Merry Christmas

The Kings-Tulare-Kern Yarn Mavens wish everyone a very Merry Christmas...

May we all have a wonderful fiber filled New Year!

Kerry said...

"Size doesn't matter"*

Saturday turned out to be an outstanding day...Suzanne, MaryAnn, Virginia, Gail, Kerry (from Visalia), Sabrina (of Anzula from Fresno), Joyce, Jane, Darcy, Vicky and Ruth gathered at the local California Pizza Kitchen for our once a month meet up.

We gathered and ate and then retired to the porch for some yarny goodness. I didn't hear any complaints about the food...Waldorf Salad was wonderful and so was the lemonade (that's what I had).



Sabrina, of Anzula in Fresno, brought a load of her hand dyed yarns for us to pet, smell (yes, I said smell) and fondle...and that's just what we did. She has socks knitted up in her yarns so that we could see how it knitted up, smart idea!

Sabrina showed us yarns with camel, yak, mohair, merino, cashmere, alpaca...

Most of us went home with at least one beautiful skein while others were followed by more...

Kerry showed us his new drop spindle and what a beauty it is. You'll have to contact him for more information there. On Ravelry he is 'gnewgnitter'.

Here are a few photos...

Joyce and Jane petting yarn...


Virginia, Sabrina and MaryAnn ~ looking at the knitted socks

Mary Ann and Suzanne looking over Roving with Sabrina


Suzanne, Vicky and MaryAnn ~ commenting on the colors (Sabrina does a wonderful dye job)




* Get your mind out of the gutter...we were discussing drop spindles!

Chatting, Sharing and Learning

This morning four of our group got together at the local Borders Bookstore cafe for a weekly get together.

Virginia brought to share two pairs of socks that she knitted for her husband in the mid-50's. Both argyle and both outstanding ~ the workmanship! The stitches are so small and even...if only

Suzanne shared a wallaby (hooded sweatshirt type of sweater) that she is knitting for her granddaughter...gorgeous yarn in additon to putting her own stamp on the pattern with cableing...another heirloom.

Patty showed us her monkeys...sock pattern by Cookie A. (one I will definitely have to try)...

And me, Ruth (in case no one knows me), I worked on the toe of the hat heel socks (a pattern from www.knitty.com)...I just need to kitchener the toe and then work on the legs...

EXCITING ~

This Saturday the KTK Yarn Mavens will be getting together for their 'one Saturday a month get together' at California Pizza Kitchen on Stockdale Hwy in Bakersfield. It looks like we will have a pretty good turnout which is always nice. Sabrina, of Anzula in Fresno, will be our guest. Sabrina spins, dyes and knits (and probably a few other crafty things to that we'll find out Saturday).

STAY TUNED ~

January 2010 will mark the 2nd Anniversary of our group. Pretty good for a bunch who met online through www.ravelry.com don't you think! We need to have a party! Any suggestions?

Halloween Road Trip to Exeter

Today, Halloween 2009, some members of our group made a road trip to Exeter which is about an hour and half north of Bakersfield.

Why? The Handweavers of the Valley were celebrating 30 years of Fiber Fantasies with a Show and Sale at the Exeter Veteran's Memorial Building in Exeter, California.

Gail, Jane and Cassie got there a bit earlier than Suzanne, Mary Ann, Christy and Ruth.

It's been said that Cassie walked out of the sale with an alpaca bear...we'll hav,e to see if we can get a photo of her and the bear...sounds absolutely delicious.

Most of us made purchases of yarn and fiber of one sort or another.

There were demonstrations throughout the day and it was interesting to see wool go from a roving to yarn. Makes one contemplate taking up spinning...hmmm

I saw shawls, jackets, mug rugs, placemats and throw rugs among the items that were on display and for sale that some guild members had made with a weaving loom. Lovely workmanship!


Gail, Jane and Cassie enjoyed lunch at the local A&W before heading back to Bakersfield.

Before Suzanne, Christy, Mary Ann and Ruth headed for home they decided to try a local cafe, The Wildflower Cafe on E Street. We lunched on the outdoor patio. While heading for the road home they noticed several murals painted on the sides of buildings...outstanding and beautiful work.

