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A newsletter of the Atlanta Knitting Guild: Bringing Atlanta's knitters together
Next meeting - April 6, 2017 - 7:30 p.m.
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President's message
Susan Duralde
Hi Fiber Friends,
The dogwoods are out with an early Spring moving in. Time to pull out the bamboo blend, cotton, milk fiber and linen yarns -- unless you are super organized and working on holiday gifts already!
We are healthier than ever. We've grown to 175 members - a 40% increase in 12 months, and, we've doubled our cash in the same period.
YARN:
February was an incredible month for us. The YARN movie was a great success. Over 200 people came, everyone leaving with a goodie bag and a new sense of creativity inspired by the artists featured in the film. If you missed it, the film is available on Amazon and is well worth seeing.
Not only was the event a great opportunity to bond and celebrate our craft, our energized and organized team succeeded in attracting 14 new members and clearing over $3400! We will use this money to create a new website (our current host is discontinuing in November). This also sets us up to host more special speakers.
Key to reaching these numbers was the incredible effort invested by Claudia Purgason (owner of Yarn Rhapsody) and Jolie Elder. The event was Jolie's idea and she was tireless is running down long lists of to-dos that are critical for a smooth running event. Claudia secured a boatload of sponsors and their prizes as well as creating all the marketing deliverables. Together, they lifted the event to a professional level. They were assisted by a focused core team of volunteers. Lee Greenburg practically earned a law degree securing our raffle license and an accounting degree tracking our revenue, expenses and profit. A big thank you goes to co-organizers Susan Nease, Jill Vogin, Melanie Burns and Shannon Parris and to all of you that spend a chunk of your Saturday setting up, executing and cleaning up after the event, we owe you all a great thank you: Susan Donges, Patty Malec, Dallas Duncan, Stephanie Johnson, Arlene Berlin, Claire Kooy, Brenda Mazzocchi, Delia Jaquette, Elizabeth Halberstadt, Jeanne Knox, Joyce Overcast-Dudly, Kathy Cooper, Lydia Sheffield, Madeline Schaffer, Meg Fisher, Nancy Barke, Pam Cornutt, and Sandy Crowley. It takes a Village!!
Stash-busting Sale Update:
At YARN, we announced a sale of yarn, books and magazines for April 23. We have decided to defer this sale to September. Organizing and executing flawlessly takes many hands and heads. After YARN, we found we needed to catch our breath AND we have more donations coming in! So, stay tuned!
Charles Gandy: Class prices increase April 1. Get your tickets NOW!!
New Officers:
We are working hard behind the scenes to create a slate of candidate to announce on Thursday, April 6. We still need more interested candidates. If you have
any interest, please contact Diana Baber at [email protected]. Contacting Diana is not a commitment, it is a conversation to see if you find a good fit for your talent and time. Being on the Board is a great way to build a new network of friends and explore the knitting world. For those of you who are early in your career, it is a great, low risk way to build new collaboration and management skills.
See you Thursday!
Susan
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Newsletter Contents
Here's what's inside
Section 1 - Immediate Info for April 6 Meeting
- Hospitality
- Programs
- Knit it Forward
- Help wanted for AKG projects
Section 2 - Upcoming events
- Superstars 2017
- Sunshine Committee
- Affiliate News
- Lemonade Days
Section 3 - Updates
- Honorarium Fund
- Library
- Treasury - monthly and six month income statement
- Minutes from March general meeting
Section 4 - Stories and event reviews
- Tips and Tricks
- Jill Vogin--Superstar!
- Our Craft in Couture / Art
- Purl Power
- Trip to Wandering Fox Farm
Section 5 - Happening around us
- Show and Tell Photos
- North Ga. Knitting Guild
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Section 1 - April Meeting
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Hospitality
Patty Malec and Susan Donges
If your last name begins with P-R, please bring a snack (sweet or savory) to share. The Guild will provide drinks. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
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Programs
Pam Cornutt and Ashley Jackson
We are thrilled to host Brandy Fortune as our guest speaker. She will be talking about how to photograph your knitting. Anyone who posts on Ravelry knows good photography drives likes. Even if you don't use Ravelry, I bet you take photographs of people wearing your work! And, don't you buy many books and patterns based on the photos? Here's a chance to learn new ways to look at and capture our art from a gifted, multimedia artist.
She grew up learning photography from masters of the art. Thank you, Claudia Purgason of Yarn Rhapsody for setting this up!
Brandy is a published designer of children's designs. She will be teaching classes at Yarn Rhapsody on Friday and Saturday.
Get to know Brandy:
My knitting obsession began in 2003 and has been going strong sense. I actually thought I was taking a crochet class at a local yarn store. I had purchased a little learn to crochet kit at a craft store and hadn't had any luck. When I signed up for the class I just assumed they would teach crochet as well as knitting. So when I showed up and didn't have any needles, I was quickly led over to some nice bamboo size 8s. Then I was led over to the "learning" yarn area. I really couldn't motivate myself to learn with any of that yarn, and I found myself holding a lovely teal skein of Baby Alpaca. After that my natural fiber obsession has grown by leaps and bounds!
