Mariela J. researched the Drops website for her project. She chose Magic Garden Allsorts in blue and although she modified the pattern she found it to be quite straightforward. And a big thank you Mariela for donating your work to the Guild sale.

Mary S. modeled an exquisitely patterned red sweater which she created for herself. The wool is Karabella Aurora in a rich red and the pattern Travelling Cables. The cables created the most flattering shaping and truly a piece of wearable art. Mary has been knitting this sweater at our meetings so it has been wonderful to see it appear on her needles. Great work!

Irene M. went traveling this year and somehow got separated from her knitting – we can all imagine the discomfort. Her husband sent her into the first yarn shop they found – this happened to be in Sweden where she picked up some Drops sock yarn and made a pair of mitts from Holli Yeoh’s pattern. They are beautiful and just in time for the cooler weather that is coming.

Debbie M. went to the Susanna Hanssen Bohus workshop and brought in her projects to show us. She had made two pairs of wrist warmers using the Bohus techniques and blends of angora and merino. The most interesting aspect for her was learning the new techniques and using a very fine gauge yarn. We saw from her samples that she is a very good student.

Judy D. is getting ready for the cool weather as well. She had knit two toques from stash yarn – all 100% wool. She used the Minnesota Winter Knitted Hat pattern for these two multi-coloured hats. The one she modeled she will keep for herself and the other she is donating to the Guild sale. Thanks for your donation.

Talk about topical! Chris S. was thinking about Hallowe’en when she knit this very cute felted Trick or Treat Bag. Her grandson is going to be the envy of all his friends when he goes out sporting this black bag with green skull.

Nigel P. chose Zitron Lifestyle 4 ply merino for this toe up socks in purple/orange/ black and white. He is keeping these great socks for himself. The only challenge was the low yardage in the 50 gram ball – there was very little to spare.

Carol S. chose Luxury Diamond Merino yarn to create a beautiful baby shrug and beanie for her daughter’s friend who has a new baby. The pattern from Debbie Bliss had only one challenge and that was working the second colour up the edges when increasing and decreasing. Lucky baby and Mom.

Naomi R. modeled the beautiful shawl that she created from stash yarn and a hank of Colinette Ribbon.
Making up the pattern as she went along, Naomi started with a rectangle sewn end to to side and added a moebius ring at the neck to pull it all together. While turquoise is the main colour, there are vibrant oanges, pinks and maroons.

Cat L-S has been experimenting with needle felting and shared some sucessful examples. She used yarn that she purchased while in Estonia for this fun project.
Cat also had a baby blanket knit from KnitPicks washable cotton. The multi-colour blanket pattern came from Knitty.com and the umbilical cord hat pattern is from “Stitch ‘n Bitch”. The only challenge was not falling asleep while knitting – blankets can do that to you. The lucky recipient of these last two items is her tap teacher’s baby.

Using a cotton/acrylic/linen blend yarn from Spain – Katia Pisco, Mariela J. knit herself a white sweater. Her only challenge was the buttonholes.

Do you remember that intricate, delicate grandchild baby blanket Jane S. showed us at the last meeting? Alas that is now only a memory – and the base of Jane’s UFO project pile. Jane came to this meeting to share her disaster with us. Knitting disasters can happen to any of us – what a great place to get support from fellow knitters. And like a true knitter Jane is on to other projects.

Jean W. was wearing a true work of art she designed and taught at the last Madrona Fibre Arts Retreat. The inspiration for her vest was quilting. The back is done in two pieces with the shaping and the colours of the variegated yarn matched perfectly along the centre seam line. The challenge with the project was this perfect matching – finding exactly the right colours for each section. Great work.

Debbie M. has taken up the challenge of lace knitting this summer. Her first project was the Wool Peddlers Shawl knit in Koigu – 5 different colourways and Indigo Moon for the border. She is keeping her first lace success for herself.
She tried Malabrigo Silky Merino for her second lace project using the Swan Lake Shawl pattern in natural. This shawl was a bit more challenging to knit and block as the ‘wing’ was knit on the bias. This one is also a keeper.
Her husband was next on the list and Debbie took on the challenge of knitting him a sweater in denim yarn. His black denim sweater is knit from Den-M-nit for Elann.com using the stitch pattern from “The Knitting Man(ual)” by Spurkland. As Debbie was drafting the pattern she had to allow for 20% shrinkage in the yarn. She was successful and is already planning another sweater for that lucky man.

