Springtime in a Knitters World

It's been beautiful here in the Smoky Mountains. Spring has blessed us a little early with warm weather and beautiful views of the mountains. This weekend the Dogwoods have started to bloom and they have added just a touch of color to the mountain sides and along the road ways. This is truly a beautiful place to live.

It's also an amazing place to be involved in the Arts. Recently in the area there was the huge Quilt show that happens every year, and the Fiber Arts Festival in Townsend. Many of the attendees to these shows came to the Spinnery. We had customers from as far away as Massachusetts. It was a pleasure talking with them and finding out what the fiber world is like in their area.

On the home front, I have been really working on a schedule for weekly classes and a monthly workshop for the Spinnery. Right now here is a list of the weekly classes. (remember I don't have dates yet, that will be coming soon)

• Knitting (right now I have a Beginning Knit class on Wednesday mornings 10am but if you are in town you are welcome to come.)
• Knitting all levels
• Continental Knitting
• Magic Loop
• Crochet for Knitters. (edging, yokes, trim, cast ons, etc)
• Fair Isle (2 hand method)
• Drop Spindle
• Private Lessons

Workshops are going to be monthly. The April workshop will be the 14th, 1-3pm and the topic is LACE. I think Spring time shouts light lacy shawls and scarves, so I have a pattern that will be perfect. If you are in Gatlinburg on the 14th, please come and take the class it will be a lot of fun. Email me for further information.

Personally, I'm still living with what seems to be 100s of irons in the fire. But I'm coming to the belief that, this state I'm in is my "normal" I've always been a  person with a many things going on, that's why I've always been a knitter/spinner. It's my get away, my healing, my counselor, my therapy, my best friend at times. I'm truly blessed that I can be around it all the time. If being involved in with knitting, spinning, crafting, etc has done anything for you like it has me, you know what I'm talking about.  Now I'm finding that same feeling with designing. I'm currently working on a baby blanket that I'm going to call Celtic Butterfly. (Just have to get that Scottish touch in there LOL). The pattern is coming a long really well, and my goal is to have a couple of test knitters work with it by mid April. Cross your fingers.

I want to close out today with a thought.
Remember that there are always two sides to every story, before you come to a conclusion. This way you don't let other people form your opinions. You are one of a kind, so don't think like everyone else.

Starting this post I first has to say that I totally love spinning. It was wonderful spinning on a drop spindle and it's wonderful spinning on my SideKick. With that said, I have to admit that I wish I could spin as well on the wheel as I do with the spindle. LOL. But, like the spindle it will take time to get the feel of it and get comfortable. The photos below are photos of the first three bobbins I've spun. The blue/purple is the very first bobbin, the one behind it is the third. The pic below that is the second bobbin. Both dark colors are a Colonial that I had for felting and the light color is a Merino that was given to me.

Previously I have posted about the workshop that is happening at Smoky Mountain Spinnery on Feb. 18th.  I have a few pics to share that will give you a better idea of the Nuno Felting (the instructor) and 2 Handed Fair Isle, if you are not familiar with them.

We will be working with aran weight yarns so you will be able to get our hat project if not done, then almost finished. I will be available on 19th from 11-2 to help anyone finish it up.

In closing I just have to  acknowledge how grateful I am for all that's been going on in my life and the lives of my family and friends. The women in my life are strong in the face of their tests, and the men have stepped up and showed themselves to be the father's, husbands and friends that were and are needed to their families. I have a hope and expectation that wonderful things are on the horizon. Dreams do come true, yes it takes persistence, commitment and focus, but the journey to achieving the dream is where you find the substance. Learn who you are, learn about those around you and believe that every step is guided and has happened for a reason. Wonderful things come in all packages, and from unexpected sources.

WORKSHOP NEWS:

I'm so excited about this. On Feb. 18th, 2-5pm I'm teaching a beginning Fair Isle class. In the morning we are having a Nuno Felting class, here is the info for you. Come to the Smoky Mountains for the weekend and enjoy the mountains, fiber and learn something new.


Fair Isle, Two Handed Technique
Instructor: Saundra McBride

Learn this beautiful technique in an afternoon. By using two balls of yarn and your own color choices you can now add a whole new level to your knitting. If you have avoided fair isle knitting because you thought it was complicated or hard learn, this method of 2 handed fair isle will surprise you.

We will cover the basics of 2 handed fair isle, yarn choices, color choice, pattern/chart reading and creating your own fair isle charts.

In class we will be starting your first project. Supplies will be provide and included in the fee.

Fee: $85

For further information and or reserving your seat please call (865) 436-9080

and

Nuno Felting Instructor: Sallie Stamps Swor

Are you ready to learn an exciting fiber art technique and walk away with the most gorgeous piece of wearable art? If the answer is yes, then this is the perfect class for you. This workshop will teach the fine art of Nuno Felting, one of the oldest methods of creating non-woven fabric. It involves taking wonderfully soft pieces of hand dyed roving (wool that has not yet been spun) and a feather weight silk and combining the two together. You will be using your own love of color, soapy water and gentle pressure to create a beautiful and completely unique scarf. Everything you need to create this scarf will be provided. Just bring your own artistic spirit. This is one piece you’ll never want to give away. Come join us to learn a new art and have a fabulous time!

Class fee: $125 (includes all supplies)

Please call us for more information and to reserve your space. (865) 436-9080

Mini Mochi Fair Isle Hat Without the Mini Mochi.

Do you love knitting Fair Isle? I do. If you haven't tried it, you should, and if you are afraid of it, then face it head on and take a class, because I think you would just love the pattern that I am doing. It called Mini Mochi Fair Isle Hat. You can find the pattern by following the link or you can check it out on Ravelry.

