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| Welcome to Penns Valley Knitters |
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Penns Valley Area Knitters (A Time of Knitting, Sharing, Learning, Chatting, Making Friends)
World Wide Knit in Public Day
Two locations will host this fun event on Saturday, June 13. Feel free to stop by one of them and join in the fun.
-- The Central Parklet, 241 S. Fraser St., State College, PA (near Schlow Memorial Library and The State College Borough Building) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Please feel free to bring along a chair,lunch/beverage and knitting/crocheting projects. RAIN OR SHINE -- If needed, bring rain gear. More information: Email Deb at der4@psu.edu or check the Centre Knitters' Guild website at www.centreknittersguild.com
-- Mad About Ewes, 429 Market St., Lewisburg from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring along your knitting/crocheting/whatever out on the sidewalk in front of the shop. Don't forget your chair!
In case of rain the event will be held inside the shop. Also, there is a restroom on the premises, and plenty of coffee shops/restaurants nearby. You can also brown bag a lunch if you’d like. For more information, call Libby at 570-524-5775.
Who Are We? The Penns Valley Area Knitters is a fun group of knitters of a variety of ages and skills levels from Centre and Mifflin counties. Everyone from anywhere is welcome. Visiting the area, check and see if we have a meeting. Feel welcome to stop by a knit night. Want to learn to knit...come to a meeting and someone will gladly help you get started. We love new knitters!! For more information please call Kim at 814-777-3190. We meet the second and fourth Thursdays of each month (except for holidays) from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Centre Hall Community Library (except for a few special occasions). The library is located at 109 W. Beryl Street. Please check the current monthly meeting calendar posted below. The Penns Valley Area Knitters, established in 2005, promotes interest and skill in the art of knitting, encourages high standards of quality and workmanship, and encourages the use of those skills for the benefit of others. Membership is open to all skill levels and geographic locations. This is a great place to get help with a pattern, learn to knit socks, lace shawls, blankets, sweaters, hats, mittens, scarves; to ooohhh and aaahhh over each other's knitting and just have a good time. Meeting Dates and Times: In case of inclement weather (snow or ice), please call Kim at 814-777-3190 to make sure we are meeting. May 28 -- 6 to 8 p.m. in Centre Hall Community Library June 11 -- 6 to 8 p.m. in Centre Hall Community Library June 25 -- 6 to 8 p.m. in Centre Hall Community Library THANK YOU!! The bus trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was a HUGE success. The 54 people who made the trip on May 2, 2009 had lots of fun, enjoyed meeting new knitters, crocheters, spinners and weavers and came home tired but happy. The Penns Valley Area Knitters appreciate your participation...some had such a good time they have already signed up for the bus next May. They enjoyed their browned-bag breakfasts and goodie bags which held a skein of yarn donated by Molly the owner of Knitters Underground in Centre Hall, packs of Soak Wash donated by that company, beaded row markers made by Billie Mazza and Kim Bierly, a $5 gift certificate from Knitter's Dream in Harrisburg, and a pack of M&M's. A special twist this year (and hopefully a trend for years to come) was the awarding of 20 door prizes to people whose names were pulled out of a shopping bag. This could not have happened without the generosity of the following people: Door Prize Donors * $25 gift certificate from Mad About Ewes in Lewisburg * gift certificate for a pair of FunSpecs glasses * gift certificate for a pair of clear clogs from Knitters Dream in Harrisburg
* skein of Sockotta summer sock yarn from Kim Bierly
* a $10 gift card donated by Ben Franklin store in Muncy
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| Knitting Group Meetings/Other Knitting Events | Adding Fun | ||
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A Knitting Retreat Anne graciously invited the Penns Valley Knitters to a Sunday afternoon retreat at Inn on the Sky. The day was sunny and crisp and we were greeted with a fire in the fireplace, hot cider (yum!), great food that everyone brought to share and lots of good laughs, fun, singing and oh yes, some knitting too! A big Thank You to Anne for again hosting us...we can't wait to return.