Nigel P. is maintaining his title - the sock guy. The first pair was knit in Lorna’s Laces rainbow dyed in an entrelac pattern from the book “Socks, Socks, Socks”. If you have ever tried entrelac you can imagine the challenges of knitting it in the round. Nigel is keeping the socks.
His next pair of socks proved a little frustrating/challenging because of the wool. Nigel used Fleece Artist yarn bought on a trip to Kelowna to make these toe up socks for himself. The challenge was getting two socks to look the same colour. His first sock was almost black – not so the second sock. He had to knit two more from the same ball to get a matching pair of socks. He succeeded and they do look warm and cosy.
And versatile guy that he is Nigel has knit a deliciously delicate Cobweb Doily. The pattern by Marilyn Van Keppel – Gathering of the Rose was knit in copper Fiddlesticks Zephyr Wool silk. The most challenging – by pleasureable part of the project was the edging.

Holli Yeoh’s first project this month was a pair of ‘Plain Jane’ top down socks which she knit for herself in a Opal wool/silk blend – a perfect accessory for blue jeans.
Her vacation project was a Hand Maiden Scarf Kit. She combined one strand of silk boucle with one strand of kid mohair lace weight in a simple YO, K2tog stitch pattern. She finished it quickly to keep her warm and cosy for those chilly days on the beach during her Oregon travels.
Her final accessory was a sample of the ‘Guess Who’ gloves pattern in Opal self patterning yarn. This is the kit that Holli donated as draw prizes at both the Victoria Knit-Out and the Pic-Knit event in Surrey this summer. What a great prize for those lucky knitters.
Holli’s biggest project this summer was the launch of her newly redesigned website. If you want to check out her new site, it’s www.holliyeoh.com . You will see her new logo and business name (i.e. Holli Yeoh).

Valerie P’s first project was a sweater for her son Stewart. She chose Elsebeth Lavold silk wool in a rich green and used Debbie Bliss’ Denim Ribbed sweater pattern. Although Valerie did a guage check, the pattern was oversized thus the sweater is too big for him (even with 20% yarn shrinkage).
Valerie’s sister is going to be 50 soon and to celebrate Valerie has knit her a beautiful off white sweater in Philosopher’s Wool using Norah Gaughan’s Bark Texture pattern. Her only challenge was patterning around the joining of the shoulder seam. Her sister has tried it and it’s a perfect fit.
Knitting for herself this time, Valerie chose Mission Falls 1824 in green for a shawl using Annie Modesitt’s Backyard Leaves pattern. Joining the two halves was the challenge as there are fewer stitches at the cast-on edge which makes for a narrow join.

Joan T. has been knitting ponchettes this month. The first she showed was in black linen and is for herself. The second was knit in cream hemp for her non knitting friend Maria.

Lorna B. was so busy at the meeting taking in donations for the Guild sale that she wasn’t able to show us her the beautiful gift she has made for a relative in Calgary. The lucky recipient will be receiving a reversable wool hat knit from Custom Woolen Mills which is rough spun with weed chaff. Lorna chose a soft grey for one side and a dark charcoal for the other. This will definately be a great head warmer for those cold Calgary days.

Wendy E. modelled a beautiful coral viscose and cotton, short sleeved summer top so perfect for the warm weather we are finally having. But keeping in mind the weather to come, Wendy also knit herself a beautiful, warm and cozy pair of socks in Noro. Both items proved no challenged for our experienced knitter.

Pam W. chose rich shades of grey alpaca, a pattern adaped from Stitch and Bitch and created a handsome, luxurious sweater for her friend Brent – lucky man! The challenges of this project were combining a medium length with a small width, and learning new techniques.

Dawna E. is having a shawl-filled summer. This month she chose a natural alpaca and silk from Alberta alpaca and Sivia Harding’s Harbour Lights Shawl Pattern. She is treating herself to this beautiful lace shawl as a reward for knitting alpaca in the summer.

Jane S. is expecting a grandchild and taking full advantage of this wonderful event to treat herself to the joy of creating an amazing gossamer-like baby shawl. This labour of love is being created in 1 ply cobweb weight yarn so you know immediately that there are several challenges to managing the project. There are over 900 stitches in this shawl so far. This is definitely a creation for posterity.

