Local Yarn Stores

So I added a section on the right hand edge for links to our Local Yarn Stores. Judy at Classy Knits and Yarns was the first one to send me a photo. Thank you Judy!
So if you click on her icon, you'll go straight to her store's website. The fall line of yarns and all those books you've been waiting for have arrived. so go check it out.

Dear ABC's of Creative Pursuits, and Bead and Yarn,
If you'd like your link on our page, please send me a picture of your store logo. I'll post it right away.
Sincerely, Stephanie

Shady Leafy Day

Our meetup at the park on Rio Bravo on July 25th was a great success, despite the blistering heat. The park had great shade trees, a covered patio and a playground for the kidlets. We had 11 people attend, including newcomers Bee and her friend (oh, I hope I don't have this wrong.) Emma? Tiffany joined us from Barstow along with us regulars, Suzanne, Jane, Jo, Christy, Ari, Myself, Joan and Ruth. I brought my family to play at the playground.
The potluck was delicious. Jane brought us cheese enchiladas. There were several yummy salads. Ari made stuffed eggs (deviled eggs are spiced, we learned.). Ruth brought brownies! ohhh yummy. and Bee brought strawberry cake. yum!
ok. I like food. :) hehehe.....
Jane showed us her blue and yellow fair-isle socks. Ari brought a bunch of baby sweaters, including a Baby Surprise. beautiful, but wow, how does that fold up? Tiffany was working on her triangular baby blanket. I had crocheted socks. yep. you can crochet socks.
Suzanne showed us her green sweater, with the fair-isle design that she designed herself. It was wonderful. She also brought her creamy cashmere shawl. I felt its lovely softness. The shawl was unusual because of it's construction. Not done in the usual top down row by row fashion, it was done in panels with tons of picked up stitch sections.
The August meetup location hasn't been settled on, but we're thinking about meeting by chat room. September and October will be held at the park.

Tuesday Knit Night Moved!

The Tuesday Knit Night that usually meets in the Southwest Library at 6pm has been moved to Suzanne Bryan's house for tonight. The library has reconsidered our use of their space, but Knitting Suzanne has graciously opened her home at this last minute. Please PM her on Ravelry for her address and phone number if you'd like to attend or email ktkyarnmavens@gmail.com and I'll see you get in contact with her.
Check the Ravelry thread or back here as a more permanent location is settled upon in the coming weeks.

July 25th Meet up Changes!!!

We're moving!
The next Yarn Mavens meet up on July 25th will have a new location.

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We booked the picnic area in Harrington Park on Rio Bravo for the July 25th meeting. The area has park tables with benches under a patio roof. It is surrounded by tall trees and about fifty or more from the parking lot. There is an area with swings and slides also under the shade trees. The kid section is fenced in with its own picnic table. We have an key card for the restrooms, as well.

We decided to bring lunch potluck style. so bring your favorite dish/lunch item to share with the group.
If we like it, we booked it for Sept and Oct too.

Thank you Joann/Elpsso for booking these plans for our group!
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Karen from ABC’s of Creative Pursuits is going to give a talk about the upcoming trends and new stuff in the yarn world. It really should be quite good.

Our format is going to be a little different - from 12-1:00 we will have lunch for those who want to eat, then we can clear away the dishes and have knitting and talking starting at 1:00. Karen will start her presentation at 1:30, and then we can visit some more after the presentation.

So - Saturday July 25th - lunch at 12:00 - knitting starting at 1:00 - presentation at 1:30.

Stay tuned for the location.

WWKIPDay!

On Saturday June 13th, we celebrated World Wide Knit In Public Day at the Marketplace in Bakersfield, Ca.

We had over 20 knitters sitting in the shade working on various projects.
I had a great time knitting on the group blanket.
We got a couple more inches completed.
I also got a few rounds of my doily completed.

Suzanne was re-working her previously completed sweater.
There were plenty of socks being knit and a few pretty scarves.
Tiffany had a beautiful angular baby blanket in green tones.





