There’s not enough knitting going on around here at the moment. (For me, personally, that is.) Here are two things that are currently “in-progress”. The first is the scarf that I’m working on out of Malabrigo Silky. I’m using two skeins. I plucked the stitch pattern out of a stitch dictionary and I’ll add it to the Free Patterns link when I have a finished scarf to photo. In the meantime, if you want to start one, here are the basics:
Cast on 39 stitches (or a multiple of 6, +3.) I’m using a size 4 needle with this Malabrigo Silky. Knit four rows in garter stitch. Work the following pattern (6 rows) until scarf is desired length, knit four more rows in garter stitch, bind off.
Pattern (repeat stitch sequence in brackets until the end of the row):
Row 1: P3 [K3, YO, P3]
Row 2: K3 [P4, K3]
Row 3: P3 [K1, K2tog, YO, K1, P3]
Row 4: K3 [P2, P2tog, K3]
Row 5: P3 [K1, YO, K2tog, P3]
Row 6: K3 [P3, K3]
P= Purl, K=Knit, YO=Yarnover, K2tog=knit two stitches together, P2tog=purl two stitches together
The other thing I’m working on is a Cabled Rib Wrap out of Shibui Baby Alpaca and Silk Cloud. (Knit together, it takes 4 skeins of Baby Alpaca and 3 skeins of Silk Cloud.) I’m using the natural color. The pattern says it will end up being 18″ x 67″ and I can’t wait to wrap up in it this fall and winter! I wonder if it would be fun to knit this with one color of Baby Alpaca and a different color of Silk Cloud? I may end up making a second one out of another color, too.
I know you’re waiting for our Third Anniversary Kits to go up! We’ve decided to start pre-sales for them on Friday. (Too many of you have emailed and begged us to do this, so that you don’t miss it. You talked us into it.) We’ll process the pre-sales as you order them, and then we’ll start shipping them out next week and the week after. This year’s kit revolves around “Loopy’s Knitting Lounge” and it’s a theme that we have more plans for in the coming weeks. (There may be some opportunities for some of you to be an Honorary Loopy Elf in the future. 🙂 Interested?) I’ll have a photo of the kit on Friday’s blog, when they are available to start ordering. (Oh ok, here’s a teaser photo, but you can’t see everything. Remember when I said that this rug in our Knitting Nook here at Loopy Central would play a part in something later in the summer?) More info on Friday!
This month’s blog contest question has to do with knitting groups. Do you belong to a group that gets together regularly to knit? How often? If you don’t have such a group, do you wish that you did? Or do you like knitting on your own? (Leave your answer in the comments and we’ll draw for prizes next Wednesday.)
Congratulations to all of you who completed your Second Quarter Challenge Socks! Please take a minute to vote on your favorite from the Q2 Photo Gallery and email your answer to support AT theloopyewe DOT com. We’ll announce the winners next week!
Sheri what’sthemachinecalledthatbreaksupconcrete?Therearetwoworkingonthestreetoutside.
PoundingPoundingPoundingPoundingPoundingaway.
A group of four of us go to a knitting instructor every Wednesday night and some afternoons. She has a studio where she does not sell yarn but teaches and advises students. It is great fun and all of us have made improvements in our skills and ability levels as well as making new friends!
Also there are ten of us who get together at my house at least once a month for a stitching/knitting Saturday lunch. There is much talk, admiring of projects, swapping of goodies, and a great amount of dessert eating which has been helped by Loopy recipes!
There is a group of us that tries to meet once a month to knit and have a blast doing so. If for whatever reason it gets canceled I really miss the get together but I also enjoy knitting alone.
I usually knit alone. I am a member of a quilting group, though. Once, I took my knitting with me since I didn’t have any portable quilting in progress. The woman sitting beside me at quilt group actually took my knitting out of my hands to show me how to do it “the right way” (I’ve been knitting since childhood). That experience has left me quite content to knit at home. My dog thinks my knitting is fine the way it is.
