n yn Upcoming Meeting Dates Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Wednesday, January 15, 2014 Wednesday, February 19, 2014 Location Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave. NW corner of St. George St. and Sussex Ave. on the University of Toronto campus. TTC Access Five-minute walk south from St. George subway station. Parking available at several nearby locations. Meeting Time: 7:30 p.m. Doors Open: 6:45 p.m. Admission fashion show is free to all in December All Downtown Knit Collective meetings, functions and events are governed by the Rules of Conduct as determined by the Executive. To read a copy of the Rules, please visit www.downtownknitcollective.ca/dkc_conduct.html December 11: Work of our Hands The annual Fashion Show is a guild tradition. This is the meeting when members get to strut their stuff– showing off their fabulous knitted and crocheted garments. And what an exhibition of talent it is. Dozens of members will model fabulous vintage, traditional or modern sweaters, skirts, shawls and accessories for us to admire. This is the time when we showcase ourselves, the knitters, at our annual Work of Our Hands Fashion Show. It will blow you away! Come cheer on your fellow knitters and admire their creativity and technical skills. Then stay on to nibble sweets and drink holiday cheer at our fashion celebration. As always, the December meeting is free to all, so bring friends and family along. January Meeting Preview Our January guest speaker is someone who is probably familiar to most Toronto knitters– Jonathon Leonard of Romni Wools. You may not know that Jonathon is also an experienced spinner, as well as a yarn store owner. He’s going to talk to the guild about yarn construction. February Meeting Preview Our ever-popular Skills Exchange Mini Workshops will take place in deepest, darkest February– a fun, social meeting where new skills are learned and new friends made. We’re looking for instructors, so if you have a simple technique that can be taught in about 10 minutes, please contact Catherine Osborne, our Programming Coordinator: [email protected]Dedicated to advancing the art of knitting through the sharing of ideas and techniques, education and community involvement VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2013 official publication of the downtown knit collective
Transcript
kni"ingyarnsUpcoming Meeting Dates
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Location
Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave.
NW corner of St. George St.
and Sussex Ave.
on the University of Toronto campus.
TTC Access
Five-minute walk south from
St. George subway station.
Parking available at several nearby locations.
Meeting Time: 7:30 p.m.
Doors Open: 6:45 p.m.
Admission
fashion show is
free to all in December
All Downtown Knit Collective meetings, functions and eventsare governed by the Rules of Conduct
as determined by the Executive. To read a copy of the Rules, please visit
www.downtownknitcollective.ca/dkc_conduct.html
December 11: Work of our HandsThe annual Fashion Show is a guild tradition. This is themeeting when members get to strut their stuff– showingoff their fabulous knitted and crocheted garments. Andwhat an exhibition of talent it is. Dozens of members willmodel fabulous vintage, traditional or modern sweaters,skirts, shawls and accessories for us to admire. This is thetime when we showcase ourselves, the knitters, at ourannual Work of Our Hands Fashion Show. It will blow youaway!
Come cheer on your fellow knitters and admire theircreativity and technical skills. Then stay on to nibblesweets and drink holiday cheer at our fashion celebration.As always, the December meeting is free to all, so bringfriends and family along.
January Meeting PreviewOur January guest speaker is someone who is probablyfamiliar to most Toronto knitters– Jonathon Leonard ofRomni Wools. You may not know that Jonathon is also anexperienced spinner, as well as a yarn store owner. He’sgoing to talk to the guild about yarn construction.
February Meeting PreviewOur ever-popular Skills Exchange Mini Workshops will takeplace in deepest, darkest February– a fun, social meetingwhere new skills are learned and new friends made.
We’re looking for instructors, so if you have a simpletechnique that can be taught in about 10 minutes, pleasecontact Catherine Osborne, our Programming Coordinator:[email protected]
Dedicated to advancing the art of knitting through the sharing of ideas and techniques, education and community involvement
VOLUME 18 • ISSUE 4DECEMBER 2013
o f f i c i a l p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e d o w n t o w n k n i t c o l l e c t i v e
We were pretty much at capacity forthe November meeting, with closeto 130 knitters in attendance(including six visitors). Lots of greatraffle prizes were available, thanksto the generosity of our five yarnshop owners.
AnnouncementsThe annual Fashion Show will beon December 11, because the weekafter is just too close to theholidays. We are always looking forvolunteers to help out with theshow.
