World Wide Knit In Public

This past Saturday I had the great opportunity to organize and participate in a Knit in Public event.  Andrea, owner of The Yarn Club, Inc. in Virginia Beach, VA, wanted to do something for this event, but would be dealing with her daughter's graduation that week.  My wife did some investigating and found a great venue.  Town Center in Virginia Beach would be having their monthly, Town Fair event on Saturday, June 15.  I called the organizers and they offered us a spot  without a fee because we were there for demonstrations and not profit.

When we arrived, we got center stage, literally.

We were given a spot right in front of the fountain to enjoy a cool breeze and an occasional spray from the fountain.    Here we are just after set up.  

Hazel and Heather enjoyed chatting as Hazel drafted some fiber for spinning and Heather worked on fingerless mitts for her sister.

Brittany worked on some fiber to spin on her drop spindle as well.  As the time passed our group grew:

There were about 12 of us coming and going through the 3 hour period.  It was great to connect with new fiber enthusiasts, friends we haven't seen in a while, and enjoy each other's company.  

As you can see there was a nice breeze to keep us comfortable through the event.  Hazel was drafting more fiber to spin.  

Here I am, Mr. Organizer, beside the banner I made for the event.  I did not add a date to the banner so I could use it in year's to com.  We all had a great time and enjoyed our time to share fiber arts with the community.  

Spinning Out of Control

Last August, the day before teachers went back to school,  I bought a spinning wheel for myself.  I had wanted one for quite a while, done some research, and used my birthday money to get a steal of a deal on a Majacraft Saxonie.  I was so excited to start using the wheel, then school started...This has been a particularly stressful year for me as a teacher.  Between implementing the new Common Core curriculum,  learning to do DIBELS reading assessments, a new math assessment, and taking care of my own family there has not been a great deal of time for knitting or spinning for myself.  As the school year is winding down,  I am trying to find time to do some of the things I really enjoy.  A couple of weeks ago, I ordered some new tension springs for the wheel and installed one as soon as they arrived.  (BTW  The Woolery is a great place to order your fiber supplies.  Prices are great and the shipping is very fast if the items are in stock.) 

It took a little practice to get used to the new spring, but I got better over Memorial Day weekend. 

Here I am at Twin Lakes Campground with my family and parents.  It was so nice to be sitting outside with beautiful weather, family that I love, and wool that I had been longing to spin for over a year.  It is wool from Tunis sheep, the same kind of sheep that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson raised on their farms.  I am hoping to continue to practice spinning it, dyeing it, and knitting something beautiful from it.  Starting Monday I should have a lot more time to knit, spin, and even do a little crochet.  

Way too long....

I know you are probably wondering where has Small Town Knit Guy been? 

Why have his blog posts been so few and far between? 

I am going to try to answer these questions and elaborate on the past 5 months over the next few blog posts.  To start with here is a question for you:

Have you seen one of these?

Or one of these?

If you knit or crochet chances are you probably have.  I have been "tangled up" in the latest scarf craze.  On November 17, 2011, my wife and I took all our knit and crochet "wares" to the annual Bazaar at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ahoskie, NC.
Since then we have had non-stop orders for scarves, baby buntings, baby sweaters, and more.  Our "on the side" business has made us enough money to attend a weekend Knitting Retreat and purchase the kind of yarn with which we like to knit things for ourselves.  We have also started our own website:
Stitching for Ewe .  We have been teaching regularly and I have not designed anything in months. (I still have several ideas in my head, I just have to get them down on paper.)  There have also been several other things going on. 

In November I coordinated the first ever South East Men's Knitting Retreat.  I plan to write about those three wonderful days over the next week to let you all know what a wonderful time we had and to share pictures.

So between knitting orders for people, teaching, knitting very little for myself, and working my full time job, I almost forgot about this blog.  I hope this will help me get back to my blogging.

Next week is Easter/Spring Break for those of us who chose to be teachers.  I am hoping to get in a lot of knitting, blogging, and designing while I am resting and taking a week off.  If you get some time off, I hope you enjoy it immensely and check out our new website above. 

I'll return soon with an entry about the SEMKR (South East Men's Knitting Retreat).


Take some time to knit today.