It was nice seeing our "old friends" Carole and Brenda of Dulitz Christmas Tree Farm and of course Ann who demonstrated her new little spinning wheel. The wheel is so small it could be put in a car..."Okay honey, I'll just sit here and spin while you drive."

Dyeing Day at Dulitz

The Fruits of Our Labor

Yesterday 15 knitters and spinners converged on Carol, the owner of Dulitz Christmas Tree Farm in Springville, California.

Why? Yarn Dyeing! Potluck lunch! Spinning! Camaraderie!

Carol runs a yarn shop out of her log cabin most of the year and a gift shop during the Christmas Tree season. She and Bren graciously gave of their time to teach our group how to dye and overdye yarn.

Dyeing is a messy job but boy was it fun...just watching the white yarn take the different colors was amazing.

While some of us were dyeing Sabrina, Darin and Ann were spinning their hearts away.

We enjoyed a potluck lunch in the shade with a nice cool breeze. Potlucks are always great ~ you never know what you're going to have.

Carol ~ a big thank you for opening your shop and allowing us to bombard you.

Bren ~ a big thank you for helping us choose colors and going over the process with us (Carol was busy running from one place to another).

Here are a few photos of our day.



Carol going over the process with Suzanne and Shirley

Jane and her daughter Cassie ~ Cassie dyed a sock blank to her liking with her colors.


Christy having some fun!



Ruth overdyed some beautiful gold yarnGail getting a tip from Carol


Jen's dyeing was accidently done solarly...while waiting for the microwave it was heated in the sun and turned out beautifully. With the temperatures in Bakersfield in the triple digits this part should be easy during the summer!

Sabrina spinning on her wheel while Darin showed us buttons that he made from different sources (antlers and different woods). Darin's lovely wife, Wendy was beaming. Darin also spins some lovely yarn that we all got to pet.

Kern County (California) Fair 2009

Seven members of the KTK Yarn Mavens submitted knitted items to the local county fair. And guess what? We each came home with a ribbon!

19 Ribbons in all!

Wow!

We submitted knitted toys, knitted socks, knitted sweaters, knitted bags.

Let's see if I can get this straight (of course if I don't I'll hear about it real fast).

Suzanne ~ Knitted Wallaby ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon
Knitted Cashmere Shawl ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon
Knitted Peace Flower Sweater ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon (not only did Suzanne knit this sweater but she designed it also)
Knitted Scarf ~ 3rd Place White Ribbon
Knitted Blanket ~ 2nd Place Red Ribbon
Knitted Bunny and Sweater ~ 2nd Place Red Ribbon
Crocheted Baby Dress ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon

Christy ~ Knitted Penelope (toy) ~ 3rd Place White Ribbon
Knitted Baby Booties ~ 3rd Place White Ribbon
Knitted Tam ~ 3rd Place White Ribbon

Patty ~ Knitted Bear Sweater ~ 2nd Place Red Ribbon
Knitted Pink Sweater ~ 3rd Place White Ribbon

Mary Ann ~ Knitted Stacking Puppies ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon
Knitted Tam ~ Honorable Mention Pink Ribbon
Knitted Bat ~ Honorable Mention Pink Ribbon

Virginia ~ Knitted Sweater ~ 2nd Place Red Ribbon

Gail ~ Knitted Sweater ~ Honorable Mention Pink Ribbon

Ruth ~ Knitted Socks ~ 1st Place Blue Ribbon


I'm sorry if I've messed up...stay tuned for a retraction...

I think we all had a great time knitting our items, submitted them to the fair to be judged (although we've heard that sweaters, shawls, etc., were not even opened during the judging), and then we all arranged to pick them up at the same time and have a photo op!

Okay people ~ are you ready for the 2010 fair?

Don't we look like a happy group of winners! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Almost There

Well we're almost there.

1) Each person of our group who entered knitted items in the local Kern County Fair received at least one ribbon. (watch for photos)


2) Our October Meetup will be at Mimi's Cafe on California Ave in Bakersfield. We're hoping for a great turnout this month. The day is Halloween, the 31st. Remember members, we'll be done in plenty of time for you to get home and get your little kidlets ready to go trick or treating. Please don't forget to go to the events page and let us know that you are going to attend.