Member Highlight - Lorna Miser

CCS Member and author Lorna Miser discusses her new book, Knit Pink, 25 Patterns to Knit for Comfort, Gratitude, and Charity.

Lorna’s book was just released and I asked her about her process of designing and knitting the projects in the book.  What you may not know is many times publishers dictate what yarns they want used and what kind of projects need to be included, but Lorna reports that her publisher, Martingale, did not put those restrictions on her so she was free to choose the yarns and projects herself.  There is a wide variety of patterns to choose from featuring quality luxury yarns from many different labels.  The projects include: cowls, scarves, pillows, hats, mittens and gloves, blankets, purses and totes, shawls, shawlettes and shrugs, socks, a vest, some slippers, and even washcloths.  Something for every knitter.  And the featured yarns run the gamut from superwash wool, wool/silk blends, acrylic blends, handpainted wool, angora, cotton, alpaca, and bamboo.

The project pictures are clear, close-up, and include photos of the backside of many of the projects which is something I think they should make mandatory for all pattern photos.  The lace patterns have both charts and written instructions so you can practice your chart reading if that is new to you.  And there is a very detailed back section on knitting techniques including how to use double point needles, increases and decreases, icord, kitchener stitch, how to do a mattress seam, put in a zipper and how to felt.  Everything you would need to know to do any of the projects is included.  I think this book, some needles and some of the featured yarn would be a great gift for anyone you know who’s got a lot of downtime due to medical treatments and doctor’s appointments, and for anyone who wants easy access to quick-to-knit accessories.  Lorna wanted to emphasize that the book is designed to inspire knitters to give in their own way.  It is not connected with any particular fund raising organization or charity. There’s an interesting list in the front of the book of all of the “colors” associated with different cancer awareness campaigns.  Did you know that the ribbon for male breast cancer, which occurs more than you’d expect, is half pink and half blue? 

Lorna will be our guest of honor at the January 16th Guild meeting and will treat us to her “trunk show” of all the knitted garments from the book before they go on national tour to knit shops across the country.  We’re first!  Refreshments will be served and books will be available for purchase.  And some of our own guild members were knitters for Lorna so you’ll be able to see which projects they knit for the book.

Look for Lorna soon on Daily Craft TV http://www.dailycrafttv.com/ where she’ll have 6 segments of classes featuring her fused lining purse class, lace edges, zippers, and knit flowers.  And if you’re feeling a little left out because you crochet, check out Crochet Pink by Janet Rehfeldt and you’ll feel right at home.  Congratulations, Lorna, on your wonderful new book.   

Goings On

Vendor Night!  This is always a special night for CCS where we showcase our own members and their skills.  Here are a few snaps.  Thanks to Lizette for organizing this year.

Here's Pat with beautiful shawl pins and scissor fobs.  I should have bought more.  Fortunately, I knit with Pat once a month and have asked her to bring some to knitting group.

 Mary with her darling felted mice (for cats).  New this year were pretty goldfish.  Wish I had a cat.

Bad photo.  I did not get around to Annemieka who had her great project bags but she's there in the back.  Those are always a big hit.  Lizette is in the back as well with her size 40 knitting needles.  That will make a project go fast.    

And there was YARN for sale.  Imagine that.  And baskets.  

The baskets are from a friend of Judy's mega-stash that will be sold off later this summer.  Stay tuned.  

Also this week Stockinettes represented at Knit In Public 2013.  We were guests of Beth at the Discovery Museum and despite the 106 degree heat, we were pretty comfortable (for awhile) in the shade of the beautiful redwood trees.  Special guest from the East Coast was Beth's new granddaughter, Leacy.  Super cute as is her mother who I did not get a good picture of sad to say.  Beth's cute too, by the way.  

Leacy and Beth

See, nice and shady.  You should have come. 

Contemplating among the redwoods.  

Don't forget to join our Ravelry group.  Go to ravelry.com and search groups for Camellia City Stockinettes and join.  

Thank you!

