Knit DeKoven

2015 Knit Dekoven
Nov 20-22, 2015

Spend the weekend at the historic DeKoven Center and create to your hearts content. 48 + hours to laugh, share & create with fellow fiber enthusiasts! Bring your projects and/or shop there and join us for some wonderful fiber time.
Sponsered by Ogle Design and held at the DeKoven Center on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Registration questions? Contact Sarah at the DeKoven Center, sbussell@dekovencenter.org or 262-633-6401 x 105
Class Registration Contact Kim Ogle at ogledesign@yahoo.com or (414) 702-8121.

Upcoming Programs

We have some exciting programs lined up for the rest of 2015. 

In October we will have a display of the beautiful work that won prizes at the State Fair and recognize the winners during our business meeting. Theresa Schabes will be presenting a program on using Ravelry to find your perfect pattern. She will give us guidelines on finding sweater features that complement your figure and then show us how to use Ravelry search features to find those flattering patterns.

Tahra Loy of Brew City Yarns, www.brewcityyarns.com, will be presenting the November program. She will share with us her process for hand dying yarn and give tips for using those beautiful multi-colors that can be so difficult to work with. She will have her yarn for sale before and after the meeting.

December will bring our holiday party and fashion show. This is your opportunity to show off the beautiful things you have finished during the year. In order to help organize the fashion show, it helps to know who will be showing what ahead of time. I will have forms at the October and November meetings for you to fill out what you are going to show, the pattern and yarn you used. 

Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild Bus to Stitches Midwest

The Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild will be hosting a coach bus to Stitches Midwest 2015 at Schaumburg IL.

You can spending the day taking classes or shopping til you drop! For lunch you can bring your own food and drink or purchase it there.  There will be plenty of places to sit and take a break.

All this fun will be happening on Saturday, August 8.  

We leave the Hales Corners Park and Ride at 8:30am, arrive at Stitches at 10am when we will be met by Stitches staff with our discount for the $10 entrance tickets and goody bags.  We leave Stitches at 6:00pm and return to the Hales Corners Park and Ride at 7:30pm.

The cost is $35 roundtrip.  All monies must be received by Saturday, July 4.

You can email the Guild for more information at gmkg@prodigy.net or call Jackie at 414-351-2202.

We hope you join our Knitting, Crocheting, Spinning, Weaving, Etc.  Party Bus!

Prepare for the July 14 Meeting

Brown Bags will be accepted for exchange at the July Meeting.

Bring your Brown Bag with a skein or two of yarn to exchange

 with a fellow knitter. The brown bag will be turned in and distributed to 

another Guild member. Remember you will be getting a knitted item 

returned to you made up in this yarn that you put in your

bag. So please send along some yarn that you find a joy to use. 

No junk yarn. You will be getting this item returned to you. 

The Brown Bag exchange is an opportunity for you to  be the designer 

and knit an item from the yarn in the bag. You can add additional

yarn if you choose. You must bring the knitted item back in September. 

At the September meeting we will be having a show and tell 

with the Brown Bag items.

This has alway been a smashing success filled with lots of surprises.

June 9 Program

The Beauty of Fibers for All Seasons

Summer brings not only more light but also more choices in knitting fibers.

Barbara Chappell, fiber artist and owner of Fiberwood Studio 

will be here to show a variety of fibers that differ in their content, in how they

 are made and in their colors. Silk, linen, rayon, cotton, and blends -- 

how do they behave, how do they work up? She will

share the creative possibilities and lighter wear these 

fibers offer and give us the information we need for use and care. 

We are going way beyond the basic wool yarn we've all known since our youth

.

When you visit Barbara's shop on 92nd Street you will also see 

the creative artistry she and her staff bring to knitting. Barbara is a professor 

at Mount Mary University in the fashion department and also offers 

many classes in her Studio. She will bring many yarns and finished objects 

for you to see. Come early to browse and touch. Fibers are also for sale 

so come and enjoy.

More Well Dressed Babies in the Milwaukee Area

Once again we have made sure that  Milwaukee Area babies in the Christ Child Society are at the top of their game with our really sweet sweaters, booties, hats and blankets.  Raffle winners received knitting supplies, books and gift cards to local yarn shops.  Thank you Shelly and everyone who participated and helped make our Baby Shower a success.

Jane K had a very clever way to display the sweaters.

You can't have a Baby Shower without treats!

The Final Result- Beautiful Yarn Bowls

They look great.  This might have opened up some ideas for retirement hobbies.

Decorating Yarn Bowls

The Knitting Knook hosted an event for us that had some of our members digging deep for creative ideas.  It looks like they were successful!  They are all different and pretty attractive.  The bowls are a nice size too.  I have seen some pretty large ones that could have been fruit bowls.  Participants also received  a 10% discount on purchases.

All of This Could Have Been Yours!

Once again our Auction was a success!  Lots of bidders and lots of buyers.  Thank you  to everyone who participated.  Our Local Yarn Shops generously donated gift certificates,  beautiful yarns, needles and accessories.  Please support these shops when you need to buy great patterns or spectacular  yarns.

Bungalow Quilting and Yarn                   http://www.bungalowquilting.com

Cream City Yarn                                      http://creamcityyarn.com

Fiberwood Studio                                     http://fiberwoodstudio.com

Grafton Yarn Store                                   http://graftonyarnstore.com

Knitch                                                       http://knitch.net

Midwest Yarn                                           http://midwestyarn.com

River Boutique & Yarn                    http://www.riverboutiqueyarn.com

The Knitting Knook                                 http://www.theknittingknook.com/Knitting_Knook/Home.html

The Wool and Cotton Co.                         http://www.woolandcottonco.com



                                                                                                       

This Silent Auction table  had cat toys, baked molasses cookies and books.

