Top of the Class

Hi Knitters,

First off I have two winners for the Sixth & Spring book giveaway!

For the Entrelac book:

Sara said...

Hi, Susan! All of your projects look fabulous, as usual. I can't wait to start on the Farm Knitting, myself! Both of the books look fantastic but I would especially like to unravel the mysteries of Entrelac. Have a great weekend!
Sara

(Survivor on Ravelry)

February 25, 2011

For the Cowl Girls book:

Lynn said...

Your blog entries are like a lovely visit from a pen pal. I'd love to win the Cowl book (I own the other one), especially because it would be great for use in my charitable project in which we make boutique-quality items to gift to donors who choose our items as gifts and simultaneously support local, peace-oriented nonprofits. Thanks for offering such a fun gift.
Rav ID: flowerdancer

February 26, 2011

Congratulations to both winners! I actually know Sara personally and that rarely happens but her number popped up today on my random number generator! How fun. I will contact you both through Ravelry to get your mailing addresses. The book will come directly from NYC to you via the publisher.

Thank you to everyone for entering and I will host another giveaway very soon.

Now I want to share a little about my class last weekend. It was such fun. I had an amazing group of talented knitters who were chatty and funny. I loved it. They were a complete joy. I even had a special young guest, Lindsay (above), who helped me draw names for the raffle prizes at the end of the class.
The group was very large so it took some planning to make sure everyone could see the technique demonstrations I was teaching.
As you can see Stitcher's Crossing has a beautiful and roomy classroom that is so well-lit and comfortable. The walls are adorned with gorgeous quilts which is an added bonus.
We made the Mice pattern from my upcoming book, Spud & Chloë at the Farm. Which is going to be available very, very soon in book shops and yarn shops and online.

Click here to see all of the Spud & Chloë at the Farm patterns on Ravelry!

Stitcher's Crossing has a list of pre-orders for the book and I will be signing them before they are shipped out or picked up. If you'd like a signed copy give them a call or send an email and I am more than happy to sign a copy just for you!

Click here for the shop's website!

Telephone number: 608 232 1500

Email: info@stitcherscrossing.com

I had students from Wisconsin (Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton, Green Bay-several hours away), Davenport, Iowa and Minneapolis, Minnesota! What an honor to have people drive for hours just to attend the class. That is very touching and deserves some recognition. Minneapolis is a 5 hour drive to Madison.
I also had some long time friends show up, Kelli, Anne and Susie! That is the biggest treat to have familiar faces come to your classes again and again. Anne is actually my neighbor and I taught her to knit many years ago. She took off with the knitting and has become a talented designer. It is comforting to have old friends around.
Here is Lil, my Minneapolis girl. She has an 8-month-old daughter (I got to see photos!) and a kind and patient husband who drove her and waited for her. The class ran a little long which isn't unusual for me. Being an old teacher I always over plan a bit.

Laura, who came from Davenport, Iowa, posted on her blog about the class today. Click here to see adorable Laura's finished mouse and review.
I had running demos going on throughout the class and I would call up small groups so people could see better. The knitters asked tons of questions and made demo requests which makes for a fun class.

Here are the techniques I demonstrated:

How to do the Twisted Loop stitch for making Spud and Little Lamb.

How to do face embroidery for toys (the most important part).

How to secure the embroidery floss for the faces in a hidden way.

How to sew on parts (mouse ears for this example).

How to stuff the toys.

We discussed poly-pellets and how to safely use them in knitted toy making.

Phew! As you can imagine the two hours sped by at lightning speed.
We had gifts, a trunk show, a big raffle and more. I loved every single minute of it. Mainly, I forgot how much I love to teach. I think it is one of my true callings and frankly, I miss it. There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I would like to be doing.

Thank you to Artisan Books (my publisher) for the beautiful printed patterns, blads and postcards. A special thanks to Trent for coordinating the goods for the class.

Thank you to Spud & Chloë/Blue Sky Alpacas for your generous gifts and raffle prizes!

A huge thank you to Stitcher's Crossing for hosting me and letting me teach such a fun group. The staff was so helpful and supportive. I LOVE this shop! Please support them with your orders. They carry the Spud & Chloë line and will get you anything you need, anytime. Gael does the yarn and knitting ordering along with Sharon (the owner) so please make any requests to them. They are a good and nice group at Stitcher's.

There was a waiting list long enough to fill another class easily so maybe I'll cook something up with Stitcher's again very soon! I'll keep you posted.

best, susie

p.s. I've still been getting a lot of requests for a kit to knit the entire book to make the complete farm set. I will be figuring out how much yarn you'll need in total to knit the whole book. Let me know if you are interested in doing this! Yarn shops will need to coordinate this with their customers so let your local shop know if you are planning on doing this project.