Preparing for Retreats

I'm getting ready for a couple of retreats coming up. Two in September and another in October. Nice to get ahead with samples and class notes.

First up is two days of knitting at Lauzon Lodge in Algoma Mills, Northern Ontario on September 23 & 24. We're going to knit Gauge Free mittens. No swatches, no checking gauge, use any yarn and any needle to knit any size. It's magic! Knitting from 9:30am to 4:30pm for two days should result in at least one pair of fully finished mittens. Lunch, and it will be delicious, is included for the $90. Accommodation is extra if you're not local. Sharon has 3 B&B rooms open and there is a motel in Blind River. September isn't too early to think about getting some winter knitting done and maybe a couple pairs of mittens for Christmas presents.

Here is one happy student with her mittens from the Eastern Needlers Retreat made.

Next is a retreat the weekend after in Sudbury, Ontario (yes it's the northern ontario tour). I'm teaching Two Triangles Make A Hat. Another Gauge Free workshop. Again no swatches, no gauge to check, use any yarn with any needles for any size. Yup, it definitely works. It's a great group of women and we are going to have fun!

Fall Knitting Retreat

September 29 to October 1, 2017

ssands.sudbury@gmail.com

Prices include meals, workshops, snacks, door prizes etc.

from Friday night till Sunday afternoon

Single Room $270 Shared double Room $240 per person

Here is one sample I've finished and another in progress.

Now for a striped version, almost done but not quite.

Perfect for all the odd bits of yarn you have around. It's done with 2 50g balls of yarn.

Next, still time to get samples done, is our Cabin Fever Retreat at the end of October 27-29. Our design theme is Small Changes. Three classes where you will knit one wrister using the same 3 colours. You can go home with a set of 3 fraternal wristers which gives you 3 different looking pairs. Cool, eh? Here are a couple of samples for my class which is based on 2x2 rib pattern with small changes which result in a different pattern every time you change colours.

Lyn and Elizabeth Fallone are working on their samples so I can show you the fraternal wristers. I like to set up classes where at the end of the weekend you go home with something you can actually wear and 3 wristers is a pretty good bit of knitting over the weekend.

So far a little ahead of the game. I did finish my 4 directions of the compass sweater but the photos are on my phone and I'm at Tim's using their internet and forgot my cable to transfer the pics. Next time.

How is your knitting going? I'm knitting outside between rain showers, it's one soggy summer.
Deb

Not the real world

I've been retreating for two weekends. Isn't calling a weekend away a retreat sort of odd? It makes me think of running backwards and burrowing into a hole which is not what a knitting retreat is at all.

It's a weekend away with people who get you. It's joyful anticipation for weeks before, arriving to find your people all around you. You can talk knitting at breakfast, in class, at lunch, in class and at dinner. Eye's do not glaze over. No one says their grandmother used to knit (when she had nothing important to do). Everyone is free to compliment total strangers on their sweater, pet it and ask for more details, making new friends. You can stare at people because of course you're thinking your way through their sweater. This can be a little off-putting in the real world.

I guess what makes knitting retreats special is that they are not the real world where we usually operate. We are not fluffed off with "isn't that cute", "wish I could knit but of course I am way to busy to learn". We are with people who think that making something is important. Wearing what you have made with pride is important. Modifications, adjustments and adding something to the pattern is an exploration of your creativity. In fact creativity rules!!

I've had two wonderful weekends and am inspired to start a new sweater vest for the spring just because I can make it and wear it. And that's something special!
deb

The disappearing week

I missed blogging last week. I don't even know where the week went. But I have been doing lots of knitting and got a few things done.

More Stash Buster Socks finished. Yay. Add them to the Christmas pile.

I worked on my class for the Yarn Over Sleep Over Retreat in April. Seems like it's so far away but it will be here before we know it. One of my classes is Shaping Lace so I made up a scarf where you have to decrease away on the sides of the lace pattern and then increase. This gives practise for when you need to shape armholes and necklines in a lace pattern. This is what we'll get started on and then the knitters can continue to work the scarf (or not). Maybe I could call it Waving Leaves. Do you have a better name?

