fvkg.com PRESIDENTS’ GREETING Greetings! I so enjoyed the wonderful Guild retreat at Stronghold Conference Center in Oregon, IL on Oct. 23-25. Gretl Kramer did a magnificent job of collecting prizes and making all feel welcome. If you weren’t there you really missed a great time. Of course having our own Leslie Edmonson there with her Wool and Company ‘traveling’ store was a special treat also. Some of you did join us for the Saturday program and knitting together. If you need a break (read sweet treat) I highly recommend Judy Jasper’s cookie treats – the recipe can be found later in this newsletter. We will continue the fourth Wednesday knitting at the Arcedium. Sandy Andrews has reserved the space for us through December. This has been a popular place to knit and those doing a knit-along with Entrelac projects were part of the fun. I know that we are all thinking of (some have started) Christmas gift knitting. So I wish you well with those projects and hope to see you at our next Guild meeting, November 11. See you soon, ---Dorothy Gaines KNIT IN PUBLIC Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair is sponsoring a little “conspicuous creativity” by setting up several knit in public dates in the western suburbs. On Tuesday November 10 it will be at 7 pm at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the Geneva Commons. So come and share your knitting with others. For more information and others sites in November check their website at http://www.fiberandfolk.com/diip.htm PROGRAM FOR NOVEMBER November Techniques Fair will include our talented members sharing their wisdom, expertise and charm. Members can choose which workshops they want to attend from 8.00 to 8.30 and from 8.30 to 9.00. Topics will include Fair Isle, Finishing, The Crocheted Icicle Project, and Holiday Knitting. Bring some bits of sock yarn and worsted weight yarn (2 colors) and appropriate sized needles and your basic knitting tools. The December meeting will be our holiday pot luck with lots of cheer included! Start planning for the great fun, but always optional, gift exchange. To participate, bring a wrapped (we suggest no more than $10.00) knitting related gift. Treasured gifts have included knitting books, magazines, calendars, sheepy and handknit ornaments, gift certificates to a LYS, yarn etc. It is fun to be a Knitting Santa! Also, we hope you will bring a donation to the local food pantry! Mark you calendar for December 9! And, looking ahead to Spring! We are planning a Saturday field trip to Lorna's Laces in Chicago-home of wonderfully hand-dyed yarns. There will be seconds available for purchase at a great savings and a glimpse of a great yarn dyer. Lots more details to come! Enjoy your knitting! ---Linda Jones and Christy Becker DISTANT MEMBERS RENEW While preparing the deposit for membership dues I noticed that two former guild members who do not live in the area have once again renewed their membership. Thanks to Pat Anderson of Tucson, AZ and Mary Jo Van Walleghem of Stilwell, KA. All Guild members thank you for your continued support of the Fox Valley Knitting Guild. --- Diane Evinger, FVKG Treasuer 1 RETREAT NOTES I want to thank all of you who were able to come to the retreat. It was a lot of fun, and I appreciate the positive comments. You all helped make it a great get-away, and I think everyone liked the location. We have reserved the same spot for the same time next year. There will be lots more information about that in the future. I want to let you know that Terri and Randy Carlson of the Red Brick Road Icelandic Sheep Farm, our retreat presenters, have a nice website and blog online. Their blog address is http://redbrickroadfarmsheep.blogspot.com/. They have posted some nice comments about us and the retreat. We seem to have surprised her with how much of her fiber we bought. Really??? I have started a pair of gift mittens with the hand dyed yarn I brought home with me, and I am going to make a matching hat. You can see more of Terri’s beautiful pictures of sheep, the farm, lovely huge squash, etc. Thanks to Nettie Shults for letting me know about the Carlson’s blog. ---Gretl Kramer NOVEMBER VENDOR: ESTHER’S PLACE Esther’s Place is bringing wild and wooly to the knitter’s guild meeting! Did you know that one of your knitter’s guild members has a flock of thirty sheep just a half hour from St. Charles? Natasha Lehrer will be bringing a delightful selection of her wooly wares, fibers, yarns and gifts for the November meeting. Esther’s Place is our fiber arts studio that specializes in all kinds of fabulous, classes, retreats and parties! Just a little taste of what’s coming… hand dyed yarns from local flocks in the region, handspun art yarns, thrummed mitten kits, patterns, books and fiber galore. We’ll also have lots of great gift items and we’ll even gift wrap too. Check a few folks off your shopping list and get something yummy for yourself. Please stop by and come discover Esther’s Place! CHARITY NEWS Ruth Anderson received the following thank