BT to the MKG and more...

I threw this photo in as an afterthought as a friend just sent it to me. That's my son on the left during his cross country meet last weekend. It is such a great sport and fun to watch. He is the first of our kids to join cross country so it has been interesting and new. I thought you might enjoy seeing him run. I love high school sports. The kids are so inspiring.

Now to the real post as intended....
Hi Knitters,

I have a fun giveaway at the end the post so be sure to check it out.

Last Monday night I attended the Madison Knitters Guild. I am a new member just this fall. The guest speaker was Jared Flood. Some may know him better as Brooklyn Tweed. I met him briefly before the meeting started which was nice. I have been following his blog for years so it was wonderful to see him in person.

The Madison Knitters Guild is one of the largest in the country. There are about 550 member with over 300 attending every meeting. The current space is too small so it is usually standing room only. This meeting was no exception. I am sure Jared had to be surprised at the size of the crowd. It is a pretty amazing sight. He said he was forewarned by the Chicago Knitting Guild about the MKG. He also said to me that he had heard about the voracious Madison knitting scene. I love that.

The woman in the orange overalls (photo above) is Elizabeth Wellenstein. She brought her hot off the presses release of Around the World Knitted Socks which she translated from German to English for Interweave Press. It is a beautiful book of intricate and colorful socks. I looked kind of over her shoulder at her book as she sat behind me and leafed through the pages. Congratulations to Elizabeth for her accomplishment.
Jared started speaking and commented about the size of the group. It is a little overwhelming up on that stage but I have to say it is the warmest, funniest group around. It is a group that loves to laugh and have fun. Jared received a very warm welcome. There were many wearing his designs in the crowd.
He had slides that showcased his exquisite photography. He showed photos of his travels, buildings, locations and knitting. Do you recognize that hat in the photo? It's a pretty famous one. Click here to see.
Finally, he shared the back story of his brand new yarn line called Shelter. It is a heathery woolen spun yarn in beautiful autumnal shades. There are 17 colors available right now and he shared how the yarn is dyed before it is spun, not dipped after it is spun. Jared began working on his American made wool about a year ago so he is feeling quite proud of its recent release.
He has a pattern line to support his new yarn and he brought a few samples to share.
I love the mittens. Yes, those are good.
This scarf has interesting texture.
I especially love this shawl. Jared has a newly updated site where you can find out more about him and purchase his patterns and yarn. Click here to go to his site, Brooklyn Tweed.
Okay, this is a switch in topics and a fun one at that! The new issue of Knitcircus is up and it is a special gift issue which I always enjoy. The founder, Jaala Spiro, has offered a wonderful giveaway for me to host. I am running this giveaway in a slightly different way.

I will randomly select 2 winners in a few days.

1 winner will receive the Knitcircus Gifts issue pattern collection.

1 winner will receive a subscription to Knitcircus.

To celebrate the Itty-Bitty Knits group on Ravelry surpassing the 2,000 members mark I am hosting the giveaway over there. To enter you need to leave a happy comment on the forum thread AND you need to be a member of the Itty-Bitty Knits group! Please only enter once and do not leave a comment on this blog post or email me to enter.

Click here to enter by leaving a comment on the forum thread on Ravelry!

Good luck if you enter! It's a wonderful prize offering. Thanks to Jaala!

best, susie