"Come and Play with Clay"

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!

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

" 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!

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!

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!

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

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.