February 2020 Meeting Recap: A Packed Meeting with Special Guests, Main Speaker Yvonne Cutright, and Show & Tell

by Kimberly Williams

Another great meeting of Puddletown Knitters Guild with a lot happening.

​Fuschia from Weird Sisters Yarn joined us to sell beautiful kits for the guild's Native Knits KAL. Get started now so you can show off your work and have a picture taken with designer, Jennifer Berg, at our April Event​. And don’t forget about the knit nights Margaret Weddell and Kim Winter are hosting on four Tuesdays (details are on the guild events page).

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We received some adorable stuffed animals for our charity knitting project, bringing us to a total of 20. Don’t forget to tag @ButterflyBoxesPDX to spread the joy of crafting with a purpose. 

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Exciting news for our guild. We are now sister guild to the Brave Girls, a group of new knitters in Rwanda and Uganda. Next month, Kathryn Gearheard, teacher to these women, will tell her story and share their goals. We will also be collecting straight knitting needles for her to take to the Brave Girls. So clean out your duplicates or purchase some new ones and bring them to the March meeting.

Peter and Betty Charles were on hand to demonstrate their finely crafted swifts and winders. It was fascinating to hear the origin story of their company, Oregon Woodworkers. Betty’s LYS asked him to fix and recreate a shop swift that was always breaking. Peter spent the next two years perfecting the design. Their swifts come in a variety of woods, set up and pack up easily, and are pretty enough to leave out all the time. Even better, there are zero wood on wood turning points, so our PNW humidity won’t wreak havoc on your yarn winding.​

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• ​Yvonne Cutright

​Our speaker had years of wisdom and stories to share with us. Yvonne inspired us with her designs and the process behind each. The highlights I took away are:

• Find people from whom to learn. Luckily, we have the guild and a lot of fabulous LYS that Yvonne didn’t have when she was first learning. And don’t forget you know more than you think and can share that knowledge with newbies. 
• Creatively stuck? Go take a shower. Lots of good ideas flow with the hot water. 
• Never let not knowing how to do something keep you from trying. Yvonne perfected her crochet skills for more than one project and for finding a new way to finish a garment edge. 
• Deadlines (like special events) might help you get the project done. As will making it for someone else. 
• There’s no need to be snippy in our crafting community.
• Make it yours because it is yours!

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Examples of Yvonne's work she brought to show

Post meeting book list from Yvonne, in no particular order:

• Any book by Barbara Walker has to be in any knitters library
• A Year of Techniques by Arnall-Culliford Knitwear
• Knitting Pattern Essentials, Adapting and Drafting Knitting Pattern for Great Knitwear by   Sally Melville
• The Knitters Handbook by Montse Stanley
• Knitting in the Nordic Tradition by Vibeke Lind
• Color by Kristin - How to Design Your Own Beautiful Knits by Kristin Nicholas
• The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret RadCliffe

And her latest purchase mentioned at the meeting:

• Knitting Details Start to Finish: A handbook of Simple Tricks, Creative Solutions and   Finishing Techniques Start to Finish by Ulla Engquist 

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Show and tell

Lori Day-Reynolds & her Wonder Woman Wrap (pattern by Carissa Browning) and self-designed, matching headband

Anne Levant Prahl & her grandbaby's teddy bears (pattern: gray bear by Cindy Pilon)

Janis Wells & her Denes Sweater

Margaret photobombing Anne and Susan Huffman (in her Carbeth Cardigan).