Billie offered to teach a Moebius Scarf class and she didn't lack for students! Knitters, are clockwise from bottom left -- Deb, Anne, Billie, Edie, Virginia, Karen, Linda and Misty.
The afternoon snacks were good. From left, Anna Marie, Tina and Carol try apples and pumpkin dip...perfect on an Autumn afternoon.
A view of Penns Valley from the deck of the Inn At a recent meeting, a Dulcimer group was at the library, and knowing in advance that the knitters would be on hand knitting and purling, they wrote a special song for the occasion...of course we sang it at the retreat. For those who want to sing along as they knit, here is "Our Song"... The Knitters Song (Sung to the tune of "Will the Circle be Unbroken") Chorus: May your circle be unbroken; And may all your friendships thrive; As you knitand join together; All the stories of your lives. First Verse: Pick your yarn and choose your needles; Have your project all planned out; Check your gauge and make a sample; For great results without a doubt Second Verse: Are your needles fat or skinny?; Are they plastic, steel or wood?; Is your yarn made of sheep's wool?; Would you spin it if you could? Third Verse: I was thinking, it was autumn; And what can I knit for you; All those stitches I can choose from; Cable, Garter, Popcorn too Fourth Verse: Cast on your stitches and get started; Read that pattern one more time; Just like magic watch your creation; As it lengthens line by line
Support Your Local Yarn Shop! |
Knitting Group Meetings Mondays -- 6 to 8 p.m. -- Cool Beans Cafe, 141 W. High St., Bellefonte, PA Tuesdays -- 1 to 5 p.m. -- Mad About Ewes, 429 Market St., Lewisburg, PA Wednesdays beginning in June -- Hufnagle Park, Lewisburg, PA. Bring your lawn chair, snack and knitting. Knit while you listen to great music. Watch this space for time and more information. Fiber Festivals/Events: Sept. 12 and 13 -- Pennsylvania Endless Mountains Fiber Festival, Harford County Fairgrounds, located one mile off I-80 near Scranton, PA. Check out the website at: http://www.pafiberfestival.com/ Over 100 vendors of yarns, clothing, fiber arts and crafts, spinning and weaving supplies will be on hand. Additionally, there will be other exhibitors, animals, workshops and demonstrations. Show times are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 12 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 13. Admission is $3 per person for those over 12 years of age. Sept. 25 and 26 -- The 24th annual Knitters' Day Out at the Central Pennsylvania College, located five miles west of Harrisburg, PA in Summerdale, PA. Check out the website at: www.knittersdayout.org There is a registration fee which includes classes. Additionally vendors fill the marketplace, lunch is available and plenty of time to make new knitting friends. This year's theme is "Knitting Friendships Together." Oct. 3 and 4 -- Vermont Fiber Festival. Check out the website at: www.vermontsheep.org/festival.html Oct. 17 and 18 -- New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at the Duchess County Fairgrounds, Rhinebeck, NY. Show times are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 17 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 18. Admission is $12 per day. Check out the website at: www.sheepandwool.com Lots of fun including livestock, vendors, workshops, sheep dog trials, Llama and Alpaca farm displays, childrens' activities, a petting zoo and a variety of demonstrations. Oct. 22 to 25 -- STITCHES East, Hartford, CT Convention Center. A new location this year. For more information and to register for classes check the website at: www.KnittingUniverse.com/EVENTS Looking for fun knitting events? Ever wonder how to find the fun knitting events in the U.S. (and a few more distant places, too)? Knitters Review, an online knitting forum is a terrific site and has a listing for each month of the year. There are website links to knitting events, fiber festivals, cruises, knit out, retreats...you name it, the information is there. If you want to plan a special fiber related event for yourself for 2009, check out this site: http://www.knittersreview.com/upcoming_events_09.asp Knitting Websites The following links may not be clickable and might need to be copied and pasted into your web brower for access. Great knitting websites...some informations and many with free patterns: http://www.dnt-inc.com/barhtmls/knittech.html -- good knitting technique site -- nice for beginners and those who need a reminder http://hipknitism.com/classes/basic_ribbed_socks/lesson4.shtml -- free sock knitting class/instructions http://www.interweave.com/knit/interweave_knits/web_projects/Better_Than_Bootie.pdf -- great baby booties (but better) on this site from Interweave Knits http://www.knittingzone.com/sock_challenge/challenge.pdf -- this is a free sock pattern book online http://www.knittingonthenet.com/socks.htm -- free patterns for socks and slippers www.knittingpatterncentral.com http://www.spunkyhats.com/boogie_freepatterns_socklinks.htm -- this is a GREAT sock pattern site http://lovetobikeandknit.blogspot.com/2006/05/rectangular-shawl-patterns.html -- don't let the name fool you...there are links to awesome shawl patterns on this site...some are free patterns! Some fun blogs: http://wendyknits.net/ -- one of THE premiere blogs for knitting http://www.theloopyewe.com/sheri/ http://roberta.typepad.com/robknits/ http://sock-crazy.blogspot.com http://www.rosieblogs.blogspot.com/
Alpacas at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival |
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| We're In the Newspaper | |||
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We're In the Newspaper!!!!
