Atlanta Knitting Guild

Atlanta Knitting Guild General Meeting Minutes January 5, 2017

Susan Duralde called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. She asked if we had any new members or visitors. There were 4 visitors this evening; Haley, Priscilla, Carol and Sharon. We welcome them and hope they return and join AKG.

Announcements:

The February meeting will be on February 16th, the 3rd Thursday, not the first. Yarn – The Movie event will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at the Sandy Springs LaFont Theatre. Tickets will be available to buy on line for $5.00 for AKG members and $10.00 for non –members. We will notify all members when tickets are available to purchase on line. Everyone attending will receive a goody bag (donated from Lion Brand Yarn), and a ticket for the yarn raffle. The yarn raffle consists of $5000 worth of high end yarn donated from Ginger Giddens. We already have confirmed 10 sponsors; 2 gold at $100; 4 silver at $50; and, 4 bronze at $25.00. Our sponsors have also donated several Noro Magazines and knit patterns. Depending on the participation, we do have the option and may open up a second theatre. Susan thanked both Claudia Purgason and Jolie Elder for their tireless commitment to this project. We will have posters, postcards and print items available by January 31st. We will need help from the members with loading the goody bags as well as logistics on the film day. We will need help with setting up and closing down the tables and chairs in the lobby, as there will be a short time window to do this before the theatre has another movie showing.

Road trip to Wandering Fox Farm

Barb Moore discussed the January 14 day trip to Wandering Fox Farm in Douglasville, GA. Barb has 18 slots filled with a maximum of20. Lynne Davidson gave updated directions to the Farm; she will put out her “eggs for sale” sign and possibly balloons. After the farm tour and lunch, everyone is invited to sit and knit in the house. They currently have 27 Alpacas, 30 chickens, 8 ducks and various dogs and cats.

Lemonade Days

Barb Moore gave an update on the April 22 and 23 Dunwoody event , “Lemondade Days. We will be in the Country Store Tent. Barb will need 2 people each day working a 2 hour shift. She already has 3 volunteers. Barb asked the membership to also help to knit lemons, which will be displayed, and some clothes for bears (in yellow if possible). Barb has a link available to the knitted lemon pattern.

Workshops

Susan Nease discussed the next workshop for January 21 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. to be held at the SEFAA Center. Lee Greenberg will teach a class on creating a knitted scarf with beads. Members can sign up on the AKG website (the AKG store link). The February program will be February 11, 2017 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. also at the SEFAA Center. Barbara Benson will teach a class on knitting Mobius strip. Barb went into more detail about her class. Students will learn how to cast on a reversible cable pattern. Superstar

Dallas Duncan discussed the 2017 Superstar Programs. Charles Gandy will teach classes on May 6 and May 7 at the SEFAA Center. Saturday classes will be “Casting on” from 9:00 – 12:00;”Embellished knitting” from 1:00 – 4:00. The Sunday class will be”Mini Monster” from 9:00 – 12:00; “Mosaic knitting” from 1:00 – 4:00. Members can sign up on the AKG website.

Susan mentioned that a left handed knitter has contacted The Guild asking for help with knitting; several members volunteered to assist. Susan also thanked Claire Kooy for setting up a link on the AKG website to allow knitters to sign up for classes on line.

Show and Tell

Debra Davis showed a shawl from Noro Kureyon sock yarn (3rd time knitting this one); a cowl with knitted sheep in a field scene made from Madeline Tosh.

Pam Cornutt showed an Amy Herzog Revive cardigan made from Merino silky alpaca, was fun to knit.

Margaret Hollis showed several Christmas socks from silk and bamboo yarn, also a raglan sweater and teddy bear socks.

Denise Takaz showed a large purple shawl.

Joyce Culpepper showed a weekend jacket from Craftsy, which took only a few weeks to knit, and a purple shawlette.

Natalie Green showed a cowl from Trendsetter; she had attended Barbara Benson variegated yarn class.

Carol Downing showed a number of baby sweaters and jackets in different sizes, all made from acrylic yarn from Michaels.

Lois Mitchell showed a kerchief type cowl, a Malibrigo cowl out of “contraction” pattern in seed stitch., Purple sock yarn, and fingerless gloves from Squooseh Fiber Arts from Eat, Sleep, Knit.

Barbara Benson showed the Earth Bound misfit shawl in 2 different color ways. One was in shades of purple; the other in contrasts of peach and turquoise. Both shawls have lots of beads. Barbara thanked Lois for knitting the purple shawl.

Vanessa Brennan showed variegated toe up socks in turquoise and brown and brought her “lovely” husband wearing a gray cardigan with a hood made from “settlers” pattern. (He must love her a lot).

Claudia Pergason showed a white lace shawl from one ball of #154 Gossamer by Sweater Babe, and A large gray/brown shawl from Giggle with a Wiggle by Mindy Ross.

Priscilla showed a green and rose cardigan with a lace bottom edge which required zero seaming, knitted from sock yarn. Nancy showed an ecru lace shawl called “rose garden”. One skein was a different color lot, so she soaked the finished shawl in coffee, rinsed in vinegar and color is now a solid butterscotch color.

Dallas showed her pink pussy cat hat “for social injustice”, she also had a 2 color ribbed beanie hat in turquoise and yellow yarn that she dyed.

Jill Vogin showed a cardigan for her daughter called “baby surprise”. She felt this pattern that can be confusing as to what section you are knitting. Jolie offered help with this pattern, she has taught a class on this one.

Program

Ashley Jackson presented a program based on a Craftsy Class she took based on the Shirley Paden book “Knit Wear Design”. Ms. Paden is an internationally recognized hand knit wear designer. Ashley did drop out of this program, but did share her progress with the group in pictures and a slide show. She had glowing compliments about Shirley, the information provided, the follow up, and, her availability to assist students. Ashley designed a cardigan with a floral/snowflake fairisle design. The sweater back design is twisted lace. She knitted many swatches, experimented with many yarns, and took lots of measurements. One big challenge she faced was to transfer the design onto a proper pattern. She felt she really gained a great respect for sweater designers who have to create patterns for up to 10 different sizes. She created a written and charted pattern that was color coded. Ashley showed several pages from the Paden book. Ashley felt she would, one day, retake the class. Ms. Paden tends to choose a knitting guild and offers a small number of spots in her class.

No further business to come before the members, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Crowley, Secretary Atlanta Knitting Guild