Knitting on a rainy day in Orewa

Once again we met, we shared, we laughed and we knat!  Some amazing work being done - welcome to Heather and Helen who both returned after a break, and thanks so much to Barbara D and Mary for sharing some of their 'stash' - such excitement.
Wee Blake has been sick so was not with us this week - hopefully he'll be back on board for our class next week.  Melissa and Jonty knitted up a storm - Jonty is now vocalising and made us very aware of his opinions on our work - as any 11 week old will (!).

Have a look at the latest article on Suite 101 - guess who wrote it!

And yes, the message is there - can you guess what I am planning for 2012?
http://jennifer-kipfer.suite101.com/knitting-a-new-yarn-a392104

Term 3 has started

Hi all, and welcome to this term - a very warm welcome to Heather, who is 'new'.  It was wonderful to see Natasha and her beautiful new baby boy for a visit and a cuddle too.

There are some wonderful ideas for our pipes and tubes installation at Kaipara in October, with some people already starting work.  The idea is to use plastic plumbing pipes as a base for covers which incorporate knitting in some way, but that represent us and/or our places in our communities.  Each person may prefer to do one pipe, or to work with a group. The pipes come in a range of sizes and we are sourcing these now.  More about this as we progress.  It would be great to include examples from other communities around NZ - let me know if you are interested at kipfers@xtra.co.nz

The Monday morning group at the old Northcote Point War Memorial Hall in North Shore is building momentum.  10.30am to 12.30pm each Monday.  Everyone welcome.

And we're up and running again!

Hi all
Abject apologies to those who turned up last week - I thought I'd managed to communicate to everyone.  We are DEFINITELY starting classes this week.  I have already started down at the old war memorial hall in Northcote Point on the North Shore - Mondays 10.30am, if you want to join us.  Lots of fun and laughs.  Just starting, and we are looking to spin some new groups off from this one.

Orewa groups are raring to go.  We will be discussing the new installation for the Kaipara Sculpture Gardens, and the rest of term 3 - I will add the course outline here.  Lots of fun coming here soon!

Oh, and if you want to learn to crochet, or to take your crocheting to the next level, just let me know - there's a small group starting to meet semi-regularly on a Friday morning at the Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa.

Watch this space for news of some kids sessions through primary schools soon.  :)

Politics of yarnbombing!

Sir Ed's scarf has disappeared already.  Such a shame - but I long ago realised that liberating yarn bombing meant that it didn't belong to me any more.  Some people just need to connect with a piece in a much more personal way - hopefully it's gone to a good home!

Yarnbombing in Orewa

Today is International YarnBombing day 2011.  Look what happened at Hillary Square in Orewa!!

Knitting Socks and sharing ideas

Today's lesson centred round the knitting of socks.  Christine is starting to knit using 2 needles - if the pattern works out, we'll all try.  The rest of those who wanted to have started to knit a sock on 4 double pointed needles - dpns.  Much fun, awkwardness and, finally some progress.
We looked over some very old pattern books and laughed at the range of items to knit - anyone for long johns? Knee warmers?  How about a balaclava for those chilly nights?
Barbara D is making wonderful progress with the big chair - she has really struggled with a poorly-written pattern, but now has adapted it to her own version and it is growing fast.  Mary G returned again and is finished with hats - for now!  She is knitting an exquisite red cardigan.  Jennie's producing a range of children's vests and Jan M has finished her pansy-covered tea cosy.  I thought I had taken a photo of that and of Natasha's petal tea cosy tonight, but they have not appeared on my camera!  However I have a couple of great pictures - Robyn's felted handbag is gorgeous, and the second photo is of Natasha - not long ago a very inexperienced knitter and crocheter - teaching Elona how to make a starfish for one of the exhibition exhibits!  Exciting.
Dale is continuing with her little crocheted cotton 'pots' and has also made a beautiful pink, flower embellished headband.  Robyn has produced yet more quirky canvasses about knitting - we all love her take on things!
Next week's class will include a walk around of the newly installed exhibition, and a lesson in hyperbolic crochet as we will be adding pieces to Seagardens Aotearoa.

Getting exciting now!

Our exhibition is starting to create a buzz!  Estuary Art Centre's new Administration Co-ordinator, Debra, has invigorated the website and already we are starting to get new people for the classes, while I got a call from one of the Centre's volunteers today to book in for a guided look at Knitcetera towards the end of the month.  The Orewa Girl Guides are also coming through. I am compiling the calendar of workshops and we will be having some fun!  Jennie Eade will take a freeform bagmaking class, Sharleen Greer will be teaching crochet to people who want to take their work to a more advanced level, while I will do sessions on hyperbolic crochet - the Seagardens Aotearoa installation will form part of our exhibition.  Sian and I will be taking a "High tea at the Estuary" session, knitting cakes and sandwiches, and I'll also present Tunisian knitting and flowermaking workshops.  There may be more!

Worldwide Knit in Public - KIP

Click here to find a KIP near you on the worldwide website.  We are there for Saturday 18th June this year.  :)

Knitting in the round sessions

We had some fun with this - all agreed that the 4- double pointed needle (dpns) option is the best.  The circular needles are awkward, especially if you have one of the more inflexible types.  Number one tip: ALWAYS be extremely careful not to twist the work as you join it.  Once the initial join is made, then you can do what you like, it will just push back to the right way round.
Robyn brought a whole bag of incredible additions for the exhibition.  Today's other photo is of Trudi's work-in-progress - a miniature table & chair.  Gorgeous!

Back with a hiss and a roar!!

What an amazing lot of talent!  We brought together quite a few of the items we have crafted towards the exhibition today.  WOW!!!  Check out the new photos here.  It's a great big countdown now, looking at the publicity as well...  More here soon.
Elaine's wee sock birds are exquisite and we now have a basketful.  Edith is back with a vengeance, bringing shells, sea creatures and veges!  I need to take a lot more photos - will do that later in the week.