Wisdom from Whoopi

A few weeks ago, I spent the weekend with my in-laws so that I could take some classes with Sally Melville in the Virginia Beach area.  On Saturday night after my second class, my mother-in-law was watching Sister Act 2.  In one scene Whoopi tells the main teenage character, "When you wake up in the morning, if all you can think about is singing, you are a singer."  I have decided that this was a great piece of wisdom and took it to heart.  I AM A KNITTER!  I wake up in the morning thinking about which project I am going to work on.  I go to sleep at night thinking of yarns from my stash and what I can make with them.  I knit in the car, in meetings, while watching TV, and sometimes at church.  I have designed scarves, hats, fingerless mitts, and shawls.  Thank you to my mom and Great Aunt Elsie for passing this tradition down to me and my family.  Thank you to all those who acknowledge my work, publish my work, and wear my work.  I am blessed to have a supportive family and hope to continue to knit for many years to come.

Stay tuned for 2 hat patterns coming soon.  One will be listed here for free to match a recently published pattern of mine in Love of Knitting Magazine.  The second will be a paid pattern available from Ravelry which I completed as a commission for a friend.  Both are chunky, quick knits which will make great gifts for Christmas, Chanukah, or other special occasion.   I hope to have them up by end of Thanksgiving weekend. 

Big Box Store Help?

I am working on a crocheted shawl in Bernat Mosaic.

So, because of my rural living (which I do love until I want nice yarn), I find myself in Big Box stores quite often, trying to find "good" yarn for myself and acrylic for kid friendly and inexpensive projects.  Most of the people who wish to have something made by my wife or myself want "cheap and machine washable."  So on my weekend away I found myself in several big box stores looking over the yarn on sale.  A lady approaches my wife and asks "Do you knit, I need some help."  To which my wife replies, "We both do, and my husband is a published designer."  The lady seems very relieved and asks her question about fiber content, yarn weight, and suitable substitutions.  I answer as best as I can and show her a few yarn labels and offer a substitution to her fear of the wool content.  She was so pleased and said I am so glad I asked for help.  She commented that she could never find anyone in that store who knew anything about yarn, knitting, or crochet.  A few minutes later I am looking at a skein of wool which I have been wanting to make socks from.  A very nice English woman sees me looking over the skein and asks (in her wonderful accent) "Oh do you knit?"  And I reply "Yes."  She tell me that her brother learned to knit in school in England, but never learned more than knit and purl and could make a few items.  She asks, "Do you just knit and purl, like most men?"  So since my wife had already opened the bag, I replied "I am a designer."  She immediately comes back with a very English, "Oh, very well then!" smiling the whole time.  We continue our conversation and complete our yarn shopping.  On the way out of town to our vacation destination, we stop at one final Big Box Store.  In the store my wife and I are approached by a woman who is trying to match two different brands of yarn for a baby blanket she has started.  She holds the two up together and asks if we can tell a difference.  I tell the truth, as it is quite noticeable, and she seems disappointed.  She continues looking and so do we.  When we go to check out, I leave my wife at the register as I feel the "call of nature."  When I return from the restroom, I notice the lady is still comparing yarns trying to find something that will be close enough, when a tidbit of knowledge hits me.  I go to the lady and tell her to divide her large skein in half and use it at opposing ends of the blanket with the new yarn in the center.  I told her I read that somewhere or saw it on TV and it just occurred to me it may work for her.  She liked the idea and thanked me.  Later in the car my wife told me it was so nice to see me helping people with their yarn.  She said that I was in my "element" and the people knew I know what I am talking about.  So where am I going with this blog?  I think some big box stores owe me a discount for my customer service this weekend.  Why is it that these stores fully man a "custom frame counter", but never have anyone to man the needlework area?  Just a thought.  Coming soon, pictures of completed projects!

Charity Donations--From the Heart

This week the Murfreesboro Knit & Crochet Group had their monthly meeting.  Our first Charity project has been over 10 months in the making.  We decided to do afghans but needed recipients.  After a few phone calls, Social Services of Hertford County said they had persons who could really use the afghans.  They are called "wards of the state."  What this means is, they are deemed incompetent and the state takes over their care.  They either have no family to take care of them, or their family is unable to take care of them.  They are in long term care, from nursing homes to group homes, wherever a bed was available when they were placed in the state's care.  Even though they are residents of Hertford County, they could be anywhere in the state and Hertford County is the agency that cares for them.  I am unsure about the others of my group, but it did my heart good to know that something I made was going to be given to someone who did not have the comfort of family or home (things I equate with the holiday season).  I hope that the afghans find a great home with these wards, offering the warmth of the holiday season both physically and spiritually.  I have included a few pictures to show the beautiful work of the group.  Thank you to both Social Services of Hertford County and the Murfreesboro Knit and Crochet Group.  Happy Holidays to all!

