Blog

We have had many inquires lately regarding our Fit Knitters Race for the Cure team.  Here are some answers to the most frequent questions.

We will have Fit Knitter meetings with Kathy Tooman on the following Mondays at 6:00 PM : August 22nd, September 5th and September 19th.  The Race for the Cure is Saturday, September 24th in Grand Rapids.

How do I join the Fit Knitters Team?

•   Contact Nautical Yarn at 231-845-9868 or email fitknitters@nauticalyarn.com.
•   Come to our next meeting on the 2nd and 4th Mondays from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM from now until September 19th.
  
• Nautical Yarn, 108 South Rath, Ludington MI 49431

• You must also join our Race for the Cure team at the KomenWestMichigan.org Web site.
  

1. Click on Komen Race for the Cure tab on menu
2. Click on Register
3. Click on Join A Team (on right-hand side of screen)
4. Enter team name "Fit Knitters" or select "Nautical Yarn" from Team Company list.
5. Click on Search for a Team button.
6. Click on Join Fit Knitters button and register.

How do I Donate to the Fit Knitters Team?

• You may donate to the Fit Knitters team online at the KomenWestMichigan.org Web site.
  

1. Click on Make a Donation tab on menu
2. Click on Race for the Cure
3. Click on Donate to a Participant or Team (on right-hand side of screen)
4. Select Search for a Team
   
5. Enter team name "Fit Knitters" 
6. Click on Search for a Team button.
7. Click on Donate button and complete online donation form.

Of course, you may make donations at the shop.  We also have two specials that result in donations to our Fit Knitters Team for the Race for the Cure.

If you purchase a Nautical Yarn back pack project bag for $11.95, $3.00 will be donated to the Fit Knitters Team for the Race for the Cure.
If you purchase the book, MaidenShawl, by Jane Jibson for $4.99 the entire purchase price will be donated to the Fit Knitters Team for the Race for the Cure.  Thanks to Jane Jibson for donating this great book available for such a good cause

This Friday night, June 24th, we will have our annual FASH & STASH BASH and MerryTime Academy Graduation Ceremonies. The evening goes something like this.  We will begin promptly at 6 PM.
6:00 PM - about 7:00 PM
During this Say YES! to Michigan event, we recognize our guest teachers from MICHIGAN, Lorilee Beltman and Chris de Longpre'.
We recognize our graduates (who have achieved ranks of Admiral, Captain, Lieutenant, Ensign, and Plebe depending on credits earned for classes taken and charitable donations made) and have a VERY brief graduation ceremony.  Each graduate who attends will receive a special graduation gift from Nautical Yarn.  Throughout the evening, people will be enjoying great food and drink.

We have a few announcements regarding upcoming events, including classes, patterns and book signing, the charities we support, and Bucket Raffle instructions.

7:00 PM
Now the fashion show begins. Fashion show is too formal a description, but people show off their beautiful work.

8:15-ish - 9:00

This is first for us. We have had lots of door prizes in the past, but this year we are asking our guests to purchase raffle tickets ($1 each or 7 for $5). You then will drop your ticket(s) into an envelope (bucket) attached to each prize. We have over 40 gift bags this year and each is worth $50 to $500 dollars (that you can win for $1, if you are the lucky winner).
All proceeds from the Bucket Raffle are being contributed to our Race for the Cure team - Fit Knitters - to help us meet our goal of $1,200 before the Susan G. Komen event in Grand Rapids on September 24th.

Here are a few of the Bucket Raffle prizes.

We had a "meeting" of people interested in the Fit Knitters team last night at Nautical Yarn.  We talked about:
Goals
Practice Schedule
Meeting Dates

We have scheduled our next get together for May 10th at 6:30 PM in the Nautical Yarn Studio.  If the weather cooperates, anyone interested may take a walk after assessment and discussion.

I just received an email containing information about Stitches Midwest - 2011.  Remember, we are planning a bus trip to Stitches Midwest from Ludington on FRIDAY, August 26, 2011 returning SATURDAY, August 27, 2011.
Here is a synopsis of the information received so far.

