Black Sheep Knitting Guild

Sally mentioned a chamber concert she's the artistic director for, and sent the info along to us. Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings 20300 Civic Center Drive Suite 100 Southfield, MI 48076 Phone: 248 559-2095 FAX: 248 559-2098 http://www.detroitchamberwinds.org/ Here is the info for the concert on Jan 19th...people can phone and say they are a knitter and they will be charged $15 a ticket. The series is called the Nightnotes and you can read about that on the website. It probably is best to call ahead to make sure tickets are available...they can only seat so many people and I would hate to have knitters turned away...

Hi everyone, Just wanted to send a reminder about our meeting in the midst of the holiday rushing! Anderson Middle school has informed us that they have decided to close early for the Winter break, so we've decided to move our meeting (for this month only) to the Coffee Beanery on Woodward at Wiltshire in Berkley. They will be setting up a private space for us in the back so that we can hold a meeting a bit more efficiently. Judith will be bringing donated yarn for us to begin our charity knitting project--scarves for local shelters. Bring stitch dictionaries or scarf patterns for us to share and needles if you're eager to cast on. (I believe much of what Judith has is worsted weight acrylic). If you're looking for scarf patterns, an excellent resource is at www.knitpicks.com in their exclusive free patterns section. Look for Gift Scarves--it's a pamphlet with many different stitch patterns and ideas for a variety of scarves. I'll bring a copy of this pamphl...

Our sponser for November was Gifted, the yarn shop inside Beaumont Hospital . Not only did they give us an incredibly generous gift for our raffle, they also provided us with a 10% off shopping day! Nearly half of our members were there and created a shopping frenzy. At least a few bought a kit for a felted purse that we can't wait to see! Get knitting, Kim and Judith! We want pictures STAT! What makes Gifted so special? They carry a huge selection of Fleece Artist kits, Tanya had some socks at our last meeting that were made from a kit purchased at Gifted, and Chris found a kit she just had to call her own. Louise thinks they may just have every color of Manos that exists! And can you say BEE-YOOO-TI-FUL? I'm not sure the picture does it justice. There were patterns galore, displayed so nicely that you could hardly walk away from them. Kim and Judith got caught up in the sale area, where they got an ADDITIONAL mark down on the already discounted clearanced items. Judith picked...

Don't forget that this Saturday the yarn store in Beaumont Hospital is providing us with a special Black Sheep Shopping day (10% off purchases) when you show your membership card. Several members were talking last night at the Coffee Beanery about planning to shop together. If you're interested in joining us for a group shopping extravaganza, head over to Beaumont between 3 and 5 pm. Several regular knitters were missing from the Tuesday night group this week, but we had four new knitters! Welcome! It was great fun to see new projects, swap new stories and meet new friends. And how ironic that I'd just mentioned a reversible cable and an afghan with one showed up! If you love cables, but think they look a bit unsightly on the reverse side, you may want to try this pattern. While I haven't actually knitted it myself, the two people I've met lately who have been working on it say it's a breeze. Other pictures and patterns can be found here and here and...

Coralee just showed up with an awesome present! Pictures for the blog! Check these out! Tanya teaching. . . Us learning. . . And show and tell! Easy Lace Poncho Multi-directional Scarf Christmas Stocking (a similar pattern, anyway) made from a pattern found here Argyle Stocking A cute scarf made with one strand of sock yarn and one strand of mohair in a 3x3 rib pattern (She's not as judgemental as she looks. . .) Handy bags made with placemats and old jeans A Faroese Shawl

Last Month, Louise showed us some Ugg Booties she'd made as samples for Have You Any Wool ? A link to the pattern can be found here . BOOTIES ANYONE CAN MAKE. Aren’t these just the cutest? (I'll add a picture as soon as Louise sends it, so you can nod in agreement!) Think you can’t knit booties because you don’t know how to knit socks or use double-points? These booties are knitted flat with a seam along the sole and up the back. Directions are clear and easy to follow. Baby Uggs are made in Berroco Suede and Plush. Christmas booties are a sparkly red yarn (Night, maybe?) with tops made in Plush. A pair of booties takes about 200 yards of yarn.

At my best count, and without looking at official records, our membership has blossomed to 18 members in just two meetings. With little publicity for the first meeting and our second meeting being days before a major holiday, I think we're doing just fine! Our leadership team thought that we'd be successful if we'd gained 15 members by the end of the year, but were hoping for 25. It looks like we're on target for that. Spread the word! The more the merrier! And truthfully, the more members, the more inspiration for us! If you missed the meeting, here's what we talked about: December meeting-- will be held December 19. Bring a plate of cookies to share and we'll swap the leftovers cookie exchange-style to take home for our loved ones. Charity Knitting-- We'll pass out some donated acrylic yarn for an early charity kick off. Judith has some local shelters in mind and we'll provide you with some inspiration to make some scarves or hats. This is a great way ...