Tuned...

2012-01-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

Got Yarn?

The Camellia City Stockinettes blog

is coming back soon.

Stay tuned!

2011-04-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

PLAAAAAY BAAALLLLLL and Knit!

It was the annual Stich 'n Pitch at Raley Field. As we entered the stadium, Lorna was there to great us with a souvenir bag. We can all use another bag for our WIPs.

Sandy threw out the first ball wrapped in what else? Yarn! She did a great job too, right over home plate. What great knitters we are, knitting and watching baseball at the same time. Although the River Cats had a great start, they did not win the game. But that's ok, we had a great time, eating hot dogs, drinking sodas, catching fould balls, and knitting with Dinger. I brought a couple of friends, not members of the guild and they look forward to next year's Stitch 'n Pitch.

Brioche Stich

2011-03-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

Last month it was the Bavarian Stitch, otherwise known as the traveling stitch. I think most of us chose to travel to Stitches West instead. Always be sure to bring lots of money when exposed to yarn.

This month Lorna showed us how to do the Bricohe Was that bread or the stitch?

The word comes from Old Norman French verb "brier" (an old form of "broyer") then used in the sense of "to knead dough with a wooden roller"; the participle is also found in "pain brié", a Norman speciality. The suffix -oche is added to the verb "brier" to designate the product. The root -- bhreg -- is of Germanic origin. Ok, so I'm feeling like I'm kneading my yarn with my wooden needles. A wonderful site by knitter and author, Nancy Marchant offers intstructions, patterns and attractive variations of the brioshe stitch. Check it out. http://briochestitch.com/brioche/

But I'm always ready to take on the challenge which in this case will probably be a swatch.

If you have trash for others to treasure, be sure to get it to the next meeting or contact Jo Morrison or diane Petersen. We are already putting our dimes away for the evnet in May.

Our knit along for this month is the Lamb mascot with a whole wardrobe. pattern available on Ravelry. http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/8BF0TZw4bzuPuKNHfTcNmxurQAYAB4p6UOU7_NiKtwgtwpgUr2FNWvGVJePKnzoBAbaYOmx-P0dAUeY_2cmNIwuDZv4PPw/2011%20Project%20Patterns/March-Knitalong-Fuzzy%20Lamb%20Pattern.pdf

It's spring training to ready for the Stitch and Pitch with the River Cats on April 25. Sandy Penly is collecting for the River Cats game.

Picture This! For our program in April, Bob Gouine will teach us how to photograph our work.

Charity never Faileth

2011-01-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

"Today over 25 CCS guild members got together to knit for charities. We had piles, bags and boxes of yarn from which to choose. We knit 7" squares, chemo hats and comfort dolls. Susan Hamarland brought red, white and blue yarn to knit squares that get their design from quilt squares. There was much food, fun and laughter all around. Most people stayed the duration from 11 am to 3 pm.
Today's event was so enjoyed by all that the guild plans to repeat it about once per quarter. There are people researching outdoor parks and alternate locations."

New Year, New Place

2011-01-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and we are in our new digs. There lots of room to move around, in fact there are two rooms for our use. One for our meeting and one for our library/display. Our fist meeting of the year geared up for those new resolutions to go through our stash and reorganize. Ideas were shared on how to store needles and how to organize our yarn.

Lorna gave us our challenge for our February meeting...to create something that is you. What would you knit to identify you? Me...probably something purple. I'd better get started.

We are also going to do a knit-along. One will be a knitted, then felted bunny and the other the "Clapotis" found both on knitty.com and ravelry.

Look forward to seeing everyone in February.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T19:45:00.001-08:00

Christmas meets Knitting

Goals for the New Year

2010-12-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

The new year is approaching faster that I can cast on for that next project. What projects will you be knitting this next year? Using the lot of yarn you bid on and won at the Trash to Treasure night to knit a sweater which will probably end up as a vest? Or maybe a pair of socks for each family member in time for Christmas next year? Ok, so you decide two socks this time is too much, so you decide a single Christmas stocking is more likely to get finished. Maybe you want to learn a new skill, like spinning. Try a new pattern, new stitch or experiment with a new yarn? May I offer a challenge to you all? Teach knitting to a young person. And knit in public, it's a great conversation starter. I wish you all a

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Amy Singer was Here!

2010-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Amy Singer

Amy Singer was here!

Amy Singer was our special guest at our November meeting last Thursday. Most everyone knows that Amy is the editor of Knitty.com.

Amy presented a lecture on All About Knitty. The Stockinettes in turn gave Amy a Knitty Fashion Show spotlighting all the Knitty patterns the Stockinette members have knit over the years.

Amy's response to the Stockinettes fashion show...

"A Parade of Knitting...I quite liked it!"

Amy said we were the "first guild to do a Knitty Fashion Show". Way to go Stockinettes!

Amy also taught a series of Plug & Play Shawl classes over the weekend for the Stockinettes.

Lambtown USA!

2010-10-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Lambtown USA 2010

Where there's "fiber and fun" there are sure to be Stockinettes!

The Camellia City Stockinettes were out in full force today at the 24th Lambtown USA Festival.

Lambtown USA is a one-day festival all about lamb and wool.

Let's have a look at all the fun at the festival!

Fiber Friends!
(Sharon, Terri, Kay & Diana)

Many Stockinette shoppers were spotted in Madden Hall for the Fiber Fair.

Yes, there were lot's of wonderful vendors selling hand dyed and hand spun yarn.

Julia with Fig Tree Alley

Julia with Fig Tree Alley a sponsor of our Guild had a booth at the Fiber Fair in Madden Hall.

Lizette Hopkins with Spin Glitz

President Lizette Hopkins was also a vendor in Madden Hall with her company Spin Glitz.

Her booth is always fun and everyone always loves her giant knitting needles!

Fiber Fanatics
(Mary & Doris)

Mary and Doris were spotted out in the Fiber Breeds area checking out all those beautiful wool coats! They said they have a tradtion of coming to the festival every year!

Also spotted shopping at the show were members Sally Gray, Cheryl Taylor, Lisette Davis and Nancy Jane Campbell.

Parri Shelby with Spin A Yarn is also a Guild sponsor and had a mini showroom at the Fiber Fair. She is currently looking for a new retail location for her store Spin A Yarn. We look forward to hearing about her new location soon.

Besides fiber...the best part about Lambtown USA are all those adorable lambs and alpacas!

Hope to see you at Lambtown USA next year!

Congratulations Betsy!

2010-09-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

Royal Vines Scarf

Here's to another Stockinette success story!

Congratulations to our very own Betsy Coyne!

Betsy just had her Royal Vines Scarf published in Knit Picks!

Shown in Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn

Betsy designed a beautiful lace scarf in a ripple type pattern with a garter stitch border all around. The lace pattern is easy to memorize and knit in fingering weight yarn.

There are four choices of fingering weight yarns to choose from at Knit Picks. Betsy's scarf knits up beautifully in both tonal or solid colors. The Royal Vines Scarf photographed is knit in Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn. One 100 gram skein makes a generous size scarf.

Be sure to check out Betsy's website Cultured Purl for more of her knitting designs.

Congratulations Betsy!

(All Photographs from Knit Picks)

Vendor Night

2010-09-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

Linda, Marianne & Daniella

Vendor Night at the September Guild Meeting was a smashing success thanks to all the fabulous Vendors and the Stockinette shoppers!

President Lizette Hopkins breezed through the business portion of the meeting reminding all the Stockinettes that "there is shopping to do"!

As for official business, Amy Singer from Knitty.com is coming in November. Mark your calendar! Amy will be a special guest and speaker at the November Guild Meeting on Thursday, November 4, 2010. Sign ups for Amy's Modular Lace classes will take place at the October meeting.

Now for some shopping fun...here are some photos from Vendor Night!

Designer Yarn Bowl

Vice President Cindi Unmack invited Auburn studio potter Marianne DeMartini to be a Vendor. She is coincidentally also member Daniella Z.'s friend! Marianne makes beautiful handmade pottery. Her beautiful Yarn Bowls were the hit of the night!

You can see her work in the First Saturday Open Studio in Auburn or in her Etsy Shop Adventures in Clay.

Cindi & Betsy

A real treat of the night was the booth where Stockinettes Cindi Unmack of Left Coast Yarns & Betsy Coyne of Cultured Purl combined forces.

Betsy & Cindi collaborated together on a lace scarf kit inspired by camellias, in honor of the Camellia City Stockinettes. Cindi dyed a special edition of her fingering weight yarn in a pretty camellia colorway.

Michele & Sheila

Members Michele & Sheila were returning Vendors and had their fabulous fabric hanging circular needle holders and clever needle roll-up holders to store your dpns. What a wonderful product to organize all your knitting needles!

This year they also sold vintage needlework magazines.
What a treat to step back in time (1914-1943) with Needlecraft, Ladies Home Journal Companion and American Needlewoman magazines from that era!

Julia & Fig Tree Alley

New business member Julia from Fig Tree Alley had a booth, too.

You could tell from her professional display that she has done craft shows before.

Her hand-made buttons were a big hit for all the knitters. Her sheep buttons were just adorable!

Linda Greene

Multi talented member Linda Greene had a booth,too. She is one talented needlework lady. She knits, crochets and does beautiful embroidery work. Her booth had a very lovely vintage display and nice array of one-of-a-kind handmade items. Notice how nicely she coordinated her outfit to match her booth!

What a Night!

With all the shopping fun it was obvious everyone had a wonderful time at Vendor Night. Member Annemieke Y. summed it up best with her recent post on the Stockinette Ravelry Group:

"This was my first vendor night and I thought it was awesome. All the vendors were very unique and I thought there was something for everyone. I myself may have made a purchase or two."

Thank you to all the Vendors and Stockinette Shoppers for making Vendor Night a smashing success!

Feel free to contact the Vendors directly if you would like to make additional purchases!

It's Time for UK Knit Camp

2010-08-09T23:44:00.001-07:00

Have you heard the news?

It's time for UK Knit Camp in Stirling, Scotland August 9 - 14, 2010.

Even though Scotland is clear across the pond...the Camellia City Stockinettes are going to be well represented.

Attending UK Knit Camp this year are: Cindi, Doris, Jude and Jill B.

Local Sacramento Designer Joan McGowan-Michael has also traveled to UK Knit Camp as an instructor.

We wish all the Stockinettes safe travels and can't wait to hear all about their knitting journey to Scotland. Click here to read all about the special events happening during Knit Camp.

After Knit Camp, Doris and Jude will be travelling on to Shetland Islands visiting museums along with Jamieson & Smith . How lucky are they?!

For more information on UK Knit camp visit British Yarn.

It's California State Fair Time!

2010-07-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sandi says... Welcome to the State Fair

Hey everybody...it's California State Fair time

July 14 - August 1, 2010.

The Camellia City Stockinettes held their annual knitting display in the Creative Arts Building on Wednesday July 21st.

Kathy & Lizette proving...

Knitting is cool!

Thank you Guild Member Fair Volunteers for showing the public

just how "cool" knitting can be!

Out & About

2010-07-15T02:13:00.001-07:00

Close-Knit Friends at Knitique

Paige, Shirley and Bonnie

Caught on camera Wednesday at Knitique were close-knit friends Paige, Shirley and Bonnie out Shop Hopping!

According to the Stockinette ladies they were doing their own sort of Shop Hop at Rumpelstiltskin, Babetta's Yarn & Gifts, and Knitique.

Paige and Bonnie recently recruited their friend Shirley to the Guild. Welcome Shirley!

Also Out & About

Another group of Stockinettes, Lorna, Sheila, Michele and Daniella spent a beautiful day up at Donner Lake on Wednesday at an event sponsored by Kelly of Lake Tahoe Yarn Company. The event featured Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure & Simple.

Daniella said "it was so nice sitting under the trees knitting". She really enjoyed meeting Diane and says she "is so down to earth". She loved that there were samples from Knitting Pure & Simple to admire and try on.

Daniella also reported that the ladies saw another Stockinette member Lisa from Folsom there, too. They all had a great time and look forward to next year's event.

Close-Knit friendships are just one of the fabulous benefits of being a Camellia Stockinette!

Let's Make a Sock Yarn Blanket!

2010-07-10T20:25:00.001-07:00

Sheila's Stunning Sock Yarn Blanket!

The July Tuesday Night Program was another fun filled night for the Stockinettes! The program agenda this month was learning how to make mitered squares to make a Sock Yarn Blanket.

The program night was led by Cindi Unmack. Cindi's very own Sock Yarn Blanket has inspired many other Stockinette Knitters to join the fun of knitting a Sock Yarn Blanket.

Here's what Michele C. had to say about the Program:

Tuesday evening’s program started with the “Great Wee Ball Swap”.

Everyone put their “wee balls” on the table, looked around, started pointing and the ooos and aaahs began. Who knew there were so many beautiful sock yarns to choose from; every color you can imagine. Everyone walked around the table selecting “wee balls” for their own projects and couldn’t wait to get started knitting them.

Cindi explained the concept of a mitered square, explained how to get started and everyone took off. After making two squares Cindi demonstrated how to pick up stitches and add in the third square. There was quite a bit of discussion on whether the blankets should have “innees” or “outees” but everyone knew what they wanted. By the end of the evening some ladies were already pulling out their sample squares and starting a “project.”

Cindi had patterns for other mitered square project (think slippers, socks and scarves).

