Skip to main content

Windy City Knitting Guild - April Meeting

By popular request, I'd like to share a few more photos from last Tuesday's meeting - as you can see, there was quite a big turnout!




We had a great time trying out various Knitter's Pride needles and new yarns from Berroco, Mrs. Crosby (a new hand-dyed yarn making its TNNA debut next month) and Classic Elite.

I heard a lot of great feedback about the needles, especially the newest lines: Karbonz, Nova Cubics and Bamboo. As I mentioned in my presentation, Knitter's Pride is one of the many awesome companies I work with in my job with Stitchcraft Marketing, and I was really excited to share my favorite needles with everyone.

When I talked about Pinterest, I mentioned that one of my favorite personal uses was to collect crafting tutorials for reference later:
Another popular use for Pinterest in our industry is to create "mood boards" to guide designers' submissions for magazines, books and pattern collections: 

I also talked about some of my favorite blogs and podcasts, such as Lattes and LlamasA Homespun HouseStockinette ZombiesHey Jen ReneeSubway Knits and We Are Yarn.




I also talked about Instagram, hashtags and photo-a-day challenges such as the one that Knitter's Pride is hosting this month:

With the use of the #KPpadc hashtag, you can look up all of the latest photo entries on Instagram (above) or on twitter (below), along with other search terms such as my personal favorite, #knittersofinstagram (below):

Pretty cool, right?

One more, I'd like to thank the folks at the Windy City Knitting Guild for having me as their guest this month. And thanks so much to everyone who came out, too! Let me know how you are enjoying your Knitter's Pride goodies!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends,  so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with  this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks).  The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels?  I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b