It's Retreat Time!

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!