It was an evening filled with fun and we can’t wait to see all those mitered square projects at the August meeting.

Thank you Michele for your fabulous report!

Close Knit Friends &

Sock Yarn Blanket Knitters!

Knitting a Sock Yarn Blanket "is fun and addictive" according to Sheila's Ravelry project page! Sheila and her fellow Stockinettes friends Kimberly and Michele all caught the Sock Yarn Blanket bug from Cindi Unmack a few years ago!

Thank you to Cindi Unmack for leading another fun filled Tuesday Night Program.

Special thanks to Michele C. for bringing her sock yarn blanket and for offering help teaching during the program.

Special thanks to Sandi Benward for bringing "wee yarn balls" donated by Babetta's Yarn & Gifts for everyone to take at the program night.

Sock Yarn Blanket

So are you ready to being your very own Sock Yarn Blanket now?

Cindi Unmack and the Stockinette Knitters were all inspired by Shelly Kang's Mitered Square Sock Yarn Blanket.

You can find the free pattern on Ravlery and read Shelly's tips "All About the Blankie" on her blog.

Trash to Treasure

2010-07-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Let the Bidding Begin!

The July Guild Meeting is probably the most fun meeting of the year because it's also the Trash to Treasure night.

This year's Trash to Treasure was another fun filled event thanks to all the fabulous donations and the evening's auctioneer Lorna Miser!

This year there were twelve Trash to Treasure lots and four raffle drawings. The yarn lots went for as low as $9.00 to well over $30.00. All the money raised goes directly to the Stockinettes Library fund.

Divvying up the Winnings!

Kendal was the big winner of the evening. She was the lucky winner of two yarns lots and one raffle lot,too. Way to go Kendal!

As in former years, some Stockinettes formed a team and bid on a lot together. Catherine, Jude and Lisa (photo above) were the lucky high bidders on the pink yarn lot. They scored some really beautiful yarns in lovely shades of pinks. Congratulations ladies and kudos on your Stockinette teamwork!

Other lucky winners on the raffle lots were: Daniella , Chris and Phyllis. These lucky ladies won raffle lots filled with books along with various knitting accoutrement's. A big score for any knitter for just a $1.00 raffle ticket!

Sheila & Michele

A great big thank you to Sheila and Michele for organizing

another fantastic Trash to Treasure night!

Knitting With Wire!

2010-06-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Knitting With Wire

Have you ever knit with wire? Yes, you can actually knit with wire. The Stockinettes learned all about knitting with wire at the June Program Night.

Beth Callahan (our very own talented bead knitter) taught the Knitting With Wire class. The Guild supplied all the wire and beads and the Stockinettes supplied all the fun!

Wire Beaded Bracelet

The project for the program night was to learn to make a wire beaded bracelet.

According to Stockinette Annemieke, it was a very interesting program and she really enjoyed it! She went on to say that Beth gave a wonderful introduction and was a thorough teacher.

Annemieke says this program was a great stepping off point for making more wire jewelry. She went home and immediately got on Ravelry to find more patterns and books for making wire jewelry.

Thank you Beth for another fun filled and fascinating program night!

Sac-Sierra Shop Hop Winner!

2010-06-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

Support Your Local Yarn Shop!

Who is Dale Spears? Well according to Lisa at Auburn Needleworks, Dale Spears is the lucky lady who won the 2010 Sac-Sierra Shop Hop Grand Prize. Dale shopped all four days and visited every yarn shop.

Congratulations Dale Spears!

1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats

2010-06-20T00:02:00.001-07:00

1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats

by Annie Modesitt

Hot off the Press!

This just in from Stockinette Terry Morris aka The Sailing Knitter:

It's here! The new book by Annie Modesitt is now on Amazon.com Take a peek inside the book at the Contributors pages...see all the Camellia City Stockinettes Guild members!

Whooo hoooo! I see: Lorna Miser, Sandi Benward, Beth Callahan and me, Terry Morris. I can't wait to get my hands on this book and see all the beautiful and fun hats.

Congratulations ladies for having your hats
published in Annie's new book!

Knitters in Public!

2010-06-18T20:46:00.001-07:00

Knitters in Public

There's only two days left to show the world your love of knitting for WWKIPD. Have you been seen knitting out in public?

Spotted today and caught on camera is this lovely group of Stockinette knitters knitting out in public at their local La Bou.

Pictured left to right:
Mary, Annemieke, Cheryl, Sally and Nina.

Thank you Stockinette ladies for doing your part to show the world
just how cool knitters are!

WWKIP Time!

2010-06-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

World Wide Knit in Public

Attention all Stockinettes...it's time for World Wide Knit in Public!

This year World Wide Knit in Public is anytime from June 12th through June 2oth. So grab your needles and your fiber friends and show the world just how "cool" knitting is!

Check the Stockinettes Ravelry group for the latest update where many of the Stockinettes plan on meeting to knit in public.

According to Cindi Unmack VP of the Stockinettes, there will be a WWKIP event on Saturday June 19th at Sacramento's Fremont Park along with the Sacramento's Naked Knitting Group .

Fremont Park is located at the corner of 15th and Q St. The Naked Coffee shop is nearby, too, for refreshements.

Hope to see you out in public knitting!

Sac-Sierra Shop Hop Time!

2010-05-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's Shop Hop Time!

Mark your calenders, it's "Shop Hop" time.

June 3 - 6 marks the annual Sac-Sierra Shop Hop. This year there are 15 Yarn Shops participating. Many of the shops are advertisers and supporters of the Camellia City Stockinettes. This year's Grand Prize is $750.00 in prizes and certificates. Wow...surely any knitter would love to win that!

To begin your Shop Hop, visit any participating shop and pick up your official Shop Hop Passport. Get your Passport stamped at each store you visit. You must visit all 15 shops and have your passport stamped at each shop to be eligible for the Grand Prize.

So grab your fiber friends and shop 'till ya drop!

Sac-Sierra Shop Hop Stores

Auburn Needleworks, Auburn

Babetta's Yarn & Gifts, Fair Oaks

Fibers, Grass Valley

Fig Tree Alley Fiber Arts, Sacramento

Filati Fine Yarn, Rocklin

Knit-Witz Boutique, Stockton

Knitique, Elk Grove

Lake Tahoe Yarn Co., Truckee

Lofty Lou's, Placerville,

Meadow Farms Studio, Nevada City

Reynold's Knittin' Pretty Yarn Shop, Woodland

Rumpelstiltskin, Sacramento

Sierra Knitting Co, Cameron Park

The Urban Sheep, Modesto

The Yarn Shoppe, Elk Grove

Stitch N' Pitch!

2010-05-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Doris, Dinger & Jude

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

The Stockinettes had a great time at Raley Field for Stitch N' Pitch on May 5, 2010. Many Stockinettes and even husbands were there to cheer on the Sacramento River Cats.

This wonderful event by TNNA (The National Needle Arts Association) is a fun way of combining two great American past times, baseball and the needle arts.

Fun Times At The Ball Park!

Nina, Beth & Cindi

"Yes, we are ready for some baseball!"

Susan & Sheila

"Bring on the fun and the knitting!"

The Stockinettes Section

Yes, there was knitting!

The Stockinettes were greeted at the Raley Field gate by our very own Lorna Miser. Lorna presented special Stitch N' Pitch seat cushions and goodie bags to ticket holders who purchased through the Stitch N' Pitch event.

All in all, it was a fun evening...even though the River Cats lost.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T14:02:00.001-07:00

Stockinette Mother Daughter Duos:

Andrea & Adrienne

Kathy & Wilma

Happy Mothers Day!

Thank you to all the mothers, grandmothers
and great grandmothers who have taught us to knit!

Double the Fun!

2010-05-06T12:38:00.001-07:00

Paige & Bonnie

"Double the Fun" Knitting Pals

Double Knitting is Double the Fun!

Have you ever tried "Double Knitting"?

The Stockinettes had a chance to learn this fun technique at the April Tuesday Night Program. Stockinette Sandi Benward taught the program. Sandi's teaching style made the class informative as well as "double the fun" for all the Stockinettes in attendance!

Double Knitting Program

Taught by Sandi Benward

It was standing room only for this Tuesday Night program. Many Stockinettes were eager to learn this fun technique.

The Program proved to be so popular that Sandi even started up a Knit Along on the Stockinettes Yahoo group. She is providing help and support to help everyone finish up some fun "double knit" projects!

Have any questions...just email Sandi!

Sandi Benward

Wearing her "Double Knit" projects!

Thank you Sandi for teaching us a new technique and for another fun Tuesday Night Program!

April Meeting

2010-04-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

April Monthly Challengers

Let's Get Green!

In honor of April's Earth Day, the Guild took on a

"Knitting Green Challenge"!

In keeping with the environmental "green" theme, the Monthly Challenge for April was to use recycled materials and create something new. Many Stockinettes took on this challenge and were quite creative in the process!

April Challengers

Recycle - Reduce - Reuse

It was fun to see the many creative ways that knitters can recycle, reduce and reuse. Some knitters cut up existed knit garments and re-purposed them into handbags, skirts and blankets. A few knitters even frogged (ripped out) existing sweaters and re-knit the yarn into a new sweater (see photo above). Now that sure is being "green"!

Recycled Sweater Bag

Check out Phyllis' adorable felted sweater bag! She really got her creative juices flowing. She felted a sweater and then made up her own pattern creating her one-of-a-kind recycled sweater bag. She ended up with only a few sweater scraps left..so she saved on old sweater going to the landfill. Nice job Phyllis!

Junior Members Are Welcome

Sheila and her Granddaughter

We had a cute little visitor at our April meeting...

Sheila's granddaughter!

Did you know that the Guild offers a Junior Membership?

What a wonderful way to keep our needlecrafts alive by exposing young people to needlecrafts. If you have a young family member or friend that would be interested in a Junior Membership, please contact Doris or Jude in Membership for details.

Thank you to each and every guild member for taking on the "Knitting Green Challenge".

Let's all do our part to Recycle-Reduce-Reuse!

Giving Thanks!

2010-04-17T21:31:00.001-07:00

Beth Callahan, Michele Wong Synergex President & CEO,

Cindi Unmack & Lizette Hopkins

Thank you, Synergex!

by Beth Callahan

It’s very hard to think of a way to thank a company as generous as Synergex. For the past several years, Synergex has allowed the Camellia City Stockinettes Knitting Guild to use corporate meeting spaces for guild project nights and workshops.

Since knitters like to give back to the community with knitted projects, they decided to make a donation of knitted chemo caps -- on behalf of Synergex – to one of Synergex’s corporate charities, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Michele Wong, Synergex President & CEO, is a national LLS board member, and her husband Tony is a local LLS board member.

The Stockinettes created over 100 caps of differing shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns – some for men, some for women, and some suitable for teens and children. Created of the softest, most cloud-like fibers, the caps are intended to cover and sooth the tender scalps of patients undergoing hair loss due to chemotherapy.

Current Stockinettes president Lizette Hopkins presented the hat collection on behalf of herself, last year’s president Lorna Miser, and grateful Sacramento knitters to Michele Wong. Stockinettes co-vice presidents Cindi Unmack and Beth Callahan were also in attendance. Michele accepted the hats, and will personally deliver them to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society patient services team.

Chemo Caps donated by The Camellia City Stockinettes

Cindi Unmack said it best...

"It made me so proud of the Guild to see all those hats!"

Knitters Love Crochet!

2010-03-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Knitters Love Crochet

The Stockinettes put down their knitting needles and picked up crochet hooks for the March Tuesday Night Program. Jude Tarrant led the program teaching Crochet for Knitters!

Jude teaching crochet edging

Jude taught the basics of crochet and how to use crochet as a decorative edge to knitting. The best advice Jude gave the knitters that evening was "find yourself a good crochet instruction book to use for reference"!

Lizette helping the ladies

Lizette Hopkins is also an experienced crocheter. She also helped many of the ladies learn the basics of crochet and how to crochet knit squares together for afghan making.

Jude made crochet fun for knitters!

Jude and Lizette made learning crochet fun and easy. We are so fortunate to have so many talented and experienced members in the Camellia City Stockinettes.

Get ready for the April Tuesday Night Program...Sandi Benward will be teaching Double Knitting. See you there!

Sock Club!

2010-03-08T09:56:00.001-08:00

Hot off the press...

Sock Club

Congratulations to our very own Stockinette Terry Morris. She has two sock patterns published in the newly published book Sock Club. Two of her original original designs are in the book: Cozy Cable Socks and Beaded Lattice Socks.

You can follow Terry's knitting adventures on the high seas by reading her blog Sailing Knitter. Terry and her husband sold their house and possessions in 2006 and now call a 50' Gulfstar Sailmaster home. Talk about adventuresome!

Terry is a well loved and long standing member of the Camellia City Stockinettes. Be sure to check out her book and blog!

Happy Sailing Terry and again Congratulations!

March Meeting!

2010-03-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

Cable March Madness!

There was a definite green, Celtic and Aran theme to the March Meeting!

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, members were encouraged to wear green to the meeting. What a showing of green there was from Aran sweaters to cabled berets!

The Stockinettes packed the house again with nearly 100 members in attendance. Membership leader Doris K. reported that we now have 175 members including a new "junior member" who is just 5 yrs old. Talk about keeping our craft alive!

