Thrummed Mittens Class

The mitten on a cold, rainy morning

the inside of the mitten: soft, curly thrums

 

(1) : a fringe of warp threads left on the loom after the cloth has been removed 

This is the definition of a thrum from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.  Originally thrifty crafters in cold climates used all the bits they could muster for knitting warm clothing.  The thrums I'm talking about are pieces of roving that are knit into a garment-- most often mitts, to help keep you warm, much like the fleece on a sheep keeps it toasty warm.  It's like shearling inside your mittens.  On Friday, October 14th Liz Sutter (who knows about cold, just saying) is going to teach an all day workshop on Thrummed Mittens.   Class is from 9 - 4 with an hour and a half break for lunch.  The cost is $70 and doesn't include the materials, but will include the pattern.  We will have roving for sale, courtesy of Liz and she tells me we can use any worsted weight wool.  New Noro?!  This is an advanced beginner level class and I will give you all the details when you call the shop 773.244.1646 to sign up.  We are going to keep the group small so we can get lots of attention.

Check out the photos of the Christmas Stockings from the class of the same name.  Another session of it starts on Monday, and there's still room!

Sue's stocking

Cory's stocking

Bianca's stocking showing the heel in progress

The cuff of Bianca's stocking

Tammy's stocking

We've missed all you fairweather knitters and hookers.  Welcome back!
Lynn

Transitional Objects

I'm lusting after pink.  I spent an entire girlhood avoiding that color.  I wore red-- lots of it, until I turned 13 and then I wore black, and have pretty much ever since.  Truthfully though, the pinks I'm liking aren't the pastel-y bubblegum-y ones, they have nuanced tones of copper and burnt orange, and look more like lily petals than candy.  One of our new yarns this season is a hand painted linen from Claudia Handpainted Yarns  When you see the colors you'll understand the attraction.  I knit this little baby sweater in it, but we've been thinking about it for our transitional pieces like Coco Knits Gisela, Liesl and Paulina.

Gisela

Liesl

Paulina

I had the inspiration to knit a baby sweater in linen since it's such a sturdy fiber.  I threw it in the washing machine (with my workout clothes) and let it spin away.  I chose not to dry it, but lay it flat in the sun.  It looked like it had been pressed!  Our Claudia rep, Kim, suggested throwing it in the dryer.  Will do, Kim.  Now that's an easy care garment.  Perfect for kids!  And hypo allergenic! 

Our next round of classes is starting now.  We have 2 sessions of Beginning Knitting on Wednesday mornings and Sunday mornings.  Mornings at the shop are really nice; the light is perfect and really conducive to knitting.  Christmas Stocking class starts next Monday night.  If you've been wanting to learn to knit with color and read a chart this is the bomb you all!  You get to choose from several charted color patterns to create a totally unique sock.  Cory's is knit in pretty non-traditional colors (really?) and is gorgeous.  This is also a good way to use up some stash.  We still have the Lending Library and there are some really pretty worsteds in those bins.  Participants may also wish to share their yarns.  Feel free to buy and share!  I'm thinking Noro Christmas Stocking...  Call the shop to register  $75 for 3 weeks, pattern included. 

Lynn