I'm also working on a scarf with triangles. They are my obsession at the moment. This scarf starts at one end and works to the other, attaching each new triangle to the next. The triangles get bigger and bigger to the centre and then get smaller. I was trying for an exact depth in the centre. It took a couple of tries. It turns out that that's quite a bit of knitting on a 3.5mm/US3 needle. But I really enjoyed it. And might just start another one.
I tried knitting a new scarf off the old scarf. Not a good idea. The garter stitch really puts permanent kinks in the wool that knit up unevenly. I know this, I was just so excited to keep going. I ended up ripping back the old scarf, dumping it in water and waiting impatiently for it to dry. Hovering over the wool and checking every 5 minutes does not quicken the process. Now there is much less wiggle in the strands.

I guess that answers the question of where my week went.
Deb

Retreating Soon

One more week before the Cabin Fever Retreat. I'm working on the project every day. Our focus this year is join-as-you-go. We think we have a wonderful cowl for our attendees to knit. Here are some highlights:
Steps with Stripes

Or Steps horizontally

Mitred Corners

Triangles

All joined together all the time. The knitters will be choosing which they use where so all the cowls should come out slightly different. Should be lots of fun.

Deb

Retreating is over

It's been a frantic couple of weeks. Two retreats back to back. Loads of fun with knitters.

The Yarn Over Sleep Over weekend was great. I taught a mosaic class, always interesting because the charts don't read like any other charts but always give a wonderful result.

I especially like it in fingering weight yarn, much more delicate looking.

Knitting a Lake Lauzon was full of triangles and rectangles and look at that finished scarf!

Looking forward to next year but now ... back to our regualarly scheduled program where I am doing my taxes. Argh.
-Deb

Triangles and Parallelograms

I lost about a day and a half trying to solve a problem. I’m making a “join as you go” scarf. I thought it would be easy in garter stitch since 4 stitches and 4 Ridges equal 1”. How hard could it be to form triangles and parallelograms? I’ve worked other designers' patterns in this way. Now to design my own.

It started out fine. I was trying to make a crescent scarf that is shaped like a staple. A short leg hanging down on either side with a long straight centre section. These are easy to wrap around your neck and you can tie the ends together which I sometimes like to do. 

Then it got a bit squiffy.

The waving is the product of putting right angled triangles, with equilateral triangles, with parallelograms. Whew. I spent the day catching up on the ratios of Pythagoras Theorem. Remember that from high school? Who knew I would need it in knitting. Interesting stuff. 

New scarf. I have it figured out.

We’re going to tackle this at the Knit At Lake Lauzon Retreat, April 23 & 24 in Algoma Mills (half way between Sudbury and Sault Saint Marie, ON). It will be easy. I promise. And of course you can always ignore all the mumbo-jumbo of math theory and just get on with the knitting.

If you live in Northern Ontario or can get there, please join us for 2 days of knitting. I know, an irresistible offer, knitting and Pythagoras Theorem! Ha, ha.

-Deb

Retreating

We had a wonderful time retreating. An odd word don't you think? Retreating from our regular life I guess?! There was knitting talk at breakfast, knitting and learning time, knitting talk at lunch, more knitting, knitting talk at dinner and finally knitting in our PJs. Isn't that your everyday life? Ha, ha.

We knit cowls. Lots of cowls. Look at all those finished projects. Most went home with a new cowl ready to wear and thoughts on what they were going to do on their next one.

They were all a little different since each knitter choose which of the 4 stitch patterns they wanted to knit. They had a couple of cast ons and neck edgings to choose from: cast on with beads or without, cast on with I-cord, add an edge with a twist. We nicknamed a new cast on "My way, your way", a variation of the long tail cast on where you can put in beads. More on this in a future post.

We also tackled that lovely phrase which I know you love to see "incorporate the increases into your stitch pattern". They were fearlessly.

A great weekend. Looking forward to our next 2 retreats in April.

Deb

Step or Graduate a stitch pattern

This week we've been working on our project for the Cabin Fever Retreat. There are only two more sleeps until we get started. Yay.

This weekend we are tackling those confusing words "incorporate the increases into your stitch pattern". Don't you just love to read that?

You can incorporate increases by stepping the pattern:

Work the increases until you have increased enough stitches on one side of your stitch pattern (at the raglan line) so that you can work one more full repeat of the stitch pattern.