Sat, Sep. 23, 2006 -- Centre Daily Times Friendships, fabrics formed at knitting club A renewed interest in crafts is sweeping the nation. Perhaps the desire to knit, quilt, or sew can be chalked up to a desire to get back to simpler pastimes, or maybe it can be traced to the domestic influence of Martha Stewart. Whatever its origin, infectious nature of the crafts bug is nowhere more evident than in the group of women who meet bi-monthly at the Centre Hall Community Library to knit. Unlike the popular perception of a knitting circle as a group of ancient ladies stitching on lap robes and sipping tepid tea, the membership of the Penns Valley Knitters represents a wide range of ages and knitting ability. And the group is quite a bit more raucous than you'd expect people who rely on the good nature of the librarian on duty to be. Between bursts of laughter and some good-natured ribbing, talk swings from patterns and stitches, to family updates, to who's hot on "Grey's Anatomy." "It's not your grandmother's knitting group," says Lori Corman, of The group was founded by Kim Bierly early in 2005. Not a guild or a formally organized the club, the group members don't pay dues to belong, they simply show up at the library on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. "It's a social time too, and that makes it nice," Bierly says. Most everyone is there because they knew someone else who was joining the group. "One person brings a person who brings another person and so on," Bierly says. For friends Jeanie Wiker, of Millheim, and Chris Doren, of State College, the twice monthly meetings in Centre Hall offer a chance to get together at a midway point between their two homes. Tina Dix and Freya Phillips go horseback riding together during the summer and fall. The Penns Valley Knitters gives them something to do in the colder months. "We needed something to keep us off the streets in the winter," Phillips says jokingly. Part social club, part crafters' support group, the knitters trade ideas and help each other out on projects. Like several knitters in the group, Corman only recently took up the craft. Others are coming back to the hobby after taking several years off. Billy Mazza, a retired educator from Lewistown who now works at the yarn shop in Centre Hall, is the group's go-to woman for advice. A shout of "Billy 911" sends Mazza around the table to inspect and correct another knitter's stitch. What everyone in the group seems to have in common is an inability to sit still, which explains in part why they took up the hobby. Everyone in the group confesses to knitting while watching television. Barbara Penstone admits to knitting on car rides and at hockey games. When asked to explain the allure of the craft, she says "It's an artistic outlet." So much practice has caused the knitters to quickly outgrow the furry and fuzzy novelty yarns that are common in craft supply stores. The rarer and more expensive Peruvian and Alpaca tweeds have their attention now. As their knowledge of stitches grows, their knowledge of wool and the regions where it comes from grows, too. "People start looking at sheep instead of puppies," Penstone says. It's probably unlikely that any of the Penns Valley Knitters are going to turn to sheep farming to supply their yarn habit, but Bierly hopes the group continues to grow and bring new knitters into the fold. | |||
| All Content provided by Kim Bierly | |||
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