Stitch Marker Class

We gathered at The Bead and Yarn Studio this afternoon to learn how to make our own stitch markers.

Road Trip!

The suburban pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road this morning. The ladies had a mission and no one was keeping them from it. It was a nice drive with lively conversation.

First stop ~ Knit Together, A yarn and fiber boutique in Exeter.

The window showed beautiful hand knit scarves and shawls in addition to a spinning wheel and yarn hanks. Going inside the ladies were met by cubbies of yarn. They found a nice selection which included Madlinetosh; Artyarns; Handwerks; and Debbie Bliss, just to name a few. The color palette was wonderful.

Annie found a colorful hank of Handwerks. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Here Annie and Cookie are discussing a pattern with the owner.

And here Annie, Pat, Annie and Cookie are deciding if they really NEED that ball Annie is holding or if she needs a different color.

After spending a time with the yarn the ladies decided to whet their appetites at The Wildflower Cafe across the street. This is a cute little cafe that serves soup, sandwiches, salads and more. There is also a nice patio when the weather is nice.

Betsy, (the suburban) headed on down the road for a few miles and came upon another yarn shop.

Creekside Yarns, in Three Rivers

Oh my goodness, so much yarny goodness in one place is sometimes just a bit too much to take in at one time. The staff was very helpful when decisions had to be made.

Creekside carries a wide selection of yarn companies. Their stock is sorted and displayed according to color. In their back room there is a good selection of needles, notions and books.

The boxes on the top of the shelf are sock hand dyeing kits. Wow!

Little bags were secured and the suburban made the trek back home. Again lively conversation could be heard while pages turned. Ooooh's and aah's interjected as patterns turned up on the pages of magazines.

Change

Did you notice something different?

We (our local Ravelry group) decided to change our name.

We are the same group just a new name.

We are now BAKERSFIELD Yarn Mavens

A Day In The Mountains

Gail graciously opened her cabin in the woods to our group yesterday.

We enjoyed a potluck lunch (not everything was on the table at the time the photo was taken)

Chile Verde, Enchiladas, Salad, Pasta Salad, Fruit Salad and Brownies

We took a bit of time to just breathe the fresh mountain air (elevation about 7200 ft)

Can you see what the thermometer says? 58 degrees!

We were joined by Gail's sons and border collie, Annie

And of course we spent time knitting!

Before yesterday I had never seen a Redwood tree...on our way back down the mountain we spotted this...

a cedar and a redwood...

they are sharing the same bit of earth...

World Wide Knit In Public Day

If one was strolling around The Market Place in Bakersfield on Saturday they would have seen this: There were so many hand knitted socks in one place at the same time we just couldn't resist...



Some ladies, like Annie below, brought their spinning wheels


And Mollie accompanied Gail


and of course photos were being taken

We'd like to thank our local yarn stores for donating prizes for our drawings

Knit Happens donated a wonderful basket filled with lots of knitting goodies


ABC of Creative Pursuits donated a beautiful skein of hand dyed yarn
Classy Knits donated gift certificates (sorry we didn't a photo of the winners)

Members of the group also donated yarn, books, bags, notions for drawings also.

Knitters and spinners from Porterville, Lancaster, Palmdale, Alta Sierra, Lake Isabella, Bakersfield and Las Vegas all gathered for a few hours of enjoyment.

It was wonderful talking with everyone and admiring what each one was working on or had finished.

Socks, Socks and more Socks

Today our group held our 'One Saturday A Month' meetup ~ Jen was a wonderful hostess and opened her home up for the meetup. Thanks Jen!

Everyone brought a dish ~ wonderful food!

After lunch we settled in the livingroom for a "Sock Class"...today's class was Cast On and Bind Off with a Short Row Heel thrown in. Amid laughs we all learned something

Thanks Suzanne...we loved being guinea pigs...

February Meetup

Yesterday out local group met at Lengthwise ~ it was nice, a bit loud at times, but then again think how loud we can get

Jennifer showed off Violet and the twins Vinnie and Val. They are her visiting monsters from Danger Crafts and the Traveling Monster board

New member, Shari, was welcomed ~ she's been knitting for about a year and was doing duplicate stitch on a hat

Jackie showed her baby blanket in progress

Pat shared yarn that she purchased on a recent road trip to Three Rivers

But I guess the highlight was Christy ~ she made a trip to Stitches West ~ her newest acquisitions