The March Challenge

Annemieke's "Ludo" sweater by

Designer Elsebeth Lavold

The March monthly challenge was to "Knit with Cables".

Did you know that the monthly challenge has changed to a fun new format? There is now a "theme" for the "challenge of the month" verses an actual pattern challenge. Based on the 34 March challenge participators ...this seems to be a big hit!

Kudos to Cindi and Beth for changing up the monthly challenge for the Stockinettes. Now when you participate in the Monthly Challenge, you earn an entry into the challenge drawing that evening.

Congratulations to the March challenge winner Phyllis A.. She won a $25.00 gift certificate to Rumpelstiltskin's.

The Stockinettes Love a Challenge!

Yes, we can twist the cable!

Attending the monthly Guild Meeting is a great way to "stay in the loop" with the Stockinettes!

Nina R. reported on the Stockinette Ravelympics 2010 team, Team Yarn Sac Near & Far. Over 20 members challenged themselves during the Winter Olympics including Kimberly H. who competed from her new home in Idaho! (Yes, most competitors crossed the finish line!)

Stitch 'N Pitch is just around the corner. Bring your knitting and come out to Raley Field and cheer on the Rivercats Wednesday, May 5th, 2010. We have a reserve section so be sure to buy your official Stockinette tickets through the Stockinettes at the April meeting.

Wilma K. reported on the California State Fair . This year's dates are July 14 to August 1, 2010. As always, The Stockinettes booth can be found in the Creative Arts Building.

Save the date for the Second Annual Retreat this October 14 - 17, 2010 at Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe. It will be pretty tough to "out do" last year's Retreat but here's hoping we can do it!

BIG News Announcement!

Perhaps the most exciting news of the evening was Beth's announcement...

Amy Singer is coming this November.

Amy Singer is a designer,author and the editor of Knitty.com. Amy will be our special guest and featured speaker at our November Guild Meeting. There will also be three lace workshops with Amy that weekend. Be sure to mark your calendar!

Cable Challengers!

As you can see...there are a lot of fabulous things happening this year for the Stockinettes.

The Stockinettes are truly one of the most fabulous knitting guilds around. There's a tremendous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes for the Stockinettes...thanks to the many Guild member volunteers.

The Guild is seeking volunteers for committees and special events this year. Can you volunteer?

Stitches West!

2010-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Betsy Shopping at Stitches West!

Every February knitters across America head to the Santa Clara Convention Center for STITCHES West.

Many Camellia City Stockinettes were spotted at the Stitches West Marketplace on Friday, February 26, 2010. Here they are:

Caught on Camera at Stitches West!

Daniella & Lorna

Daniella enjoyed classes and shopping at the Marketplace.

Lorna Miser worked the show for Village Spinning & Weaving as a Designer and did book signings as well.

Sally

Sally was there working the Wild Fibers Magazine booth!

Cathy

Cathy, aka "The Librarian",

picked up three fabulous books for the Guild Library while shopping.

Cheryl

Cheryl was excited to finally find some "real"

San Francisco Giants colors!

Diane & Elizabeth

Serious yarn shoppers say "shop 'till ya drop"!

Catherine

Catherine "scored" on some Noro yarn deals!

You certainly can tell by all those Stockinette smiles that eveyone had a fabulous time!
.
Be sure to mark your calendar for Stitches West 2011.
It will be held February 24 - 27, 2011.

See you there! You might even be caught on camera!

Let's Spin!

2010-02-27T19:22:00.001-08:00

Let's Spin!

Introduction to Spinning was the February Program Class. Stockinette President Lizette Hopkins is an avid spinner and led this fun and informative workshop for the Stockinettes.

Here's a quick recap of Introduction to Spinning:

Cheryl's a Spinner!

Most of the Intro to Spinning attendees had never spun before. Each attendee was given a drop spindle and fleece to spin their own yarn. Lizette began the program with instructions on how to even make your own drop spindle.

As the photo above shows, Cheryl and the Stockinettes had no trouble getting the hang of spinning!

Ready, Set...Spin!

Spin, Spin, Spin!

Lizette worked the room making sure everyone was able to get the hang of spinning with a drop spindle.

Sandy spinning away!

Stockinette Sandy loves to spin. She became hooked on spinning at last year's

Lambtown in Dixon.

She loves spinning and says "it's very therapeutic"!

If you haven't tried spinning...why not give it a try!

February Guild Meeting

2010-02-11T13:21:00.001-08:00

Knit From Your Heart!

The February Guild Meeting was all about hearts, love, red and knitting.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, there was an obvious holiday heart theme to this February meeting!

Nina's "Falling in Love" Scarf

The monthly challenge due at the February Meeting was "Knit From The Heart".

Guild members were challenged to knit projects that were "knit from the heart". This naturally included heart motif projects, knits for someone you love or knitting that you love. There was a wonderful array of knit challenges showcased at the meeting including Nina's adorable "Falling in Love" heart scarf knit in Jojoland cashmere!

We Love Red!

The Stockinettes love the color Red!

There was a lot of red worn at the February meeting.

The Stockinettes heart (love)

Community Service Knitting!

Veterans Lap Robes

At the February meeting it was quite evident that the Stockinette members "knit from their hearts" and give generously to local community service projects! The Stockinettes donate Veterans Lap Robes, Preemie Baby Hats and Chemo Caps on a regular monthly basis.

All About Hearts!

Anne's All Heart Shawl

Stockinette member Anne T. really took the monthly challenge to heart. Her All Heart Shawl was the show stopper of the meeting. Her project was definitely "knit from the heart" and for someone she loves...her Mother. This adorable heart motif wrap is from Nicky Epstein's book Knitting A Kiss In Every Stitch.

To create her All Heart Shawl, Anne enlisted the help of her two sisters (living in Paris and Seattle) to knit as many hearts as they could in varying sizes both in stockinette and seed stitch. Anne joined the hearts into the wrap and is now sending it off to her mother for Valentine's Day.

Anne says "Mom's a knitter and a quilter so she will love it". We know she will, too!

Meet the 2010 Board of Directors!

2010-02-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

2010 Board of Directors

Meet the 2010 Board of Directors!

Front Row (left to right):
Treasurer: Barbara Debert, Secretary: Emmy Aricioglu and President: Lizette Hopkins

Back Row (left to right):
Dual Membership: Doris Keller, Dual Vice Presidents: Beth Callahan & Cindi Unmack, Dual Membership: Jude Tarrant

Let's hear it for the Camellia City Stockinettes

2010 Board of Directors!

Thank you ladies for your dedication and hard work!

We know it will be a wonderful year under your leadership!

Shelby's Place is moving!

2010-01-29T16:58:00.001-08:00

Shelby's Place

Gina the owner of Shelby's Place is pleased to announce she is moving to a larger location.

The current location is now closed while Gina and her Mom move all that yarn and books to their new location just around the corner. Gina says "the new location is easier to find and is double the size of the old location". They even have new and expanded hours now.

Shelby's Place re-opens on Monday February 8, 2010.

New Store Hours:

Mon - Fri 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Sat & Sun 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

New Address:

1020 Del Paseo Rd, Suite 130

Sacramento, CA 95834

(916) 285-8694

Knit From Your Heart!

2010-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

Rowan's Katie beret with hearts!

It's almost time for our February guild meeting next Thursday February 4, 2010.

Don't forget to bring your monthly challenge "Knit from your Heart" to the meeting and to wear red for this Valentines theme meeting.

For the "Knit from your Heart" monthly challenge we were encouraged to knit something with a heart motif, something red or something we love. What did you knit for your monthly challenge? We can't wait to see every one's project at the meeting.

See you at the meeting and don't forget to wear red!

Needle Felting 101!

2010-01-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

Workshop Leaders Cindi & Beth

"Welcome to Needle Felting 101"!

Do you know how to needle felt? Well, many Stockinettes do now thanks to our January Tuesday Night Program on needle felting.

The Needle Felting program began with a wonderful introduction to needle felting by Beth Callahan. Beth explained to us how felt is made and how the needle felting process works using the special barbed needles for needle felting. She also warned us "stick the wool...not your fingers"!

Let's do some needle felting!

New Member Cheryl

New member Cheryl had never tried needle felting before. This was also her first Stockinette workshop since she was recently recruited by fellow knitter Sachiko to join our guild. Here is what Cheryl had to say about the needle felting program:

"I really had a good time at that class. I loved how everyone would take little breaks to walk around & see what everyone else was doing. There was just so much good juju and creative energy flowing!!"

Some Stockinettes have Needle Felted Before!

Deborah loves to felt!

There were many Stockinettes present who were already proficient at needle felting. It was wonderful having a classroom full of both "newbies" and experienced needle felters to make for a fun interactive workshop.

Deborah F. loves to felt. She brought examples to the workshop of her felted garden fairy and her cute little dog felted with actual hairs from her dog! How about that?

Hey...she's done this before!

Aren't these mittens adorable! Sheila I. is needle felting a darling floral design on purchased mittens. Now that is a clever idea! Sandi B. also felted a holly design on a ready made hat that she brought to class. What clever ladies and what great ideas for gift giving!

Bobbie with all the right tools!

The needle felting workshop was such a fun workshop and a great way to start off the year of workshops for the Stockinettes! Thank you to the Stockinettes for providing the wool roving and patterns at the workshop.

Thank you to Beth and Cindi for another inspiring program where we are able to learn a new skill or improve one we already know. Your leadership is greatly appreciated!

Cindi's "Little Mermaid"

If you missed out on this fabulous workshop we hope you will give needle felting a try! It is a wonderful way to add some "pizazz" to your knits!

Where can you find Needle Felting Supplies?

Roving Supplies at Rumpelstiltskin's

Where can you find needle felting supplies? Well, I am glad you asked. You can find wonderful wool roving and needle felting supplies at these Stockinette advertisers/supporters:

Auburn Needleworks,
Babetta's Yarn & Cafe
and Rumpelstiltskins

January Guild Meeting

2010-01-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

January 2010 Guild Meeting

What a way to kick off the new year! We packed the house for our January 2010 guild meeting to near capacity. According to member Sheila Igoe, the word is out...our Guild rocks!

Let's Meet the New Board of Directors!

Presenting the 2010 Board of Directors

Left to right: Beth Callahan & Cindi Unmack/dual Vice Presidents, Emy Aricioglu/Secretary, Babarara Debert/Treasurer, Lizette Hopkins/President and Doris Keller/Membership. (Not photographed Jude Tarrant/dual membership position).

Let's hear it for the 2010 Board of Directors!

President Lizette Hopkins

New President Lizette Hopkins opened the January meeting with a great statement " keep knitting...we have to keep our craft alive." A great saying to begin the year for the guild and to remind us what our guild is all about.

Community Service Knitting

Susan & Doris displaying a completed

Veterans Lap Robe

Community Service knitting programs are near and dear to the Stockinette's hearts. We have many dedicated knitters who generously knit items for Preemie Babies, Chemo Caps for cancer patients and Veterans Lap Robes.

We encourage all members to volunteer and knit for community service. If you are unable to knit items you can always donate yarn to the guild for other members to knit. Acrylic and machine washable yarns are best. More information is available on our web site.

Synergex Hat Drive

We are so pleased to report that nearly 100 Chemo Caps have been donated by the Stockinettes to our special community service project, Chemo Caps for Synergex. This special hat drive is a way for the Stockinettes to say "thank you" to our local business Synergex. Synergex generously donates the use of their office space for us to hold our Tuesday Night programs in.

Synergex's President/CEO Michele Wong is on the National Board of Directors for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We couldn't think of a better way to show our appreciation than by knitting chemo caps to donate to Synergex for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The hats will be presented to Michele Wong and Synergex within the next month or so.

Monthly Challenge

Fingerless Mitts Monthly Challenge

Did you take the November Monthly Challenge and knit up some Fingerless Mitts? Many Stockinettes enjoyed this monthly challenge and gave pairs of mitts away at Christmas time.

It's always fun to see how various members take a pattern and make it their own. Many Stockinettes took the basic Fingerless Mitt pattern suggested and added cables and beads. And yes, our one needle knitter (crocheter) Kendal even crocheted a pair! Great job ladies!

Come Sit and Knit with Us!

We love to knit!

2010 is sure to be another exiting year for our Guild with over 215 members and growing. President Lizette Hopkins said "the bar was set pretty high last year." We look forward to Lizette's leadership and exciting things for the Guild in 2010!

Beth Callahan and Cindy Unmack announced it will be another exciting year for the Stockinette workshops. Already on the agenda is a Modular Lace Workshop with Amy Singer, the editor of Knitty.com. Rumour has it...there will be a Lorna Miser workshop, too.

Mark your calendars...yes, there will be another exciting Knitting Retreat in South Lake Tahoe in October 2010.

If you are an existing member we hope to see you at Guild Meetings and Guild Events this year.

If you are not a member and would like to "keep knitting and keep our craft alive" we hope you will be our guest at our next meeting and join our guild, The Camellia City Stockinettes!

Time to Celebrate!

2009-12-18T18:26:00.001-08:00

Camellia City Stockinettes

Annual Holiday Party

Kendal, Sandra & Diane P. enjoying the festivities!

What better way to end the year but with a holiday party!

The Camellia City Stockinettes celebrated the holidays with a Holiday Party and Celebration on December 3, 2009. It was held at the Veterans Hall in Folsom, CA.