In 2007 I gave birth to my first daughter. While I was pregnant I knit up a bunch of baby sweaters, there were loads of wonderful patterns out there but not always exactly what I was looking for. I had been thinking of a cute short sleeve top I would like to knit my girl, when she was about 4 months old. I kept thinking about sock yarn, because it knits up so light and airy. Shopping for yarn one day I found some really fun red, white and blue sock yarn themed for the 4th of July. I immediately had the image of a cute cap sleeve top knit up in that sock yarn. I went home and measured one of her onsie's and quickly cast on. Thus began my adventures in knitwear design for babies.
In early 2009 a good blog-buddy and baby-buddy, Allegra Wermuth, had the idea of the two of us starting an online knitting magazine for baby and kids patterns. She didn't actually know at the time the extent of my web design experience, and I didn't know at the time the extent of her fantastic memory and good organizational skills It was a bit like magic how "Petite Purls" came together.
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Knit it Forward
Karleen Buchholz and Carol Hassell
Bears for Georgia Center for Child Advocacy
The Atlanta Gladiators, our professional minor league hockey team, has given us a boat load of bears donated by their fans at their annual Teddy Bear Toss.
At the March meeting we
received
17 dressed bears from members, four are for use at Lemonade Days
Click here for information on the Center
GCCA.
Links to patterns are on our website.
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Call for Newsletter Submissions
Drop us a line!
We need to know what you are doing and seeing. Please send in any of the following at any time to Diana Baber and Susan Duralde.
(BTW - someone sent me a description about a new zipper. I cannot find it anywhere on any of my devices. Could you please resend? Thank you, [email protected])
1. Photo of a holiday knitting project, who it is for and the pattern/yarn
2. Brief description of a class you've taken, something knitting/crochet related that you saw and it caught your eye, etc.
3. A picture of a cool tool you just discovered, what it is, what it does, where to find it
4. Whatever you'd like to share
Don't worry about being polished. We will edit.
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Section 2 - Upcoming Events
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Superstars 2017
Barb Moore, Dallas Duncan and Kendra Fabry
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Charles Gandy, Master Knitter |
CHARLES GANDY CLASSES, May 6 and 7, 2017!
Saturday, May 6 from 9 a.m. to noon:
Start & Finish: A Class on Cast-Ons and Bind-Offs
What do you do when the pattern says "cast on?" Do you use a long-tail cast-on? A cable cast-on? A knitted cast-on? What about getting fancier, with a provisional cast-on, picot or even a frilled cast-on? This class will getyou started with a review of many of the tried and true ways to cast on, as well as some new and different ones.We will discuss how to choose which is the best. Once we get going, then we will need to finish ... so we will learn to bind-off in exciting and hopefully unexplored techniques: techniques for any creative knitter.
Saturday, May 6 from 1 to 4 p.m.:
Embellished Knitting
Here's a chance to learn numerous ways to enhance your knitted creations through applied embellishments. From frilly ruffles to bobbles to twists and ripples, i-cords, special "finger" cords and even beading, we will explore and create a hands-on sampler showing how these techniques can make your projects unique and knitted with personality!
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| Now, this is embellishment! |
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Sunday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to noon:
Mini Monster
In this class full of creativity and technique, we will make this fun stuffed toy: a mini monster! We will cover techniques such as three-needle attachments, three-needle bind-offs, professional picking up of stitches, knitted-in twists, seaming horizontal seams and more. All you need is a little experience in knitting in the round (double points, two circulars, or magic loop ... your call!).
Sunday, May 7 from 1 to 4 p.m.:
Mastering Mosaics
Mosaic knitting is an easy and fascinating way to do two-color work without stranding. In this fun-filled workshop, we will learn how to read mosaic charts and make them come to life. We will discuss when to slip and when to knit or purl. If you like simple work that looks complicated but is so much fun to work ... then this is the class for you!
Check the website for a sign-up sheet.
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Sunshine Committee
Caring for our members
Many suggested we start a committee to send cards to members who are ill, have lost/gained someone important, have done something special in the knitting world, etc.
We are extremely fortunate that Jackie Hicks has volunteered. She works in the greeting card business! How lucky can you get? This is a passion for her. With her ready stock, she will help us meet the mission and watch our budget as well.
Here's the trick - none of us read minds. So, if you think someone needs a card, please let us know.
You can email Susan at [email protected]. Tell her the nature of the request.
Also - please let us know if this is private or if it can be publicized in the newsletter. We will never publish anything personal without permission from the person or responsible loved one.
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Lemonade Days
Barb Moore
At our last AKG Board Meeting we voted to support a presence at Lemonade Days/Brook Run Park, Dunwoody to enhance and increase awareness and membership in our guild. You may find out about this event online at http://www.dunwoodylemonadedays.org We will be in the Country Store on Saturday, April 22, 10AM-6PM and Sunday April 23, Noon-6PM. We will have 2 hour shifts with two AKG members present.
