Men's South East Knitting Retreat

After several months of hard work I have finally organized my planning and have recruited several men to join me in the first ever Men's South East Knitting Retreat.  I have included a poster below with all the details.        

South East Men's Knitting Retreat

Please feel free to print and share with your LYS.  I have lots of FOs that I will try to take pictures of this weekend to show off.  I am very proud of these items.

On the needles right now I have, a stole for a friend, a design that has to be finished and in the mail by Friday, the Miley Tee (for my daughter), and numerous other items that I hope to finish soon.  School finishes for teachers (me) on Tuesday, June 14th.  I am very excited to get some knitting done.  

I am also hosting a World Wide Knit in Public Day on June 18th at the Hertford/Northampton Farmer's Market.  It is located just outside of Murfreesboro on HWY 158.  I hope to have lots of knitters and crocheters to participate.  

Finally I am going to rant a little.  A certain magazine I submitted a design to has not contacted me.  I sent the design in several months ago (March 15 to be exact) and still have not heard from them.  I would love for them to accept the design, but if not just let me know.  The pattern is already written and I could sell it on Ravelry.  Maybe I will hear back from it soon.  I keep hoping that because I have not heard from them it is good news and they want to use the design in something.  I will keep holding out hope that they are going to accept the design.  You keep hoping for me too! 

More to come this weekend!

Keeping You in Stitches Retreat

Practicing Magic Loop knitting

Well folks, like my fellow blogger WillyG, I am a bad blogger.  It has been quite a while since my last blog and I have been quite busy with gift projects, a retreat, and a design to be published.  This entry will be about the retreat.  On April 29th and 30th we held the first annual (hopefully) Keeping You in Stitches Retreat.  To say it was a blast would be an understatement.  To prepare for it I have been emailing and writing to some of my Knitting Contacts for several months to get ready.  Claudia Morris of Southern Purls in Ahoskie, was our yarn and notions enabler.  Heather, my wife, and I were the teachers/planners. The Retreat was held at the Barnes House Bed & Breakfast in Murfreesboro.

My wife bought and made crowns for us to wear in honor of the Royal Wedding which took place that morning.  We felt like the princes and princesses of knitting.  I was in my element as knitting teacher.  we began with a Cabled Coffee cozy designed by me.  Click the name to get the pattern.  Some of the attendees had not done cables before, so I chose a stitch pattern which had twists in both directions.  We worked on those for a couple of hours, then retired to the parlor for some sit & stitch time.  Around 11 pm we left for the evening  to get some rest.

Blocking our coffee cozys.

The next morning Craig, our host with the most, treated us to breakfast before our knitting began.  After breakfast we felted our cozys in the washer and set them up to block. Then it was off on a field trip to the Alpaca Farm.  Three Hawk Alpacas is less than 5 miles from Main Street in Murfreesboro.  Anita our host was kind enough to give us a tour, answer questions and let us interact with Callie, the friendliest Alpaca I have met.  (I have blogged about her before when we visited with my kids.  After our Q & A session we visited Anita's shop and several attendees purchased some lovely alpaca fiber to take home and work up.  Claudia even bought a cone of brown &                  natural/white.  We are dying to see this worked up.

Callie enjoying attention.

The afternoon brought us a great lunch from Tavern 125 in Mufreesboro.  We had placed our orders the night before and Heather picked up lunch for us to enjoy after the Alpaca Farm visit.  There were Reubens and Salads, fries and more.  Lunch was wonderful.   After lunch we were joined by another participant and began our Entrelac class.  We began a scarf, Basic Entrelac Scarf, from a pattern by Lisa Shroyer.  She very graciously gave us permission to use her pattern for our retreat.  Everyone caught on quickly and was amazed at the results.  It was a fun class and easy to teach with skilled knitters.

Tom practicing Broomstick Lace.

We took a break from Entrelac and Heather tried her hand at teaching with Broomstick lace.   Again we were making a scarf, in cotton,  with a pattern from Naztazia, Broomstick Lace Scarf.  Check the link for pattern and you tube tutorials.  I decided to try my hand at this technique as well (I can crochet, but prefer knitting).  It is working very well and will be a late Mother's Day Gift for my mom.  We all finished up around 5 pm.  Some had to say good bye for the evening.  Tom, Ilene, and I went to dinner at Napoli's Italian restaurant.  I tried the Portabello Ravioli for the first time.  It was fabulous.  We all knitted until 9 and retired to our homes, agreeing that the first retreat was a success. 

