In November 2011 we began a 13-month knit-along/afghan class led by Christina. Each month we learn/practice at least one different knitting technique to create a square.

What have I got myself into?

Christina is amazed by our enthusiastic constant questions.
More photos and comments to follow as the months pass.

At the June 2011 meeting, attendees were given a small cardboard “loom” warped with gray yarn and were challenged to weave something that made the gray warp look like summertime. Here are two of the results. Vicki’s project is shown on the left and Sharon’s on the right.

In January 2011 seven Guild members traded bags of yarn from their stash. Each bag contained at least three ounces of yarn and at least three different colors or types of yarn. At the February 2011 Guild meeting, yarn recipients presented yarn donors with finished items made from their yarn.

Here’s the yarn that was distributed:

1. With yarn provided by Sherry, Sharon made both a loom-woven basket and a knitted basket-bowl.
2. With Christina’s yarn, Sherry knitted a drawstring bag, adding beads to embellish.
3. Sharon’s yarn became a matching crocheted hat and scarf set. It was made by Elaine.
4. Barbi knitted a scarf and a set of pot holders with the yarn that Elaine provided.
5. With yarn provided by Barbi, Christina knitted foot-warming bags, designed to be microwaved.
6. With Vicki’s yarn Kristie knitted a draw-string project bag with added pockets in the lining.
7. Vicki knitted fingerless mittens and a matching cowl/headband with the yarn that Kristie provided.

Here are some close-ups of each project:

Below left, the baskets that Sharon knit and wove with yarn provided by Sherry. Below right, the bag that Sherry knit using yarn from Christina.

Right: Elaine crocheted this matching hat and scarf with yarn provided by Sharon.

Below left, Barbi knit this scarf and two pot holders with yarn provided by Elaine. Below right, with Barbi’s yarn Christina knit foot warmers designed to be heated in a microwave.

Below, left, Kristie knit a drawstring project bag with Vicki’s yarn. Below right, Vicki knit a pair of fingerless mitts and a matching cowl/headband with yarn provided by Kristie.

Vicki hosted a great potluck party. Attendees brought yarn to exchange. Yarn recipients presented yarn donors with a finished item made from their yarn at the Feb. 2011 Guild meeting.

Below, the group looks over the yarn that was brought for the exchange. Pictured left to right: Sherry, Christina, Mary Catherine, Vicki, Kristie, and Sharon.

At right, Sharon enjoys herself at the party while Flint looks dashing in the sweater Vicki designed and knit for him.

Each weaving group member warped her loom with 8/2 black cotton, 18 inches wide and set at 20 epi, in the pattern of her choice, with a warp long enough to weave 12 dinner napkins. Every group member choose different weft and provided enough to everyone else to weave one napkin. At the end of the exchange, every group member received a set of napkins, all with the same warp and weft, but woven on a diffrent threading.

Sharon provided everyone with variegated, hand-dyed weft. The unique set of napkins she received at the end of the project is pictured below.

In 2009 Sandpoint Fiberarts Guild’s weavers undertook a year-long study based on The Complete Book of Drafting for Handweavers by Madelyn van der Hoogt. The study was based on a guide developed by a Compuserve Weave Study Group in 1995.

Emily Faulkner hosted an all-day potluck picnic and taught Guild members how to prepare indigo dye vats from her homegrown Japanese indigo plants and from wild tansy. Guild members brought skeined yarn or unspun fiber to dye as well as food and beverages to share durtng a potluck lunch.

Sharon Gunter provided this photo chronicle of the event:

Left: After tansy blossoms had simmered and given up their beautiful gold color to the dye liquor, they were strained out of the liquid before adding yarn to the pot.

Below: Mary Catherine also removed the leaves of indigo after they were simmered to release their color into the dye liquid. Sherry, right, looks on and Emily, left, explains the next steps before yarn is immersed for dyeing.

Right: The indigo liquor goes through a lengthy process of heating, pouring, reducing its oxygen content, and adjusting its PH before it’s ready to give up its beuatiful blue color to yarn or fabric.

Below: After the oxygen has been removed, the dye liquid is greenish yellow! Now yarn is placed into the pot.

The pots of indigo and tansy dye must be carefully tended to keep their temperatures optimum for the immersed fiber to take up the dyes. Below: Sherry and Mary Catherine keep a close watch.

Color!

Right: Chris checks the dye intensity of her tansy-dyed wool yarn.

Below: Kristie carefully removes a skein of yarn from the indigo vat, watching it turn from green to blue as it reacts with the oxygen in the air.

Below: While the vats of dye simmer, Gayle and Elaine just sit back and enjoy a beautiful summer day and the lovely scenery at Emily’s farm.

The afghan project started in 2007 with several pounds of fleece in various natural colors. The fleece was washed, carded and handspun into knitting yarn by Guild members. Knitters created 10″ squares using the knitting stitches or patterns of their choice.

The completed afghan made its debut at the Sandpoint Farmers’ Market on Saturday, June 13 during National Knit in Public Day.

Raffle tickets were sold from June 13 through September, and the winning ticket was drawn at the Guild’s annual Spin-In and Fiber Fair on September 26, 2009.

Congratulations are in order to Guild member Wanita Willinger who won the raffle and is now the lucky owner of the afghan!

Guild members created a booth with the theme “The Blue Waves of Pend Oreille” for display at the Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds 2009 Conference, May 28– 31, 2009 in Spokane, WA.

It showcased textiles using shades of blue, and incorporating wave designs. Although our Guild booth didn’t win any prizes, it received quite a few favorable comments.

The display is pictured below:

Tuesday, March 17: A short business meeting was followed by the evening’s program. Sharon Gunter taught everyone how to weave a small basket, like the one pictured at right. These small, Shaker-style baskets are approximately two inches tall and four inches in diameter.

Thanks, Sharon!