you note from the Association for Individual Development (AID): Dear Fox Valley Knitters’ Guild, On behalf of the Association for Individual Development (AID), we thank you for supporting our clients with your donation of 12 scarves for “Scarves for South Street”. By supporting AID, you help our clients find ability in disability. For nearly fifty years, we have served children and adults in the greater Fox Valley by helping them define and realize the goals that they hold in their hearts for themselves. Our responsibility is to provide educational, vocational and residential services, as well as evaluation, behavioral health support, children’s services, crisis services, community education and advocacy activities. In all, AID provides services to over 5,100 individuals of all ages who have developmental, physical or mental disabilities. With the economy being what it is today we appreciate more than ever the generosity of donors like you. We are grateful that you have found AID’s cause a worthy one. We thank you for supporting our mission to empower individuals with disabilities, mental illness and special needs to achieve independence and community inclusion. Thank you for your beautiful creations! Warmest Regards, Lynn O’Shea President 2 HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE Thanks once more to all of you that brought refreshments to the October meeting. Your contributions made a delicious snack during the evening. The Pumpkin Bar recipe was requested so here it is for your Fall desserts. We're also including Judy Jasper's Butterscotch/Peanut Butter Krispies that sustained us at the retreat. ---Barb Harris, Hospitality Chair Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Bars: 4 1 2/3 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 eggs cups granulated sugar cup cooking oil (or 1/3 cup applesauce and 2/3 cup oil) 16 oz. can pumpkin cups flour tsp. baking powder tsp. cinnamon tsp. salt tsp. baking soda Cream Cheese Icing: 3 or 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 cup butter, softened 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar In mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread batter in an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1” baking pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and frost with Cream Cheese Icing. Makes 2 dozen bars. Cream Cheese Icing: Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until icing is smooth. Butterscotch/Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats Ingredients: 1 package (12 oz) Nestle Butterscotch chips 1 cup peanut butter (I use chunky) 6 cups Rice Krispies Melt the peanut butter and butterscotch chips. You can do this together or separate. (Make sure you do not overcook them.) Mix them together real good. Then in a very large bowl, add the melted mixture to the Rice Krispies. Mix together until well coated. Pour into a 9x13 pan (like a lasagna pan). Let them settle before eating. I put them in the fridge (but they do not have to be refrigerated.). ---Judy Jaspers MEMBERSHIP NEWS We had 6 new members join up in October: Linda Almieri from Plainfield Rose Brechin from Bloomingdale Corinne Hohmann from Geneva Susie Schlipf from Elburn Layla Scola from St. Charles Marie Sweeney from Bloomingdale Welcome to our Guild! ---Judy Jasper, Membership 3 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT This month our member spotlight is Mary Stowe. FVKG: Your name please. MS: Mary Stowe FVKG: Where do you live? MS: (near) Lombard, IL FVKG: How long have you been a member of the Guild? MS: Since (almost) the beginning. FVKG: How long have you been knitting? MS: I have always been a knitter. FVKG: Tell us about one of your favorite Knitting Designers. Why do you like him/her? What patterns have you knitted? Where can we find more information about this designer? MS: Elizabeth Zimmerman’s KNITTING WITHOUT TEARS changed my life! It is a good read even if one is not a knitter! She has several other good books in print, including an autobiography called KNITTING AROUND. She gives one courage to step out and try… Inspiration from: Alice Starmore was (is) my inspiration. Her Fair Isle techniques are always there for me to fall back on. Her colors can’t be beat! Sidna Farley was also an inspiration who developed some far out items before the knitting craze took over. Her “Gloves for Rosie” are still fun to make long after Sidna has passed away. FVKG: Project Spotlight – tell us about a knitting project you are proud of. Please supply the yarn/pattern/designer information. Details please! MS: Project worth repeating over and over: an inconspicuous article illustrated in black and white toward the end of an old KNITTER’s MAGAZINE submitted by Medrith Glover, an “EZ” follower has given me countless “Circumnavigated” sweaters – a unique style with wonderful pockets and fun to make. (Note from FVKG: You can find this cardigan on Ravelry, and there is a link to purchase the pattern.) FVKG: Knitting Tip/Advice – Please share some words of wisdom with the rest of us! MS: Some “rules” for Fair Isle knitting: 1. Knit in the round. 