Opinions on a name change for theguild is being put out there to themembership– if you have anopinion, by all means let us know.We’ll be making a decision in thenew year (January or February).
RaffleA Fleece Artist thrum mitten kitfrom Linda’s Craftique was won byFay McKenzie. A flowered projectbag from Ewe Knit was won by JuneMurray-Lum. A Purple Purl gift bagwith two skeins of Turtlepurl yarnwas won by Janet Hilson. A Deniseneedle set from Mary’s Yarn waswon by Barb Aikman.
Show & TellPat showed the same sock done inthree distinctive colourways. All herfamily has fallen in love with them.She knits them with a solid andvariegated yarn to give them a good“snap.” The pattern is calledWallflower (from Twist Collective),but she’s not sure why. It’s hard tomiss them!
Julia thanked everyone whoparticipated in Stash of the Centurysale, which raised over $4000 forcharity. Considering the yarn allcost $1 and $2, that’s really sayingsomething. She then showed babyblanket made for a neighbour withpurple, teal and yellow diamond-shaped squares. She also showed aRiver Maiden zig-zag patterned stolein lace and short rows, using bright
red merino silk, beautifullydesigned.
Trish showed an intentional colourpooled scarf last month, and thismonth showed three more– she istruly addicted! She also made a niceplain grey scarf so she doesn’t gocompletely insane.
Past guest speaker Carla Canonicodropped in to show three sweaters:a cabled white one made for herdaughter with v-shaped cablesdown the front (no pasta eating isallowed when the sweater is worn).With the leftovers, she made an owlsweater, using grey alpaca at theyoke for the owls. Her husbandwanted Aran sweater so she madehim choose a pattern. It took him amonth to choose, and then a yearto knit. Well worth the effort– allthree were stunning.
Sammy (the self-described “Latvianmitten lady”) also enjoys theknitting traditions of othernationalities. She recentlycompleted a scarf covered withextra-large Estonian knupps. Shealso showed two bags with intricatepatterns, one of which had largemitten thumbs all over the bottom.She hates doing thumbs, so did it asan exercise in self-discipline.
Raili showed beautiful socks madefrom a pattern she picked up inEstonia. She also had a small, brightred scarf made with the mostexpensive yarn she’s everused– $96. Yes, it was Quivut.
Holly showed an infinity scarf madefrom yarn that came with flowersfelted right into it. She wasn’t ableto block it large enough to fitaround her shoulders, but it doeswork as a cowl. She also showed abutton technique she invented thatdoesn’t require a button hole.Instead of a thread shank, she uses abead as a spacer. It works almostlike a cufflink, laying flat on a bulkysweater without stretching.
Yarn Store Panel: Living the DreamWe welcomed a group of five yarnstore owners to our Decembermeeting: Mary Cullen and herdaughter Lynn from Mary’s Yarns inUnionville, Linda Benne of Linda’sCraftique in Port Credit (which justcelebrated its 30th anniversary),Miko Schechter of the Purple Purl inLeslieville, and Claudia Quintanillaof EweKnit in Mirvish Village. Theguests sat in a semi-circle and hadan informal chat with moderatorCatherine Osborne about the upsand downs of the yarn business.
What makes your store special?
Claudia: Our knitting supplies,crochet supplies, and we’ve juststarted to carry fabric supplies forquilting in the last few months.Linda: Space is a luxury I really
appreciate. There’s lots of room tohave people in to knit. I call it“Linda’s home for waywardknitters”.Miko: Our stock has evolved over
the years. It’s tripled. We have asmall café component and adedicated centre for just hangingout and knitting. We featureprimarily natural fibres and areproud of our “Canadian content”component, as well as carryingfavourites like Noro and Debbie.Mary: We’re in an old house
(1876) and the whole main floor isyarn. Each room has a differenttheme (baby, natural fibres). Wehave a Wal-Mart and Michaels nextdoor, so we try to keep popularyarns in stock. We also sell eggs onthe porch from our chickens.
Do you have advice for those who arethinking of opening a yarn shop?
Claudia: There’s a lot ofpaperwork, accounting, andworking on the website. You haveto learn to deal with all thesethings. It’s more work than Iexpected, but a lot of beautifulthings have happened.
cont inued on next page ➡
Highlights of the November Meeting by Heather Brady
Spun Studio our textile studio is Sistering’ s newestsocial enterprise program. Involvement in the studiobuilds community, a sense of belonging as well asincreased self worth and self esteem offering womentraining in sewing, knitting, weaving and microbusiness development.