What got me interested in this pattern is that I want to use it to teach a class. It only takes 2 colors. Yup, that makes it perfect for beginning Fair Isle. Then add the beautiful color whats that Mini Mochi comes in you just can't beat it. Your hat will look the super advanced knitting when you are finished. :-) So what I decided to do was get into my stash and make one of the hats just to get the feel of the pattern before I taught it. In doing this I'm getting a great hat but I've all ready learned a few things that I'd like to share.

1. To make this pattern go faster, it would help if you could have your yarn in both hands. Yes, I'm suggesting that you Continental with the left and "throw" with the right, one stitch right after another. So are you wondering if you are a Thrower, how on earth can I wrap the yarn around the needle, I have such a big movement when I wrap. Well, there are ways around that. Now I could get into it, but I think that would be better info for another blog post. Right now I want to encourage you to look into taking on Fair Isle
2. Don't look at the whole pattern or finished hat photo and freak yourself out. Just like every pattern, this pattern is done one stitch at a time, one row at a time. Allow yourself the same grace as you did when you first started knitting. Mistakes are awesome that means you are trying. Trying leads to learning, and learning means you are practicing and practicing leads to it becoming second nature. (Insert Yoda and Star Wars music here)
3. Not all hat patterns call for a size 2 needle. This one does. So if you are not use to using a needle that small. Practice on a size that is between what you are use to and the US2. Example, you find that you knit on size US7's all the time, well, get some waste yarn, grab a pair of 4's and cast on about 20 stitches and knit until you are comfortable. Hopefully when you pick up the 2's you will be able to adjust to those very easy.

So I've just started this hat, and it's so far one of my favorite fair isle projects. As I go through it, I will share more little findings a long the way.

Be blessed

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures

I've promised you pictures and now I have them. They are proof that I have been busy. LOL. By the way, before I post pictures, thank you to everyone who said a prayer or kept Truman in your thoughts. Tuesday he was finally taken off his antibiotics and will be checked again in 4 weeks to make sure he can staff off of them.

Ok, here we go. Lets start with yesterday. My daughter turned 21. We had a great day. It went way too fast, but we had a lot of fun. Her friends and co-workers really showed how much they cared for her. It was wonderful. Now she wanted to make her cake and she did. She loves Oreo's so she made a Oreo cake with Oreo pudding filling. DIVINE.

We met up with her boyfriend at the new Starbucks and spent an hour there cutting up and having a good time. (bad picture, taken with cell phone)

Then a few weeks back we went to Tennessee to see my mom. I mentioned that we had went to the county fair while up there. Here is proof. This is their version of a petting zoo. Check out the goat on top of the turtle.

And I have been knitting. I've been on this Tam kick. Though I'm working on every project I have on needles trying to finish them. (I need the needles for other things and refuse to buy more) LOL. So here are a few of the tams I've done the past week or so. The last picture is a detail of the wool that I am crazy about. It's think and thin and just wonderful to work with. I got it at JoAnn's and made the tam in about 2 hours. I was excited.

I have one more tam started that is also wool, but is on size 3 needles and will be fair isle. I can't wait to get to the color work.

I've miss blogging. It's so frustrating to have just enough time in the day to read a few blogs and not jump in and participate. But, hopefully with some of the decisions I've made lately and getting my Avon business started I can make enough that I'm not running in a hundred different directions. By the way thank you again to those who signed up on my Avon mailing list. Very much appreciated.

No pictures yet

Let me start out with what we've been up to. We've been traveling, knitting, worrying about Truman, working and joining Avon.

We went up and spend about a week with my mom in TN. It was wonderful. We went to a county fair and had the best time. Can you believe that I had never taken my kids to a county fair. We don't have them around here. GA has a state fair and I think that's about it. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. We also went to a little drug store that had the soda fountain / restaurant in it. I can't even begin to tell you how good the food was. And the people had to be some of the most friendly people I've ever met. I got to go to the craft area of Gatlinburg and visit spinners and knitters and came away with no purchases. But plenty of ideas and a few job offers.

Then it was back to reality. Truman is now on his third round of antibiotics. For those of you who don't know who Truman is, he is my 5.5 month old Great Dane puppy. He has a serious infection located between his vertebra's. Though it's getting better, it's not getting better fast enough of me, or the vet. We'll decide after this next round of meds what our next step will be.

Avon. Well my cousin has sold Avon and made a really good living for herself. I really hadn't paid much attention to it until I was up at mom's and see ever thing they offered, and seen their prices. Even paying full price I could cut what I spend on makeup, facial cleansers, moisturizers, shower gels, nail color and shampoo by 3/4s. Yes, you read that correctly, I can have my bathroom full of goodies for a quarter of what I am now paying. And the stuff is good stuff. I use the mineral foundation ( I use a lot of natural products) that you see on tv or at ULTA, and Avon's Mineral Foundation is less than half of what I pay. So I talked to my cousin and it only cost $10 to sign up. So I'm really excited. Here is my Avon website. www.youravon.com/sandramelton . Please go buy something LOL. Actually I would like to do this full time, but I gotta start somewhere. Oh and they also sale clothes, handbags, undies and all kinds of jewelry. I gotta tell you if I can shop from one catalog or one website and get it all done, I am there!

Now for knitting. I have for some reason gotten the bug to knit Tams. I've got three made all ready and ordered the yarns for my next one. I'm going to start making fair isle tams for gifts. Hell, I make sale them. Anyway, I'll have pictures of those soon. I've also made a few more washcloths. I love making those. While up at mom's I realized that it's about time to get both of the scarves that I started last year out and get those bad boys off the needles.

So be patient with me pictures are coming soon!