Knitters’ Knews Vol. 34, Issue 6 February 2014 The Madison Knitters’ Guild meets the second Monday of each month September through May. Doors open at 5:00 pm • Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. • Bishop O'Connor Center, 702 South High Point Rd, Madison, WI The February 10 Meeting features Patty Lyons February Meeting: PATTY LYONS learned to knit when she was seven, 5:00–6:30 pm: Doors Open and in 2005 she decided to leave her previous life as Sign up at the Hospitality table, a Broadway stage manager to follow her passion check out the Library, visit and work in the knitting world. After managing a vendors, peruse Community New York yarn store for a few years, she joined Lion Projects and seek out Knit Aid Brand Yarn in 2008 to create the Lion Brand Yarn 5:45 pm : Knit Connection Studio in New York City, where she served as the Gather in the Dining Room to Studio Director for five years. meet knitters from your neighborhood. Patty now teaches nationally at guilds and knitting 6:30 pm: Meeting Starts shows around the country such as Vogue Knitting Business Meeting, Guest Angora Trimmed Top Down LIVE, Knit and Crochet Show (the official show of Speaker, Break, Show N’ Tell, Sweater © 2011 by Patty Lyons TKGA and CGOA), and STITCHES. A certified knitting Door Prizes in Auditorium instructor, Patty focuses on helping her students see the 'why to' not just the 'how to'. She specializes in sweater design and sharing her love of the much‐ In This Issue: maligned subjects of gauge and blocking. February’s Speaker – 1 Patty’s popular classes can also be found online at Knitting Daily (Interweave Message from the Press) and Craftsy, where her “Improve Your Knitting” class was named President – 2 Craftsy’s most popular class of 2013! Library Notes – 2 Patty’s designs and knitting skill articles can be found in Vogue Knitting, A Peek at the March Creative Knitting, Knit 1,2,3 and Knit ‘N Style magazines. According to knitwear Meeting – 3 designer Melissa Leapman, “Patty Lyons has done more to promote the pure Membership Count – 3 love of knitting in New York City than anyone I can think of. Her enthusiasm for Knitting in the News – 3 the craft is surpassed only by her dedication to quality education. The industry Seeking Nominations – 4 is lucky to have her.” Upcoming Events – 4 Patty loves to knit, crochet, spin and has even dabbled on the knitting machine. Treasurer’s Report – 4 She is currently attempting not to get sucked into another yarn craft, but Meet Our Vendors – 5 weaving is looking pretty interesting. January Guild Meeting Patty lives in Brooklyn with her husband, a room full of yarn, and her rooftop Minutes – 6 garden. To find out where Patty is teaching next, visit: http://pattylyons.com/ Knit‐In Update – 7 Join us at the February 10 meeting when Patty will share tips and tricks of Community Projects and blocking. She has graciously shared with MKG members the handout she uses Free Pattern – 8‐9 in her 3‐hour blocking class, and it is a good preview of what you will learn from Ewe and Janine – 10 Patty. Use this handy reference to add a professional finish to your knitted Blocking Hand Out from objects (full handout is on the MKG Website, condensed version on page 11). Patty Lyons – 11 – Barbara Rottman, Programming Chair Sponsors – 12 MKG Knitters’ Knews 1 February 2014 Message from the President — Go Places with MKG! I love traveling, especially when I can make connections. Events Chair, is Part of the reason I love knitting is that it offers me the deep into opportunity of a journey – whether I’m just sitting on planning Safari. my couch or out exploring the world of yarn. Safari is an annual bus tour Begin Your Journey with Knit-In that visits three to four Reflect a moment how far you’ve come since you first knitting shops, with planned stops for meals. This year’s picked up those two sticks. The skills you’ve learned, Safari will take place on Saturday, June 7. Reserve the people you’ve met, the yarn you’ve touched and the date and plan on a full-day knitting adventure. maybe the “yarns” you’ve heard or told! Knit-In is a perfect place to continue that journey. Mary Jo Harris, Personal Journey Knit-In Chair, and committee have packed so much of As I’ve shared with you many times, the Madison the best into two days right here in Madison. Knitters’ Guild is a wonderful organization, filled with talented knitters who have been to amazing places, do Instructors will offer you the opportunity to learn new lots of interesting things besides knitting and have skills or polish what you already know. You also have varied