Spiffy Socks – Sassy Socks and Stockings, Suzanne Style

Skill Level:  Advanced Beginner – must know how to cast on, cast off, increase & decrease

Class Length:      This class works best as a Full Day (minimum 6 hours) workshop.          

Socks are something that everybody needs but nobody seems to really respect.  And such a fun project to knit – fast and portable too.  Get as fancy as you like, or as subtle.  Hand knit socks are just wonderful and fit SO well.  Learn to make your first pair of socks and you’ll never be able to stop.  OR if you already make socks, learn how to make knee socks that fit – as in Kilt Hose that stay up – for that Scottish gentleman of yours.  Fit your sock to YOUR foot.  We’ll cover basic shaping, a heel or two, and tips on what stitch patterns work best if you want to do a pair of kilt hose or other fancy socks. 

 

Kilt Hose/Shaped Hose - we will learn how to shape, but not make a full pair

Toe Up on Two for your Tootsies

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner – must know how to cast on, cast off, increase & decrease 

Class Length:  Works best as a Full Day Workshop as we cover a lot of material and finish a sample sock or two.

Tired of boring basic socks?  Ready to be adventurous and try the Flip Side?  Learn to start your sock from the Toe and work UP!  Socks do work both ways and while Top Down has been the most popular way of making them for a long time, there have always been those who have started at the other end.  This is a GREAT way to work a pair of socks when you're not sure how much sock you can get out of your yarn or if you're not sure of the sizing - try them on as you go!  And using the two circular needles just makes keeping track of everything much easier.  Two different beginnings, two heels and a wonderful bind off, plus other techniques.


 

      

Shoulders that Sing

Skill Level:  Advanced Beginner - must know how to cast on, cast off, increase & decrease

Class Length:  Half Day (3 hour) class WITH HOMEWORK BEFORE but better as  Full Day Class

There are shoulders and then there are SHOULDERS.  They work well in the round, they work well flat – and they all keep the sweater from falling off your body!  All sorts of styles, all sorts of ways of working them.   Some of them are easy to do and some are harder, but can be MADE easier.  They can be plain or decorative.  Sewing can be involved or NOT.  Some styles work for some people and look awful on other people. 

 

Come learn a bit about the different shoulder styles and several ways of working and finishing them.  We will practice on a few types and learn how to put it all together!

  

 

Patchwork or Domino Knitting  

Skill Level:  Advanced Beginner - must know how to cast on, cast off, increase & decrease

Class Length:  Works best as a Full Day (6 hour) class

Patchwork Knitting is a very neat way to design sweaters and accessories.  You get very striking, designer effects with very little effort. You'll learn and/or refresh your skills in increasing and decreasing, picking up along edges, and joining pieces as you work.  You will be able to practice weaving in ends.  You'll learn new ways to look at color and texture and how to design garments and accessories using this fun technique that looks so much harder than it really is!  At the end of the class, students will have made a small accessory bag for their knitting goodies.

 

This is a great technique for using up all those odds and ends or special yarns we make or buy on impulse.

  

                                                                        

SPINNING

 Making Lumpy-Bumpy and Glamor Yarns

Skill Level:  Must be able to spin on a wheel but any skill level after that
Class Length:  Full Day or Half Day

There are two basic ways of making lumpy-bumpy yarn deliberately:  Creating Texture in the Singles and Texture in the Plying.  We'll learn how to do both, including making slubbed and garneted yarns, knot yarns, tufted yarns, snarl yarns, etc.  We'll take you through some quick tricks with mohair and other curly fibers, to get quick Designer Yarn results and some easy plying tricks too.  We'll also cover ways to spice up your otherwise smooth yarns by experimenting with adding other fibers. 


Spinning with Beads and Knitting with Beaded Yarns

Skill Level:  Advanced Beginner - should be able to spin on a WHEEL and basics of knitting (cast on, cast off, knit/purl, etc)
Class Length:  Full Day Class for BOTH sections (Spinning in the AM and Knitting in the PM) - the basics of it work as a half day class
 
Love those beaded yarns but some are just TOO glitzy?  Or maybe not glitzy enough?  Want to make your own?  Come learn how to spin with beads.  We are NOT talking about just stringing the beads along the yarn as you play, but spinning them ONTO the singles, as well as the other methods to add them to your yarns.  We will also learn about which beads work best, what projects you can do and how to handle the beaded yarns in your knitting for the best effect for your individual projects and tastes.

 

 

WEAVING & BRAIDING 

Dorset Buttons - a Woven Button Style 
 
Skill Level:  Beginner - able to handle a needle and yarn.  Working with small, but not necessarily teensy things.  A magnifier might be helpful, but not necessary.

Class Length:  Works best as a Full Day (6 hour) workshop.  The basic techniques are easy to learn for the morning session, and the afternoon session can be devoted to learning different techniques and making more buttons.  Death's Head buttons may also be covered if there is time.

Do you think a garment isn't finished until it has buttons?  Do you have your mother's or grandmother's button tin?  Are buttons your favorite souvenir because they're pretty, don't take up much space and can be used for more than just fastening things?  Do you just love buttons?  Then come play with us and learn a button technique that combines your love of buttons with weaving and yarn! 

 

This style of button started in the late 1600s as a cottage industry in the Dorset district of the UK, and had its heyday up until WW1.  The originals are highly collectible and the modern interpretations are gorgeous.  Come enjoy this easy, portable, FUN buttons technique!

  

A Good Beginning: Card Weaving 

Skill Level:  Beginner (or as a refresher) - No experience necessary

Class Length:  Full Day Class recommended although it can be a Half Day

You can weave with cards?  With holes in them?  Yes indeed!  Cards, Tablets, Beer Coasters, anything that is somewhat stiff, comfortable to hold in the hand, and generally square, although other shapes can be used.  This is a simple, easy-resource method that can produce very complex weaves, or not, as you choose. 
Work to a pattern, or create your own.  And oh so portable!  You are only tied down to the weaving when you are actually weaving, or not at all with a frame.   
Think of this as a Beginner or Refresher class in the ancient tradition of Tablet Weaving – a multicultural, warp-faced weave generally used for narrow goods.

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