ῲ If you are doing color work with stranding or slip stitches and have trouble keeping the threads being carried over on the wrong side loose enough, hold one or two of your left hand fingers between the knitting and the stranding when you are forming a stitch with the contrast color that is going across more than 2 or 3 stitches in the back. That much extra is usually just enough to allow for the stretch of stockinette stitch and keep it from pulling too tight. Eventually you may be able to skip this step as you get used to the looser tension.
    ῲ If you are making a shawl, scarf, or any lacework that will be stretched in blocking and has a knit in the front and back increase, consider doing a knit and purl in the same stitch instead. It is a bit more elastic and the purl bump is not much different from the bump you get with Kf&b. In any case, it is useful to be familiar with many types of increases so you choose what looks and functions best for the project you are working on.
    ῲ Use spare circular needles as stitch holders. This is useful when instructions call for moving stitches to waste yarn because it is quicker to transfer them back again onto the real needle when needed. And it can help if you want to try on something in progress, even if it is being knit on dpns.
    ῲ Sock patterns worked cuff down often call for decreases every other round at the toe. Try doing that until your stitches are decreased by half and then decrease every round until they are halved again, then do the grafting/kitchener stitch. The result is a really well fitting sock.
    ῲ To get a snug fitting wrist for mitts, use a smaller needle size for the ribbing and consider adding a cable twist, even if it is only twisted in one or two rows. The twist will pull in the wrist part just enough to ensure they are loose around the wrist after being pulled on and off in 
everyday wear.
    ῲ When picking a pattern to knit, think function and scrutinize photos on Ravelry. Too often photographs show a sweater hanging up, shawls laid out, and socks on a sock blocker. This does not tell you at all how what those finished objects look like when worn or whether they will work on the body that you want to make them for.
    ῲ This website shows the most common kinds of increases very clearly, though not k and p into the same stitch: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/FEATwin09TT.php.

    ~Aleen Caplan-Yamasaki, Vice President

    I can feel the Wheel of the Year slowly turning. The hustle and bustle of fair time is over, just in time for the hustle and bustle of Autumn. I had a marvelous fair season, spending many hours demonstrating knitting and hand spinning, and catching up with people I only see at fair time. The Knit-In was a lot of fun, and the Spin-In actually had live fiddlers playing old timey music. I was so impressed by all of the fabulous entries in the 
knit and crochet and hand spinning departments, many of them made by our own members. I hope that you'll bring your Fair items (and all those pretty prize ribbons) to show off at our October meeting. Congratulations to all entrants, you inspire us to try bigger and better things! 

    We've just celebrated our 3rd Guild birthday! We've gone from a few people, wondering if there was enough interest in our area for a viable guild, to a full grown, very active group. We have a few stand-out events each year: our Fall Retreat at Camp Huston, our Yarn Train to Portland in April, and our table at the Mariners' Stitch 'n Pitch game. Not to mention our birthday and holiday parties, and our annual Destash Sale. Now we're adding a new event to our roster this coming year - a one day mini-retreat in January. Since we've moved the Yarn Train event to later in the Spring, we decided to have an event in the January spot, one which won't be affected by the weather (unless there's a blizzard). Save the 3rd Saturday in January for some inexpensive "me time". This is still in the planning stages, but we have the Waltz Building reserved for that day, and we'll have a grand old time. If you'd like to get in on the planning of this event, drop me an email and we'll keep you in the loop. Your ideas are greatly appreciated. It may be something as simple as an all day pajama party potluck involving fibery goodness of all kinds.

    ~Barb, SKG President

   Last night, we were honored to have Evelyn Clark with us. She is such a dynamic person, and even if you don't really like to knit lace, she shares so much of her learning experiences, that the whole meeting is just FUN! 
   Evelyn shared with us her newest book, "Icelandic Lace Collection" and her personal history with knitting Icelandic lace. The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, asked her, if she could teach a class for their Nordic Heritage Knitting Conference, about Icelandic knitting, as they were missing anyone to represent that country during their conference, many years ago. She began delving into the history and heritage of this rich culture and craft. She once thought that she could duplicate patterns from existing shawls that she saw, only to learn that most of the shawls are already patterns, so Evelyn took what she had learned and started designing her own Icelandic lace items, based on the stitch patterns used by the Icelandic knitters and now has some of the most gorgeous shawls I've ever seen. Her patterns are exquisite and I can't wait to work some of them.

   Evelyn then shared with us some of the culture of Iceland and some extremely enchanting stories of her visits there and the people she met while there. It was so much fun to listen to her talk and share her experiences. She has definitely inspired many of us to head off to Iceland, as quickly as we can.
   We were also treated to a show and tell of many of the items which are included in the e-book and my, oh, my, were they absolutely stunning and amazing to see.