In the spirit of community...this year's party was a potluck. The Stockinettes brought delicious foods ranging from appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts. It was a fabulous three course buffet with all the food and trimmings. Turns out the Stockinettes aren't just great knitters but great cooks, too!

The Holiday Party Room

The Holiday party was a great reminder of the camaraderie of our knitting guild. Members were able to socialize and visit with other members throughout the evening. There was also a Secret Santa gift exchange with lots of oohs and awes!

The party was also a celebration of the Camellia City Stockinettes 20th Anniversary. Doris K. & Jude T. gave a lovely history and overview of our guild's founding. The Stockinettes have been going strong for 20 years now and today's membership is well over 200 members. What an accomplishment!

Close-Knit Friends

Paula & Jeanne

The Camellia City Stockinettes guild has created many close-knit friendships amongst it's members. Many of our members meet at other times of the month to knit together at local yarn stores or cozy cafes. Many members have been good friends for years now.

Member and former President Sandra B. said it best about the holiday party:

"What a great night and great turnout!"

It was so good to see so many old friends at the party tonight. The food was outstanding, thanks. Doris and Jude are a good team - the walk down memory lane was great. Thanks to the entire committee and everyone that helped to put this together. It is a big job and I appreciate all that went into the night."

Congratulations Camellia City Stockinettes!

2oth Anniversary Celebration

The Crew

The Kitchen Crew

Lizette H., Lorna Miser & Michele C.

(and Sheila I. not pictured due to tending the buffet table)

Last but not least...a great big thank you to Michele C. and the Holiday Party Committee! You all out did yourselves with this fabulous event. Thank you for organizing this lovely party for us. Thank you for our adorable holiday party goodie bag and Knit N Style magazine, too!

Thank you to the Folsom Veterans Hall for being a fabulous venue for our Holiday Party. Thank you to all service men and women for their service in keeping America safe and strong.

Happy Holidays!

November Guild Meeting

2009-12-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

The Camellia City Stockinettes

The monthly November Guild Meeting was a real show stopper! Besides the traditional monthly business and announcements there was quite a fashion show during the Show & Tell segment of the meeting.

Here are the highlights:

Show & Tell

Lucinda's Lovely Shawl

Member Lucinda L. brought her gorgeous shawl to Show & Tell. She purchased her shawl kit at The Knitting Nest while shopping on our October Retreat in South Lake Tahoe. She said "it was easy to do with good results.! Love her shawl pin, too!

Gina's Mystery Blanket

The Show & Tell show stopper of the evening was from our advertiser/supporter member Gina W. from Shelby's Place. The crowd oohed and awed when she and her mom presented her stunning 2009 Mystery Blanket.

Gina's stunning mystery blanket is knit along club/kit by British designer Debbie Abrahams. Gina says "Debbie Abrahams sends you the yarn, pattern and bead embellishments for each square in the mail every month in her knit along club".

The Stockinettes sure hope Gina enters this stunning project at the California State Fair next year!

Jo's Jumbo Blanket

Just in time for winter....member Jo M. shared with members her jumbo blanket. Jo's jumbo blanket is knit in Lion Brand's Homespun yarn. Jo said that her daughter has dibs on the blanket! Great job Jo!

Sharon, Linda & Susan with their

Grandma's Change Purse

We are so fortunate to have so many talented members in our guild. One such member is Doris Keller. Doris presented the October Tuesday Night Program with her adorable Grandmother's Change Purse pattern.

Doris designed the pattern after her Grandmother's actual hand-knit change purse which features a sliding ring to close the purse to keep your change safe. The pattern will be for sale very soon so you can make your own Grandma's Change Purse. Congratulations Doris for keeping knitting traditions and heritage alive!

Looking Ahead to 2010!

There was no December guild meeting due to the Stockinettes holiday party celebration on December 3rd. The next guild meeting is Thursday January 7, 2010. Members please note it is also time to renew your membership for 2010. You can pay your 2010 membership dues at the January meeting.

Our guild is now over 215 members strong and growing. We are a vibrant guild filled with members of all ages and all skill levels. If you are a member we hope to see more of you in 2010 and if you are not a member...please come to a meeting and be our guest.

We would love to have you join the Camellia City Stockinettes!

Shop Hop 2009

2009-11-26T22:19:00.001-08:00

Shop Hoppers Catherine & Pat say...

"Shop 'till ya drop!"

Shop Hop 2009 was a big hit for the Stockinette Shop Hoppers and Yarn Store Owners alike. According to Shop Hop organizer Kathy Morrow, there were 43 entrees in this year's Shop Hop drawing.

The Shop Hop end date coincided with the Retreat dates so many Retreat attendees hit the Truckee and Lake Tahoe Shops during the Retreat.

Here is a recap of Shop Hop 2009:

Doris, Mary, Lauren (shop owner) Susan & Jude

Shopping at The Knitting Nest

Many Stockinettes made the scenic drive and visited Lauren Wayne's darling boutique shop The Knitting Nest at the top of the mountain in Stateline NV during the Retreat. Everyone was "wowed" by Lauren's creative displays and her shop's unique yarn selections.

Cozy Winter Hat

Designed & Modeled by

Lauren Wayne, owner of The Knitting Nest

Free hat patterns were given out to the Stockinettes at every shop during Shop Hop 2009. What a great idea! Many Shop Owners offered specials to the Stockinette shoppers, too. A big thank you to all the wonderful Shop Owners for making the Shop Hop such a fun shopping event!

Shopping is always more fun with your family & friends!

(Sisters Karen & Linda, Daniella & Mom and Lea)

Many Stockinette shoppers found some fabulous yarn selections at The Wool Tree in South Lake Tahoe during the Retreat.

Shopper Karen E. said fellow shopper Lea did a "happy dance" at The Wool Treee when she spotted some Trendsetter yarn she had been searching for! Yes, the Stockinette Shoppers know how to shop and have a good time!

And the Winners Are....

Close Knit Friends Jude & Doris

Drum roll please...the Grand Prize Shop Hop Award goes to Doris!

Doris K.'s name was drawn as the Grand Prize winner for Shop Hop 2009. Doris and her best knitting buddy Jude made a deal that if either of them won in the Shop Hop, they would share their winnings. Well, their shopping efforts paid off for visiting all of the 13 shops in the Shop Hop. Congratulations Doris, and of course, Jude, too!

Other Shop Hop Winners Are:

Wilma K.

Phyllis A.

Linda G. & Jo M.

Diana C.

Congratulations to all the winners and to all the Stockinettes for getting out and supporting our wonderful supporters and advertisers, our Local Yarn Shops.

Please continue to visit and always shop first at your LYS.

Kathy Morrow
Shop Hop 2009 Organizer

Thank you to Kathy Morrow for a great Shop Hop 2009!

And remember...it's okay to shop 'till ya drop!

Thank You to our Retreat Sponsors!

2009-11-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

Retreat Goodie Bag

Our first Knitting Retreat was a smashing success!

As far as the Retreat Goodie Bags go...the attendees said it best!

"We were up past midnight looking at everything in the goodie bag"! Diane P.

"The goodie bags were phenomenal! Wonderful patterns in the Debbie Bliss magazine. What a treasure trove"! Jo M.

The Stockinettes would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the sponsors for their generous donations for our Retreat. Donations came in from both big and small companies in the yarn and knitting industry. Thanks to their generous donations the Retreat attendees received a Retreat Goodie Bag filled to the brim and fabulous prizes were given out all Retreat long.

These companies really do care about knitters and we thank them for their support. We hope that you will patronize these fine companies whenever you have the opportunity.

Retreat Sponsors

Spud & Chloe
Lion Brand Yarn
Coats & Clark Yarn
Brown Sheep Yarn
Universal Yarn
Berroco
SoHo Publishing/Vogue Knitting on The Go
Lantern Moon
Knitting Fever/Debbie Bliss Magazine
Eliabeth Risch & Munchies
Clover
Ozark Handspun
Lorna Miser
Crystal Palace
Knitterella
Schaefer Yarn Co.
Mission Falls
Namaste
Knitting Pure & Simple
Lily, Bernat & Patons
Lucy Neatby & Tradewind Knitwear Designs
Cutured Purl
Louet/SOAK
Eucalan
Knit N Style Magazine
Creative Knitting Magazine
Be Sweet
Daisy Muir
Plymouth Yarn
Deborah Felmly
Shibui
Knit Happy
Brittany Needles
Joan McGowan-Michael & White Lies Designs
Skacel
Mountain Colors
Trendsetter
Lorna's Laces
Della Q
Farmhouse Yarns

Retreat Hat Contest

2009-11-26T15:29:00.001-08:00

Retreat Hat Contest Winners

Along with fun and games at the Retreat...there was also a hat contest. Instructions went out prior to the Retreat for four hat-egory choices for participants to enter: Retreat/Tahoe theme, Knit-In Design, Embellished, and the coveted Top Hat category selected by the voters for the Top Hat of all the combined hat-egories.

All the hat entrees were displayed in their appropriate hat-egory for all the Retreat attendees to vote on their favorites.

Here are the results:

Beth & Cindi announcing the winners!

Doris is a winner!

Doris took home the best Embellished Hat-egory
with her quirky i-cord hat!

Pat P is a winner!

Pat took home the best Knit-In Design
with her adorable Red Cable Tam!

Daniella Z is a winner!

Daniella took home the best Retreat/Tahoe Theme Hat-egory
for her snazzy hat.

Mary J. is a winner!

Mary took home the coveted Top Hat hat-egory.
The voters selected her hat as their top choice of the Hat Contest.

Mary J

Mary's Top Hat winner was a sure hit with all the Stockinette voters. It is knit in Kauni yarn in a beautiful intarsia design. A clear winner for fall, too!

Congratulations to all the entrees and winners!

Retreat Fun & Games

2009-11-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

Retreat Goodie Bag

Thanks to the Retreat's very generous sponsors...each Retreat attendee received a fabulous Retreat Goodie Bag filled with KAL (Knit Along) projects, yarn, patterns, needles, magazines and more.

During the Retreat attendees had the option to participate in fun KAL's. KAL kits were given out at various times during the Retreat weekend. The KAL kits were a wonderful way to try out new yarns or learn a new technique.

Here is a recap of a few of the KAL's.

Silly Apple Cozy
Sponsored by Lion Brand Yarns

Apple Cozy KAL

Thank you Lion Brand Yarn for supplying the yarn for this fun KAL. The Silly Apple Cozy is a free pattern on Ravelry designed by Casey Newman. It is knit in Lion Brand's Wool Ease worsted.

Betsy Coyne finished her apple cozy first and won a prize. Prizes were passed out all weekend long...again thanks to the generous yarn industry sponsors!

Spud & Chloe KAL

The Stockinettes love Spud & Chloe!

Cupcake Pincushion

Spud & Chloe sponsored the Cupcake Pincushion KAL. The adorable pattern is by designer Susan B. Anderson and is a free pattern on the Spud and Chloe blog.

This KAL was a wonderful opportunity for the Stockinettes to knit with Spud & Chloe's new Sweater (superwash/worsted) yarn. Everyone raved about this yarn! Thank you Spud & Chloe!

Lisa, Kendall & Jude

Clever crocheter Kendall whipped up her Cupcake Pincushion in crochet!

KAL winner Elizabeth!

Expert knitter Elizabeth was the first Stockinette to complete her Cupcake Pincushion in the KAL. For her prize she selected the gorgeous white satchel bag (in the photo)

generously donated by Trendsetter Yarns.

We Take our Knitting Seriously!

Yes, the Retreat was filled with lots of fun and games. On a more serious note though ...the Stockinettes are very serious and dedicated charity knitters as well.

Stockinette Susan H. spear heads the Stockinettes Veterans Lap Blanket cause. She set up a charity knitting table at the Retreat for our community knitting service cause. Susan is in need for more Log Cabin Squares. She provided the pattern and free yarn to those knitters who were able to take the challenge and knit some squares to complete another charity lap blanket.

Susan H.

Says "thank you" to all the Stockinette charity knitters!

Log Cabin Squares

Have you contributed to our charity knitting cause lately?

Retreat Recap

2009-11-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

Camellia City Stockinettes Knitting Retreat

October 15-18, 2009

Historic Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe, CA

The first ever CCS Knitting Retreat was well over a month ago and we are still talking about all the fun we had!

Here's your chance to read about the Retreat and catch up on all the fun and activities. And, yes, the attending Stockinettes did get squeeze in some knitting time with all that fun up in South Lake Tahoe!

Here's the Retreat Recap:

Historic Camp Richardson Lodge

There was no vacancy at the Lodge after the Stockinettes occupied the entire lodge for the Retreat!

Welcome Knitters!

Wine & Cheese Welcome Reception Night

Let the Knitting begin!

Diane, Jo & Lucinda

There was a lot of knitting and chatting at the Welcome Night Reception!

Elizabeth & Betsy

Knitters of all skill levels attended the Retreat. A special Stockinette "Thank You" to our expert knitters Elizabeth & Betsy. Throughout the entire Retreat, they so willingly lended a helping hand to any knitter that needed help.

Deborah found a comfy rocker!

We all had so much fun at the Retreat. This was not your Grandma's knitting Retreat!

Knitting Sessions

Free From Knitting Session

The Retreat was filled with fun optional events and knitting sessions led by our very own Stockinettes. Doris led a fascinating session about Free From Knitting. Everyone loved it!

Miniature Knitting Session

Jude is an expert miniature knitter and led a Miniature Knitting session that was a big hit!

