June 2013
SUMMER SHORT COURSES
Starting Saturday, June 1, we begin our 8-week series of Summer Short Courses. These consist of projects with new skills to help you continue to learn through the summer. Many of our class projects are small, while some will take considerable out-of-class time to complete.
Most of our Short Courses are three hours on one day only. A few are two day courses, and will be offered on adjoining days (usually a Saturday and Sunday). All classes are scheduled for the afternoon hours of 1:00 to 4:00. With this schedule we hope to accommodate your changeable summer schedule. Please visit our CALENDAR PAGE for a complete listing.
And, as always, ALL MILLICENT'S CLASSES ARE FREE! We ask that you purchase your class materials at Millicent's Yarns & More.
In each three hour course we will give you enough instruction to get you well on your way toward understanding and starting your project. Here are a few examples:
The Ruffle Workshop (June 1) will not only teach you how to make ruffle scarves using three or four different kinds of yarn (needles and yarn scraps provided by Millicent's), but also will teach participants how to knit a basic garter stitch if they are completely new to knitting. At the end of this Short Course, participants will be able to purchase the yarn they liked best and the appropriate size needle to start a scarf.
The Crocheted Granny Square Blanket (June 14) will show how to construct a basic granny square, how to change colors easily and to hide ends, and how to assemble the squares before you are sent off to crochet the number of squares you need to complete your blanket.
The Bottom Up Shawl (June 23) will help you choose yarn and needles, teach you several ways to construct a bottom-up shawl and show you how to execute the finished edge. You'll begin your own shawl before leaving class.
As with all our courses, you are welcome to return to Millicent's at any time to get additional help toward finishing your project.
We hope you like this idea of Summer Short Courses. Taking several will keep you on your toes and help you learn new skills to use in the upcoming fall and winter.
OUR NEW LOOK
Our website will be changing over the next several months. The changes may be subtle to you, but they are terrific, magnificently wonderful for me and my working the overall editor (no more sweat and tears!)
Our first major change you'll see in the CALENDAR PAGE. There you'll find a calendar graphic, and on each day you'll find the activities for that page listed in shorthand. Hover your cursor on the bottom border of each activity/class listing and up pops a description. Double click on the activity and you'll be sent to the classes page where you'll find a photo and the same description.
We think this is pretty nifty.
THE MARYLAND SHEEP & WOOL SHOW, MAY 2013
Good heavens, did we have fun! Forty-eight of us (47 women and 1 man) left Cumberland in the wee hours to get to the Howard County Fairgrounds by the opening of the show. We were a large group there and hard to miss as we all wore pink T-shirts with Millicent's logo emblazoned on the front and back (an idea from one of last year's travelers). Needless to say, we were asked lots of questions about our pinkness and we all handed out lots of "calling cards" (aka business cards) to the curious.
Participants were armed with maps, catalogs, schedules, and a list of fun things to do. We scattered and regrouped at mid-day to drop off our goodies with the bus-driver, then scattered again, only to regroup once more at the end of the day as an exhausted few, and then more and more gathered to rest their feet and share our goodies.
And what goodies we came home with: yarns, patterns, kits for sweaters, spinning wheels, weaving looms, more yarn, spindles, knitting needles, pottery, lamb-y puppets, sheep and goat cheese, spiced nuts, popcorn, plants, fleeces. We met up friends from former days at Millicent's and from afar.
We learned that Saturday was shoulder to shoulder people, with lots of waiting in lines, and overcrowded venues. Our Sunday visit, especially in the morning hours, was quiet and peaceful, making it easy for us to explore.
I spent the day with two Debbies -- both from urban areas. I wanted to visit the sheep, which I hadn't done last year. "Oh, it stinks! I have poo on my shoes! You're going to touch that sheep?" (actually I had real fun stuffing my hand deep into its fleece -- something I'd never done before -- but only after I ascertained that it was a passive beast). I felt so brave. We marveled at the horns on the rams and oohed and aahed over the lambs.