My cousin's wife makes cakes.  Her business is called, "The Icing on the Cake."  Well we had this made for the retreat (we ate on it all weekend).  The icing on our retreat was coming back to the B & B for breakfast with Tom and Craig on Sunday morning before seeing Tom off to the Triangle area of NC.  We are already brainstorming ideas for next year and hope to have more goodies, students, and knitting fun! 





A special thank you goes out to the following Donors for our Retreat: 

Skacel Collection, Inc
Rainy Days and Wooly Dogs -- Goth Socks Yarn
Love of Knitting Magazine
XRX, Inc.
Southern Purls
Yearning for Yarn
Beech Springs Alpacas
Three Hawk Alpacas

Each of the above companies donated prizes, patterns, or other items so that each participant left with a "swag" of items to enjoy their knitting.  Thanks for your donations.  Well, that is my update for now.  I plan to let you know about a new knitting shop and show off some Finished Objects in the next couple of Blogs.  Happy Knitting!

Knitting Retreat

Since I just listed our Retreat on the Lion Brand Website I suppose I should list the document for Registration.  Registration will begin this Friday (I am having early registration for my knit and crochet group this Thursday evening).  Later this week I will have info on materials needed for each class.   We are trying to keep materials at a minimum so that each the Retreat will be affordable and enjoyable.  For more information on the retreat click the link below.  If you need further information my email address is listed at the end of the document before the registration.  Thanks.

Keeping You In Stitches Info and Registration Document

Photos of FO's

I am trying to link my Google/Picasa photos so that you and others can see my wife's and my work of late.

Knitting Knook Finished Works

It includes ponchos, hats, shawls and more.  I am hoping that everyone who wants to see these will be able to visit this Album.

Another item to tell you about is the wonderful yarn shop visit I had on Friday.  Due to planning the Knitting Retreat, I am trying to visit as many shops as possible within driving distance of our retreat.  I went to a wonderful shop on Friday.  After an unplanned dentist visit Friday morning, 2 hours and 2 fillings later, I headed to Plymouth, NC to visit "Yearning for Yarn."  It was probably the smallest yarn shop I have ever visited.  It was also one of the best.  Everything was very organized, by weight and content.  The owner was very delightful.  We discussed knitting, yarns, patterns, Elizabeth Zimmerman, and my publishing.  She was interested in every detail of each customer (there were others in the store).  I can say I will return to her store when I am in the area.  If you ever find yourself anywhere near Plymouth, NC,  get in to Yearning for Yarn.  It is worth the drive.  Take your knitting and sit a spell.

Knit your family together with prayers and love, and they will never come unraveled.

Teaching Gig, a hat, and a pig....and announcing a Knitting Retreat

So last weekend I went to Crafting Stop in Franklin, VA to talk to them about teaching knitting.  My wife and children went with me along with a laundry basket full of FO's (finished objects).  We discussed knitting and crochet for an hour and by the time I got home that evening I found out that they liked all my work and set up their first knitting class.  It will be held March 26, teaching How to knit, with a dishcloth as the project (scarves are easy but take longer than a 2 hour class can sustain).  Today I finished the model washcloth and will type out the pattern for the store this weekend.  I also found great knitting instructions that show an easy way to do the long tail cast on (I think it is one of the hardest parts to teach).   Things are looking up in my knitting world.  My first pattern to be published, the Reversible Men's Hat, Scarf, and fingerless Mitts Ensemble, will hopefully come out next month.  Design number two went out in the mail on Monday.  I don't want to jinx it but I am very proud and excited with the design. (The drawing was even good, and I am not an artist.)  There is another call for designs for Interweave Knits mid March, and I am buying yarn for that design this weekend when my wonderful wife, a good friend, and I go to Coordinated Colors Yarn Shop to take an Entrelac knitting class.

On to the hat.  My daughter loves Taylor Swift.  Over the Christmas holiday, she watched a special and saw a slouchy beret/tam/hat that Taylor loves to wear.  She said "Daddy will you make one for me?" and I of course could not say no.  So I set out to find a pattern and quickly found the pattern by another blogger on the web.  The hat was cabled and I went in search of yarn for it.  My daughter loves blue and picked electric blue Charisma yarn from Michael's.  This yarn is super soft and worked up great for the cables.  I will post a picture here later.  She loves the hat and wears it daily now, which is a good thing because I was the mad knitter Friday night trying to finish it.  When I finished it at 10:30 pm Friday, my hands were raw and sore.  The look on her face Saturday morning was worth the pain in my hands.  Thanks for loving my work, Eleanor.

