July 2023 Meeting Recap: Member Tips and Tian Connaughton presents Swatching Beyond the Gauge7/14/2023 by Shela Perrin Guest Speaker: Tian Connaughton presents Swatch: Beyond the Gauge. Tian showed us how valuable swatching is to the outcome of our projects. July was a hybrid meeting with the in person meeting at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church located at 1907 NE 45th Ave, in Portland, Or. Doors opened at 6:00pm for social knitting. In person and virtual program began at 7:00pm. Masks were recommended but not required. In person attendance is limited to 75 people so you must RSVP online to save a seat. To continue to be accessible to everyone we will continue to have a virtual format. Meeting volunteers are needed to set up and put away chairs and tables, registration, meeting assistants, A/V Support, the Help Desk, and to monitor the zoom chat. If you are interested please write to [email protected]. Seth is our new volunteer chair and he can answer any questions you may have about volunteering. Kate Perry made the acknowledgment of the land we are gathering on as traditionally stewarded by indigenous peoples since time immemorial. 2023 Membership that begins in July dues are pro-rated to $17.50 for the year. All memberships are up for renewal at the beginning of the new year. Scholarships and Gift Memberships are available just send a note to [email protected] or visit our website membership page. Raffle prizes for this meeting are copies of the book by Tian Connaughton, Cardigans for Everybody. If you know of any upcoming fiber events or have a guild speaker or topic ideas please email them to [email protected]. Virtual Knit Nights are every Monday from 6-8pm Pacific - knit and chat from the comfort of your own home, pajamas are encouraged. Go to the events page for the link The official Service Project for 2023 is knitting for foster children and families for our partners Boxes of Love and With Love. The Summer Sprint Challenge is diverse skin tone dolls for Foster Kids! Baby blanket challenge is ongoing all year long. Dolls are due by September meeting in person or email a photo to [email protected]. Dolls earn two entries and non-doll stuffed animals earn one entry in the random drawing for prizes. Create dolls of any size using your fiber art of choice. Dolls with darker skin tones are especially needed. Machine-washable yarns preferred, think toddler toys. Play it safe, use safety eyes or embroider facial features. It is also time to start thinking about what organization we’d like to serve next year. Please send your ideas to [email protected]. Bonus for all service knitters! Free patterns courtesy of designer, Susan B. Anderson. Patterns include Mary, Millie & Morgan plus Flower Fairy and Leaf Sprite Mermaids. Request your pattern by emailing [email protected] and confirm you are participating in the Diverse Dolls challenge and agree that you won’t share the free patterns outside of the guild. You can also check our Ravelry group for other pattern suggestions. Member tips with Anna Lorton - Best Friends - two tools that are handy to have together in your working bag are a tapestry needle and scissors. Anna suggested we get a small dot magnet to hold them together or if they are non-magnetic you can use a pin marker that will probably fit through the eye of the needle to keep them close at hand. Please send your tip suggestions or volunteer for future member tips by reaching out to [email protected]. Guest Speaker: Tian Connaughton author of Cardigans for Everybody is also a designer and tech editor. Tian described to us the art of swatching with tips and tricks beyond measuring gauge. She suggested making multiple swatches with different needles and sizes. Be sure to use the same needle you are using on your project when you produce a swatch. By doing a larger swatch you learn the pattern of your stitch and how your yarn behaves. Measure several places on the swatch to see how your knitting changes. If you will be working in the round make the swatch in the round. You don’t need to cut the yarn, just give ample amounts around the back so if you want to take your swatch apart and use the yarn you can. Also wash the swatch the same way you will wash the garment. After you make the swatch let it rest a few hours or even a few days allowing it to relax and return to its natural size. Measure before and after blocking. Also you can weigh on a food scale before you wash and then weigh after. If you are making multiple swatches don’t cut the yarn so you can undo the swatch if you need the yardage. You can use your swatch to calculate yardage needed for your project. Measure length by width and that will equal the area. You can also weigh and see how many grams you will need. Always add 10% to your total yardage just to be sure you have enough. Tian suggested we explore and play, making mistakes, practicing new stitches. Track your progress in a notebook so you can go back and review later if needed. Once you have the swatch carry it with you to see if it balls up or how it will respond to wear. Tian can be reached at her website tianconnaughton.com Show and Tell: On display was a Playful Shawl, a Jr. sweater, a rock it Tshirt and a summer sweater. Also some photos of many dog stuffed animals. In person participants bring your finished items and have your pattern name and yarn details ready. Limit to one item per meeting. Virtual attendees, submit your photos, include your pattern name, yarn details and anything special about the project. Email your photos to [email protected] before you go to bed on Tuesday before the meeting.
Upcoming fibre events:
The fire alarm went off and the meeting participants were evacuated. Everyone was ok, meeting was adjourned. Next month Laura Ricketts presents “Discover the Wonderful World of Sami Knitting”. Teaser for September meeting: Fall Sweater Cast On Party.
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