Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Upcoming Event: Color Play! Part II Workshop at Serial Knitters

Color Play! II Variegated-3

hosted by


Saturday, March 25th
4-6 pm

Class Fee: $35 + supplies
Skill level: Intermediate
Skills needed: Casting on, knitting, purling, binding off. Yo increase, decreases, and cabling a plus.

Materials

Yarn: One or more skeins of variegated DK-weight yarn (one skein of gradient, optional) for swatching.

Notions: Stitch markers, cable needle.

Needles: Size 5 or 6 US (3.75 or 4 mm) 24” (61 cm) circular needles, or preferred needles for working flat.

Recommended yarn: Variegated - Black Trillium Sublime, Knitted Wit Victory DK, Malabrigo Arroyo, Madelinetosh Tosh DK.

Optional gradient: Done Roving Frolicking Feet DK; Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool (bring size 4 or 5 US [3.5 mm or 3.75 mm] needle for this one!)


Join us!

Call, email, or stop by Serial Knitters to sign up.

Color Play II - Variegated Promotional Photo cloudburst5chiral11 pausing

Why Color Play?

There's nothing more tempting to a knitter than variegated & gradient yarns! But once you've got that precious skein in your hot little hands, how do you choose a pattern that will highlight its gorgeous colors? 

As a knitter and designer with 10+ years experience in the yarn world, this is one of my favorite questions - not to mention a fabulous opportunity to play with the color alchemy of yarns created by talented indie dyers.

So I invite you to join me as we jump feet-first into the world of variegated & gradient yarns!

Come learn how to choose and use these beautiful yarns in the second workshop of my series on knitterly color play. (You do not need to have taken Part I to attend!)

In this workshop, we'll explore:

- the basics of color theory
- types of variegation & gradients
- how to choose a variegated yarn that speaks to you

as well as

- how to choose stitch patterns and design elements for variegated & gradient yarns
- hands-on swatching of 3 different variegation-friendly stitch patterns

Other workshop highlights:

As we work, we'll also have the opportunity to look at lots of swatches and samples up close, for examples of variegated and gradient yarns knit into different types of projects.

And, as a handy reminder of the topics we cover, each student will receive a handout with helpful terms, photo examples, and tips on how approach variegated & gradient yarns and projects - so you can keep the color party going at home!

*********************** 

The first Color Play workshop at Serial Knitters was a blast, and I'm so excited for the opportunity to come back and share another afternoon of color adventure with you all!

It should be an awesome workshop - I hope to see you there!

<3
Cory

Monday, March 6, 2017

Upcoming Event: 2-Session Lelia Mitts Workshop at The Fiber Gallery!

Lelia Mitts Workshop-3

hosted by
Sundays, March 12th & March 19th (2 sessions)
3 - 5 pm

Class Fee: $50 + supplies
Skill level: Adventurous beginner to intermediate
Skills needed: Long-tail cast-on, knitting & purling, small-circumference
knitting in the round (DPNs or Magic Loop.)

Starts this weekend - stop by, call, or email to sign up!

The Fiber Gallery
8212 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103

(206) 706-4197
fibergallery@comcast.net

lelia5 Color Pairing Workshop Banner

Workshop Overview

Local to Seattle and curious about colorwork? Come join me at The Fiber Gallery in a 2-week workshop featuring my Lelia Mitts pattern, and learn the ropes of basic stranded colorwork!

We’ll talk about choosing colors and practice techniques to create beautiful, even stranded colorwork and stripes on your very own Lelia Mitts project. And as we knit, I’ll share some of my favorite little tweaks to make your knitting shine.

In addition to the in-class discussion of color, you'll receive a Color Play! Combining Two Colors handout to take home.

We'll Learn About:

- how to choose a stranding technique that works with your knitting style
- how to work simple stranded colorwork
- how to work a pretty 2-row stripe technique

as well as

- color dominance in stranded knitting
- basics of yarny color theory
- how to create inspired color pairings

Lelia Mitts (Release Front)) pinkpanther2

Please Bring

- Lelia Mitts pattern
available in print or through Ravelry at The Fiber Gallery

 - 125 yards sport weight Main Color
- 95 yards sport weight Contrast Color
- 3 stitch markers
- needles

Recommended yarn:
Main Color - Cascade 220 Sport, 1 skein.
Contrast Color - Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool, 1 skein.

Recommended needles:
Size 2.5 US (3.0 mm) DPNs
Size 3 US (3.25 mm) DPNs
Size 4 US (3.5 mm) 32"+ (81 cm +) circular needles

Or, preferred needles for small-circumference knitting in the round.

---------------

I'm very excited to be working with Megan, our new owner at The Fiber Gallery, to bring you this indie.knits workshop - it's been so cool to be a part of the awesome new ideas and energy she brings to the shop! <3

It should be a really fun time - I hope to see you there!

Love,
Cory

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Pattern Release: Trespassers William

Now, Piglet lived in a very grand house in the middle of a beech tree in the middle of the forest - and Piglet loved it. The house had been in the family for a long long time and had his grandfather's name on a broken sign to prove it: TRESPASSERS WILL.

"That," Piglet would explain, "is short for TRESPASSERS WILLIAM, my grandfather's name."

from "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day." Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh Storybook. 1989.

IMGP5891 IMGP5675IMGP5710 IMGP5966

On my coffee table, there is a book: red and fraying at the corners, the embossed design of the cover worn down to a scattering of gold flecks. The image that's left is half of Winnie the Pooh, seated, with one golden finger suspended in the air. The other half - whatever he was holding in one chubby hand, and the rest of his face - are blotted out by a water stain.

There are twin mysteries there: what, exactly, did the Silly Old Bear's face used to look like? And what on earth did I spill on it back in 1991, when I was three and my favorite pastime was stealing crumbs of cheese from the family refrigerator?

(The first question is easy enough to address with a quick Google search. As for the second, the world may never know.)

What I do know is that from ages 3 to 8 or so, the Winnie the Pooh Storybook was my literary comfort food.

When I listened to - and later, read - the words, I was reminded of the forest outside my back door: I felt the sun through the trees; heard the singing of water and the hush of pine needles beneath my feet. I knew the characters as I knew my friends, in all their habits and foibles and joy. And through their stories - of meeting new people, overcoming fear, and practicing kindness in small ways - I learned how to be a person.

All of that from a red, water-stained book - which is why, over two decades later, it still sits on my coffee table.

IMGP5589 IMGP5933

And so, this week I'm very excited to release Trespassers William, a collaboration with my friend Kenneth of The Homestead Hobbyist, featuring his beautiful yarn and inspired by my childhood love of Winnie the Pooh.

I hope you love it too.

You can check out the pattern on Ravelry here, or purchase directly below.


Happy Wednesday, friends. <3

Cory