One of the Auction tables with lots of patterns and yarn.

News To Use For The April Auction

The April auction is coming upon us soon and I want you to start thinking Spring, gardening, pastels, picnics, patriotic, grilling, children, coffee, chocolate, stuffed toys, pin cushions, aprons, pot holders, home-made cards, bakery, flowers and on and on.   This should give you some ideas for items to offer.

I also want to walk you through the evening so you’ll have some idea of what’s going to happen.  First, when you come in the door, there will be two members sitting at a table to register you.  They will have you sign your name and assign you a paddle number for bidding.  You’ll make your way to the front table to hand in your auction item.  This should have a 3 x 5 card attached with four things written on it.  1. A description.  2. An opening bid . 3. The value of the item . 4. Your name.

During the auction there will be two clerks keeping track of the bidding.  They’ll write down how much the winning offer was and which number made it.  At the end of the auction, the clerks will be the cashiers and will take your money.  Checks are most appreciated, cash is great ( but I don’t always know how much I’ll spend).  We don’t have the capability to take credit or debit cards.  Come one and all.  Bring guests- lots of them.  Bring your checkbooks.

The profits of this auction will go into the treasury for future programs.  So it will be a win/win for everyone.  You’ll get a great auction item and programs at our meetings.  Get your guests to join the Guild too.

March Meeting Photo's

The March meeting had representative's  Barb and Sheri from Treesfromhome.org sharing their story with us and thanking us for the hats.  You may continue to make hats for soldiers and bring them to the October meeting for collection for their shipment.

Representatives from Trees From Home and Charity Chair Shelly with our donated hats

Kate Robbins gave us a clue as to what she looked for when she judged at State Fair.  She used our handknit items and her own pieces to show what made a winning item.  

Kate Robbins

Updated March Meeting info

Everything You Wanted To Know About State Fair Judging and Didn't Know Who To Ask 

Whether is it is finishing , seaming, stitch design, or something else -- we've all wondered.  In March we learn the answers.  Kate Robbins will explain how it works, and bring along knitted pieces, as well, to illustrate what judges look at.   Kate most recently served as judge at the 2014 State Fair.  She is licensed to judge by the Wisconsin Fair Association and the Department of Agriculture and Trade  and Consumer Protection (DATCAP).

Do you have an item you would like Kate to review?  Bring it to the.meeting

There will be a sign-up sheet for  items in 5 categories and we will go through as many as time allows.

(The process will be to go through each category and then repeat the category sequence, as time allows.) 

All categories include male, female, adult and child.

Categories are: 1) Hats  2) Mittens  3) Vests/Sleeveless Sweaters  4)  Cardigans &Pullovers (any sleeve length), and 5) Scarves/Shawls

Knitting Guild Field Trip 

The Art of the Yarn Bowl

Shall we plan  an evening of art, conversation while surrounded by yarn?

Knitting Knook in Fox Point has offered a special evening for us to each paint our own ceramic knitting bowl.

Everything will be set up for us at the shop. The bowls will be  sent out for firing and we return later to pick them up.  The cost is $25.00 per person and there will be a discount on yarns sales to the anyone in attendance at Knitting Knook that evening. 

I'll have more details at the meeting. And I'd like to have a vote

CALENDER OF EVENTS:

   

March 21-22   CEDARBURG SPUR FIBER ARTS TRAIL GRAND OPENING! 

                          MARCH 21-22,  2015   

                          http://midwestfiberartstrails.org/cedarburg-spur/

  

April 17-18      Rites of Spring: Fiber Frolic Around Lake Winnebago   

                          http://www.bleatinghearthaven.com/id11.html

April 18-19      YARNCON 2015     www.yarncon.com    

April 25            Yarnover   http://www.knitters.org/whats-yarnover

June 13-14   Fiber on the Farm     http://www.fiberonthefarm.com     

Website is being updated. 3-2-2015

July 2015:        Meg Swanson’s Knitting Camp in Marshfield, Wi.  On-line applications will be         available Feb 1-8, 2015 @ Schoolhousepress.com.  Lodging and classes @ Holiday Inn Conference Center

February 10 Meeting- Round Robin

Lots of Variety at Round Robin

 We'll split into 4 groups and rotate through 4 interesting demos of tips and techniques to spice up your knitting.  Read closely -- you may want to bring needles and yarn along.

1. Arm Knitting -- a popular new technique. Keep your lap warm as the project grows very quickly. Big stitches with big results.   Bring 90 yds of Super Chunky  #6  yarn for a 5ft scarf.

2. Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-On, Cast Off -- Socks , shawls, and anything the needs to stretch or lay flat are easier with this innovative technique. A resource every knitter needs.

 3. Catch-Stitch for Fair Isle -- Enjoy Fair Isle by minimizing the finishing with a special way to handle the ends left by various color strands.    Eliminate the need to twist the yarn while knitting.

4. Make-Your-Own Yarn Buttons -- A demo of the tools and techniques needed to make colorful buttons.  Now you can make unique buttons just for your projects in any color you want. Watch Anna make one and get the handout with all the instructions you'll need to remember the process.

December Christmas Fashion Show Pictures

What a talented group we are!  You can see that a  lot of time was spent creating these spectacular items.  It looks like everyone had a good time.

Here you are in all your Glory!