A little bit of a hiatus on the blog here.  I accidentally locked myself out and it took awhile to restore everything.  But, we're back and off to a good start to 2013 with new digs for our meeting space.  We've got free lighted parking, plenty of space to spread out, wifi, and heating and air conditioning!  What more could we want?  New meeting space for both the meeting on the first Thursday of the month and the program meetings on the following Monday take place at Christ Community Church, 5025 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael.

I received a nice thank you note from the Mustard Seed School thanking us for the mountain of gifts we  collected at the Holiday Party.  Nice job, Stockinettes.

A big thank you was given to last year's board by our President Doris at the February meeting.  Thank you ladies for a job well done.  We know this year's board will give their all as well.  

Our charity efforts got off to a good start this year.  Member Cindi was asked by a friend if her knitting guild would knit a few hats for a homeless program they were leading.  Cindi put out the word and here's what happens when you ask our Guild for a "few hats".

Our Secret Pal program continues in popularity.  Stockinettes post their thanks on the Yahoo group and the goodies that they get sound wonderful.  And the packaging always looks so tempting.  

How's your personal fiber challenge coming for 2013?  Jude is on her way to knitting a nativity scene piece by piece so that it will be done by next year.  Can't wait to see Joseph.  Quite a few beautiful afghans in progress were displayed at the meeting.   

If you need help or support in your challenge visit the Camellia City Stockinettes group on Ravelry.  We've got a thread started there for discussions and questions.  

See you at Stitches?  Quite a few Stockinettes are taking the train from Sacramento.  There is a 1/2 off train ticket offer for the weekend.  See the Ravelry group or the Yahoo group for details.  Happy knitting (or crocheting.  You know who you are.)  

Vendor Night

Stockinettes are such talented people.  At last month's meeting they were able to show off their skills and wares at Vendor night.  Thank you, Lizette!  Great organization and vendor wrangling.  If anyone has pics from the State Fair send them over, but I heard it was great and we have Lizette to thank for that as well.  Thanks also to all the volunteers that helped make the CCS booth at the State Fair gorgeous and for the weekend staffing.

Great job, Lizette!

 

Beth selling Cindi's Left Coast Yarns and Bags

Hannah's cards

Cheryl's cards

Lew contemplating what he's going to make with that giant cone of lace weight

Our wonderful membership chairs, hard at work.  

Summertime

The July meeting was full of information on upcoming events.  Many Stockinettes are participating in the Ravellenic Games.  For those of you on Ravelry the group and information about events is here.  If you're not on Ravelry all I can say is hurry over and sign up.  Lisa announced a bus tour to several yarn shops later in the summer and there are lots of knitted squares to make up into blankets.  Details will be in the newsletter.  The yarn bombing at the Discovery Museum was declared a total success and a totally fabulous event.  Thanks to all who participated.  State Fair is coming up and we will be well represented.  Someone take pictures! The challenge for August is to do something new, a technique, a stitch, a garment, something that you haven't done before.  You know, a challenge!

Our librarian hard a work!  Check out our website or the yahoo group for the latest library list.  

Don't forget to bring your "trash" so someone else can treasure it.  Donations accepted at the August and September meetings.  The big event will be at the October 4th meeting.

Next meeting will be Vendor night!  Aways a treat to see Stockinette creativity and be able to take some home for yourself.  Here's some pictures from last year.  Did you happen to see that bag on the lower left hand side on the Yarn Harlot's blog last week?  Scroll to the last picture.  I gave it to her at the Port Ludlow retreat.  The blogmistress is very proud!  

Cindi will be back this year with some very cute project bags.  Be sure not to miss the meeting.  You'll be amazed by what's for sale.  It's not too soon to be thinking of holiday gifts.  

Enjoy the month of July, my personal favorite month next to August.  Have you heard about Craftsy?  Online classes that are supposed to be very good.  Has anyone taken one?  

Amy Singer was Here!

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.

Vendor Night

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!

Trash to Treasure

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!

April Meeting

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!

March Meeting!

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?

February Guild Meeting

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!