And the pig...My son is 5 and still in preschool (Thanks NC for pushing back the Kindergarten entrance date so I have to pay for an additional year of daycare on my teacher's salary).  Last week he found a set of phonics readers we bought for my now 8 year old daughter and asked to be taught how to read.  I am very proud to say that he can pick out and sound out quite a few of the words.  He likes the short i story "Pig Jigs."  The pig jigs in a wig and the pig is big.  You get the idea.   I am very glad he has taken an interest in reading at such a young age.  Not sure what they will do with him in Kindergarten next year if he comes in reading, already knowing his colors, and recognizes numbers up to 20 (he can count much higher than that).  Maybe I should start a knitting commune and home school my kids.  Just a thought.

Finally...Announcing the first (annual) Keeping You in Stitches Knitting Retreat.  It will be held in Beautiful Downtown Murfreesboro, NC.  The Barnes House Bed & Breakfast will be the venue for our Retreat hosted by Heather Boyd, my wife and avid crocheter/knitter, Claudia Morris, owner of Southern Purls in Ahoskie, NC, and myself, Rusty Boyd aka Small Town Knit Guy and published knitting designer.  There will be classes in Magic Loop, Felting, Broomstick Lace, and a sock done toe up/magic loop.  We will take a field trip to Three Hawk Alpacas, have several Sit & Stitch sessions to share and talk, and prizes donated by several LYS's.  If you are interested in more info or registration details email me at smalltownknitguy@gmail.com.

Well I have rambled on now for quite a while tonight.  Hope you enjoyed reading.   Pics of finished objects coming soon. 

Local Magazine Story

Our local newspaper does a quarterly Magazine with stories that are not "hard" news.  Yesterday the editor of the paper came and spent about an hour discussing my knitting adventures for a story in the next magazine due out at the end of February.  I am very excited about seeing myself in print.  I am enjoying the fact that people are interested in my knitting and crochet and that it could become my Night job.  It is helping me keep dreaming about knitting as a 2nd career when I retire (or sooner if possible).  Lots of new projects are in the works.  I'll let you know if the story is on the newspaper's web site and link to it if possible.

What have I been up to, Up to now....

2 hour Wrap

more like 5 day wrap

 My wonderful wife gifted me with a weekend away this year for Christmas.  There are pictures of the place in which we stayed below.  It was secluded without the temptation of shopping (which we both love).   We did some yarn shopping on the way to the cabin.  I have included lots of pictures which I haven't shown before.  The two pics above are of my wife's Christmas present last year.  It is thick and glamorous and has a hint of pink in it.  She wears it well.
The next two pics are of a scarf I made for a co-worker

Bead It Scarf

 who retired in December.   I was unable to complete it by retirement date, but she came to visit last week and I gave it to her.  She was thrilled.

Retirement Gift

 She will have to hide it from her 3 daughters.

Bedroom at my Weekend Away

Cabin on the Horse Farm

Great Room in Cabin

Covered Bridge Red Ponchette

A very relaxed and happy Couple

Holey Mohair Shawl

Cabin Kitchen

Mobius Cowl wrapped twice

Here is the bedroom of the cabin from our weekend away.  (I still am having a hard time getting the hang of this blog for example arrangement of these pictures.  I'll keep practicing).







This is an outside view of the cabin.  It was on a working horse farm and we could view the horses from the windows as we knitted, crocheted, and watched movies all weekend.










My daughter is modeling lots of things for me.  See her in several items I have knitted over the past few months.  The ponchette was finished just before our trip.  The Holey Mohair shawl is small but was my first design (before I knew I could design, one day I will get around to remaking and writing up the pattern).  The mobius cowl to the right is an older piece, one of the first that I knit after learning.  It fits and looks good on my darling girl. 

The felted hat is only the second piece that I have ever felted (the first was a belt).  I accidentally felted

a little too much, but it will fit a pre teen girl.

Felted girl's hat

Shawl in Autumn colors

Another view of the hat, my daughter makes it look good.

This is my favorite shawl pattern.  It only takes me about a weekend to complete one.  And this one is in my favorite color, oranges. 

Shawl, tied in the front

Holey Mohair Shawl

Mini Waterfall Shawl

Sweetie Pie baby hat, for a friend

While we were at the cabin I quickly knitted up this Horseshoe lace cowl for the owner of the horse farm.  She was thrilled and called us on the way home to thank us.  It is going to be my next free pattern.  Look for it in February.

























Finally I completed a baby hat from yarn I bought in Seattle, on the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat.  I gave it to a friend who had a baby this summer and she was thrilled.  I got to practice lace and try bobbles for the first time on this piece.  Well, now you know what I've been up to, up to now.  Next blog, finished pics of the Bernat Mosaic Shawl.