I don’t belong to a group. I haven’t found one that I care to join, but then I haven’t tried very hard : )
I don’t belong to a knitting group now but I wish I did. I used to meet with one at work every Thursday for lunch and I loved it. I was always inspired by someone elses project and learned a ton from the ladies in the group. I actually learned to spin at one of our meetings. Now, since I took a new job, there is not a knitting group so I knit mostly by myself.
I would love to be a part o f a knitting group. MY closest knitting partner lives 4 hours away and we share vicariously through email and chats. But, I think it would be neat to be a part of a group. I think it might help me finish a few more projects 🙂
I am in a knitting group that meets regularly. I enjoy the group, and I like knitting on my own sometimes. Every now and then I get in a zone where I can knock out 5-20 rows without interruption and mistakes; those are the best times!
I founded a group in Fairfax Virginia called the Sweet Life Knitters (SLK for short.) We meet every Thursday evening and have been for three years now! 🙂 I love having a group so close to my home and I have made some great friends from it.
I forgot to add, our meetings are once a week.
I would love to belong to a knitting group but there are very few knitters in my area. Crochet is popular but not knitting.
I belong to 3 knitting groups — one small one meets every week at Starbucks, another meets 2 times per month and the third is a charity knitting group through my Synagogue. I don’t go to every meeting of each, but enjoy them all and learn new things.
My LYS (Only Ewe and Cotton too in Milton, GA) has a sit and knit several days every week. One is on the weekend, one in the evening and one during the day. I am so lucky to have a shop so close to where I live where such great people gather. They always make everyone feel so welcome and are always willing to help and are full of wonderful ideas.
I’m more of a lone knitter because I need to be able to concentrate, but if I could be with close friends who are knitters, then that would be great occasionally.
I do not have a knitting group–in fact, not a single one of my friends knits. I think it would be nice to have a couple people to meet with on occasion to knit. Definitely not a large group because that just distracts me, but a small group to hang out and compare and learn with.
That’s funny, I have just been thinking about wanting to find a group to knit with again. I have been in groups in the past – and I like both knitting with a group and solo knitting.
Honorary Elf??! Sounds like fun!
Meet twice a month at church to knit items for November church bazaar. We love to have show and tell of what we have accomplished since the last meeting. Lots of gossip and laughter going on too!
I’d be a good Honorary Elf! I don’t belong to a knitting group; in fact, I don’t know if there’s one in my town. I would probably join one if I found it, but am pretty shy and content to knit alone, so I wouldn’t be interested in starting a local group.
I attend a monthly meeting which attracts at least ten people at a local coffee shop. Occasionally members of the same group have less formal meet-ups as well. I also knit on my own and during class if I have permission and am just the assistant to the professor.
I usually think of my knitting as a solo activity, to keep my fingers busy while watching TV! The social aspect seems to come online, with blogs and forums.
I belong to a small knitting group that meets once a month at our local library. The librarian is a long-time friend and expert knitter. We have a wonderful time!
Sigh! Unfortunately there are no knitters in our town, except for beginners. So, I meet in a group in the library that I lead once a month. Ravelry has become for me the knitting group that inspires.
I love to tear through my projects. I love it when they “work,” and I’m always planning more…
Hi Sheri!
I used to work at a knitting shop (sadly, it closed 🙁 ) and we had a weekly knitting circle there. When the shop closed, we decided to keep meeting, and so we get together every Thursday night at a local coffee shop and knit and eat and talk about everything. it’s great, because we’re all different ages and walks of life, and yet, we’re all really close! I hate missing a week, because i know I missed a good time!
I also have a monthly Knitting Guild meeting – we have speakers and programs and general knittin’ good times! I don’t know what I would do without my groups!
I try to attend the monthly knitting group at my LYS. Occasionally we also have a Craft Night after work where employees stay late, order pizza and work on our various craft projects. I would like to get out more often to more groups, but with a 2-year-old and another on the way, I am gonna have to wait a few more years before that happens!