Bev G. has been very creative in her use of Mary Lee Herrick’s Baby’s Coat pattern and some beautiful yarn to make 3 baby sweaters. Similar in design/look to the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Sweater, Mary’s pattern is based on “EZ’s concepts” (a quote from the website. Bev noted that it is easier to understand what is going to happen while you are knitting it. After you complete one and understand the process there are many, many ways to change the look of the sweaters you knit.

Annette C. mixed an Interweave Felt Pattern, some odds and ends of yarn and large helping of fun to create felted baby booties. These delightful little shower gifts were done in Cascade 220 – medium pair and Elann Highland – small pair.

After a long vacation from knitting, Pam B. was tempted to pick up yarn and needles in celebration of a new grandson. She used a soft moss green merino wool for her Baby Surprise sweater. She found the pattern most surprising but overcame all challenges to create a great granny gift!

Eleanor M. used a doll mannequin to model her latest knitting brainstorm. She had chosen Bernat’s Satin for knitting a Lopi pattern. The result was a charming yellow, pink and lavender doll sweater which complimented the dolls long dark tresses.

Nigel P. chose a hand dyed merino and nylon blend from Rabbitch to knit himself a pair of socks using a simple rib pattern using the toe up technique.

Linda H. had two beautiful projects to show this meeting. The first was a elegant lace shawl using Sivia Harding’s Norwegian Woods pattern and I quote: “the best yarn I’ve ever used”. This yarn was so great to work with that Linda even knit at the breakfast table. What is this yarn you ask? Alberta Rose Alpaca, 2 ply fingering weight in cream.

Linda’s next project was more of a challenge as she had great difficulty getting more yarn. Her cardigan was knit in black mohair with long sleeves, an overlapping front and a tie. The pattern was from Rowan’s ‘Dream’ book, called ‘Ghost’. After all her effort in finishing this warm, versatile sweater Linda is keeping it for herself.

Lorna B. has exciting news. She has a grandbaby due in September and as any knitter would do with such news she grabbed her needles and knit a baby afghan. This colourful afghan used the Log Cabin design as the basis and is done in Astra with a little help from ‘Look at Me a slightly lighter weight yarn. The central area is done in a rich purple with four large squares forming a cross.

Fran R., using her own pattern, took left-overs and handed down wool to knit a multi-coloured pair of baby socks for Benjerman a new born in her life.

Tis the season (and the meeting) for shawls. Dawna E. chose Sivia Harding’s Diamond Fantasy Shawl pattern and Louet Gems Merino in a rich blue to make herself this beautiful, lightweight shawl just perfect for a summer evening.

Judy D. followed Elizabeth Zimmerman’s great pattern ‘Baby Surprise’ to knit a delightful mulicoloured sweater for her niece. Although this is a most unusual pattern – thus the name surprise – Judy’s only problem was finding buttons special enough for her beautiful sweater.

Maggie L. is a new member to the guild but not to knitting and crochet. Maggie was wearing a gold cotton sweater she had knit 20 years ago. It had been too warm to wear in her homeland but is just perfect for the climate in Vancouver.
Maggie also modelled a lovely crocheted shawl done in a rich magenta using the pineapple pattern.

Meg H. had just completed a beautiful scarf. She found the pattern in a book called Knitting New Scarves and the name of the pattern is Drifting Pleats. Meg used a pale blue wool from her stash and found her only challenge was knitting with 6 needles and trying a new pattern.

Janis W. wanted to experiment with needle size and gauge and brought the results of her experiment to illustrate the importance of checking gauge.
Using the same pattern, same yarn and same knitter – but different needle sizes - Janis knit three pair of baby socks. Her result was demonstrated when she held up three very different pairs of socks. A good reminder not to skip the gauge swatch process.