 Keep playing with sticks and string.

Seattle-Day 4-with surprise news

Franklin Habit and me

Needless to say by Sunday, September 19th, I was pretty tired but still ready to go and knit with the guys.  I took my last knitting class that morning.  It was the sock yarn blanket with James, who is from New Zealand.  I could not wrap my needles around this project.  I got the general idea and thank goodness a pattern was included, but I think I was too tired, it was too early, and the yarn was just too tiny for me that morning.  I am anxious to try this idea again, maybe with a worsted yarn and when I am not exhausted, and with no distractions.  The concept is not difficult or new to me, I just don't think I was prepared for the class that morning.  I also think I was on yarn/knitting overload.  After class we all said our good-byes and many headed on their way back to their homes.   Lots of hugs were shared.  I got to take a picture with my knitting hero, Franklin Habit, although, after attending the Retreat I have a roomful of knitting heroes now.  Those of us whom were left at the retreat center, sat around and discussed LYS snobbery against male knitters.  We also discussed which shops were very welcoming to us.  If I am ever in California, I know which yarn shops to visit.  I finished a hat (I'll include an in progress pic as I haven't taken a FO pic yet) as we talked.  Kerry and I headed out around noon and went to Kent to visit Renaissance Yarn.  We got lunch and went back to RY and knitted until just before they closed.  Kerry's flight was scheduled for around 9 pm and mine was scheduled for 10:20 pm.  We did some airport shopping getting last minute gifts for family.  I got my wife a Forks, WA/Twilight travel mug and my son a Bigfoot (the myth not the monster truck) cap.  Kerry and I said our goodbyes and I went to the Alaska Airlines area of the airport and found dinner.  After dinner I took out my knitting (I still had around an hour and 20 minutes to wait).  A woman came and sat by me and I found out that we were both headed back to Raleigh.  We talked about my knitting and I continued to knit until the flight was boarding.  I took a pill to help me sleep before I got on the plane.  Alaska Air is wonderful.  They have bigger seats (leather with and adjustable headrest), personal DVD players to rent, and more room than you'd expect.  The flight would have been the best I had ever take, but the older woman who was sitting behind me had an annoying voice.  When she finally settled down for the night, she kicked me in the back all night long.  I was exhausted by the time I got to Raleigh.  I got a large coffee and a sausage biscuit for my 2 hour wait.  I took out my knitting and knitted incorrectly because I was so tired (thank goodness for lifelines).  I rested a little on the last flight and in the car ride home with my dad.  I have never had such a great knitting trip.

The hat I mentioned working on and completing while in Seattle.

My first design packet, submitted to Skacel.

Have I mentioned that Skacel gave us a letter which basically commissioned us to design something using their new yarn.  If they liked our submission, it would be published (we write the pattern and knit a prototype to send in.)  The design, swatches, and letter were due on October 4th.  I sent mine out Priority Mail, and it arrived on time.  The decisions were to be made on October 6th.  When I got home from church on October 6th, the email arrived and Skacel liked my design and will publish, pending my completing the pattern and getting everything in by December 10th. 

Seattle-Day 3-Dye Another Day

Low tide at Dumas Bay (Puget Sound)

My feet in water from the Pacific

Dipping the fiber in the pot of indigo dye

Separating the fiber to ensure oxidation

all the things used for natural dyeing (the cloth was dyed with mud)