School is in, Knit time is out

So the students come back this Wednesday.  I am a little excited about a new year with a new group of kids.  The down side is that I think like the t-shirt I recently saw: "My job is cutting in on my knitting time."  Fortunately I have finished 2 projects this week and may finish one this weekend.  I am going to try to include the pictures of each project.  One is an afghan which will be donated in my Knit and Crochet group for our Charity Project (10 afghans by Christmas, we started in January and I have 6 confirmations).  The other is a shawl I had the yarn for and just wanted to try.  It is acrylic yarn and a free internet pattern.  I am dying to try it with a more luxurious yarn.  My daughter is modeling it and liked it so much she wants one for herself.  I will have to see if I can make one half that size for her.  I am very lucky to have children who appreciate all the things I make for them.  The weekend project I need to finish is a baby afghan, which is unfinished because the baby came almost 2 weeks early.  I will make a picture of the afghan, which was knit corner to corner, next week.  By the way, all the pictures were taken with my new camera which I purchased for my upcoming trip to Seattle, Washington for the West Coast Men's Fall Knitting Retreat.  This is still the bright spot on the horizon for me.  I will have to bring my wife something nice back from Seattle. 

What an amazing week!!!

Several months ago,  I read about the West Coast Men's Knitting Retreat in Seattle, Washington.  Since I am "Small Town Knit Guy" and the only man in our local Knit and Crochet group, I thought, "How nice it would be to get together with other men who knit.  However, being a public school teacher with an obsessive yarn habit,  I knew a cross country trip was out of the question.  Then an unexpected surprise came.  About two weeks ago, a scholarship contest was announced for the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat (MFKR).  All it took was a nomination from someone who knew you or yourself.  Not being one to toot my own horn to get a prize, my wife nominated me.  For those who are on Ravelry, the nomination can be seen on the Fiber Beat page there.

Now comes the waiting.  August 6th was the deadline for nominations and I was checking Ravelry and Fiber Beat website everyday, to read the other nominations and check for news.  I left last Sunday afternoon to visit friends in Fredericksburg, VA.  My wife and I busied ourselves with shopping and talking with old friends.  I got some great deals on yarn: novelty, beaded,  Patons SWS, and the real find of the week....At the Goodwill store, my friend's daughter found a cooler full of yarn (I was teaching them how to knit while we visited).  She wanted the yarn for knitting practice, lots of worsted on top of the cooler.  Her mom said 10.99 was too much, so she came to find me.  Upon digging through the cooler, which was taped across the top (no lid) I found a cone of lace weight yarn, A 5 POUND CONE of lace weight yarn!!! (and a little white lace weight  wound in a 3 strand ball.  Needless to say we bought the yarn cooler.  I gave the girls the worsted and I took all the lace.  What a find!!

So back to the scholarship...On Tuesday night, in between shopping, talking and knitting, I checked all the sites again.  The Scholarship committee chair wanted my phone number.  I gave it to him and said I would await his call.  To make a very long story short:  my wife's nomination won me the scholarship!!!.  I can't believe that in a month I will be attending the MFKR in Seattle, WA.  In Small Town Murfreesboro, NC, I am the only man I know that knits.  Now I finally get to meet others who share my passion for knitting.  Check back for updates as the Retreat approaches.

What an addiction!

When I started my knitting journey over 5 years ago, little did I know it would become a complete addiction.  I had always wanted to learn to knit, but only learned to crochet.  Between my mother and my great Aunt Elsie, I mastered crocheting at the early age of around 9.  I was content with crochet, and thought knitting was hard at that age because of the 2 needles.  I still yearned to knit.  When my Aunt Elsie passed away, I thought all was lost because she could never get my mom to take up knitting.  So my wife and I checked around and around and found a Michael's store that taught knitting classes.  We both signed up.  In just one hour we learned the basics: casting on, knit, purl, and casting off.  From that day on, I have been on a mission to learn everything I can about knitting.  I have been on a second mission to share my knowledge with others.  Last Fall I taught a group knitting class at my local library. In January, I started a once a month Knit and Crochet group at the same library.  I cannot get enough yarn.  Every time my wife and I go on a trip somewhere, I Google the local yarn shops in hope of finding some fabulous fiber with which to work.  I have come to love the art of knitting (and I do still crochet from time to time) so much that my wife converted a section of our sun porch to house yarn and make a comfortable area to teach knitting lessons.  We call it "The Knitting Knook."  I am hoping that this fall the "Knook" will take flight and regular lessons will be offered.  I hope to offer some free patterns here as well as pictures of finished items.  Come back often and see what is going on with me, Rusty B., the Small Town Knit Guy.