    Tuesday is the official World Wide Knit in Public Day, but since many of us work and shouldn’t take a day off to sit and knit in public, the event has been expanded to run from the second Saturday to the third Sunday in June, every year. In 2005, Danielle Landes decided that she wanted to show the public that ‘not only grannies knit’. She started organizing this annual event and in 2005, had 25 local events. The number of official events almost tripled the next year, and it has been growing in popularity ever since, and has become a world-wide phenomenon, with events in over 13 countries.  

    Knitting is often a solitary act, since it is so easy to knit just about anywhere and sink into your work without thinking of all the other knitters out there. Since the formation of the guild, almost three years ago, I have been amazed and astonished by all the knitters in my local community that I never realized knit. I’ll often hear my name called from down a grocery aisle, in line at the library or bank, at my daughter’s school and so many other places that I don’t generally think of as places to meet fellow knitters, and we will stop and talk to each other about our latest projects or events. World Wide Knit in Public Day is just about these chance encounters and bringing the gift of knitting to everyone, making the world a little bit smaller, for at least one week every year.

    Last year, the guild hosted an event at the Seattle Center. It is an incredibly blustery, gray and chilly day and I know that Charisa (2011 SKG President) thought, ‘who would go out in this weather, just to sit and knit?’. Well, she was pleasantly surprised when she was kept company by 30 – 40 other knitters, who wished to share the reasons that they knit, with the public.  

    This year, the guild is attending the event that the Everett Public Library staff has organized (check here for details). Stop in for any length of time, tomorrow and bring your friend or neighbor who might want to learn. We will have New Knitter Kits available and there will be knitters available, who are eager to share their knowledge with you.  There will also be an event, tomorrow, at the Edmonds Library, with others . If you aren’t able to make the Everett event, then check out the WWKiP website to find an event near you. 

Happy Knits
  I love the high ceilings, light-colored walls and space in this shop.  So much yarn to look at and a huge classroom/meeting area to take a seat and rest when you feel the need.  Plus a separate viewable playroom for the little ones.  Take a look at some of the yarns they carry on their website. Be sure to read their blog while you’re at it. 

Yarn Garden
  Oh my gosh.  Room after room chock full of yarn.  Samples, patterns, so many ideas.  Check out what’s in the store online. I fell in love with this sweet little baby sweater (photo below) from one skein of yarn.  Don’t have any more grandbabies to knit for but got it anyway.  Hard to resist.

Food Trucks
  Just a short distance from Knit Purl is an entire square block plus a few more on an adjacent block of food carts.  Every imaginable type of ethnic food.  Great way to get food on the run.  Bordered between Alder and Washington and 9th and 11th.  Or online at FoodCartsPortland.com.

Knit-Purl
  After a bite to eat, we went to Knit-Purl.  So many samples to look at.  So much yarn as well.  Lots of natural light streaming in from the windows.  We’ve been invited to use their downstairs classroom area to rest if we wish.  Check them out online and look at what one of their customers (photo below: Double-Knitting) was working on while we were there.  Unbelievable.  She was working with two yarns faster than I knit with one. 

Cacao
  One of my most favorite non-knitting places to visit in Portland is Cacao.  A marvelous little shop to sit and enjoy a cup of drinking chocolate.  Check them out here and see if you’re enticed to pay them a visit.

    ~"Mo", Yarn Train Coordinator

  I just spent two lovely days in Portland visiting the seven shops that will be on the Seattle to Portland Yarn Train Crawl. The Crawl is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, with the Amtrak train leaving the station at 7:30 am.

  This year, we’ve added four new shops to the Crawl. All are accessible via Portland’s TriMet bus system. We will have printed information on which bus to take to get to each of the outlying shops.   
Yarnia
  Be sure to check out their website. Especially the video of how the yarn is wound on their machine.

Twisted
  Next stop on our Portland (PDX) trip was Twisted. So many wonderful samples to look at and a big library of patterns as well. This shop is definitely set up for browsing with places to sit down and their own tea bar. Be sure to check out the “About” option on their website to learn about the yarns they carry and their clubs. The Shawlette Club looks soo inviting.

Dublin Bay
  Dublin Bay was next on the list. A sweet shop with so much to look at and a very comfortable place to sit and knit, complete with fireplace and TV. Visit their website to check out their yarns. And be sure “to take a virtual tour of our shop” to familiarize yourself with what they carry. The battery on my phone was depleted and I was unable to take any pictures here. You’ll have to visit in person to see for yourself how lovely it is.

Urban Fiber Arts
  Our last stop for the day was Urban Fiber Arts.  We always get such a warm welcome from Cindy whenever we visit.  This shop features many local hand dyers and some of the color ways are so pretty.  It was their evening knit/spin night so we had an opportunity to watch one of the gals spinning.  Be sure to check them out on Facebook or on their website to see some of the yarns and learn more about the activities going on at the shop.


    ~"Mo", Yarn Train Coordinator

Watch for Part 2 of her trip, coming in a few days!