One of our more daring knitters and now spinner passed by us frequently. With her eyes wide she would utter: "Oh, last year was overwhelming enough when I was looking just at the yarn. But now, when I want fleece and spindles, I'm really confused, I'm really confused, I'm really confused." But she got on the bus at the end of the day with several bags of goodies.
Our sole gentleman wrote this about the trip in his thank-you note:
"Being the sole man in the group was awkward, but you handled it expertly, like everything else. . . . Gorgeous scenery + luxury bus + spirited group + expert management = one pleasant, memorable trip."
I do have to let you know about one special bit of generosity among Cumberland knitters. Debbie Williamson planned to go with us as a first time visitor and meet up with friends from the East Coast. Sadly she broke her leg just a few weeks before the trip. Knowing how much she wanted to go, and realizing that someone else probably wanted to go just as badly but couldn't it afford it, she offered her already-paid ticket to a person of our choice. We invited a knitter who has an active pre-school son, who is taking college courses full time to attain an education degree, and earns money on the side by selling her knitted ware on Etsy. She needed the break! and the inspiration!
Over half of our group had never been to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Show. But they all came home full of enthusiasm and ready to return next year. We filled one large bus this year. Maybe next year it will be two. Mark your calendars: the Maryland Sheep & Wool Show takes place every year on the first weekend of May. That makes it May 4, 2014. I will start taking reservations in January. I look forward to your joining us!
JOSEPHINE MILTENBERGER 1932 - 2013
Josephine Miltenberger, who passed away March 29, 2013 in Cumberland, was an accomplished knitter. In the 1950s she and her husband, Fiddle, spent a 5-year mission in Mendi, Papua, New Guinea under the auspices of the Capuchin Friars of Pittsburgh, PA. It was there, among British-trained knitters, that she refined her craft. When she came home to Cumberland, she knit the most extraordinary cabled and intarsia patterns for family. Jo was a regular customer at Millicent's, even when in great pain and finally when in a nursing home. She never lost her keen interest and desire to challenge herself when it came to knitting. She will be sorely missed.
UPCOMING BLOCK OF THE MONTH: LACE
Our new Autumn Knit-Along Project is a Lace Sampler Shawl and will meet the first Sunday of every month from 1:00 - 4:00 beginning October 6, 2013 (barring rescheduling because of holidays).
The pattern we will use is called Blue Ribbon Sampler by "Bad Cat Designs". The project is knit with a lace-weight yarn. As the designer is associated with Jade Sapphire Yarns, the love Mongolian Cashmere or the fine weight Lacey Lamb are recommended. But any of our single color lace weight yarns will do. The pattern is written with charts only : CHARTS! Extensive charts! Every month we will explore a new lace pattern. Mel will give hints about any new skills, chart reading, etc.
This is a project for intermediate to advanced knitters. However, if you would like to participate and want to build your skills to a suitable level, Millicent's is offering many Summer Short Courses, especially in July, to teach lace knitting on several levels. If you are able to take several of these, you'll be ready for our October beginning.
Looking forward to a new challenge!
BUILDING BLOCKS AFGHAN KNIT-ALONG
The Building Blocks Afghan Group meets on one Sunday of every month from 1:00 - 4:00. We do our best to meet on the second Sunday of every month, but because of holidays, there are some irregularities. Here are our upcoming meeting dates:
(skipping May), June 2, July 21, August 11, September 15, October 13, November 10, December 8.
Wished you had joined us? It's not too late. Come on into Millicent's before June 2 to talk with Mel about catching you up on our first couple blocks.
THE GREAT NORTH AMERICAN ARAN AFGHAN KNIT ALONG:
Only four more meetings to go: May 19 (p. 50 the sweater), June 9 (p. 10 Kathleen Carty), July 14 (to discuss the cabled edging and sewing techniques), September 8 (for a final show-and-tell meeting)
We are merrily chugging along having worked almost a year together now and eaten more sweets than one can imagine.
Click Here for Archived Newsletters