Vogue Knitting Live with Janet & Joy

January 19 was a cold and sunny day. We took the bus from Emmaus with Conversational Threads to Vogue Knitting Live at the Marriott on Times Square in New York City.

First, we stopped at the coat check and ditched our coats for the day. We arrived early—even before the market doors opened—but the market had overflowed into the lobby area, so we were able to start browsing right away.

The whole day was a mob scene of people wearing their creations, booths selling yarn and other sundries, fashions shows and glimpses of knits stars.

We saw designer Caitlin Hunter,

podcasters Eric Lutz of Sticks & Twine,

Miriam & Christina of The Chelsea Purls and

Melissa & Lisa of Espace Tricot,

fashion shows by Rowan and Koigu yarns, and

vendors including Dina from The Knitting Place and

Cindy from our own Conversational Threads .

We browsed, bought, ate, and drank in the day, enjoying every minute.

At festivals like this, some independent yarn dyers will dye a batch of yarn in an exclusive colorway, only available at that show. We purchased some yarn by Life in the Long Grass, a dyer from Ireland, in their special event colorway called Vogue.

2019 Charity Donations

January 20 Update: 

Thank you to everyone who knitted and donated baby hats and chemo caps at Knit Out. We are very grateful.

This year we received 152 baby hats this year,  a virtual rainbow of colors. The statistics by color: red hats (48), blue hats (22), green hats (22), yellow hats (19), brown hats (15), white hats (8), gray hats (8), orange hats (6), and purple hats (4). There are striped hats, solid hats, crocheted hats, knitted hats, gathered hats, lacy hats, fair isle hats, and, well, every imaginable hat. Here are some photos to illustrate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brookside Knits donates about 40 baby hats each month to the maternity ward at Pottstown Hospital.

Chemo caps are donated to the hospital as we receive them.  We try to find community groups in the Pottstown area to receive other donations.

January 10, 2019

Brookside Knits will once again collect charity donations at the upcoming Knit Out.

Baby Hat with 2019 lettering

2019 Charity Hats

 

Over the past twelve months, we have donated some 40 baby hats a month to the Pottstown Hospital’s maternity ward. That comes to nearly 500 a year, and a good part of those hats are your donations brought to the Knit out.

We enjoy knitting and donating special hats for holidays. If you were a bird on our shoulder, you would find colors change monthly. In addition to the classic baby pinks, blues, and yellows, you would find lots of green for spring and even more green for football season. 

Red is plentiful for baseball season as well as Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Orange pumpkins are possibly the most popular fall hats, and blues join in for patriotic holidays.

Donated baby hats should be soft and washable. They should not have pompoms or buttons that might harm a baby. They should be sized for preemies (4″ across) or newborns (5″ across).

We also collect chemo caps and Knitted Knockers to be donated to the cancer center.

You will find a basket (or two) for your donations as you enter the lobby. Drop them off as you’re waiting to check in. Thank you for caring!

A Fun Day at Rhinebeck!

It was a great day!

Crazy weather, sunny and warm, then cloudy and chilly and a ten-minute torrential downpour. Thank goodness we were in a building during the rain.

I met so many of the designers and podcasters I know. The designer of the sweater I made and wore, Caitlin Hunter, took my picture.

Everyone wore something they made. It was a great people watching day. We met many of our knitting friends throughout the day.

Among the most popular sweater patterns modeled today were the Zweig (my sweater), the Ninilchik, the Tecumseh, all colorwork sweaters. Colorwork hats were everywhere too. Beautiful creative pieces.

Brookside members pose and their friends pose for a picture after getting off the bus: Eileen, Theresa, Janet, Eileen, Joy, Kathy, Vicki after deboarding.

Brookside members and their friends: Eileen, Theresa, Janet, Eileen, Joy, Kathy, Vicki after getting off the bus.

Just an overall upbeat and exciting atmosphere. Craftsy people are just the best!

I bought very little, one gradient yarn pack for the yoke of a sweater and a large project bag from Nancy at Tika Bags. But just looking at all the yarn was so interesting. I did splurge and had a hot apple cider donut and then later a cold fresh apple cider. Yum!

The animals–all varieties of sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats–were wonderful. One llama was very friendly and liked having a selfie taken with him. He kissed Joy’s cheek while she was taking a selfie. All such beautiful sweet animals that give us fiber for our craft.

Just had to share my thoughts on this memorable experience. One of my highlights. Rhinebeck is tops for me!

Thanks again to Conversational Threads for a most enjoyable bus trip.

Janet Kakareka contributed this article about her experience at the 2018 New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.

Saturday, January 19, 2019 Save The Date!

The 15th Annual Pottstown Knit Out will be held at Brookside Country Club in Pottstown, PA on Saturday, January 19, 2019.

Please make sure you are on our mailing list:

info@www.pottstownknitout.com

We’re looking forward to another wonderful day of knitting with friends, learning new skills, and raising money for charity!

(Please do not contact the club for Knit Out-related questions.)

Brookside Knits Goes to the Library

Brookside Knits went to the library for World Wide Knit-in-Public Day.

Five members–Sandi, Janet, Carol, Laura & Beth–each spent several hours at the Pottstown Regional Public Library. They were joined by members of the public, the library staff, and the Friends of the Library. Visitors asked about knitting groups in the area and how to learn to knit.

Beth, Winnie, Carolyn & Laura at the Pottstown library

Carol, Laura, Janet at the Pottstown library

Sitting around the table, members and visitors worked on small knitting projects, exchanged ideas for new projects and yarns, and talked about upcoming events and what they were knitting. Projects included a prayer shawl, socks, shawls, baby hats, and a sweater.  We had a grand time and are looking forward to 2019.

Supporting our Vendors

We are so very fortunate to have such wonderful vendors for the Pottstown KnitOut. Each and every year they bring a vast variety of yarn and knitting supplies. The owners and others who work their tables are always knowledgeable and very friendly and helpful.

If you would like to continue to support our vendors during the rest of the year, they can be reached through their shop websites or Etsy shops. The right-hand column of this page provides links  to most of our vendors.

We would also like to thank Alyssa and Ed from the Center for Alternative Therapies for volunteering their services at the Knit Out.

Glimpses of Your Knitting

Glimpses of the 2018 Knit Out

This year’s Knit Out filled the senses.

The sounds of friends sharing their projects, the new ideas and skills they learned in workshops, and their memories and plans.

The smell of coffee in the morning and the taste of grilled chicken, crispy salads, and hot soup at lunch.

The sights of works-in-progress and finished works, your projects and your neighbors’. All sorts of crafts–knitting, yes, but also crocheting, beading, punching, quilting. Modular shawls, mitered afghans, pieced works, lace stitches, fair isle patterns, cabled cowls, fuzzy pompoms, textures and colors of all sorts.

The feeling of awe as we watched Show and Share. One such piece was the beautiful Faroe Island-style shawl above, knit in one piece with a center, back panel and wings that spread out like a snow angel. Small pattern adjustments allowed the shawl to stay in place at the shoulders.

We are putting together a slide show for you all to enjoy of glimpses of your work and ours.

No Swap Table This Year

To make room for additional vendors, there will be NO swap table this year. Old yarn may be taken to Salvation Army stores, Liberty Thrift, and other thrift shops.

What we WILL have this year is room for one new vendor, room for a second massage therapist, and a table and podium layout that will make it easier to hear announcements and Show and Share.