2. Use only two colors at a time, one in each hand. 3. Carry yarn usually no more than 5-8 stitches in back of work. 4. Use a magnetic board to hold your place on the chart. 5. Fear not! It is not as hard as it seems! Try a cap first. FVKG: Tell us about an inspiring experience at the Knitting Guild. Did you see a project or technique that you just had to learn? MS: Way back about 1989 Carol Anderson was one of our first Guild guests. She introduced us to some charming boy and girl Ethnic dolls which I made for several of my grandchildren (wonder where they are now?). FVKG: Tell us about a Knitting conference you attended? What did you do? Who did you meet? What did you like/dislike about it? MS: I took a workshop with Sidna Farley who inspired and mentored me during her camps for the few years she had left. She was a wonderful teacher and a great comedian! 4 “FALL INTO KNITTING” DISPLAY INSPIRING LIBRARY PATRONS AREA WIDE! With the onset of cooler weather, fall conjures images of warm cider, cozy fireplaces and leaves falling in an array of vibrant shades! …And knitting, as our guild has been sharing with our “Fall into Knitting” display. From beautiful socks to shawls, sweaters, hats, scarves and purses, the color was fantastic and the work inspiring! In September, it toured the North Aurora Messenger Library, in October it graced the Big Rock Library and in November it is at the Gail Borden Library in Elgin. Please check into the library this month to see all our member’s wonderful work. It was so wonderful; in fact, I think we might have inspired a few librarians and their patrons to pick up knitting! Your items will be at the next meeting to pick up. Thanks for all your participation. I hope next time we’ll even have more participating. ---Natasha Lehrer, Gallery Chairlady FVKG Fall Into Knitting Wall Display FVKG TREASURER’S REPORT November 1, 2009 Beginning Balance Income: Membership Dues Nametags Retreat Regular $3,454.20 Retreat $20.75 Total $3,474.75 $660.00 $80.00 $710.00 Expenses: Rent (Oct & Nov) Program Bank Charge Hospitality Retreat $(100.00) $(75.00) $(12.00) $(9.12) . $(477.03) Ending Balance $3,998.08 $253.72 $4,251.80 ---Diane Evinger, FVKG Treasurer 5 TIP OF THE MONTH: Slip Stitches Continued Another valuable use of slipping stitches is to create a wonderful edge--a nice finish for a scarf or a great surface for picking up stitches, e.g. along a heel flap. Two good egdes for scarves are: 1. For every row, slip the first stitch as if to knit, pattern across to the last stitch and purl the last stitch. I find this the best technique to use for your heel flap! 2. For every row, with yarn in front slip the first stitch as if to purl, pattern across to last stitch, bring the yarn to the front and slip as if to purl. Knit the first and the last stitch on the next row. This is the technique used on the very popular Brooklyn Tweed Noro Scarf. (If you haven't knitted one or a dozen--Google it right now!) This technique is used on the second row of each ball.) ---Christy Becker OCTOBER PROGRAM NOTES Our October program was a very informative session on cast-ons and bind-offs presented by Elizabeth Prose, an avid knitter and instructor from the Madison Wisconsin area. Elizabeth shared her notes with me to put in the newsletter since several people asked about the patterns for the examples she showed as part of her talk. Elizabeth presented seven different cast ons and their uses: 1. Backward Loop Cast-On. Good for a loose and stretchy edge, also works when needing to cast on in the middle or at the end of a row but it can get sloppy looking (her example of using this cast-on was a child’s neck down cardigan 2. Long Tail Cast-On. Good for most edges, stretchy, gas two sides (purl bumps), Elizabeth example was Kate Gilberts’s Sunrise Circle Jacket which is available for $6.00 as a PDF download http://kategilbert.com/p_sunrisecircle.html 3. Knitted Cast-On. Also called lace cast-on. Very stretchy. Can be used for casting on at the beginning of a row. Her examples included The Lady Eleanor Stole from the Scarf Style book and the Birch Shawl from Rowan 34. 4. Cable Cast-On. Very firm. Can be used at the beginning of a row. Good for buttonholes. Fickle Fingers Scarf by Gayle Roehm in Interweaves knits, winter 2005 or as a download for $4.50 at http://www.interweavestore.com/knitting/patterns/fickle-fingers-scarf.html 5. Provisional Cast-On. Her preferred method is with a crochet chain. When picking up stitches it leaves you one stitch short and ½ stitch over, Examples were toe up socks and a sweater named Flow by Norah Gaughan in Berroco: Norah Gaughan Vol 2 http://berroco.com 6. Crochet Cast-On. Looks like a bind-off. Elizabeth used it on her Einstein Coat from Sally Melville’s The Knitting Experience: Book 1: The Knit Stitch 7. Tubular Cast-On. Very stretchy with a rounded edge. Works well with 1 x 1 rib or double knitting. A good project for example is Reversible Cabled Brioche Stitch...by Saralyn Harvey from FireFlower Knits free at http://fireflowerknits.