Christy showed off her new knitting shirt, "I knit, so I don't kill people."
hehehe.... I think we all relate.
Suzanne covered the rest so very well, why try to re-write it. From Suzanne's Ravelry post:

"We got to visit with some old friends, meet some Ravelers who finally decided to join us in person, and meet several new people who have not had a chance to join Ravelry yet.

We met Brittany who teaches classes at Beverly’s, June and Stephanie who attend the monthly Wednesday Barnes and Noble class that Linda Phillips teaches. We met Linda/CardiSmarti too. We also met Virginia6915, Lunatone, BordeauxBeth, and Coollinda who are all on Ravelry, but new to one of our functions, and Coollinda’s friend Eileen from San Diego.

The person who came the furthest was Sybina, coming all the way from Las Vegas. Also coming from out of town were Mojaveknitter - from Barstow and KnottyKnitter40 from Edwards.

Then there were the old friends - jabezprayer, Dragonyady, Elpsso, Grandy, 661momof5, redpixisticks, morgaine1, and finally Ariliss who we hadn’t seen since our last WWKIP in 2008."

Dee Dee's Woven Life

At our May 16 meet up at the Double Tree Inn Cafe, Dee Dee King/weaverlyone spoke to our little group of ten about her lifelong study of weaving. Dee Dee, who travelled from Squaw Valley for our get together, has been weaving for 36 years and spinning for 15 years. She is a member of the Handweavers of the Valley in Exeter, Ca.

Which came first weaving or knitting? Weaving! The first weaving was in 5,000 BC in Egypt, but the first knitting wasn't till the 5th century AD when people started knitting socks.

Because weaving is such a structured art form, weavers are constantly in search of fibers with drape, and Dee Dee prefers natural fibers like rayon(a wood fiber), cotton and wool. She acquires her supplies from several sources. "Use the best materials you can afford," Dee Dee encouraged. Every January, she buys about 100 pounds from Webs, Woodland Woolworks and/or Yarn Barn because they sell the large cones of fine weight thread that she uses mostly.

Libraries have the best weaving books for beginning weavers. She brought two books to show us, The Weaving, Spinning, Dyeing Book by Rachel Brown and The New Key to Weaving by Mary Black. Dee Dee also recommends a monthly magazine called "Handwoven" by Interweave Press.

Her hard work is both enjoyable and profitable. She earns about $3,000/yr beyond just supplies selling her weavings at the Hand Weavers of the Valley Show and Sale in every year on the last Saturday in October at the Veteran's Memorial. Carole Dulitz will have a booth again this year too. (Thank you Dee Dee for the correct day of the sale!)

Perhaps you're like me wondering what will the public buy? like knitting, weaving is difficult to price. Dee Dee sells lots of woven dishtowels and other linens. A woven dishtowel will last forever if you're careful. Her dishtowels and place mats are four for $40. A baby blanket will run you about $45.

She also said that how you display your work counts for a lot; you can't simply pile things on a table top. Also, "I encourage you when you're doing your handwork to finish it beautifully. There's no sense in doing the work and having it fall apart," Dee Dee said. She recommends having small giveaway pieces to attract additional interest. She likes earth balls, which are felted little balls for cat toys, and mug rugs, a square coaster made from Pearle cotton. She was super nice and brought one for each of us and a set of four for Suzanne to enjoy.

Sometimes she sells custom order horse blankets, but her favorite weavings are wool rugs. She brought a beautiful one to show us.

Did you know the word shoddy is a weaving term? It describes a piece of weaving before it has been wet finished. Or I suppose like in knitting or crochet before blocking. So don't do shoddy work, always block your pieces.

We were curious about how Dee Dee made so many different size weavings. They are all different widths, so we thought she had to restring her looms for each time. But Dee Dee told us she has 11 floor looms at her home, in the garage and in the barn. "I don't sit and watch t.v." she said.

As you can imagine the start up cost for weaving is high, but Dee Dee shares her love of weaving by having weaving meetings at her home and enjoys teaching weaving to her students. Dee is a continuation school teacher for low-functioning special ed. students. "They love weaving," she said smiling; "My grandmother taught it as therapy to the guys after World War I." She has also taught potholder weaving at the Boy Scout Jamboree.

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