1. Download Stitches Midwest 2011 Brochure
2. Online information and Registration about Stitches (Be aware that certain classes fill up quickly, so if you are interested in taking a class, register soon.
   
3. Conference Center and Hotel information
   (The Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL)

If you have any questions about the trip, please contact Carole at 231-845-9868 OR read details HERE.

I used Sublime Baby Silk and Bamboo DK for this simple little summer shrug.  I used the LK-150 Knitting Machine to knit a rectangular piece of lace fabric.  Then, the 4 1/2 seams were sewn under each arm and VOILE! the shrug was done in no time at all.

I had a lot of fun making a little dress for baby Hannah to wear this spring.  I used SMILEY STRIPES for the skirt of the dress and Merino Kind for the hot pink and green ruffle, straps and pinafore top.


Hannah is just one-year old and I think she will look adorable in this little dress.


I adjusted the pattern and added a little, floucy ruffle at the bottom.  I bound off using the Picot bind-off method (it took a long time).

We had our second "Support Group" meeting on Saturday morning, March 12th.  We critiqued each other's swatches and discussed techniques for improvement and sources and references we had found. 

Everyone agreed that we are all learning a great deal as we CAREFULLY examine our swatches.  Some of us found that our purl stitches are too loose.  Some found that the second knit stitch in a k2, p2 rib is looser than the first knit stitch.  Some of us had a few "holes" in our seed stitch swatches.  We discussed the pros and cons of different methods for increasing in the last row of ribbing.

We all were using the same yarn (Cascade 220) and either size 7 or 8 needles, but both the size of the swatches and the tension were different for each knitter.

Even though this time spent together might not seem interesting to a non-knitter, we all had a very enjoyable morning!

Here are a couple of files for your review.  Remember, these are just examples.  Please customize for your own use.

• Swatch Information Sheet
  
• Swatch Labels
  

Here are some HOT colors for Spring 2011.
Source: Joanne Cole

I finished my first project using the knitting machine.  It is a sweater for Bob that incorporates a mathematical progression of numbers called the "Fibonacci Sequence".  0:1:1:2:3:5:8:13:21:34:55...  Since Bob was a Professor of Mathematics for most of this adult life, I thought that adding stripes in the Fibonacci Sequence would be interesting for him and good practice changing colors on the knitting machine for me.

Using 4 colors of AslanTrends Alpaca/Merino yarn called EcoLana, I knit one row of color A (light beige), 1 row of color B (tan), 2 rows of color C (main color-marl), 3 rows of color D (dark brown), 5 rows of color A (light beige), 8 rows of B (tan) - well, you get the idea.  You can see the color changes better in the photo that shows a closeup of the neckline and shoulder.



Several people have asked how long it took to knit the sweater.  Remember that I am just learning so I frequently had to go to the manual or Leslye Solomon's wonderful book, "The Uncomplicated Knitting Machine Book".  Even with the time spent refreshing my memory, the sweater took 5-6 hours to knit and 6 hours to finish by hand.  The back took a little more than one hour, the front took a little less than 1 hour plus another hour contemplating the neck decreases (the sweater was knit from the bottom up), the sleeves took 3/4 hour each.  I hand-knit the cuffs, neckband, and bottom ribbing and sewed the seams by hand.  Less than 12 hours to knit a man's size large sweater.


LK 150 Knitting Machine

Reminder: Come to our Knitting Machine Demo scheduled for Saturday, February 26th from 10 AM until noon. 

We have such a good time.  We had 16 people attend throughout the evening, plus one fellow who wandered in and liked the food.  About 11:30 we went to the ball drop.  The evening was practically balmy with temperatures in the 50's.

We will have to do this again next year!

December 31, 2010
Knit in the New Year! and Ball Drop

On New Year's Eve, Nautical Yarn will be having a New Year's Eve "Knit In the New Year" Party.  We will knit and have yummy treats.  Near midnight we will walk to the 2nd Annual Lakeshore Ball Drop!

Saturday, November 27, 2010