Miniature Knitting

Can you believed they were actually knitting with sewing needles?!

Knitting R & R

Nina & Beth...relaxing and taking advantage
of the beautiful fall weather!

What's a Retreat without a little R & R (rest & relaxation)? Many Stockinettes took advantage of the beautiful fall weather to knit and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time!

Bonnie & Paige
Close Knit Friends

The Retreat was a time for close knit friends to enjoy this special event together. It was also a great time for Stockinette members to get better acquainted with other members, too. Many new knitting friendships were made during the Retreat.

South Lake Tahoe

Beautiful Lake Tahoe! What an idyllic setting for a knitting Retreat!

The Retreat was such a smashing success that we have already booked the

Camp Richardson Lodge for another Retreat in fall 2010.

Will you be attending this time?

1st Annual Knitting Retreat

2009-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

CCS Knitting Retreat

October 15-18, 2009

Historic Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe, CA

Retreat 2009

What a Retreat! Member Karen E. said it best....

"Tahoe + Yarn + Friends = Fun!"

Stay tuned for a full recap of the Retreat and fabulous photos soon. Right now the blogger is still recovering from all the fun she had up at South Lake Tahoe!

It's Retreat Time!

2009-10-14T01:00:00.001-07:00

Camellia City Stockinettes 1st Annual Knitting Retreat

October 15-18, 2009

South Lake Tahoe, CA

Are your bags packed?

The First Annual Camellia City Stockinettes Knitting Retreat begins this Thursday, October 15, 2009 at Camp Richardson Historic Resort in South Lake Tahoe, CA.

There is certain to be crisp fall weather and plenty of non-stop knitting and fun with the Stockinettes who have signed up for the Retreat.

Each attendee will receive a Retreat Tote Bag filled with goodies generously donated by the Yarn and Knitting Industry. There will be ongoing Knit-Alongs, games and drawings with fabulous prizes.

If you are going and need directions, click this Camp Richardson link for directions and here for a Resort map.

October Guild Meeting

2009-10-12T20:27:00.001-07:00

The Camellia City Stockinettes

We had a full house again for the October Guild Meeting. Our membership continues to grow each month thanks to the many Camellia City Stockinettes who have urged fellow knitters to join our fabulous knitting guild.

At our October meeting the board discussed our Shop Hop in progress, our upcoming Retreat and our annual Christmas party. We also discussed our wonderful community service charity knitting projects. Karolyn reported on how thrilled Kaiser Hospital was to receive our recent chemo hat donations.

Susan H. proudly displayed a beautiful crochet blanket that was completed by Kendal in yarns and crochet squares donated by Ginny Castle. Kendal did a wonderful job completing this special project in Ginny's honor.

Nancy Campbell and her winning

In the Garden Shawl

Member Nancy Campbell attended the meeting and brought her California State Fair winner with her. Nancy's In The Garden Shawl won first place in the Adult Apparel category and also took home the Camellia City Stockinettes award. It is a gorgeous knit shawl in one hand-painted wool and one solid yarn with lace and cable patterns. It is embellished with beaded knit flowers. Congratulations Nancy!

October Refreshments

Our October refreshments had a Halloween theme along with fresh California strawberries!

Lending Library

Cathy our Librarian reported that new books are being added to our lending library every month. Be sure to check out our new and vintage collectible books and magazines! We have some great classics for members to check out, including books and magazines on Elizabeth Zimmerman and Alice Starmore.

September Challengers

We enjoyed seeing the group of Stockinettes that took on the September challenge and knit up a Hoodie Scarf. It was wonderful to see every ones version. Surprisingly though...no one knit up a "little red riding hood" one!

October Challenge

Our challenge project for October was presented by Lisa S. and is a Cabled Headband. Lisa found a free pattern and says it can be knit in different weight yarns. It will be fun to see next month all the variety of headbands that our members knit up.

Our next guild meeting will be on Thursday November 5th. See you there!

The Yarn Harlot Was Here!

2009-09-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Yarn Harlot Was Here!

Recognize those hands? Yep, they belong to the one and only Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka the Yarn Harlot.

Yes, she was here!

We all know just how legendary Stephanie is in the world of knitting. Did you know that her recent California visit was exclusively to teach for our knitting guild the Camellia City Stockinettes? How lucky are we?!

Knitting For Speed & Efficiency

Stephanie at the mic..."she is the rock star of knitting!"

says Sheila Igoe.

Stephanie taught three sold out workshops for our guild last weekend. She taught back to back Grock the Sock classes on Saturday. On Sunday she taught a 6 hour workshop called Knitting for Speed and Efficiency.

I had a chance to chat with Michele Carotti about Sunday's workshop. Michele really enjoyed Stephanie's presentation on the History of Knitting. "It was quite interesting" she said. "She explained the knitting styles of different cultures and that many early knitters had to production knit for a living."

On another little note of knitting history...did you know that Stephanie learned to knit at age four from her Nana? Her Grandmother was a professional knitter who knit lever style referred to as Irish Cottage Knitting. For those lucky students that took Stephanie's Knitting For Speed & Efficiency Class they were taught the skills for lever knitting.

Knitting For Speed & Efficiency

Want to knit faster? Than Stephanie's Knitting For Speed and Efficiency class was for you!

Kelly Hechinger owner of The Lake Tahoe Yarn Co. attended this unique class. This is what Kelly had to say about attending the class excerpted from her blog:

"Yep, I was there. It was a really cool class. Lots of historical information that I had no idea of and an amazing new concept of knitting. I really like it!

The Homework Assignment

Yes, there was even a homework assignment. Attendees of the class were instructed to practice their lever knitting on a practice scarf. They are supposed to knit on it every day for 21 days.

Kelly is taking Stephanie's advice and working on a 1×1 rib scarf. "I can tell this is going to take the FULL 21 days. My hands are trying to figure out what the heck i’m telling them to do now. I kind of think of it as playing the guitar and then playing the piano" says Kelly.

Lever Knitting Technique

Stephanie Pearl McPhee can knit really fast! To see how fast she can knit be sure to check out her lever knitting technique or Irish Cottage Knitting technique on YouTube. It will knock your socks off!

Stephanie & Beth

This incredible event would not have happened for our guild if it wasn't for the perseverance of our Secretary Beth Callahan. Beth never gave up on bringing Stephanie to Sacramento. Beth actually worked on this event for three years.

Behind the scenes of bringing Stephanie to Sacramento was somewhat like bringing a rock star to Sacramento. Sheila Igoe said it best in our Ravelry Stockinettes group page:

"Beth and Cindi deserve HUGE kudos for setting this up. What a lot of work they do before and during events like this! Airport runs, yarn shop visits, sightseeing, dining out, caterers, security (it’s like escorting a rock star around!), hotel accommodations, back-up plans, etc., the list goes on and on."

"It was so well planned that, I believe, it was a absolutely wonderful for the attendees and for Stephanie. - Oh, and the Sunday class was one of the best I’ve ever taken. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This guild and SPM ROCK!”

*** Special thanks to Kelly from Lake Tahoe Yarn Co. & Sheila Igoe for providing photos from the workshop, to Beth and Cindi for making the event happen and, of course, to the Yarn Harlot for coming to Sacramento to see the Camellia City Stockinettes! ***

Welcome Stephanie Pearl-McPhee!

2009-09-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Knitting Rules!

The Yarn Harlot has arrived!

Yes, you read that right. World famous author and blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee made her arrival in Sacramento today! A warm Sacramento welcome goes out to Stephanie from all the Camellia City Stockinettes and knitting fans in our region.

Stephanie has flown all the way from Canada to Sacramento for two workshops, Grok the Sock and Knitting for Speed & Efficiency for the Stockinettes. Both workshops are naturally sold out! Don't you just envy those lucky students? What fun they will have with Stephanie this weekend!

This is such an exiting event for our knitting guild...we are just thrilled to have Stephanie here in Sacramento! A great big thank you to Beth Callahan for making this fabulous event happen!

Stay tuned...more stories and laughs are sure to come with The Yarn Harlot's visit!

Shop Hop 2009!

2009-09-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Shop Hop 2009

Are you Shop Hopping? The 2009 Shop Hop is on. Here are the details!

The Camellia City Stockinettes Shop Hop 2009 is already in progress.

This fun shopping event was organized by our very own Kathy Morrow. All 13 of our advertising supporter stores are participating. Kathy has dubbed it as "A Shop Hop Anyone Can Win!"

So how does it work? Well, you visit all or as many of the participating stores that you can and get your Shop Hop form stamped at each store you visit. Then you submit your form by the deadline at 3:00PM on October 17, 2009 and keep your fingers crossed for the big prize drawings.

To make it fun for all...Kathy has organized three ways to win. If you visit 1 to 11 shops you are entered into a prize drawing. If you visit 12 shops you are entered into a prize drawing. If you visit all 13 shops you will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing.

Please remember to shop and support your local yarn shops. As an added bonus each yarn shop is giving a "free" hat pattern to you when you get your form stamped. Many of our advertiser supporters also give a 10% discount to Camellia City Stockinettes, too!

Participating Shop Hop Stores

Auburn Needleworks, Babetta's Yarn Cafe, Knitique, Lake Tahoe Yarn Co., Lisa Souza Knitwear and Dyeworks, Lofty Lou's, Mostly Natural, Rumpelstiltskins, Shelby's Place, Swatches, The Knitting Nest, The Wool Tree and The Yarn Shoppe.

So get out and ...shop 'till you drop!

September Monthly Challenge

2009-09-10T17:11:00.001-07:00

Hoodie Scarf

Fall and winter will eventually make their way to sunny Sacramento. This month's Camellia City Stockinette Monthly Challenge is sure to get you ready for the fall and winter seasons!

Member Michele Carotti is challenging all Stockinettes to make the Hoodie Scarf pattern by Diana Gates. According to the pattern the skill level is beginner so we hope to see lots of Hoodie Scarves at our October Meeting's Show and Tell.

Michele says she got her inspiration for this challenge pattern last year. She wanted to do a hoodie scarf and began a search on Ravelry. When she found the Hoodie Scarf pattern that she really liked she knew it would be perfect for a Guild Monthly Challenge. She plans on making quite a few more this year for Christmas gifts.

Michele also mentioned that Sheila Igoe even made matching mittens to match her Hoodie Scarf. Great idea girls!

(You can find the Hoodie Scarf as a free pattern on Ravelry

or just click on the Hoodie Scarf link in this post and you will be directed to the pattern.)

September Guild Meeting & Vendor Night!

2009-09-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Vendor Night Designer Betsy Coyne

of Cultered Purl

The September Guild Meeting on September 3, 2009 was also our popular Vendor Night. Vendor Night is a fun marketplace after our meeting where talented Stockinettes can sell their knitting wares.

Vendors this year were: Michele Carotti & Sheila Igoe, Betsy Coyne of Cultered Purl, Lisette Davis of The Flitter Knitter, Lorna Miser of Lorna Miser Designs and Cinid Unmack of Left Coast Yarns.

There was a great array of products for sale including: patterns and books by Lorna Miser and Betsty Coyne, creative and clever needle holders and project bags by Michele Coratti and Sheila Igoe, famous brand name yarns by Lisette Davis and hand-dyed Left Coast Yarns by Cindi Unmack.

September Guild Meeting

We also packed the house again for our September Guild meeting! There were 87 members and guests present for the meeting. The word is out...if you're a knitter you should join this fabulous guild!

The Stockinettes love our Friends & Guests!

Folsom Guests & New Members:

Sally, Toni & Peggy

We enjoyed many guests at the September meeting including,

Folsom knitters Sally, Toni and Peggy.

Our "Fair Friends"!

We were also thrilled to have our "Fair Friends" be our guests at the meeting, too. We met many nice knitters at our booth at the California State Fair last month. The best part about making new friends is that many friends become new members, too!

Charity Knitting Update

Veterans Lap Blankets

Susan H. displayed many beautiful knit and crochet Veterans lap blankets for our charity knitting cause. Susan often receives just squares (both knit and crochet) that she creatively turns into completed blankets for the Veterans. Thank you Susan for heading up this wonderful charity for us!

Cindi Unmack of Left Coast Yarns

The Vendor Night meeting was a lot of fun thanks to all the Stockinette Vendors and Shoppers!

Congratulations to Cindi Unmack for the unveiling of her new hand dyed yarn line Left Coast Yarns at Vendor Night. Cindi's yarn will be available soon in her new Etsy store.

And don't forget you can always shop more! If you would like to make a purchase from a Stockinette Vendor...just drop them an email to make a purchase. We couldn't help notice that there were really some great holiday gift ideas for your favorite knitters... including yourself!

See you at our next Guild Meeting on Thursday October 1, 2009!

Sock Summit Report

2009-08-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Sock Summit 2009

It was dubbed "The Greatest Sock Show on Earth"! By all accounts it certainly was. Sock Summit 2009 was a smashing success according to the lucky four Camellia City Stockinette knitters who attended!

Sock Summit 2009 was a sock conference for hand knitters held August 6 - 9, 2009 in Portland Oregon. Sock knitters from around the globe filled the Portland Convention Center for classes, a marketplace, book signings, world record knitting and a sock museum.

Presenting: The Sock Summit Stockinettes!

