I was really pleased to see that we had so many knitters attend the meeting. I really enjoyed Charisa's presentation on how to take good photos. Two things that really stood out for me was:

1. get it off the bed/table-great advice, I'm looking forward to playing around with that idea and
   
2. use your camera to capture colors in nature for inspiration on choosing color schemes for knitting projects~ what a novel idea! :) 
   

    I really liked Melissa's [Knit New(s)] presentation. She did an awesome job and her visuals were beautiful~ I felt really nostalgic, my mom used to make beautiful granny afghans, the ones that Melissa showcased were lovely. I also really related to what Melissa said, during her presentation, about always choosing black/browns or neutral colors for garments... I do the same, I don't feel confident picking colors a lot of times, and having some inspiration from nature or a photographic source would be great.
    
    I liked that we all got to vote on a bag for the Seattle to Portland Yarn Train, and I'm excited that I'm going to be able to attend this year. It will be my first time on this trip and only my second time on a train.

    I think this is going to be a great year for the guild, and it's great to be able to connect with so many creative people.

     ~Lois, SKG Secretary, 2011-2012

What an exciting two years it has been! Our guild started as an idea just over two years ago when several of us went to visit the Seattle Knitters Guild. Our knit-sib, Tuulia Salmela, was their featured guest speaker and asked us to come along to give 
her moral support. While there, the idea occurred to me, "Why don't we do something like this in Snohomish County?"  During the car ride home, we discussed it, Charisa seized upon the idea and ran with it, and here we are today. Without Charisa's   "go get 'em" attitude, it might have remained just an idle question. She gave our guild a wonderful start, and set the tone for the dynamic, fun-filled group that we are today.
 
During those early days, we discussed what kind of guild we wanted to be, and what we didn't want to be. First and foremost, we wanted to have fun. Why bother forming something if it was going to be a drag? We wanted to be inclusive and welcoming. We wanted to encourage knitters of all skill levels to learn and better their skills. We wanted to support our local yarn shops and suppliers. Most of all, we wanted to be a place where knitters could connect with one another and find their own pack of knit-sibs. 
 
I hope that you feel welcome at our meetings and on our Ravelry message boards. I hope that you are able to connect with at least one or two other knitters who feel like "kindred spirits" to you. I hope that you're able to find, if you're interested, a smaller local group of knitters who gather weekly for sociable knitting time. My knit-sibs have become some of my very best friends over the past few years.  I look forward to sharing some wild and crazy knitting adventures with you in the coming year.
 
Let's see what kind of mischief we can get ourselves into this year, shall we?
 
     Barb - SKG President 2011/2012

Rather than a specific technique, my tip this month is to pick up a specific reference book, out of print but readily available at used bookstores.  It is the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. It first came out in the late 1970’s and then was revised in the 1980’s.  Since then there have been other knitting specific reference books published, but none compare to this. 
  
It has chapters on crochet, tatting, quilting, and more.  But even if you only use it for the knitting, it is worth it.  It doesn’t have some of the more recent techniques like Mobius or i-cord.  But it has the clearest photographs and illustrations.  And what it does have that other books don’t, is discussion of when and why one technique might be better than another in any given situation.  For example, many basic knitting books give instructions for several different cast on’s. But the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework not only shows them more clearly, it specifies which is more elastic, which is better to use when firmness is needed, etc.  
 
Have you cringed when you saw the words “provisional cast on” in a pattern?  No problem if you have this book on your shelf.  One online reviewer I saw recently stated that she had long ago sold or given away her copy, only to re-buy it later because it is so indispensable.  Of course you can try amazon.com.  But I would like to suggest your local used bookstores as well as two sites that list the stock of used booksellers across the country, abebooks.com and alibris.com.  I have also had great luck with knitting books from powells.com. 

 - Aleen Caplan Yamasaki
If you have a question or suggestion for Tips & Tricks, please email Aleen.