How can you help? Bring a donation of yarn,needles, fabrics, etc. to our December 11th meetingand we will ensure that the materials get deliveredto Spun Studio, Just a small way for the DKC toshow our support.
For more information about Sistering and SpunStudio, please contact: [email protected]
December is the Month of Giving
Miko: Accept that “the dream”(sitting and knitting all day) is notnecessarily the reality. There areobviously a million perks, but thereis a lot of organizational stuff thatgoes on on the side. Did I ever wantto know about accounting? No! DidI want to sit and touch yarn all day?Yes! There’s been more of a learningcurve, but it’s been a greatexperience. It’s still the best thingI’ve ever done. Find your ownpassion and define it.Linda: Be prepared for a lot of
hard work, a lot of joy, and VERYlittle money (at first). I slungburgers for the first few years tomake ends meet, but would notgive up those days for the world.Lynn: You need to love the
public– that’s something you haveto keep in mind. There’s tons ofcustomer service and interaction.
What are some of the other challengeswith running a business?
Linda: Inventory control. There’sa very fine line between not enoughand too much. If you’ve got toomuch, you’ve got to pay for it andit sits there. This is my biggestchallenge. You often feel that you’retwo balls short of any amount thata customer needs.Miko: Shipments. Since so many
products come from outside
Canada, duty on any package canbe overwhelming, and change fromorder to order. You have to run aconsistent price in the store, but itcan change from day to day at theborder. Discontinued yarns are alsoa cause of heartache. We don’toften get much (or any) notice.Claudia: Yes, the US sells cheaper,
the internet sells cheaper– this is ahuge challenge. You have to be fairto the buyer and try to offer thebest prices you can, but it can behard to compete. I’ve been trying tostock more products that aren’tavailable online.
How do you decide what yarns tocarry?
Linda: For me, it has to benatural. I have to like the way itlooks and feels. Then I smell it– Ihave to like the smell. I would tasteit if I could! I try to take coloursfrom every quadrant of the wheel toappeal to everybody, without toomuch duplication. You want varietyand new things, but if you’re filledwith staples there won’t be muchroom for new stuff.Claudia: I have to fall in love with
it in order to stock it. I try to have arange of expensive to cheap: some$40 a ball, some $8 a ball. I want toappeal to everyone but still havequality.
Lynn: With our competition fromMichaels and Wal-Mart, we have tokeep those customers in mind. Wedo have an “acrylic crowd” and wetry to appeal to them as well ascarrying the higher-end fibres.
What’s the best part about owning ayarn shop?
Miko: Being a part of thecommunity. Little babies that tooktheir first steps in the shop are nowlearning to knit and feelingcomfortable with the store and thetools. It’s exciting to see.Claudia: Seeing generations come
together to the store. Grandmother,mother, grandchildren, all choosingyarn together. I just enjoy lookingat yarn and stay even after the storeis closed, choosing things,organizing things, touching yarn.Linda: The best thing about my
store is getting up every morningand wanting to go to work. It’salways been like that. Not just formonetary rewards, but for the“other” rewards. I go to work sickwith a mask on and a bottle ofPurell, and a warning sign on thedoor. It never occurs to me not togo to work.
We’d like to thank our panelists forsharing their insights with us! It wasa lively and fun discussion.
TMC Members Holiday SaleTucked away on the secondfloor of the Textile Museum ofCanada, the Museum Shop is amarketplace of both new andtraditional textiles from aroundthe world. The shelves houseoriginal works by over 50Canadian artisans. FromDecember 1-24, the TMC isholding is annual Holiday Sale.Museum members receive anadditional 10% off regular-pricedmerchandise. 55 Centre Ave.,Toronto.
Knitter’s Frolic 2014Mark your calendars–planningfor next year’s Frolic is alreadywell underway. It will take placeApril 26-27, 2014 at theJapanese Canadian CulturalCentre. Our keynote instructorthis year is internationallyrenowned teacher, author andknitwear designer CandaceEisner Strick.
ss3k: slip as if to knit, slip as if to knit, return the 2 slipped stitches to lefthand needle in reverse order, k3tog. (left dominant, centred doubledecrease)
alternative to sl1– k2tog– psso: sl 2 sts as if to k2tog, sl 1 as if to knit , andk3tog (right dominant, centred double decrease)
Source: Barbara Walker, A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.