(left to right: Stitch Marker Lady,

Stockinettes: Judee, Doris, Beth and Cindi)

The Camellia City Stockinettes take knitting very seriously. We are known to have some very talented sock knitters in our guild. Four of those serious sock knitters made the trek up to Oregon for the first ever Sock Summit.

Our Secretary, Beth Callahan had this to say about Sock Summit 2009:

We had so much fun!

It is rare to see such a well-organized first-time event. It attracted people from all over the world. I had one class with Meg Swanson and there were two Australians who travelled all the way from Melbourne just to attend Meg's 3-hour class. They said it was totally worth it and I agree with them!

Take a look at the Sock Museum!

The Sock Museum made it's debut at Sock Summit. It is a real live exhibit and a historical timeline of socks from the past to the present. All the knit socks were hand knit by actual volunteer knitters. The Stockinettes are proud to have two volunteer knitters who knit socks for the Sock Museum; Beth Callahan and Cindi Unmack.

The Sock Museum will continue on as an online exhibit for all knitters to contribute to. Congratulations Beth and Cindy for your contribution!

Beth knit Joan's Sock

Pattern by Joan Hamer 1995

Cindi knit Feather & Fan Socks
Iconic Sock Pattern

History in the Making!

Cindi, Barbara Walker and Beth!

History was in the making at Sock Summit 2009. Many fabulous knitting teachers and celebrities were there. Yes, that is Cindi and Beth with the Barbara Walker! Barbara Walker is a famous American knitting author treasured for her knitting treasury series on stitch reference first published in the 1960's and 1970's!

The Sock Summit knitters made history,too! On Friday August 7, 2009...935 knitters broke the Guinness World Record for the most people knitting simultaneously. Way to go knitters!

Rumor has it...the next Sock Summit could be Toronto 2010! See you there!

It's California State Fair Time!

2009-08-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

It's State Fair Time!

It's California State Fair time! The fair officially opens today and runs through September 7, 2009. This year's theme is Weird Wild and Wacky!

Did you know that the California State Fair actually began in 1854? Many of us have wonderful memories of going to the California State Fair. Well, besides livestock, rides and corn dogs...there is actual knitting going on at the State Fair, too!

Be sure to check out the Camellia City Stockinettes booth on Friday 8/28 and Saturday 8/29, 2009. Our booth is located in the Creative Arts Building # 8. Please stop by and say hello.

State Fair 2009 Competition Winners!

Every knitter dreams about winning a blue ribbon at the State Fair! Well, this year the Camellia City Stockinettes are proud to say that we have several State Fair Creative Arts Competition winners in our guild.

President Lorna Miser, Nancy Campbell

& Michael Marks, The Produce Guy

Golden Bear Awards Ceremony

Nancy Campbell won First Place in the Adult Knitted Apparel competition and also received the Camellia City Stockinettes Award for her prize winning "In The Garden Shawl". Nancy was presented her CCS award last evening by President Lorna Miser at the Golden Bear Awards Ceremony. Congratulations Nancy!

Karolyn Simon won First Place in the Crochet Competition for her prize winning Felted Entrelec Purse. She also took home an Honorable Mention for her crochet Ballerina Doll. In the Knitting Competition Karolyn received two more Honorable Mentions for her Knit Gnome and Claire's Sweater, a child's lace design. Way to go Karolyn!

Karolyn has this to say about entering State Fair Competitions: "It is a lot of fun! I urge all Stockinettes to serioulsy start thinking about next year. Look at the fair handbook and then start pattern searching!" Great advice Karolyn!

Wilma Keith received two Honorable Mentions for her crochet Baby Afghan and Oriental Tea Set. Congratulations Wilma! Also special thanks go out to Wilma for her hard work in organizing our Camellia City Stockinette's booth at the State Fair!

So long for now.....and we'll see you at the Fair!

Knit One Below!

2009-08-17T09:56:00.001-07:00

(k1b) Knit One Below

One of the best parts of being a Camellia City Stockinette is the camaraderie of fabulous knitters. Our guild is filled with many experienced and talented knitters eager to share their knitting knowledge. One such knitter is Sandra Benward.

Stockinette Teacher Sandra Benward

Sandra was the instructor for (K1B) Knit One Below at our August Tuesday Night Program. Sandra has mastered the (K1B) stitch and shared her knowledge with a classroom full of eager Stockinette knitters.

Sandi helping out Pat P.

Sandi ventured around the classroom and made sure that all Stockinettes new and experienced understood the (K1B) stitch. This unique stitch creates columns of color in your knitting.

Stockinette Pat P. said "she really had a good time at the August meeting and this was her first Stockinette program and she loved it."

The Stockinettes in Deep Concentration!

Each Stockinette who attended the workshop received a free Inside-Outside Scarf pattern from the book Knit One Below by Elise Duvekot. You can also check out the book Knit One Below from our lending library!

An added bonus came from a Stockinette that we don't see much these days because she does her knitting on the high seas. Yes that would be, our very own, Terry Morris who is also known as The Sailing Knitter. Terry generously supplied the class attendees with a scarf, hat and fingerless glove pattern for the (K1B) stitch. Thank you Terry!

Sandi helping Marie as Lisa knits on!

Every Stockinette that attended was thrilled to learn this new stitch. Stockinette Lisa S. said "I'm really glad I came. It's a great technique and I can't wait to make a scarf!"

Thank you to Camellia City Stockinettes Sandra and Terry for contributing to this program's success.

We hope to see you at next month's Tuesday Night Program with another fabulous Stockinette knitter/teacher...Beth Callahan. Beth will be teaching us how to make a felted fall Cornucopia with felted corn, etc. Talk about knitting fun for fall!

August Monthly Challenge

2009-08-16T10:06:00.001-07:00

Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill

Member Linda Greene is challenging all Camellia City Stockinettes in August to knit up Ice Queen designed by Rosemary Hill. Ice Queen is a lace pattern designed by Rosemary (also known as Romi) in one skein of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze. It is a free pattern on Knitty.

Ice Queen Cowl

Ice Queen is a very clever pattern that Romi designed. It can be worn two ways, as a cowl or as a lacy head wrap, too. The pattern is rated Tangy on Knitty which means it is suitable for most knitters.

Ice Queen is a feather and fan pattern with a picot bind off. There are two versions of the pattern to knit, one with stockinette or and the other with garter.

Are you up for the August challenge? We can't wait to see all the completed versions of Ice Queen at our September meeting!

(All photographs by Rosemary Hill/Designs by Romi)

August Guild Meeting

2009-08-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

The Camellia City Stockinettes New Banner!

We packed the house for our August meeting with 70 members in attendance. The Camellia City Stockinettes are growing with nearly 150 members now!

Guild meetings are a wonderful way to "stay in the loop" with the Camellia City Stockinettes. At the August meeting topics of discussion were: The California State Fair Stockinette Booth, Our 1st Annul Knitting Retreat in October 2009, September Vendor Night, and our new banner was presented!

We also welcomed a new member and advertiser/supporter Lauren Wayne of The Knitting Nest, a boutique yarn store in Stateline, NV. Lauren is an enthusiastic shop owner and is thrilled to join our guild. Lauren is looking forward to attending meetings and "popping" by our upcoming South Lake Tahoe retreat!

Lauren, a former Interior Designer, opened The Knitting Nest in October 2008. She would love to have you visit her store. She is located in the Eagles Nest Resort.

Special Guest

Designers Joan McGowan-Michael & Lorna Miser

Another fabulous part of attending regular guild meetings is...you just never know who may show up at a meeting!

We had a very special surprise guest at our August meeting, knitwear designer Joan McGowan-Michael! Joan resides in our Sacramento region and her label White Lies Designs is famous for her romantic knitwear designs.

Joan loves the fabulous 1940's era. Her flirty and feminine Zelda sweater was recently on the cover of the UK's Yarn Forward magazine's Summer Issue # 15. Congratulations Joan and thank you for being a special guest at our August meeting. We hope to see you again soon!

Charity Knitting Update

Veteran's Lap Blanket Project

The Stockinettes love charity knitting! Susan H. shared a letter from a local Veteran's Hospital thanking us for our wonderful donations. The Veteran's really appreciate our lap blankets.

Susan is showing off a recently completed Veteran's Lap Blanket in a handsome masculine colorway. Each lap blanket consists of 7" x 7" knit squares. Susan welcomes everyone to join the charity knitting cause!

Refreshment Break!

Tasty Summer Refreshments

We enjoyed a beautiful array of summer's bounty for our refreshment break! A great big thank you to the Stockinette monthly volunteers who bring in such wonderful refreshments for all to enjoy at our meeting break time.

Monthly Challenge Results

Christina's Toilet Paper Holder

Doris challenged us last month with a Toilet Paper Holder monthly challenge. Check out new member Christina's adorable TP holder that actually looks like a roll of toilet paper! Great job Christina!

Christina has also graciously taken on the task of updating and redesigning our website. Check out our new website design already in progress. Christina is doing a fabulous job and the new website is very "user friendly"!

Fashion Show Time!

What an ensemble!

At the end of each meeting we have our fabulous fashion show. This such a fun part of our meetings where anyone can get up and "show & tell" their completed knit projects.

At our August meeting it was clear that this is not your grandmother's knitting! The Stockinettes are quite the fashion diva's these days! Check out Jill B's ensemble that looks like it stepped right out of a fashion magazine. She even made her dress!

Jill's Debbie Bliss Shrug

Jill obviously has a flair for fashion with this stunning outfit she created. Her adorable red shrug is a Debbie Bliss pattern that she modified. She added her own special touch with a crochet trim
embellishment. It is knit in Butterfly Cotton which she says "the yarn was really nice to work with." Great job Jill!

So you can see just how much fun we have at our meetings. Our next meeting is on September 3, 2009 and is also our vendor night. Be sure to come and shop our vendor marketplace full of fabulous finds for all knitters!

See you then!

Sock Knitting 101

2009-07-20T07:54:00.001-07:00

Judee's adorable tiny knit socks!

Welcome to Sock Knitting 101

"The first thing I ever knit were wool socks! I didn't know that beginner's didn't knit socks. I was 16 yrs old when I started to knit." Said Stockinette Wilma!

"Sock knitting...it's so addictive!" Said Stockinette Lizette H.!

"My Mom in the 1940's knit argyle socks." Said Stockinette Jill.

Sock Knitting 101 was our Tuesday Night Program on July 7, 2009. Great sock comments from the Stockinettes were heard all night long!

Sock Knitting 101 was led by three experienced Stockinette sock knitters: Cindi, Beth and Judee. Each taught a group of knitters a different method of knitting socks from Double Point Needles, Magic Loop or Two Circular needles.

Cindi helping Sachiko getting started on her sock!

Judee had experienced sock knitters and even fist timers!

Beth and her circle of sock students!

Sock Knitting 101

Skills learned during the program were: turning the heel (like magic), making the gusset and and closing the toes with the Kitchener stitch. Many experienced Stockinette knitters offered their expertise to the newer sock knitters in the class. (That's a Stockinette for you!)

By the end of the night...everyone left with a completed sock. Thank you to the wonderful teachers, helpers and to all who attended!

See you at the next Tuesday Night Program!

Knitting Event at Borders Books!

2009-07-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Lorna Miser at Borders Books

Mention the name Lorna to a knitter and everyone knows that you are talking about, our very own, Lorna Miser. Lorna is not only a local knitting celebrity but she is also the Camellia City Stockinettes President, the original founder of Lorna's Laces hand-dyed yarns, a designer and an author. With all her claim to fame the best part about Lorna...is she is still just like the girl next door!

Borders Books in Folsom held a book signing with Lorna on Saturday July 11, 2009 for her new book Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting. This wasn't your typical book signing event though. Lorna and Borders invited all local knitters to attend this special book signing event to knit. A "shout out" even went out to the Camellia City Stockinettes to join the knitting fun. Were you there?

A Knitting Circle

Many enthusiastic knitters came out to Borders to support Lorna and show everyone how "hip" it is to knit! There were at least 15 to 20 members of the Camellia City Stockinettes spotted at Borders that busy Saturday afternoon. There were other familiar knitting faces in the crowd (Sally and Toni) and some new faces (Jacki and Lisa), too. We hope perhaps some new knitting friendships were made that will lead to more local knitters joining the Camellia City Stockinettes!

Congratulations Lorna on your Borders Books event!

July Guild Meeting

2009-07-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

July Guild Meeting

and

Trash to Treasure

Are you coming to Guild meetings? If you aren't, you are sure missing out on a lot of fun! Here is a recap of our July Guild meeting on July 2, 2009.

Crowd Control Please!

Our meeting was called to order as usual by President Lorna Miser. This was no ordinary meeting though because it was also Trash to Treasure night! We had a lively Stockinette crowd full of energetic yarn shoppers and bidders!

Yummy Yarn Lots!

There was lots and lots of yarn at the meeting, thanks to Trash to Treasure!

Have you checked out a book lately?

There were loads and loads of books at the meeting thanks to our wonderful lending library. A great big thank you to Cathy B. for bringing the lending library to every meeting!

Fabulous Food!

There was fabulous food at the meeting! For refreshments we enjoyed luscious tropical fruits, assorted cookies and treats...perfect on a summer night! (Thank you to the Stockinette husband who did the creative culinary fruit display!)

So, if you are not coming to our monthly meetings you can see that you are really missing out on great fun, great yarn, great food, great books and more!