PLEASE, Please, consider working a 2 hour shift (or more). It is so much fun! We will display lots of Yellow outfitted bears (I secretly hope to have 30~50). Hats & Blankets (don't have to be yellow), and other items we knit for charity. Bring your knitting!!! To volunteer see Barb Moore or call her at 770-393-4672
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Affiliate News
Needle Nook Yarns and Yarn Rhapsody
Yarn Rhapsody hosts Brandy Fortune for classes April 7-8. And, as always, AKG members receive a 10% discount on yarn purchases.
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In Honor of...
Highlighting donations made in honor of a member
Our current total is $600.
Honorees include:
Margie Steiner
Rebecca Ewing
Barb Moore
Donors include:
Arlene Jacobson
Brenda Mazzocchi
Maxine Watkins
Susan Duralde
Whit Robbins
Ginny Lester
Anonymous
Thank you to our donors!
These funds will be used for an event or capital expenditure that benefits all the members. Gifts can be make for any reason to honor any guild member.
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From our Librarian...
Stephanie Johnson
A big thank you and an entire strand of pearls to Claire Murata Kooy for all of her technical support getting the library inventory on the AKG Ravelry site! Could not have done it without her. Much appreciation to Susan Duralde for her assistance in initiating this endeavor, as well. (Hope that text is ok.) Please note that our fiction novels are included on our Ravelry site. Only DVD's are unlisted at this time.
We have purchased new books and had a plethora of donations. Please stop by the Library table and review them.
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Treasurer's Report
Lee Greenberg
Check out the latest Treasurer's Report
HERE.
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Minutes
Sandra Crowley
Did you miss our last meeting? Minutes from the March meeting may be found HERE.
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Section 4 - Stories and Events
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Tips 'n Tricks
Pam Cornutt
Having difficulty leaving enough yarn for your nupps?
Having difficulty with sloppy looking nupps?
Grab your big, blue stitch marker and try this :-) I discovered that wrapping the yarn around my needle AND my blue marker together allowed me to use the marker to pull the loops over the knit stitch (I used a one row nupp rather than pulling the wraps over on the return row). It also kept all of those nupp wraps consistent in size.
HINT: If you attended the February meeting, this is the tip that Pam demonstrated . The "blue stitch marker" she's talking about is one of those ones that looks like a big blue safety pin for your knitting, made by Clover. (Not the little pink and green ones, the BIG BLUE one.)
If you'd like to look more closely at Pam's project, go to Ravelry and check it out: HERE.
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Overheard at the SC KnitInn
Diana Baber
Several AKGers were present at the February 2017 KnitInn, held by the South Carolina Knitting Guild. Once a year, knitters, most but not all from the Southeast, gather at a hotel in Greenville, SC to take classes, eat, schmooze, eat, knit, and eat. It's a congenial group with many of the same faces seen year after year. After a while, not much happens that's too surprising.
But here's a conversation our own Debra Davis overheard:
Knitter #1: Where were you? We thought you were following us here in your car!
Knitter #2: Well, I was doing 85 trying to follow you!
Knitter #1: So what happened to you? We've been waiting for you!
Knitter #2: I got stopped by the police for doing 85 MPH on I-85.
Knitter #1: Did you get a ticket?
Knitter #2: Nah. He warned me about texting while I was driving but I told him I wasn't texting.
I was winding yarn while I drove.
Seriously?
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Section 5 - Happening Around Us
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If you are a member or know of a member who has news that should be shared with our membership please send notices to
[email protected]. This would include, but not be limited to, birth of a child, illness, death of an immediate family member, etc.
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Atlanta Knitting Guild Board
AKG Officers 2016-2017
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Susan Duralde, president
Jill Vogin, first vice president
Sandy Crowley, secretary
Lee Greenberg, treasurer
Pam Cornutt, Sr. vice president of programs
Ashley Jackson, Jr. VP of programs
Barb Moore, vice president of workshops, major (Superstars) 2016
Barb Moore, Lemonade Days [email protected] Jamie Hicks, Sunshine Coordinator [email protected]
Dallas Duncan and Kendra Fabray, vice presidents of workshops, major (Superstars) 2017
Susan Nease,,co-VPs of workshops, (mini)
Elizabeth Halberstadt, VP of membership
Ashley Jackson, Social media/communications
Claire Murata Kooy
Diana Baber, past president
Whit Robbins, chair emerita
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Standing Committees 2016-2017
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Knit it Forward (Karleen Bucholtz - Trauma bears; Elizabeth Halberstadt - Preemie hats)
Susan Donges and Patty Malec, Hospitality
Stephanie Johnson,
Library
Shannon Parris, Drawing
Welcoming committee (Open)
Affiliate liaison (Open)
Dallas Duncan, Photographer
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