This weekend we're going to work on gradually working some of the stitch pattern as each increase is added:

For a cowl with shoulder shaping:

It will be fun. Wish you were there,
-Deb

Semi-Solid Big Wool

I got a little parcel from Lyn.

Doesn't that wool look scrumptious? Lyn dyed the wool just like the Cabin Fever Retreaters are going to. I have it to work up some cowl samples so they can see what can be done with the stitch patterns and other information we're going to work on over the Retreat weekend.

I've worked up one of the cowls with the Big wool from Shelridge Yarns in a solid colour. It's a bulky that knits to 12 sts = 4" on an 8mm needle, so it is Big. I think the cowls will look really great with the semi-precious, semi-solid wool. Can't wait to see how they look with the different stitch patterns we're including in the class notes.

It's not very many sleeps now until the Halloween weekend and our Retreat.

-Deb

Double knitting, double your pleasure.

It's been a hurry, hurry, busy, busy week after a totally awesome, relaxing weekend at a knitting retreat. The Sticks, String and Stewardship retreat in Sudbury, ON is one I am not involved in organizing. I set up a display of Cabin Fever books and yarn then commence to enjoy knitting and chatting. I leave a book on the table where people write down what they take away and we settle up on Sunday. So civilized. But these women are dedicated charity knitters so if you can't trust them, who can you trust?

I took two classes. One on Double Knitting in a way I haven't done before. You carry both colours of yarn with you from the front to the back as you knit and purl. It makes a really cushy fabric and is totally reversible. You could have seen that the other side is blue with yellow grid lines, if I had been bright enough to turn it over and photograph it. I'm blaming yarn fumes.

The second class was working a zigzag strip where you join-as-you-go. I love the joining part especially. You guessed it, no sewing up. Yay.

I like an ambling sort of tempo to my week. But this was the first week of a couple of classes which will run for the next 2 months so was not that sort of week. Beginning is always filled with anticipation because I really like to teach and anxiety because I don't know quite what I'm walking into. I've started a Top Down night at Eliza's Buttons and Yarns in Barrie, ON, where I work part-time. So far I have two knitters working on two totally different top down projects. I'm hoping for a couple more knitters then these nights will really keep me on my toes.

I'm also teaching a beginner series of classes at the Ramara Community Centre, this year we're knitting mittens, then a Mosaic hat. I'm thinking of suggesting a cabled scarf for after Christmas just to round out their winter projects. I have a brand new knitter in this class. It's so wonderful to see someone pick up needles for the first time and actually knit some fabric, on double pointed needles no less, talk about jumping in at the deep end. She did wonderfully well.

Now back to regularly scheduled testknitting. I'll have some more done by next week.
-Deb

Eek, a Steek Retreat

The challenge for the Knitting at Lake Lauzon was to come up with a steek project. They asked for steeking, really they did. So we steeked. Steeks are beneficial when knitting with 2 colours. Mosaic knitting is 2-colour knitting where you only use one colour at a time. A great technique.

First we all worked on the Mosaic pattern. Then we sewed along the 5 extra steek stitches we added to the hat circumference.

Then we CUT.

No one fainted, everyone sewed and cut, everyone! Then we worked the buttonband and the crown of the hat. A marvelous job by all and wonderful finished hats.

Liz finished with a headband.

A terrific weekend at Lake Lauzon Resort. There will be another retreat in 2016, same weekend, same place. Looking forward to it already.

-Deb

Our theme at the Yarn Over Sleep Over Retreat last weekend was to

Laugh a Lot,

Eat a Lot (I know I definitely pulled my weight there, ha, ha),

 Learn a Lot (I learned a couple of "new to me" techniques so I could teach them for our Speed Knitting:  new stretchy cast on and a new lace bind off),

and partake in some extra curricular activities.

 Same weekend next year at the Fern Resort.

 Have you been to a retreat lately? What did you really love about it.

I'm still retreating. Off to another retreat on Friday: Knitting at Lake Lauzon in Algoma Mills, ON (northern Ontario). We're going to Steek. The first cut is the deepest (song) right? There may be some sweaty palms. I hope everyone survives.
-Deb

YarnOverSleepOver Retreat

It's retreat time. This is the Yarn Over Sleep Over retreat that 9 needlework professionals, including Lyn and I, run together and teach at. We are being pro-active. Why wait to be chosen to teach when we could run a retreat of our own? This is our third year and the organization over the year leading up to this weekend is interesting, as all group work is, and very rewarding. Nine strong-minded entrepreneurial minds coming together, well you can imagine the sparks fly sometimes, all to the good. We have a wonderful weekend planned for our 43 attendees.