Our monthly meetings are informative and fun! They are a great way for keeping you "in the loop" with the Stockinettes and knitting news! If you are a member, we hope to see you at our August meeting. If you are not a member, please accept our invitation to come and be our guest. We would love to have you join us and become a Camellia City Stockinette!

The July Monthly Challenge

T.P. Hat by Doris!

Last but not least...there is the July Monthly Challenge. This month we are challenged by Doris to whip up a toilet tissue cover. (Yes, you read that right!) You know like the cute little knit or crochet doll your Grandmother had in her bathroom covering the toilet paper roll!

So use your imagination and let's see what the Stockinettes can whip up for this fun monthly challenge.

Toilet Roll Covers Book

T.P., toilet paper, toilet tissue...call it what you like. There are loads of patterns out there if you search. There are even books on T.P. covers! Perhaps you might even try your hand at a vintage pattern? The sky is the limit!

Toilet Tissue Dollies

We can't wait to see what clever ideas you come up with!

Trash to Treasure

2009-07-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

Catherine & Co.
Doris, Catherine, Jude & Mary teamed up

and formed Catherine & Co.

Trash to Treasure 2009

They say...one person's trash is another person's treasure. Since a Stockinette knitter would never throw good yarn away, the Stockinette members seemingly end up with a lot of unused and extra yarn in their stashes. So the Stockinettes came up with Trash to Treasure.

Green Yarn Lot

Trash to Treasure is our annual event where we auction off yarn, books, patterns, needles, etc.. All items are generously donated by Stockinette members. All sale proceeds from this fun event go directly to The Camellia Stockinettes library fund!

The Orange Yarn Lot

This year Trash to Treasure was held at our July Guild meeting. There were 11 lots of yummy yarn to bid on. Each lot of yarn contained at least a $50.00 value and some lots even contained over $100.00 worth of yarn and knitting supplies.

The White Yarn Lot

There were even fun raffle prizes,too! $1.00 gave you five lucky chances to win one of three fabulous raffle prize lots filled with yarn, patterns and more.

One raffle prize lot even contained two gorgeous garments knit by, our very own, Lorna Miser!

Here is a quick re-cap of how Trash to Treasure works:

Inge & Phyllis
(Planning their strategy!)

First you check out all the table lots of yarn.

Than you plan your strategy!

Serious Shoppers Inge & Phylis

Next, you check out the goods

like serious "treasure seekers" Inge and Phyllis.

Lastly, you place your auction bid and keep your fingers crossed!

We won! We won!

Then auctioneer Beth closes the bidding and announces the winner. Yea..perhaps you are a lucky winner like Inge and Phyllis! Next the savvy shoppers who teamed up for bidding (and pooled their resources) have fun dividing up their yarn conquest winnings. This is a lot of fun to watch!

Hey... I wanted that yarn!

And sometimes...there is even fighting over yarn!

Just kidding, of course!

Sheila and Michele

The Organizers!

A great big thank you to Sheila and Michele for a fantastic Trash to Treasure night! Thank you to our wonderful auctioneer Beth and to Cindi for being the cashier.

According to Cindi, the lowest yarn lot (baby yarns) sold for $20.00 to Kendall and the highest selling yarn lot went for $80.00 to Catherine & Co.. All in all it was a fun night with over $500.00 raised for our library fund.

Coming soon...be on the look out for some fabulous new library books in the Stockinettes Library thanks to Trash to Treasure!

Mrs. Beeton

2009-06-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

Stockinette Lisette D.'s Mrs. Beetons

June Monthly Challenge

Mrs. Beeton the adorable Victorian style gauntlets by Brenda Dayne is the monthly challenge for June. Stockinette Lizette H. has challenged the Stockinettes to whip up a pair of Mrs. Beeton's by our next Guild meeting on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

Mrs. Beeton is a free pattern on Knitty.com.

Nina's Mrs. Beetons

How many Mrs. Beetons can you make?

Stockinette Nina R. loves to use up her stash and knit Mrs. Beeton's for gifts. What a great idea!

Stockinette Lisette D. was thrilled this is the June challenge project. She faved the pattern on Ravelry over a year and a half ago.

Nearly 600 members on Raverly have made Mrs. Beetons. It's not to late to start this monthly challenge if you haven't already. This project only requires 4 to 18 yards of luxury yarns and can be whipped up in a day or two...so you still have time!

Don't forget to bring your Mrs. Beeton's to the July Guild meeting next week for all to see. It will also be "Trash to Treasure" at the July meeting so be sure not to miss it!

Design Your Own Neck Warmer!

2009-06-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Anne is Pretty in Pink!

Design your own Neck Warmer

The Stockinettes Monthly Challenge for May was to "Design Your Own Neck Warmer".

The challenge was from Elizabeth R. to design a neck warmer of your own liking and design. Many Stockinettes joined in on this fun project.

Here are a few photos of the neck warmers which were modeled by the knitters at the June Guild meeting:

Beth's Neck Warmer

Beth's Purple Neck Warmer had beautiful details!

Nina's Neck Warmer

Nina did a lovely lace neck warmer in a pretty pale green.

Diane's Neck Warmer

Diane knit a cozy neck warmer in varying shades of blue.

May Monthly Challenge

The Monthly Challenge is a really fun way to complete a challenge project between guild meetings. Are you joining the challenge each month or sitting on the side lines?

We would love to have more members enjoy this fun part of our meetings!

Are you up for the challenge!

WWKiPD

2009-06-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Did you knit in public on World Wide Knit in Public Day on Saturday June 13, 2009?

Many of our Stockinettes joined hostess Sheila and knit in public under the shady oak trees at Capitol Park in Sacramento, CA.

WWKiPD Hostess Stockinette Sheila

at Capitol Park, Sacramento, CA

Stockinette Sheila was a wonderful hostess for our local WWKiPD. Sheila chose the wonderful location of Capitol Park at the State Capitol for the meet up. About 30 knitters (including about 8 Stockinettes) joined this knitting event at Capitol Park.

Everyone enjoyed tea, lattes, delicious soups, salads and sandwiches thanks to her good friend Sheron who opened Chicory Coffee and Tea (across the street) just for the knitters on WWKiPD. Thank you Sheron and the Chicory staff!

WWKiPD stitch markers

(limited edition)

Kudos to Hostess Sheila for the wonderful WWKiPD hand-made stitch markers. Sheila took a cue from our recent Tuesday Night Program "Play with Clay". She recruited (her knitting buddy) fellow Stockinette Michele to make these creative hand made clay stitch markers for WWKiPD. Notice how they are designed as a world globe to tie into the WWKiPD world logo.

Sheila presented these as a gift for all the knitters who attended WWKiPD at Capitol Park. Everyone loved them and couldn't help but notice the fabulous matching jewelry that Michele and Sheila made and wore to WWKiPD.

Stockinettes Michele & Sheila

A great big thank you to hostess Sheila and her helper Michele. WWKiPD was a smashing success. A special thank you to Sheila's fabulous husband Ed. Ed helped Sheila set up for WWKiPD and even helped the ladies move their cars when their downtown parking meters expired.

And lastly Hostess Sheila, knitters want to know...where will be knitting next year for WWKiPD?

Shop Hop Grand Prize Winner!

2009-06-22T12:28:00.001-07:00

Stockinette Elizabeth G.
She's a winner!

Congratulations to our very own Stockinette, Elizabeth G. for being the Grand Prize Winner of this year's Shop Hop!

Elizabeth's Grand Prize was $750.00 worth of gift certificates combined from all the participating yarn stores.

Way to go Elizabeth for visiting all 15 yarn shops and winning the Grand Prize!

Make and Bake!

2009-06-19T00:04:00.001-07:00

Make and Bake!

The results are in...

June's Tuesday Night Program on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 "Play with Clay" was a smashing success! Talk to any Stockinette who attended and they'll tell you how much fun they had playing with clay! In fact, weeks later they are all still talking about it!

The Stockinettes had so much fun playing with clay. Everyone made fabulous buttons and stitch markers. Turns out the Stockinettes are not just great knitters but are pretty "artsy", too!

Here are a few photos from the program event:

The Tools!

Polymer clay and tools for crafting!

Playing with Clay!

Look at all the fabulous looking buttons!

How fun to make custom buttons for your knits!

Sandi & The Stockinettes

Cindi working the room and coaching the Stockinettes!

Cindi
The Program Leader

Thank you Cindi for another great Tuesday Night program!

Everyone had a great time playing with clay!

"Come and Play with Clay"

2009-06-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

Come and Play with Clay!

Next week is our monthly Tuesday Night Program. The Tuesday Night Program on June 9th is "Come and Play with Clay"!

The Tuesday Night Program is held at the Synergex Offices in Gold River. The Program Night is a fun event for Stockinettes to learn a new technique, try out a new pattern or have fun doing something "knitting related". The June program is all about playing with clay!

The Supplies

According to Cindi Unmack the Stockinettes are supplying the Sculpey Clay for the program. To participate all you need to bring is your imagination and a few basic tools for molding clay.

Basic Supplies:

knife, toothpicks, molds, tiny cookie cutters, beads, crimp beads, needle nose pliers, scissors, rolling tools, pasta maker (dedicated to clay), rubber stamps, inks and paints.

Lorna Miser's Homemade Knitting Needles

featured in Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting

Polymer clay is a flexible medium and is easy to work with. It hardens after baking in an oven. According to Cindi, you can get creative with polymer clay and make buttons, beads, knitting needle toppers, and stitch markers. Fellow Stockinette Sheila loves playing with clay, too. They will both be on hand at the program to help guide everyone with their projects.

Don't you just love the adorable knitting needle toppers by Lorna Miser in her new book Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting! Come to the program and Cindi and Sheila would love to help you create your own needle toppers for your needles!

We hope to see you at the Tuesday Night Program on Tuesday June 9th, 2009 to "Play with Clay"!

Yarn Shop Hop 2009!

2009-06-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yarn Shop Hop 2009!

(Adorable Afghan Square by Stockinette, Kimberly!)

Attention all knitters... Yarn Shop Hop 2009 is here! There are 15 fabulous yarn stores participating this year and five shopping days to shop. Here are the details:

The 2009 Yarn Shop Hop starts on Wednesday June 3rd and runs through Sunday June 7, 2009.

Pick up your Yarn Shop Hop Passport at the first yarn shop you visit. Get your Passport stamped at every yarn shop you visit. Turn in your Passport at the last yarn shop you visit to be entered into the Yarn Shop Hop Drawing. If you visit all 15 Yarn Shops you are entered into the Grand Prize Drawing worth $750.00!

Be sure to turn in your Passport even if it's incomplete. There is another drawing for those shoppers that made the valiant effort to get out and shop as many stores as they could!

As an added bonus...each yarn shop will be having it's own Shop Hop specials and prizes. Some shops are even having canned food drives. Check with the stores for details.

Cascade 220 Yarn

All knitters love Cascade 220 yarn! This year each yarn shop is offering a special one skein purchase of Cascade 220 yarn for a special price $4.65!

Free Square Afghan Patterns

(Heart afghan square by Kimberly)

With your special Cascade 220 yarn purchase, you will also receive a free 12" square afghan pattern. Buy a skein at each shop and collect all 15 square patterns to make the 2009 Shop Hop Afghan. What a fun idea!

Kimberly's Sampler Afghan

Check out this gorgeous completed Sampler Afghan by our very own Stockinette, Kimberly. Kimberly used square patterns from the various Great American Afghan books. Kimberly said her afghan project "was really fun". She used Cascade 220 Superwash and said "knitting with the yarn was a dream!"

Kimberly knit on average 3 to 4 squares a month for her afghan. According to Kimberly, it would be easy to knit 1 or 2 squares a month with the Shop Hop's free patterns. She says "it really gives you a sense of accomplishment to finish a few squares rather than think about an entire afghan". She also says "don't worry about the seaming"....it 's not that difficult." She says "sit down at a table and just do it!"

Great job Kimberly! Ravelry members can check out her project details on her projects page on Ravelry.

Here are the participating Yarn Shops in the Valley and Sierra's:

Auburn Needleworks, Babetta's Yarn & Gifts, Fibers, Filati Fine Yarns,

Knitique, Knit-Witz Yarn Boutique, Lake Tahoe Yarn Company, Lofty Lou's, Meadow Farm, Reynold's Knittin' Pretty Yarn Shop, Rumpelstiltskin, Sierra Knitting Co., The Knitting Room, The Urban Sheep and The Yarn Shop.

Let's all get out this week and "shop 'till we drop"!

California State Button Show

2009-05-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

" Celebrating The Art of Buttons"

California State Show May 21-24, 2009

Have you ever been to a button show?

Last Memorial Day weekend was the California State Show in Sacramento, CA. The theme was "Celebrating The Art of Buttons".

It turns out that a button show is a great resource for knitters. Several Camellia City Stockinettes were spotted at this year's button show. There was a fabulous selection of antique, vintage, whimsical and new buttons for collectors as well as knitters!

Lisa shopping for buttons!

Camellia Stockinette member Lisa was spotted shopping at Linda Sicard's "Unbuttons" table. Lisa was on a button mission. She was an organized button shopper and even brought her yarns with her to get a perfect color match for her knitting project!

Lorna shopping for purple buttons, of course!

President and Designer Lorna Miser was spotted shopping with fellow Stockinette member Lisette.

It's no secret that Lorna loves to embellish her designs with vintage buttons. Notice her lovely embellished handbag on the table. It is also no secret that Lorna loves purple.