Holli Yeoh
“I brought completed samples of some of my Bee’s Knees Knits designs knit in new yarns that I carry. These samples will be going with me to the Victoria Knit-Out and I’ll have kits available for sale in those colourways.
Kieran is knit using Opal self-patterning yarn and an Opal solid yarn. Kieran is a pullover with a solid-coloured body and the sleeves, collar and button placket are all knit with the self-patterning yarn. The colours are light brown with highlights of golden yellow and a subtle purple in the striping. It will look lovely on a little boy.
Chloë is a cardigan with an intriguing stitch pattern. The solid-coloured stripes in the self-patterning yarn and knit in reverse stocking stitch and the jacquard sections are knit in stocking stitch. The effect is a bit like corrugated cardboard or the Michelin man. I used Opal’s Prisma in red and white with black flecks and paired it with a solid black Opal.
The last sweater was actually knit by my Mum who is a great help to me with my business. Lucy is a colour block sweater with red and orange on the upper bodice and sleeves. It’s paired with an energetic self-patterning yarn in reds/oranges/yellows/whites and dark greens. All yarns are by Opal.”

Joan T. knit herself a beautiful multicolour shawl from the Folk Shawls book – the pattern is called ‘Peddlers Shawl’. She chose Koigu yarn because it gradually shades from one colour to the next. Her main challenge was doing a lace pattern again which we saw she accomplished very well.

Janis W. has been very busy creating knitting/shopping bags from plastic. You all know that plastic bags collect at an alarming rate and Janis has shown us a great way to recycle them using crochet. Her challenge was finding a strong enough crochet hook and the work out it was for her hands. Janis is donating all these bags to the Oakridge Seniors Centre.

Margaret V. is assembling 25 knit squares into a beautiful multi-coloured blanket. The lucky recipient is a widow who is moving to Edmonton – this should help chase away those chilly nights.
Margaret also had over a dozen hats which were knit by Pat L. for Lydia H.

Paulette L.
When Paulette attended the 10th Anniversary of the Okanagan Knitting Retreat she brought back a beautiful souvenir. Her Cutting Edge Thread Cutter Pendant was designed by Celeste Culpepper from Nelson and was knit in Hand Maiden Seasilk green with gold seed beads. All attendees were presented with an Altoids tin to store their pendant. The pattern/kit is available from www.celesteknits.ca.

Nigel P. has been knitting socks again. This beautiful pair are knit from a Cat Bordhi cable pattern in Noro Kureyan sock yarn and are for him.
He has also knit himself a seamless hybrid sweater with shirt yoke. The pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmerman and is knit in Cascade 220 (purple heather) and one ball of Rowan Pure Wool DK in orange. There were a few intricacies to the pattern on the hems, the yoke back, underarm and yoke grafting which he overcame superbly.

Mariela J. has been a very productive knitter and brought in three items for Show and Tell this month. The first is a blue cardigan knit from Schachenmayer yarn a wool/acrylic blend and Patons classic wool. She designed the pattern herself and found her only challenge was in getting the sleeves exactly the way she wanted them because this sweater is for her.
Her next two projects are for the Guild sale. The first is a blended mohair and acrylic yarn knit into a hat. Mariela used the pattern that came with the yarn.
She also designed and knit a multi-coloured cardigan from kroy sock yarn.

Judy D. had chosen a pattern from a Patons book – Bazaar Items to knit her Mom a warm and cozy pair of slippers.

Pat D. did a fun and fast project knitting the Little Sky Sock a sample from the Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters using Big Ben sock yarn.

Janis W. has been most busy knitting baby booties, and wrist warmers in addition to all her toques. She used Moda Dea yarn from Coates & Clark and is generously donating them to the Oakridge Senior Centre. Her main challenge was matching stripes.

Wendy E. modeled her project at the meeting. She had completed the Marion Toppings ‘Yellowknife Vest.’ A very happy completion from the UFO portion of Wendy’s knitting bag – good work.

Debbie M. had chosen the Bee’s Knees Knits glove pattern to make herself her very first pair of handknit gloves. She used the Opal self patterning yarn for her project. A great way to assure warm hands for next winter.

Eleanor M. It was great to see a living model of a Kaffe Fassett sweater. Eleanor knit the Fassett split diamond pattern in Rowan yarn for her daughter Judy D. who modeled it for us. Her main challenges were matching the diamonds and all those ends – great to see.

Marjorie N. knit ‘The Sheep Tote’ from a Fiber Trends pattern in Fritidsgarn Multi yarn by SandnesGarn. Three times was the charm to get the right density for the felting and it then became a very beautiful and useful bag for her.