(Yes the title is a play on words from the song by Madonna.)  The weather in Seattle was much as I expected:  rain, fog, a little dreary, but not all day long.  There were some bright spots and day 3 turned out to be one of them.  We had the least rain on Saturday.  I had no classes that morning so was able to get some much needed rest, knitting, and picture taking done.  After lunch that day we endured horrendous traffic to get to our field trip.  The trip was to Earthhues, a natural dyeing studio.  I spent an enjoyable but long ride in the truck with Geoff, Joe, and Stephen.  I am used to being in a completely different state when I spend an hour in a vehicle, or at least in another major city.  The hour spent in the truck was well worth it.  We were introduced to all the natural things that they use to dye fabrics, yarns, and other medium without using any chemicals.  The colors were brilliant and I wanted some of everything, but we were there to indigo dye.  I had my LYS, Southern Purls outside of Ahoskie, NC, order some lace weight dyeable yarn before I left for Seattle.  What I received was the softest baby alpaca in a natural color from Plymouth Yarns Dye for Me.  I have not begun to work it up yet but it dyed the most gorgeous color very close to Carolina blue, appropriate don't you think.  It was a long afternoon but well worth the trip.  Kathy, our "cruise director," was very gracious and kind, answering all of our questions and helped us prepare our fiber, dip it in the dye, rinse it when we were done, and told us about things in the shop.  I did get some more of their dyed yarn.  They had mini hanks of yarn dyed in various colors and ranging in length from 10-20 yards.  I chose 5 hanks in various colors and fibers to practice some new knitting stitch patterns and create scarves for my daughter's American Girl dolls.  We returned for dinner and voting on the Best in Show hand knitted items we shared on Friday Night.  Kevin won with his wonderfully created Wrap based on The Little Prince.  We were then treated to a pajama party with a short film, featuring WonderMike, on the Knitting Community and Yarn Bombing, Young Frankenstein and Hairspray to finish.  I finally went to bed after midnight having worked on my orange hat to near completion.  As I write this I am missing my new friends on the West Coast and want to knit with you some more.  I have been inspired to design and am working on my first real pattern at the moment.  Wish me luck as I am going to submit it this weekend.  Day 4 and the Journey home coming soon!

Seattle-Day 2- More Knitting

Me-Knitting my hat

the needle room

Orange yarn, my favorite

the doors to yarn heaven--Skacel

So, I think that I forgot to tell you that on Wednesday when I left, I was so very worried about my knitting needles getting through security.  Well my knee replacement set off the sensor and they ran all my stuff through the machine twice I think while I was getting the pat down.  Knitting and needles made it through safely.  On to day 2.   Breakfast was French Toast, bagels, bacon, sausage, cereal, and the list goes on.  My first class that morning was Photographing your Fiber with the very knowledgeable Franklin Habit (whom I have been waiting to meet since I saw his picture in an Addi Turbo needle ad).  I learned a great deal from him and was able to take some of the best pictures ever after his class.  Immediately following his class I took Nigel's sock class.  He taught us the yarnover increase, which I need to practice because I ended up with some holes.  I think I will be able to figure it out and use it on some socks in the future.  We had a quick lunch then were off to "Yarn and Needle Heaven," the Skacel office and warehouse.  We took a tour of the facility, warehouse, offices, needle room, and were able to see samples of yarns knitted and crocheted.  It was fantastic.  I think we scared the UPS delivery guy, he just had a look on his face like, "do you need me to call someone for help?"  They assured him it was alright and we went into the warehouse to shop.  Yarn bags were flying everywhere.  Several people shared bags.  I could have bought more yarn, but opted for the ultimate Addi Turbo Click interchangeable needle set.  We then went back to Dumas Bay and had dinner before a wonderful party.  Karin Skacel invited us over to her house for dessert and drinks.  I had the most wonderful gourmet cupcakes and a "blueberry tea" which was warm and had liquor in it (must look up the recipe for that one).  We all had a great time at her beautiful house overlooking the water.  Then it was back to Dumas Bay for more knitting and sharing.  Two more days to come.

Technology Doesn't Like Me

This has been a bad week for me with technology.  First my cell phone music player stopped working.  Fortunately, after a recharge of the battery, it suddenly started working again.  It has to hold out until March when my contract is up.  Must have been one of those weird tech glitches.  Just recently someone hacked into my hotmail account and started sending e-mails about some meds.  I, of course, could not get anyone at MSN to contact me so I had to get a new e-mail address.  I have to hold on to the other one until I get back from Seattle for plane tickets, info, and the like.  Went with gmail since that is related to this blogspot site.  Hoping that the problem does not follow me to my new address.  I manually input all my addresses in on a different computer, just in case it was in my laptop.  (Doubtful since it is an Apple.)
I went through a bunch of steps to stop the emails and it hasn't happened since yesterday afternoon.  Hoping it is fixed.

Now on to the good stuff.  The shawl I knitted, just because I had the yarn, had a sizable ball of yarn left over.  The model, my daughter, has requested her own size shawl out of this yarn so I am currently knitting this up for her.  I will post pics when it is finished.  I finished an afghan for a friend who had her son 2 weeks early.  It is a diagonal pattern and should be very warm in garter stitch.  I also knit up the swatch for Wendy Johnson's Shetland Shawl KAL.  I am including both pics.  I hope to get a lot of knitting done this weekend as I will be vacationing in Williamsburg, VA with my in-laws.  Maybe I will have more pics to share next week.  Enjoy the Holiday.  I will be starting to get ready for the West Coast Men's Fall Knitting Retreat next week when I get back from the short vacation.

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.