Lorna was spotted at the Unbuttons table poking around for all the pretty purple buttons. Lorna recognized button dealer Linda Sicard of Unbuttons as a vendor also from the Stitches West shows.

So the next time you are searching for that special button or buttons...be sure to check out your local button shows.

For more information about buttons and shows, check out the California State Button Society.

Save the Date for WWKiPD!

2009-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sit and Knit in Public!

(Square-a-Day Blanket by Lorna Miser)

Grab your needles, a blanket or a chair...it's almost time for World Wide Knit in Public Day, Saturday, June 13, 2009!

World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKiPD) was started back in 2005. It is the largest knitting event in the world! Local knitting venues for public knitting are organized all over the world by a volunteer host.

The Camellia City Stockinette's very own, Sheila is the host for our local WWKiPD at Capitol Park in Sacramento. She has organized a knitting gathering at the northwest corner of Capitol Park near the intersection of 10th and L Street. This will be Sheila's first WWKiPD. She read about it and said "it sounded like fun and a chance to meet other crafters"! The fun will start at 10:30 AM.

Chicory Coffee and Tea

Sheila's good friend Sheron owns nearby Chicory Coffee and Tea. Chicory Coffee and Tea will be open special hours on Saturday to accommodate all the knitters for WWKiPD! According to Sheila, Chicory will have delicious soups, sandwiches,desserts for sale...as well as your favorite cuppa or latte!

World Wide Knit in Public Day

You don't have to be a knitter to join the fun. Sheila says you can come out and crochet or do needlework, too. You don't have to be a Camellia City Stockinette either. WWKiPD is for everyone. Sheila would love to have you "sit and knit" with her group of knitters at Capitol Park!

See you there!

Sit and Knit at a Guild Meeting!

2009-05-14T18:17:00.001-07:00

The Camellia City Stockinettes!

(Of course, we sit and knit.)

The Camellia City Stockinettes gather monthly for our guild meeting on the first Thursday of every month. Yes, of course, we sit and knit but our meetings are filled with so much more!

Perhaps you're a bit curious what a Camellia City Stockinette meeting is all about? Well, here's a peak at our most recent meeting on Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Local Knitting News!

Linda's Newspaper Story

Our meetings begin when President Lorna Miser calls our meeting to order. Next our Board of Directors cover all necessary guild business and announcements. Then our meeting is opened up to all members and knitting activities!

We love knitting news about our members and our communities. This month our member Linda spoke about her recent interview in her neighborhood's local newspaper. Linda is a volunteer knitting teacher for seniors at Carlton Plaza and at the Arden-Dimick Library. Congratulations Linda on the nice write-up and for all you give to your community!

We love Charity Knitting!

Lap Blankets with Susan

The Stockinettes are dedicated knitters for many charities and causes. At our May meeting member Susan showed us all the lovely afghans and lap robes she has collected from donations by our fabulous knitters.

A special note of thanks to our awesome "one-needle" knitter (crocheter) Kendal who brought in so many wonderful crochet lap robe blankets for the Veterans charity. Way to go Kendall!

Our Monthly Challenge!

Nina's April Monthly Challenge

"The Fish Hat".

Every month we have a fun monthly challenge project. It is a great way to learn a new technique or develop a new knitting skill. Each monthly challenge is created by a Stockinette member and includes a pattern. Members bring in their finished project the following month and we have a "show & tell" with all the projects.

In April, Nina challenged everyone with a fun Fish Hat. Here are a few photos of the "Dead or Alive Fish Hats":

Kimberly reeling in her great looking Fish Hat !

Hey, something smells fishy here!

Beth knit a Fish Purse instead of a hat!
Very Clever!

Time for Refreshments!

During our meeting we take a break for refreshments. Each month a pair of members bring in refreshments for us all to enjoy. Our refreshment break is a great time to chat, get to know other members and admire everyone's fabulous knitwear!

It's Fashion Show Time!

Everyone loves a fashion show! Each month we have a fashion show where Stockinettes bring in their beautiful finished projects to "show and tell" with us. At our Fashion Show each member stands up, tells us about their project, their pattern and their yarns, too.

The fashion show participants also share wonderful insider tips with us. They tell us what they liked or didn't like about their finished project, pattern, and yarns. This fun and fashionable part of our meeting provides helpful tips and creative inspiration for everyone!

Check out our May Fashion Show!

Cathy's "Sacramento Vest".

(A brand new pattern in

The Natura Collection by Lorna Miser)

Knit in Schachenmayr Catania.

Elizabeth's Maid Marion Vest.
Knit in Mondial La Lana Gioia &
Plymouth Rimini Rainbow.

Sandi's Felted Hat.
Knit in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool.

Kimberly's Big Foot Shawl.
Knit in Noro Sock yarn.

Next Month's Monthly Challenge!

Elizabeth's May Challenge
Design Your Own
Neck Warmer!

The Monthly Challenge for May is from member Elizabeth. She is challenging everyone to be their own designer! Each participant will design their own neck warmer in the yarn and stitch pattern of their choice. Wow... think of all those possibilities!

We will get to see all the fabulous neck warmers at our June meeting.

So there you have it! That is what a Camellia City Stockinette meeting is all about. If you are a member, we can't wait to see you next month!

If you are not a member...we would love to have you be our guest and "sit and knit" with us at our next meeting!

Stitch N Pitch with the Sacramento River Cats!

2009-05-05T23:26:00.001-07:00

Beth and Cindi

Stitch N Pitch May 5, 2009

Take me out to the ball game!

Yes, tonight was Stitch N Pitch with the Sacramento River Cats at Raley Field. This wonderful event by TNNA (The National Needle Arts Association) is a fun way of combining two great American past times, baseball and the needle arts.

So tonight, the Stockinettes knit in public and cheered on our local minor league team (Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A's) the Sacramento River Cats vs. the Reno Aces. Friends, husbands and family members even joined in on the fun.

Here are a few photos to show you how much we fun had knitting tonight at Raley Field.

Michele, Lorna and Sheila

with their souvenir "Stitch N Pitch" totes!

President Lorna Miser throwing out the ceremonial "first pitch".

Way to go Lorna!

A knitter's view (Sheila) of home plate!
We had a great view from Section 121!

Larry & Catherine
Even husbands joined in on the fun!

Sandi with her son Jason
(Go River Cats...
Jason is quite the sports fan!)

Kendall and the ladies knitting away!

Jennifer and friend

enjoying the game.

Doris and Jude know how to knit
and have a good time!

The River Cats Welcome
Camellia City Stockinettes

Hey, we even made the billboard!

Thank you to the Sacramento River Cats and Raley Field for another great Stitch N Pitch event! Special thanks to Melanie Levy with the River Cats for making such nice arrangements for the Stockinettes! Lastly a big thank you to our very own Cindi Unmack for organizing our tickets for the game!

Lucy Neatby Workshops

2009-05-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Lucy Neatby May 2009 Workshops

"I design to teach" says Lucy Neatby.

Lucy Neatby was back for her fabulous knitting workshops this weekend. Yesterday's workshop was Tessellation Secrets-Creating Your Own Interlocking Patterns. Today's workshop was Part 1) Hello Cinderella...An Introduction to Intarsia and Part 2) Fringes, Folderols and Furbelows.

Introduction to Intarsia

Lucy describes Intarsia knitting as painting with yarn. She taught us today the importance of linking our colored yarns together for Intarsia knitting. Lucy says "yarns hold hands". "Let your yarns link with one another with Intarsia."

Lucy began our Intarsia workshop with teaching us how to make butterflies for winding our different colored yarns. She gave us some great tips such as to knit Intarsia firmly for a longer lasting knit fabric.

She taught us the most important step for Intarsia knitting is preparation. She gave us some great tips to make Intarsia knitting easier! Next we were on our way to knitting an Intarsia sample.

The second part of our workshop was called Fringes, Folderols and Furbelows. This was a great workshop for learning how to do great edges and decorative details for our knits. We had fun learning how to do a beaded unraveled fringe, an i-cord fringe, garter stitch edgings, and Latvian twisted edging.

Lucy and Catherine

Lucy is a wonderful teacher and makes learning new techniques fun. She continually checked each student's work making sure they understood the technique.

The Stockinettes deep in concentration!

The Stockinettes working on fringes, folderols and furbelows!

Lizette and Tami

Stockinette Teamwork!

Lisa

Deep in concentration!

Cindi, Beth and Lucy

Lucy says " keeping stitches happy,

keeps the knitter happy"!

Those of us who attended these wonderful workshops are "happy knitters" thanks to Lucy's great teaching! Lucy's charm and her love for knitting is contagious!

Thank you to Beth Callahan for her hard work in getting Lucy back to teach for us. A great big thank you to Lucy for travelling all the way from Nova Scotia!

For those of you who could not attend the workshops be sure to check out Lucy's A Knitter's Companion Series DVD's to learn or improve a certain technique.

For more information you can find Lucy at LucyNeatby.com.

Welcome Lucy Neatby!

2009-04-30T23:12:00.001-07:00

Welcome Lucy Neatby!

Impromptu Welcome Party

Tahoe Joe's, Folsom, CA

Left to right: Lorna Miser, Lucy Neatby,

Beth Callahan, Betsy Coyne, Cindi Unmack.

World renowned knitting celebrity, Lucy Neatby just arrived in Sacramento tonight. A warm Sacramento welcome goes out to Lucy from all the Camellia City Stockinettes!

We are thrilled to have Lucy back all the way from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia! Lucy is on the road again in the US and doing a two day workshop for us this weekend. According to Beth Callahan it took us about three years to get Lucy back to Sacramento for the Stockinettes. That's how popular Lucy's workshops are!

Here's a sneak peak at our workshops with Lucy:

Sat May 2, 2009: Tessellation Secrets-Creating your own Interlocking Patterns.

Sunday May 3, 2009: Introduction to Intarsia, Fringes, Folderols and Furbelows!

For those of you who can't take a workshop with Lucy...check out her Knitter's Companion DVD series. They are like having a private workshop with Lucy right in your very own home.

For more information and inspiration,

visit Lucyneatby.com.

By the way...Lucy is blogging now, too.

You can follow Lucy's blog at happystitches.wordpress.com.

The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA)

2009-04-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

Cast On Magazine

Our guild, The Cameilla City Stockinettes is part of a much bigger picture. We are a local chapter of The Knitting Guild Association, better known as TKGA. TKGA is a non-profit organization for knitting and knitters. Since 1984 it has been promoting the craft of knitting and bringing knitters together.

Yearly membership in the TKGA is open to individuals, designers, retailers and wholesalers. Benefits for individual members include: Cast On magazine (4 issues yearly), eligibility for TKGA Correspondence Courses, eligibility for Master Knitting Courses, free entry to Knit and Crochet TKGA Conferences, member discounts and member only website with bonus patterns, lessons and master techniques articles. Individuals pay only $29.00 a year for these benefits including the member only magazine Cast On.

So if you would like to be a part of the bigger picture, join the TKGA. Their correspondence courses are a great way to build your knitting skills. Or perhaps you've always dreamed of becoming a master knitter...through TKGA you can achieve this title!

For more information on joining the TKGA, please visit their website TKGA.com.

Meet our 2009 Board of Directors!

2009-04-24T00:26:00.001-07:00

Camellia City Stockinettes

2009 Board of Directors

Presenting the Camellia City Stockinettes 2009 Board of Directors:

Seated left to right: Beth Callahan, Secretary and Lorna Miser, President.

Standing left to right: Cindi Unmack, Vice President, Barbara Debert, Treasurer and Sandra Benward, Membership/Newsletter.

Thank you ladies for your dedication and hardwork. We look forward to a great year under your leadership.

Who are the Camellia City Stockinettes?

2009-04-23T22:36:00.001-07:00

The Camellia City Stockinettes

Who are the Camellia City Stockinettes? We're glad you asked.

Here's our story:

On October 16, 1989 a handful of knitters met at a yarn store in Sacramento to form a local Sacramento area chapter of the The Knitting Guild Association or TKGA.

The TKGA is a non-profit organization dedicated solely to knitting and knitters. Established in 1984, this association of knitters is dedicated to promoting knitting as a worthwhile and enjoyable hobby.

The Camellia City Stockinettes are a proud member of the TKGA. Back in 1989 we may have started out with just a handful of knitters but today we have nearly 150 members.

Today we have our general meeting on the first Thursday of every month. We meet at Franklin Templeton in Rancho Cordova from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Our meetings naturally consist of guild business and announcements conducted by our board of directors. Each month we rotate and different members bring in yummy refreshments for us to enjoy. We probably have the most fun with our "show and tell" segment (show off your knitting and tell us about it) and our "monthly challenge" project (a member gives us a pattern and challenges us to knit it).

Besides great monthly meetings, we have workshops nearly every month, too. We have a wonderful lending library filled with both vintage and new knitting books. We offer classes with famous knit-wear designers along with fun social knitting events like Stitch 'n Ride to Stitches West, Stitch n' Pitch and Knit in Public Day. We are thrilled this year to be offering a knitting retreat this fall in South Lake Tahoe. The best part is...our dues are only $15.00 a year. Are you ready to join?

If you live in the Sacramento region or surrounding area we would love to have you join our guild. We have members off all different ages, experience and skill levels. One thing we all do have in common...we all love knitting!