Getting Ready for Open House!

Open House is a little more than a week away.  I'm getting things ready to show off and hopefully inspire people to create and maybe even want to take some lessons.

In response to a class I recently taught on granny squares, I have been adding to that portion of my curriculum.  I have added advanced granny squares and now a sweater of grannies.  All I have left on the sweater is button bands, collar and cuffs.  Baby clothes are a wonderful way to play with techniques and patterns to see if you will get the desired effect before committing to a lot of time and money in yarn if you won't like the finished article.

I have also been working on my samples for classes.  There are some really interesting things in the advanced beginner classes.  The baby rattle is my favorite so far. 

Pictures will be forthcoming of finished items.  I just have to find my camera cords.  They disappeared at Christmastime and have not resurfaced.  I could use my cell phone's camera feature, but the pictures from there are not the best quality for seeing detail.

Remember to tell a friend, classes are all on sale on March 3.  Wilton's classes are a different percentage off than the rest.  Knit, Crochet, Bead, Knack, Scrapbooking, and the fine painting are off 25%.  Class schedules should be available and paperwork in the book.  Come join us for the fun!

March's Discover Time for Crochet class will be Tunisian Crochet.  I will be starting off with learning the basic afghan stitch and moving forward from there.  April's Class will be Hairpin Lace.  There is more to this lace pattern than meets the eye.

March's Discover Time for Knit class will be double knitting.  This is a wonderful technique that can have so many applications.  April's Class will be all about learning some of the more advanced techniques that you use in knitting that don't get explained too well in written instructions.  These techniques also have many uses, some of which I will go over.  None of these techniques are involved enough to need an entire class but are still worth learning.  Some covered will be short rows, Kitchener, and i-cord.

A Sale and a small crisis

Computers are a wonderful thing when the work.  Computers can cause heartache and headaches when they don't.  I come to you today from the local library.  Our computer has died again.  The motherboard and possibly USB ports need replacing.  This is the second Dell in less than two years for us.  This is the small crisis. 

Better news!!  The Discover Knit and Crochet classes are going on sale for 25% off on the first Saturday of March.  Sale price is $18.50. 

I don't have anything that I can use to post pictures of the Filet Crochet project I designed for the end of February.  The finished object is a purse and is at Michaels on my storyboard.  It's a square bottomed purse and the filet lace goes around the sides.  It is a cinch top.

I'm also having a demo on Saturday, February 11, from 11 am to 1 pm.  It will also be a joining party for all the blocks we have from the Warm Up America collection.  Come on out and help.  Many hands make light work.

February Class Schedule

February 2012
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2 Discover Knit	3 Discover Baby Knit	4
5	6 Discover Tall Stitches	7	8 Discover Throws & Wraps Crochet	9 Discover Purl	10 Discover Throws & Wraps Knit	11 Demo 11 - 1
12	13 Discover Texture Stitches	14 Happy Valentine’s Day	15 Discover Gifts Crochet	16 Discover Pattern Stitches	17 Discover Gifts Knit	18
19	20 Discover Granny Squares	21	22 Discover Time to Crochet Filet Crochet	23 Discover Cables	24 Discover Time to Knit Socks Pt. 2 Toes	25
26	27 Discover Single Crochet	28	29

Intarsia example

I was hunting in my crafting room recently to find this sweater.  Both my sons wore this sweater.  It is an intarsia panda bear.  This is just one example of the many things you can do with this remarkable technique.  Just had to share. 
As I find more examples of the techniques I plan to offer in the Advanced classes, I will be sure to post them.

broomstick lace and the mitts for the lesson

Here is the project I have completed for the broomstick lace class at the end of the month.  Fingerless mitts.  Quick and Easy once you have the rhythm down.  A little creativity for some extended wearability and these are set.  I used Bernat Satin in Flamingo that I purchased to help support Breast Cancer awareness and research.  These mitts would wear very nicely in October.

Another new thing for 2012

For those who like a little mystery in their crocheting and knitting, Bernat offers us this CAL/KAL.  There is still plenty of time to get the details.  It will start in February. 

2012 Waverly for Bernat Crochet-Along and Knit-Along

Welcome to the 2012 Waverly for Bernat Mystery Knit- and Crochet-Along! We know it's a bit of a mouthful, so from here on we'll be referring to it as the KAL/CAL. In this post you'll find everything you need to get started!

For more details click the link.  Everything you need will be there or on the Bernat forums.  Looks like it should be fun!

Also for the charity knitters and crocheters, Bernat hosts Bernatcares.com for ways to connect with charities in your area who are looking for your hand crafted items.  They also offer free patterns to this end.

Red Heart is having a thank you yarn of the month giveaway!

Thank You Yarn of the Month Giveaway

To kick off the New Year we thought what better way than to do a giveaway of Shimmer yarn. Plus the best part is that there will be a new yarn giveaway every month in 2012!

Enter to win Red Heart’s Yarn of the Month Giveaway Shimmer Yarn Prize Pack (retail value $60)!

Red Heart Shimmer combines beautiful rich shades with a matching glistening thread of metallic. The metallic wrap adds sparkle, yet does not take away from the soft hand. Shimmer is a size 4-medium weight acrylic yarn and is machine wash and dryable!

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