Valerie P. chose Sirdar Baby Bamboo for knitting a baby sweater for a colleague’s baby. She used the Debbie Bliss classic baby sweater pattern. She triumphed over confusing collar directions to make a very cute sweater.

Joan T. had been to a very interesting workshop. Using a knitting machine and 2 skeins of dyeable wool a swatch was knit, then painted. This swatch will now be unravelled and reknit to make a most unique and colourful garment.

Holli Yeoh brought three skeins of hand-dyed yarn.
“I participated in a hand-dying workshop at the Fun Knits Spring Retreat on Quadra Island in April. We watched Judy MacLean demonstrate her method of dyeing:
The bamboo/merino blend skein was dyed in silvery purples.
The merino/nylon blend skein was dyed in pinks and oranges with a touch of yellow.
Then we had the opportunity to try hand-painting. We were given three colours (red, yellow and blue) to paint onto our skein of cashmere/silk. I’m not thrilled with the colours of the hand-painted and I’m considering overdyeing it. Perhaps I’ll knit it up first to see if I like it and then overdye the whole project if I need to.
I also brought my project from the recent WCKG Spring workshops. I took Carmen Craig-Martin’s workshop on embellishment. She provided hat forms which we were able to embellish with knitting, crochet and embroidery. I chose a grey one and found some lovely yarns to complement it. I also brought some Noro Silk Garden Lite and used that to crochet flowers and embroider stems/branches for them. When I was looking at the yarns I chose to use they made me think of an ice queen because they were all muted greys and icy whites. I chose to create a frozen, wintery garden feel. I finished the hat just in time for a weekend trip to Whistler.”

Mary S. not only had a great holiday in Mexico, she also came back with a new pair of hand knit gloves using Holli Yeoh’s Guess Who glove pattern. She made her gloves from multi-coloured Regia super soft sock yarn with cherry red accent yarn.

Janis W. has been making more hats/toques for the Guild Sale in November. She has paired heavy crafting yarn with some of the novelty yarns available to make very furry, warm hats.

Yvonne J. has been experimenting very successfully with scarf patterns. The first scarf, which will be a birthday present for her sister, was a Brooklyn Tweed scarf, a simple but effective pattern.

The second was a multi-directional scarf. Both scarves were done in Noro Silk Garden Lite.

Valerie P. overcame many challenges to produce the beautiful white cotton baby sweater she knit for a colleague. She used the pattern, April in December, and chose very feminine pink ribbon flowers for the trim.

Nigel P. - Pink socks for Holli: Yarn by Sweet Georgia (Handpainted sock yarn 100% merino, colour: Slayer). Designed by Nigel, and knit toe-up using 2.5 mm Addi Turbo lace needles.

Brown socks for himself: yarn was Smooshy by Dream in Color purchased in Portland at Knit Purl last October, 4-ply merino, fingering weight. Nigel’s top-down pattern which he named “Toesy-Turvey” because they are knit using toe-up ideas. Knit on 2.5 mm Addi Turbo lace needles.

Mystery Stole (Swan Lake pattern by Melanie Leesburg). Stunning lime-green Baruffa Cashwool, 2-ply lace weight yarn purchased at Close Knit in Portland. Used 3.75 mm Addi Turbo lace needles.

Pam W. wore her beige alpaca and wool crocheted jacket with coloured cross-stitch embroidery on the front panels and an exciting motif on the back (a very effective way of making a boring space interesting a la Janet Armstrong!). Pam also showed her very first knit project, a pull-over done in Noro’s Earthtones!

Valerie P. found an online pattern for an exquisite little elephant toy. She used Borroco’s self-striping Lullaby for maximum effect. Her pre-teen son loved it!

Mary Sue F. showed a room felted entrelac tote bag with a star pattern on the bottom made from four soft colours by Lopi. The pattern was Suki’s Entrelac, found on the internet.

Joan T. brought a beige popcorn-stitch pullover with brown stripes that she knit for her husband at the time of their engagement! Joan also showed her Brooklyn Tweed Scarf using contrasting light and dark variegated Noro Kureyon yarns thereby creating a scarf of many colours with two balls of yarn!

Anne K. used an Italian self-patterning cotton yarn, Trend by Salvatore, in a soft yellow and avocado stripe to make a lace scarf.