There is a group at my lys that meets every Tuesday. It’s about 30 miles away so I don’t always get a chance to go. It’s a needle knitting group and i’m actually a loom knitter, but it’s lots of fun. Occassionally I meet with a few other people to knit, but mostly I knit on my own.
I belong to Monday Night Knitters; we meet weekly at a local Panera’s (great service and the manager takes excellent care of us!). My oldest daughter and I occasionally meet up at Starbucks for additional knitting time. I find the group/daughter knitting time keeps me motivated to knit more.
Thanks, Sheri!
Hello!
We have a local loom knitting group that gets together once every month to work on special group projects, or to bring our own UFO’s. It’s so much fun to get together with others of the same interest! 🙂
Bethany~
Ok, Honorary Elf….sign me up!
I live in such a rural area, that the closest regular knitting group is about an hour away. They meet regularly, and all the people there are awesome. I try to go as often as my work/life schedule allows. I wish I had a group closer. I love to knit with friends.
I am a lone knitter but would love to be part of a knitting group.
I used to regularly attend 2 knitting groups when I lived in NJ; one was quite small and we became very close and still keep in touch sporadically. Since moving to MI, I haven’t found a knitting group home, but ironically, I am spending this summer in various parts of Ohio and have found fun knitting groups wherever I have been. I like knitting with company, but only if it is a group that I find interesting! (Age has nothing to do with it, it’s strictly the mix of fun personalities.)
I belong to the Loopy F5 knitting group!
I do like going to IRL knitting groups, but they can be so cliquey it takes alot of work to become a part of them.
Hi! I knit with a group every Tuesday night at a nearby Starbucks. We often have trouble getting enough chairs, and depending on what part of the room we end up in, the lighting can be not too great – I make sure to never bring anything black to work on! I definitely need one of the more mindless sorts of projects, if I have one in progress, or I will bring some finishing – weaving in ends, that sort of thing. Often someone will bring a new book or pattern for everyone to take a look at, or their latest yarn purchases. If someone is ordering online from a business that has a minimum for free shipping, often there will be a group order of some kind, especially these days. I have gotten a lot of good and thoughtful advice from my crowd.
We aren’t an ‘official’ group, but I do get together with various ladies on Sunday afternoons at my LYS. Sometimes someone brings in cookies or other treats, and the shop sponsors a little free project or technique demo. I teach at the shop and often students will pop in or someone will ask for some help. And we all get to ooh and ah over each other’s projects!
YES!!! all should try to belong to a knitting group at least 4 times a year, eh? Mine has a variable number attending, sprouted from the owner’s yarn shop (which closed 5 years ago), and we still try to meet….sometimes once a week, depending on the mood, at a local deli that has the most delicious and unique foods and SWEETS/PASTRIES (her parents were French!) and drinks..coffee! we don’t always knit, but I at least bring the knitting and we hang and talk and care for each other.
It’s the best therapy session….yarn and chatting.
I belong to a group that gets together on Wednesdays at a Bread Co. I usually like to try to go every week. It’s nice to get together with people that have similar interests, and can be really nice for getting help and opinions on projects.
I also knit alone but wish I could find a group to knit with, especially to get inspired to knit new things and occasionally for help!
I do not meet with a group to knit. I would love to though! There is one in my area that I have every intention of visiting soon, but the night they meet always ends up stacked with child activities. I am perfectly happy knitting alone though. It is peaceful (most of the time, when I am not screaming at my latest screw-up!) and relaxing!
I’m a high school teacher, and during the past school year, I started a knitting group at the school during lunch time! It’s me, one other teacher, and a group of about 3-7 girls, although we started out at about 20. I had been a little disappointed that the numbers had dwindled, until the end of the year. I talked to some other teachers, and they were telling me that they thought it was so neat that these girls pulled out their knitting when they were done with assignments or during class discussion. It was girls who weren’t coming to knitting group because they had too many other commitments, but were finding those little snippets of time during the day to work on a project that was special to them. Yay for knitters!