I've got all my samples for my two classes, a fashion show and for the Speed Dating Knitting.

What may you ask is Speed Knitting? Our first activity at the retreat is based on Speed Dating where one set of people, for example Women, sit in chairs along a wall and across from them sit those that came to date. Each person spends 2 minutes with the person in front of them and then moves to the next table. In our case, we're not looking for dates but for knitting know-how. A group of knitter sits at one table and tries a technique for 10 minutes then moves to the next table. It's quick, it's fun and hopefully educational. Our 4 tables this year are: Nupps, Garter Stitch Cast Off, Stretchy Cast On and Machine Knitting. As we all know, knowledge is power, power to the knitter.
Hope you have a great weekend, I am going to,
-Deb

Mosaic Sample

I've working up my first sample for a Steek workshop I'm running in Northern Ontario. It's a weekend at Lake Lauzon Resort in Algoma Mills, ON on April 25 & 26. Yikes, it's coming up soon.

Steeks work really well for 2-colour knitting because it's so much easier to do colourwork in the round. For this workshop we're going to make a hat or headband with 2 colours with a steek which will be cut and a buttonband put in it's place. Although the usual method for colourwork is to work a fairisle pattern, I decided to tackle Mosaic knitting.

I think I am in love. Have you tried this? There are lots of advantages, especially when worked in the round.
1.  Work with only 1 colour on a round at a time, perfect. No need to carry a second colour.
2.  The charts are easy to read once you know the trick. The trick is that each row of the chart must be worked twice with the same colour of wool.
3. The charts are easy to work with. Working with the dark colour, knit the dark stitches on the chart, slip the light stitches.
2.  The second round in the same colour is a snap. Phew. Always nice to have a comfortable, easy round. Work the stitches that are in the colour you're working with and slip the other stitches. You can have fun with the stitches on this round. By knitting the stitches you produce stockinette stitch or by purling them, garter stitch.

I see possibilities here. I worked the green (light colour) in stockinette stitch and the blue (dark colour) in garter stitch. What if I did it the other way around and made the green in garter stitch and the blue in stockinette stitch? How different would it look? What if I made the background the light colour and the shape in the dark colour? What if I did it all in garter stitch?

As you can see I have some more mosaic knitting in my near future. I can't wait to see what will happen.
-Deb

Sock knitting weekend

Knitting in groups is so very rewarding. Our group at the Knitting at Lake Lauzon sock knitting weekend in Northern Ontario were helpful to each other, encouraging and just plain fun to be with.

We all know that learning new techniques can be frustrating. Encouragement from other students helps a lot. And look at all the little socks that were knit. Those new to sock knitting worked from the cuff down to the toe in a traditional sock construction. The knitters who had knit socks before worked one from the cuff down with a short row heel and a second sock from the toe up with the same short row heel. I had to throw a curve at them, hee, hee, hee!

There may be some serious sock knitting addicts coming out of this class. Thanks for a lovely weekend.

The project chosen by the group for next year is a hat with I-cord and a steek. Should be very interesting. If you want to join us in Algoma Mills, ON for next year's weekend April 25 & 26, 2015, email me deb.cabinfever@gmail.com and I'll get you on the notification list.

 

-Deb

P.S. From the comments: I agree Liz, any distraction helps. Sharon I would be so happy is my sweater looked even a little bit sexy but I'm afraid that is not the case. Something to shoot for though.

Lyn and I were busy last week getting ready for the annual Cabin Fever Retreat.

Lyn is reskeining the lovely dyed wool made by the students that took her dye workshop.

This year's Design Focus was on waist and hip shaping. We had fun with the 2 projects.
Wristers, where we practiced waist and hip shaping.

We worked one wrister with waist shaping (decreasing) and the second wrister with hip shaping (increasing).

A second project was to make a bag with shaping that reflected our own body shape.

Here's a closer look at my own bag.

The bag handle has to be added. But it certainly is a good look at my figure.

And here's Kelly's alternative use of a wrister!

We're all looking forward to next year.
-Deb