What a wonderful seminar we had with Tracy Clark. Tracy is a needle felting Guru who came to the northwest for a visit and blessed us with her fiber talents. Tracy was so easy to learn from and every student left with a smile on their face and a beautiful art project. Asked to felt a bag ( free pattern was provided by Tracy) prior to class was the only prerequiste of the teacher. She then proceeded to teach the art of needlepainting. On this particular bag the students sculpted an Autunm Oak Tree with vivid colored leaves fluttering to the ground in a gentle fall breeze. Students were encourage to embellish their bags with the own personal ideas. One bag sported a green frog below the tree in the grass, while another had a squirrel hiding in the tree, yet another placed a nest among the empty branches. Every bag was very different and yet the theme was the same.  The comments from her students were all the same, “bring her back, we want more”!    And so, we have invited her back. We will post the dates as soon as we get Tracy’s schedule.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who came through on the Portland  Yarn Crawl. We met some of the best people ever and enjoyed knitting and crocheting stories. Many people came from near and far and turned their shopping experience in to a time of meeting new people with the same love of fibers.                                      We here at the shop had a great time!

Our Portland Crawl basket winner was Kimmy Simons. We also has 3 raffle prizes of our own to  give away and our winners are……… Lolli McCann, Marilyn Gunter and Lorrie Steed.

We have knitted up some of our favorite hats to show you. The Hooded Scarf from Classic Elite is really popular with the young crowd. No worries keeping track of a hat and scarf , this all-in-one combo is fast, warm and oh so snuggly.

The second hat is from KnitSimple Magazine (Winter 90/10) We made the hat with Portland Tweed and it worked up so nice. The cables just popped and the fit is perfect.

The next hat is a pattern from Knitscene (winter/spring 2010)”special addition”. Had to try the picot edging as it is an unusal edging for a hat. It is so cute. The eyelet row for the ribbon is easy to do and adds such a great touch. We used “Class” by Lana Gotto with merino and angora.

Come join the fun for Portland’s first ever “yarn crawl” For more information go to : www.portlandyarncrawl.com

Donna’s Monday class decided they wanted to learn the “Magic Loop’ method of sock knitting, so she put together a class to teach them just what they wanted to know.

Donna teaches the fundamentals of sock structure or “sock math” as she calls it. It is important to measure the foot, do a gauge swatch and come up with a sock formula for your individual foot. You can then choose a “pattern” or “design” and end up with a perfect fit.

We have 8 terrific teachers and I would like to introduce you to a new one each week. Two of our teachers, Mary and Leianne, also work part-time in the shop. You probably see them or talk to them often so I will start with our Monday morning class teacher. Donna not only teaches Mondays am classes, she also teaches Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00pm.Donna says that the proper techniques are so important and she enjoys learning “new” techniques to share with her students.These classes are so fun and really inspiring.

Isn’t this a beautiful color? Sharon chose this for her daughter. It’s called Lichen and the depth of colors is remarkable. Several shades of green like avocado, moss, olive, grass with a hint of pale lavender and touch of gray. The pattern designs shows really well and displays the color depth nicely. Bonus! It’s superwash!

Tuesday morning class has arrived and everyone is busy with their wonderful projects. Laurena has not one but two baby sweaters on the needles. The yarns are Dreambaby and Crofter both dk weights and the pattern is an Ann Norling. Laurena says they are a fast knit and they are …oh so cute and soft.

Thought I would share the “dreaded inventory” I don’t see any smiles.

We would like to invite you to join us in helping our local Girl Scout troop 1640 knit and/or crochet hats for preemie babies. All donations will be sent to Medical Teams International (MTI) and given to babies in need. The hats will be collected monthly until April 4, 2010. For more information please contact the shop. Thanks!

Donation Requirements:

• No wool
• Machine washable
• Soft yarn (test it on the inside of your forearm to make sure that it is not scratchy)
• Finer weight (no chunky yarn)
• Lots of stretch, finished hat should fit on an orange or grapefruit

 Patterns:

 Easy Knitted Preemie Hat:

Materials:

• Size 7 or 8 needles
• 1 ball of DK or Worsted weight yarn

Directions:

• Cast on 34 stitches.
• Work in garter stitch for 6 rows (about 3 ridges).
• Change to stockinette stitch (knit a row, purl a row). Continue until hat measures 4½ inches from cast on edge.
• One right side row (knit side) knit 2 together across row.

Finishing:

• Cut yarn tail about 18 inches long and thread through darning needle. Pull yarn through remaining stitches and stitch to secure. Using mattress stitch, sew side seam of hat. Weave in all ends. Decorate top with pom pom, tassel or spirals if desired.

Easy Crocheted Preemie Hat:

Materials:

• Size H Crochet Hook
• 1 ball of DK or Worsted weight yarn

Directions:

• Chain 4 stitches. Join with a slip stitch into first stitch of chain.
• 14 DC into same stitch (15 DC total). Join with slip stitch and chain 3.
• DC into same stitch and 2 DC into each stitch. Join and chain 3.
• DC into same stitch and next. 2 DC in next stitch. Alternate DC and 2 DC until last stitch. Join. Chain 3.
• DC in each stitch. Join and chain 3. Continue in pattern until hat measures about 4-4½ inches from top.

Finishing:

• If desired, last row can be finished with a round of SC in same or contrasting color. If a folded brim is desired, continue for 2-3 more rounds. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.

If these patterns don’t suit you, please check out the following websites for more ideas:

www.p2designs.com/Links-CharityPatterns.htm

www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemies.html#p-hats

www.ravelry.com