Sacramento Area Machine Knitters - Meeting Time Update

Time has been moved to 11-1pm, which actually works really well for our group.  Improves the parking situation.  Now we can park right by the door, which makes carrying a heavy knitting machine better.

Sacramento Area Machine Knitters

Welcome Sacramento Area Machine Knitters Just a reminder...

This blog entry is here to assist the Sacramento Area Machine Knitter's Guild in advertising their meetings on the Internet. I hope you will stop by one of our meetings and share your latest project with us!

Meet with local Machine Knitters. Chat and discuss the art of machine knitting. All machines brands users are welcome, from the Studio, Brother, Bond to the Electronic Passap.

We welcome everyone to bring a knitting machine.  Learn how to use, work on a project or learn how to maintenance a knitting machine and get it up and running.

Sacramento Machine Knitters Guild, meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays 11am-1pm (we meet throughout the summer at our normal days and times if there is enough interest).  We also meet the 3rd Tuesday 10am - 2pm.

We meet at St. Andrews United Methodist Church, 6201 Spruce Avenue, Sacramento, CA (off I-80 at Greenback exit, turn right at first street, up about 2 blocks, bear right at the curve and the church is straight ahead).

Contact info has changed as Marilynn (pronounced Mary Lynn) has moved to Colorado.  We wish her all the best.  For more information about the Guild and call Hugh Hall at 916-332-5190.

Hugh's Sacramento Machine Knitter Guild website... http://smkg.nzfreeservers.com/

Sacramento Area Machine Knitters

Welcome Sacramento Area Machine Knitters Just a reminder...

This blog entry is here to assist the Sacramento Area Machine Knitter's Guild in advertising their meetings on the Internet. I hope you will stop by one of our meetings and share your latest project with us!

Meet with local Machine Knitters. Chat and discuss the art of machine knitting. All machines brands users are welcome, from the Studio, Brother, Bond to the Electronic Passap.

We welcome everyone to bring a knitting machine.  Learn how to use, work on a project or learn how to maintenance a knitting machine and get it up and running.

Sacramento Machine Knitters Guild, meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays 10am-noon (we meet throughout the summer at our normal days and times if there is enough interest).  We also meet the 3rd Tuesday 10am - 2pm.

We meet at St. Andrews United Methodist Church, 6201 Spruce Avenue, Sacramento, CA (off I-80 at Greenback exit, turn right at first street, up about 2 blocks, bear right at the curve and the church is straight ahead).

Contact info has changed as Marilynn (pronounced Mary Lynn) has moved to Colorado.  We wish her all the best.  For more information about the Guild and upcoming training topics call Hugh Hall at 916-332-5190.

Hugh's Sacramento Machine Knitter Guild website... http://smkg.nzfreeservers.com/

Yarn Bombing Football style!

My trainer left for a week in New York and I knew it was a perfect time to yarn bomb her.  Several things had entered my mind over the past year.  She loves her Raiders and I love my Niners.  Thought I might yarn bomb her with Niner colors, but thought that would be the shortest lived yarn bomb.  Then thought out of respect for our friendship and in the name of fun I'd give her what she'd want... Raider colors.

What to yarn bomb?  Why not the 4X4 post of her mailbox.  I took a measurement trip to her house.  I knew she had a neighbor watching her house, but who?  As I was measuring I saw a guy with a big ole truck and a big ole Raider's sign on the truck and thought that's the neighbor.  Of course he's home on a weekday while I'm out messing with the mailbox.  I knew then I'd have to install this yarn bomb at the last minute, because if he saw me he'd text my trainer.  He'd tell her some crazy lady is messing with your mailbox.  That's his job.

I went to Joanns to get the Red Heart's team spirit yarn.  I knew it would have the right team colors and make it easy.  WHAT?!  Joanns had every team BUT the Raiders.  Poutingly, I walked around the yarn section trying to come up with plan B.  When I walked toward the Team Spirit display from another angle I could see 2 skeins of black and silver buried in the back!!  Yahoo!!  I dug in and got them.  That's all I wanted 2 skeins.

Came home and began swatching to get the size I needed to wrap around the 4X4.  I borrowed my parking block from the garage, which is a 4X4.  That was handy getting the right size, which reminds me I need to put that back in the garage before I hit the hot water heater.

Began my knitting nothing fancy just stripes of black and silver. Knitted it to the length I wanted and planned my day to install.  I knew what time she was coming home and planned to install that morning.  Hoping her house watcher was at work and wouldn't notice the yarn bomb.  It's a dude it could happen.

As luck would have it he was at work.  Took about an hour to install as I wanted to mattress stitch it neatly and match up the stripes.  I wanted it to look good from all angles.  After I was done I neatened up the bark around the mailbox and thought the whole thing looked really nice and FUN!

My trainer got home and immediately noticed the mailbox thinking it looked like it leg warmer on it.  She loved it AND had no idea who had done it.  What what?  About 6 hours after getting home she texted me, "Did you yarn bomb my mailbox?"  I jokingly sent back, "It took you 5 hours and 59 minutes longer to figure it out than I thought it would."  She laughed and texted back, "Girl I'm sleep deprived from a week in New York and the red eye."  OK you're excused.

She loves it!  I told her after football season is over I'd come over and take it down.  She loves it so much she's going to leave it up until it's ready to fall off.

Having Fun Learning How to Use My Brother KH 270

This week's lesson was learning how to do an "open tuck stitch pattern."  I saw this pattern on CCKITTENKNITS blog in January.  Thought it was nice.  It wasn't until Bonnie brought the project to our guild meeting that I saw it in person and thought "I have to make that."  She and I worked to get it setup on her machine.  She working the electronics of her bulky and me consulting on proper needle setup.  She was off and knitting and made a gorgeous cowl.

I got my electronic bulky and decided to bring it to our guild meeting this month.  Bonnie helped me read my manual and taught me how to set up my machine for open tuck.  I think because of my previous experience with her making this I was off and running quickly.  Next thing I knew I had made my first cowl.  One of the guild members had to take my picture in the cowl as she wanted to make one herself.  She sent me the photo.  She was making me laugh telling me how much she loved my smile.  What a great compliment.

Denim blue Woolike from Michaels

To seam my cowl I rehung the beginning ewrapped stitches on the needles.  I used the pattern of the needle set up to help me figure out which stitches to hang.  I then did a simple latch tool bind off.  I figured it would be just as easy to do this as to whip stitch it later and it was.

Charcoal Woolike from Michaels

Second cowl I made in the Charcoal gray.  My daughter had asked for a light weight scarf and I thought this just might fit the bill.  She loved it.

The Woolike yarn from Michaels was on sale when I bought it for $2 a skein.  It's turned out to be quite a bargain for such a soft, cozy and easy to work with yarn.  Big thank you to cckittenknits for this beautiful cowl pattern.  Cckittenknits shares a story on her blog regarding the making of one of these open tuck cowls and it's a fun read for machine knitters.