December is our Annual Holiday Party and it was a wonderful meeting. As you can see from the picture, there were plenty of gifts to go around and a nice selection of items to choose from. Several of the gifts were donated by Coats & Clark and Teresa at Country Yarns in Snohomish stayed open a bit late to help those who had forgotten, didn't have time, or weren't sure they were coming, purchase last minute gifts. Everyone who brought a gift, put their name into the basket and when their name was drawn they had the opportunity to come and choose a gift. I thought it went very smoothly and most people were pleased with their selection. 

    There was a lot of food to choose from, most of it sweet, but there were several savory dishes as well. The party was well attended by about 30 people, with a few faces we haven’t seen in awhile and a few new ones as well. We had a lot of fun visiting and sharing our current knitting projects as well as some wonderful show and tells. I love seeing all of the wonderful projects that people are working on and being able to visit with those people that I only see at the guild meetings. I had a great time.

    Our next meeting is on 10 January 2012 and we will be hosting Karen Soltys from Martingale & Company Publishing. She will be talking to us about the publishing side of knitting, as well as her favorite book/pattern. There will be door prizes and we are working with her to have some books available to purchase as well. If you have any specific questions that you would like to ask her, you can submit them in advance by emailing Aleen. It should be a very fun meeting.

     Also if you purchased a Yarn Train bag, they will be available during the meeting (we will not be charging at the door for this speaker, because we would like to encourage as many people as possible to pick up their bags at the meeting.)

    ~Tandy, SKG Webmaster

    The past few weeks have been filled with lots of fibery goodness for me! I attended the first annual Fiber Fusion Northwest held at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. It was sponsored by the North Sound Alpaca Association, and it was delightful. They had a nice area set up for spinners, lots of displays, workshops and of course my favorite, the vendors! There were 
folks selling all kinds of fiber related items, from raw fiber, beautifully dyed roving and yarn to finished items. There was a man there who was spinning on a great wheel, the kind you must stand to use. There were hourly raffles, and I was lucky enough to win a beautiful 100% alpaca sweater. I attended this event on both days, and am very much looking forward to going again next year. 
    Then there was our own guild’s 2nd Annual Knitters’ Retreat at Camp Huston in Gold Bar. It was a fun filled weekend with thirty-four wild and wise women, enjoying food, wine and lots of fiber. I loved gathering in our lodge by the fire, chatting, laughing, knitting, laughing, drinking wine, laughing, spinning, and did I mention laughing? All of our meals were included, but that didn’t stop us from making sure that no one went hungry between meals. We enjoyed a huge spread of gourmet treats brought by the participants. You really haven’t lived until you’ve sampled homemade French macarons made by Sherry Toly and April Wilson, who were taught to make them in Paris by a French chef. The lavender and honey ones were my favorite. 
 
     Although there were no planned events other than meals, we played games, including one brought by Maureen (Mo) Galbreath called “Last Knitter Standing”. Everyone had to cast on 10 stitches and knit two rows before the game began. We were issued challenges, and if you met the challenge you got to knit a row or two, but if you failed, you had to rip out! Some people had to knit with their eyes closed! I would definitely recommend this game if you have a small knitting group of friends who want something fun to do. 
 
    Of course, there were hijinks as well. Saturday evening, Charisa and Mo entered the room with guns a’blazing – foam disc guns. That livened things up even more. Retaliation occurred, in the form of wrapping their pillows (under the pillow cases) with Saran wrap, and placing firewood logs under their mattresses. It really says something that neither of them noticed, and slept like babes. 
 
    All in all, the retreat was a rousing success. I came home on a “knitters high”, with deepened friendships, new friendships, and many great memories. A hearty “Thank You” to Charisa, Mo and Marilyn, who made the weekend a special one to remember.


      ~Barb, SKG President 2012