work backgrounds. Getting involved in the Guild the opportunity to explore the knitting of other will open that entire world to you. Please consider countries with Scandinavian Church Gloves, Latvian volunteering for a committee. At each meeting we list a Scallop and Braid, or Nupps and Estonian Lace. Visit an few tasks for which we could use help with. Feel free to entirely new world with Zentangle Basics. The 2014 jump in – or if you’d prefer, seek out a board member Marketplace will offer temptations from as near as our and tell her what kind of skills you’re willing to share. own backyard to as far away as Colorado and Maryland. The Guild is only what we make it – and we can Knit-In registration is now open to all. Be sure to share certainly use your help to keep it great! news about this great event with family and friends! Explore, grow and knit on with the Guild! Ticket to Ride – Mae Knowles, President We are so fortunate to live in a community that offers so many yarn and knitting supply choices nearby. You P.S. A limited number of printed Membership just have to look at our list of Sponsors to see the Directories will be available at the March meeting. bounty. But sometimes it’s fun to go on a little If you’d like a copy, please let me know via email at adventure to see what else there is. Gael Boyd, Special [email protected]. Library Notes: Inspiration is the theme for this month's new books, with three collections of creative designs inspired by the non-fiber world. In Op-Art Socks, Stephanie Van Der Linden credits her optical illusion designs to her collection of op-art ceramics. Tanis Gray finds inspiration in the raw materials and fine details of buildings in Knitting Architecture. Singer/songwriter Stephanie Dosen has published a collection of fairy tale inspired designs in her first book, Woodland Knits. All three of these books present new ideas for fun projects and remind us that inspiration comes from all over. This month we are happy to add three new books on Estonian knitting to our collection in honor of Linda Loeffelholz and donated by her son, John. Estonian Mittens All Around the World by Aino Praakli catalogs hundreds of mitten designs. The Haappsalu Scarf and The Haapsalu Shawl both by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi showcase Estonian lace patterns. The three books together provide a deep resource of Estonian knitting. The library gratefully accepts book donations. Please stop by the library table for more information on making donations. – Marijka Engel, Library Chair MKG Knitters’ Knews 2 February 2014 Sneak Peek at the March Meeting: The Knitter's Life List is intended to be a book of discovery and inspiration for all fiber lovers, especially knitters, and author Gwen W. Steege hopes to evoke that spirit in her presentation on March 10. She'll describe how the book came about and a bit about how her own "life list" has changed and evolved over the decades since she first learned to knit. She will explain that though the book isn't about patterns or techniques, it includes a broad overview of yarns and fibers, ethnic and historical styles, and most important, interviews of key figures in the fiber world kwhose wor has had a major impact on us all. Gwen will share anecdotes about some of those interviews, along with insights about the fiber arts that came about through her conversations with these very generous contributors. She'll also give examples of some of the fun lists that she developed to challenge readers to explore books, movies, festivals, museums and much more. These lists have made her, and she hopes others, become aware of how thoroughly knitting and other fiber arts are woven into our lives. This is not intended to be a static book – nor a static talk – but a prompt to develop and check off one's own "bucket list" of fiber opportunities to enjoy. Share the Fun! The Guild has committed to teaching children to knit at the Madison Children’s Museum, Sundays, 2:00–3:30 p.m., through March 9. This past Sunday, three Membership members taught about a dozen children, at least two moms and several staff January members. We all had fun and received many thank yous. Please consider joining us. Ideally we would have four to five teachers at each session. Please email Update: Bonnie Dill to volunteer: [email protected] We are now Adieu – Until We Meet Again Big Apple look out: Heather Black is New York bound! MKG members have benefited from her teaching at Sow’s Ear, her work as an assistant at Knitting Camp and as a valued adviser at the Knit‐Aid Station, as well as a Knit‐In instructor.