I am so lucky that I have found a group of ladies to knit with on Mondays. It is so much fun to look at what each is knitting(and crocheting) and everyone is helpful with hints and just general cheerleading. My only problem is that I have to bring something that is easy to knit since you can get absorbed in the conversations and lose your place in your pattern!
There is a knitting group nearby that I went to a number of times last year, but I’ve only gone 2 or 3 times this year. Mainly, I’m just too lazy to go. I still have that day marked “Unavailable” for my second job so I’m free to go whenever I get the ambition, but it isn’t often.
Also, I love the addition of the buttons! I don’t comment much so I don’t know when they were added, but yay!
I don’t belong to one, but envy those who do!
There are few groups in this area. I attend a monthly gathering at the Pullman Library on the first Wed evening each month. The other groups meet during the day and as I work FULL time, I can’t go then.
I enjoy the company much.
I am not part of a knitting group, but I sure would like to find one. I have a few friends who knit more casually than I do and they aren’t interested in getting together to knit regularly. Any others in west suburban Minneapolis interested in knitting together?
I’ve been involved in groups in the past, but am not currently attending any of them in the area where I live. (The old groups went away and I haven’t taken the time to find a new group.) I do enjoy knitting by myself–the quietness and meditative nature of knitting appeals to me. That said, I also enjoy knitting with others. Even though knitters are a diverse bunch, there’s a commonality of purpose that connects us–and getting together is a great way to learn new things. Even virtual get-togethers, like the TLE Girasole KAL, help promote that connectedness and learning.
I don’t belong to a knitting group, but sometimes I wish I did. I love knitting by myself because it is such a meditative experience, but at times I think it would be fun to get together with others and share ideas and just visit.
Oh, I so wish I had a local knitting group! I don’t really know of any around here, and it would be awfully nice!
Hmmm…honorary Loopy Elf? Sounds like a ton of fun–can’t wait to hear more.
Oh, a honorary elf…… what does it entail? I’d love to help out too. 🙂
There are no knitting groups or yarn stores where I live (only Woolworth selling Red Heart yarn – and that doesn’t count) so I get all my yarn online or when I travel. I don’t mind knitting on my own, but sometimes I think it would be fun to meet and chat with other knitters too.
Hi Sheri, in addition to social knitting every 2nd and 4th Friday the LYS, we have a group of six (including the LYS owner) who meet on the in-between Fridays for “KnitFlix” (my own invention) usually at my house to knit and watch a movie. We take turns selecting the movies and we don’t always watch one, sometimes we just talk. There’s always tea and munchies of some sort, comfy seats and good lighting. We’ve been doing this for 2 or 3 years now and I think we all really enjoy it.
Kim
HI Sherri, When I was a stay-at-home mom with young kids we had a knitting group that met every Friday. It was so great! I now work full time and the kids are older and need more transporting so I find that my group knitting has declined greatly. I try to get together and do fiber weekends or days with friends a few times a year and I LOVE the fiber festivals- the interactions I have there fill me up for months. Thank heavens for all of our blog friends who make me feel like I am still participating in a knitting group!
I’ve never belonged to a knitting group. I kind of wish I’d have an opportunity to try it, although I’m sure I get more knitting done when I’m by myself.
I’ve been part of two knitting groups, one when I lived at home and one since I’ve moved into my own apartment. The one back home was awesome, even though I then was a bit too shy to talk to anyone. I just enjoyed the company, and the shop was very ‘modern’ with lots of American/international yarn like Noro, Rowan, Lana Grossa, Debbie Bliss, Cherry Tree Hill, etc. The second one was awful; the shop was nice, even if it was ‘only’ Danish yarns, but the women there were horrible. They completely ignored me and my friend because we were new and knit a lot of patterns from the Internet. We only went a few times, and now we’ve stopped going. It’s just not worth the drive when no one will acknowledge your presence. I wish there was another one closer to me, but I guess not. The closest LYS isn’t interested in “that kind of thing”. Sad. 🙁