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/reversible-cabled-brioche-stitch-scarf/ And seven cast-offs: 1. Pull Over Bind-Off. This is the traditional bind off. Easy to work in pattern but also easy to work too tightly. Examples: The Einstein Coat and the Fickle Finger Scarf. 2. Purl Two Together Bind-Off. More stretchy than pull-over bind-off. Can be used for lace. Cannot be done in pattern and leaves a chained edge on public side of work. Example: Ishbel Shawl (part of a collection available at http://ysolda.com/store/whimsical-littleknits/ 3. Three Needle Bind-Off. Used to bind-off two edges together (such as shoulders, but not as stable as a sewn seam). 4. I-Cord Bind-Off. Gives a rolled edge. Must be worked loosely. Example: Moebius Scarf (Cat Bordi) 6 5. Picot Bind-Off. Decorative edge, elastic but tends to flare. Example: Harmonia’s Rings Cowl by Sivia Harding, available for purchase at http://www.siviaharding.com/patterns/harmonias_rings_cowl/ 6. Kitchener Stitch Bind-Off. Looks great with tubular cast-on. Stretchy with rounded edge. Example: Reversible Cabled Brioche Stitch...by Saralyn Harveyfrom FireFlower Knits free at http://fireflowerknits.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/reversible-cabled-brioche-stitchscarf/ 7. Sewn Bind-Off. A technique from Elizabeth Zimmermann. Very Stretchy. Example: toeup socks. ---Linda McEwan 2009 FVKG MEETING DATES • • November 11 December 9 We meet the second Wednesday of each month in the Fellowship Hall of the St. Charles Episcopal Church at 994 North Fifth Ave. in St. Charles and start at 6:30p KNITALONG UPDATES New Knitalong Planned At the Knitting Retreat, a bunch of us were talking about starting a Knitalong in January for Vivian Hoxbro kits. Many of us have these in our stash, and would like to get started on them. I have two, the Nihon Kimono and Bumblebee cardigan (both shadow knitting). I made her cable cardigan in 2008. Now we just need to decide on where/when. I work during the day, so evenings work for me. How does the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month sound? We can decide on a place after we decide on dates. If you are interested, let me know. Either in person at Guild, or send me an email at [email protected]. Let me know what days in the month work for you. ---Judy Jasper Central Park Hoodie Knitalong The Central Park Hoodie Knitalong is up and running with 14 enthusiastic knitters. Each lady has a different color yarn and there are quite a few variations on the type of yarn too. It's not too late to join. Rosemary Anderson has been very helpful answering our many questions. The Borders Bookstore has made us feel welcome and it's a good place to knit. We're still meeting on Weds. mornings starting at 9:30 and finishing up around 11:30. We're looking forward to seeing these beautiful sweaters in the months to come at Show & Tell. Please call if you need further info. ---Barb Harris, Hospitality Chair Cell # 630-710-4652 7 Special Yarn Shops • • • • • • • • • • • • Esther’s Place 201 W. Galena St. (Route 30), Big Rock Phone: (630) 556-WOOL (9665) - Web: http://www.esthersplacefibers.com/ Fine Line 6N158 Crane Road, St. Charles Phone: (630) 584-9443 - Web: http://www.finelineca.org/ Fishbed Knitting Emporium, Inc. 320 N. River Street, East Dundee Phone: (847) 844-YARN (9276) The Fold 3316 Millstream Road, Marengo Phone: (815) 568-5320 Gene Ann’s Shop 117 East Station St., Barrington Phone: (847) 842-9321 - Web: http://www.geneannsyarns.com/TheShop.htm Gifted Purl 120 West Main St., West Dundee Phone: (847) 783-4650 - Web: http://www.giftedpurl.com Knitche 5150-B Main Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515 Phone: (630) 852-5648 – Web: http://knitche.com/ *Needle Things 426 South Third Street, Geneva Phone: (630) 232-0015 Never Enough Knitting 119-121 North Main, Wheaton Phone: (630) 221-1007 Sheep’s Clothing 257 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso, IN Phone: (219) 462-1700 Stitches in Time 300 W. Washington, Oregon, IL Phone: (815) 732-4599 Wool and Company 23 South Third St., Geneva Phone: (630) 232.2305 – Web: http://www.woolandcompany.net/ *These shops are special because they offer discounts to FVKG members. FVKG Board President: Dorothy Gaines & Gretl Kramer Vice President/Programs: Christy Becker & Linda Jones Treasurer: Diane Evinger Secretary: Sandy Andrews Hospitality: Barb Harris Membership: Judy Jasper Newsletter: Linda McEwan Website: Christie Stotko Gallery Show: Natasha Lehrer The Agenda for Each Guild Meeting • • • • • • 6pm—set up 6:30pm—gather to knit 7pm—Meeting begins: Introductions of new members/guests Announcements/reports Show and Tell and Door Prizes 7:30pm—Break 7:45pm –Program 9pm—Lights out Newsletter comments, suggestions or article ideas? Please contact me at [email protected] or at (847) 697-1513. Thanks! ---Linda McEwan 8
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