2023 Speakers
December 14, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Xandy Peters
Unexpected Knitting
A half hour talk about how an open mind and willingness to make mistakes has led to interesting swatches and eventually collections of new designs in my own work. Slides showing notebook pages, inspiration images and design process demonstrate how a small idea can grow with experimentation and sometimes even mistakes become favorite new stitches. Xandy Peters is best-known as the innovator of the stacked-stitch technique, especially the Fox Paws pattern. Xandy has been published in many magazines including Vogue Knitting, Twist Collective, Knitscene, Knitty, and Pom Pom Quarterly. Xandy’s patterns can be found on Ravelry or at xandypeters.com
November 9, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Ana Campos
Overcoming The Fear of Hand Dyed Yarns and Variegation
Are you curious about hand dyed yarns but not sure how to use them? Do you struggle to pick the right project for your hand dyed yarns? This lecture is for you! Indie dyer and shop owner Ana Campos will talk about different styles of hand dyed yarns, how to use color theory to select the right yarn for your projects, how to manage pooling, and how to purposefully control pooling. Ana Campos was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and now makes her home in the Witch City (Salem, Massachusetts). She is a founding member of Vogue Knitting's Diversity Advisory Council and is committed to increasing equity and access in the fiber world. As a teacher she strives to empower her students to create pieces they love.
October 12, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
​Laura Nelkin
Bling Your Knits!
This lecture is a deep dive into the multiple ways you can add beads to your knitting. Laura Nelkin will look at methods for working with pre-strung beads and place beads, and how to decide which method to use. She’ll discuss choosing beads and yarn, along with how to look at an existing pattern in your library and how to add beads to it. Are you ready to add a little bling to your knitting? Laura Nelkin is a prolific and innovative knitwear designer with a passion for knitting with beads.
September 14, 2023 (hybrid meeting)​
September Sweater Cast-on Party
Come join us as we have a Cast-On Party for Sweaters in September instead of our usual presentation. Fellow members will be advising on measurements and gauge. We will have snacks and refreshments for the in-person folk, BYO for those online. Virtual attendees will be in a meeting, not a webinar, so will be able to interact with each other.
Board Member Pattern Recommendations:
Scrappy Cardigan by Safiyyah Talley
Spearheads by Jared Flood
Dog Star by Tin Can Knits
Strange Brew by Tin Can Knits
Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith
August 10, 2023 (hybrid meeting)​
Laura Ricketts
Sámi Knitting
The Sámi are Scandinavia’s only UN-recognized, indigenous people. On the fringe of European society, their knitting tradition has been largely unknown or ignored. Nevertheless, Sámi knitting is a small microcosm of a beautiful, unique textile tradition. Drawing on ten years of research, I will acquaint the audience with the subsets of Sámi culture, Sámi knitting, and some regional differences in patterns and practice.
July 13, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Tian Connaughton
Swatch: Beyond the Gauge
You might be thinking that making a swatch is boring. Right? But not so fast. Swatching is more than just a square piece of fabric. It’s magic! In this presentation, Tian will show you how valuable swatching is to the outcome of your project and how to use your swatch for more than just checking your gauge. You will learn how to use your swatch to calculate yardage for your project to answer the age-old question, “Do I have enough yarn?” because while we do love a good game of yarn chicken, we love even more to actually finish our projects. Then, what to do with all the swatches you’ve accumulated? Tian will show you some fun project ideas. Tian is a crochet and knitwear designer, tech editor, business coach, and instructor for fiber enthusiasts.
June 8, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Seth Richardson
Embracing Creativity: How a Natural Human Impulse Drives Us to Knit Amazing Things​
Yes, we’re all creative! Even when we follow a pattern, each of us has a unique perspective and a set of skills that we use to make something a bit different than everyone else. But how does this work, and how can we recognize and encourage our individual creative identities? In this presentation, designer Seth Richardson will talk about some aspects of Creativity and connect them to the fiber arts to look at the different decisions we make when we work on our craft. We’ll also discuss methods and exercises for expanding your creative potential to help you explore new avenues in your knitting or finding your voice as a designer. It’s time to spice up that project queue with something new! Seth (he/him/his) is a Portland-based pattern designer who enjoys creating pieces that use simple texture and he is especially interested in designing works that explore the various relationships of straight lines. You can find him at @sethrichardsonknits on Instagram.
May 11, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Ellie Alexander-Loomis
Scrap Down with Skeinanigans!
Scrappy projects are so much fun, but it takes some work to make sure your project doesn't look brown in the end! We’ll begin this journey with a bit of color theory, then we will delve into the tips and tricks they've developed to make scrappy blankets fun and fuss-free. Ellie (they/she) is a practitioner of many crafts living on beautiful Whidbey Island in Washington State. They experienced quite a jump start in their career with the success of their Northeasterly pattern, and enjoy being able to share scrappy and size inclusive knitting through Skeinanigans Designs. When they are not crafting, they enjoy acting in community theater, playing Dungeons and Dragons and cuddling their two rescue hound dogs.
April 13, 2023 (hybrid meeting)
Amanda Lane
Reclaiming Yarn From Knit Garments
With the perspective of an engineer and a garment designer, Amanda Lane has unlocked the secret to reclaiming yarn from thrift shop garments. Amanda will talk about how to reclaim yarn from thrifted sweaters, including how to over-dye the yarn. She is obsessed with all things fiber and understanding how things work. She loves learning new skills and sharing her knowledge with others. Amanda spends most of her free time knitting, spinning, sewing, and weaving.
March 9, 2023 (hybrid meeting)​
Michele Lee Bernstein
Brioche Knit Love with Michele Lee Bernstein
Michele Lee Bernstein designs and teaches from her home in Portland, OR. She loves using interesting techniques to make small objects from one or two skeins of very special yarn. Michele will talk about her history with brioche knitting and share samples from her new book: Brioche Knit Love. In her book she teaches a new technique with every pattern. Bring your US 15 needles and super bulky yarn (or worsted weight and US size 6 needles). Her presentation will include a starter one-color brioche project!
February 9, 2023 (Webinar)​
Susan Plack
Let's Knit Fast! AKA Boost Your Speed With A Knitting Machine!
​Susan Plack will introduce the mechanics and inspiration of machine knitting through a demonstration of how a knitting machine makes fabric. She will discuss strategies for creating unique objects quickly and encourage exploration of what is possible with the use of a knitting machine. Susan is a fiber artist who has learned, created, and taught many different fiber arts. She currently teaches fiber arts classes at a local yarn store. Her area of specialization is machine knitting socks and to date, she has knit 245 pairs!
January 12, 2023 (Webinar)
Anna-Lisa Miller
Photographing Your Fiber Arts
In this presentation, Anna-Lisa will share her tips for capturing the beauty of finished objects using a camera or phone. She will also teach us the strategies that professionals use in editing photos. Anna-Lisa is a local fiber artist and professional photographer. She works with local knitting designers to help them showcase the artistry of their designs.