Lesson 10 - final for term 1

Although this is the final class for term one, we are continuing in the school holidays - I will be welcoming any and all knitters/crocheters to my home at 1/60 Riverside Road in Orewa all day and evening both Wednesdays.  Please park in the 'Students carparking' area just past the roundabout coming from the beach - we are the second house past that - with the wooden fence.
Patrick is on standby to man the coffee machine!
Today's sessions were even more inspiring, if you can believe it!  Scroll down to see the new photos.
On 11th May - the 2nd class of term 2 - we will be bringing all the work we have completed so far to do a stocktake of all the little details we need to to finish, take some photos for the booklet, and generally start the countdown in earnest.  I am not the least bit stressed ... yet!

We talked today about a range of things - what we will do after the exhibition (!), and all sorts of great ideas for Knitcetera as an entity.  See more about this later.  I think we have enough to do at the moment - although I have a LOT of ideas up my sleeve.

The scarf most people are contributing to is growing by the week - Sian estimates we have around 30 metres to date - fantastic.  It is truly a piece of art, with many different stitches, colours, textures, embellishments - a real joy.  After the exhibition we will review what it can be made into for the future.  Some suggestions are: parts can be made into scarves for wearing.  We can sew them together to make blankets, we can display it elsewhere.  Who knows - we may come to a community centre or school near you.

We have enough leaves for the pohutukawa tree, thanks - I never thought I'd be saying that!  The main things we are concentrating on now are fishy things, and insects.  Oh, and that reminds me - have heard from Glenys - Seagardens Aotearoa is DEFINITELY going to be part of Knitcetera - so exciting!

Lesson 8 - continuing

Once again, I am amazed at the diligence and ability in these classes.  We are well on our way to having a wonderful exhibition.  Counting down now - I am putting together a list of workshops to advertise for the daytimes during the exhibition, and we are all purposefully working towards our 'to do' list.
Keep those flowers coming - remember now, if you are making i-cord stems to have wire inserted so they can stand up in the 'garden' you need to cast on 5 stitches, so the opening is wide enough.
We are STILL waiting delivery of the bugs and insects book from Amazon, as is the library!  In the meantime, keep up the leaves, flowers and other things.  Sian's praying mantis is looking amazing, and we have ladybird, butterfly, caterpillar and bee patterns if you want them.
A couple of new photos today - we did a little bit of yarnbombing outside the education room.  A lovely scene, with the Estuary, the Tai Chi class and the 'dressed' trees - (just a pity about the ugly prefabs next door).

More connections discovered tonight - we all know someone...  scarey.  Lovely fun and laughter - keep it up.

The Course

Although each course is different as it is an organic thing - evolving and changing in response to the individual needs of the people who attend, this is the basic outline I have designed for term 1, 2011.

The main focus for each session is in bold. This is intended as a basic outline - session content may vary depending on individual needs of preferences.

Lesson 1: Welcome and introductions. Outline course and exhibition. Report on progress to date. Copyright. Video clips - knitting; yarnbombing; knitting as art. Floor plan of the Art Centre and overview of ideas to date for the June exhibition.

Lesson 2: Recycling. Using t-shirts, plarn (plastic yarn we will make using plastic shopping bags) and other reusable fibres. Sharing ideas for additions to the exhibition, we will fill in a table of who will do what, where and when. A guide only - this needs to be fun, not work!

Lesson 3: Intarsia & Fairisle. An explanation using examples of the difference. Making our own pictures - designs using graph paper. Trial samples, including gauge samples. Ideas for the future.

Lesson 4: Crochet & Tunisian Knitting. How to. Examples. 'Seagardens Aotearoa'. Review of progress to date. Using various tools, sizes and variations. Finding your comfort zone. Right and left-handed work.

Lesson 5: Flowers, stems, brooches. Other embellishments. i-cord. French knitting. size variations. A range of fibres and materials.

Lesson 6: Scarves. From easy to very complicated - crochet, circular needles, etc. Chevron, ribs, moebius, cables, entrelac.

Lesson 7: Joining pieces. UFOs - unfinished objects. (Everyone has them!) Various methods. Overview of progress towards exhibition. Finalised timeline.

Lesson 8: Double-up and other 'different' forms of knitting. A bit of fun. Also, yarn bombing/storming in the Western Reserve - an expedition. Also, start to record vignettes of finished work for the exhibition.

Lesson 9: Easter patterns. Because we can! Chicks, eggs, etc. Show and tell re exhibition pieces. Identify gaps.

Lesson 19: Final session for term 1. A wrap up and review of the past term's work. This session will be on 13th April.

What do you reckon? Are we having fun, or what?

Starting ...

Hi all

Today marks the start of this blog about the fun and adventures of 'Knitcetera'. I am an avid knitter, convenor and teacher of groups of knitters young and old in and around Orewa, a small seaside town north of Auckland, New Zealand.

Wednesday 09th February 2011 saw the start of several classes at the Estuary Arts Centre, Orewa. Classes will be held in ten-week blocks there each Wednesday, the first at 9.30am til 11.30am, the next at 12.30pm til 2.30pm and the third will start at 7pm and end at 9pm. People may attend any of these sessions - I will be teaching the same theme each day to each of the three classes.

This week saw an introductory session where I outlined the background to these courses, handed out a course outline and showed pictures and video clips of things knitting - especially some wonderful, fun ideas from YouTube.

I have been granted funding to pay for hiring the Estuary Arts Centre for the whole of June this year to mount the KNITCETERA exhibition, and planning for this started in my 2010 classes. Early this year I placed an advertisement in our local community newspaper and received application from over 30 people! To date now there are 22 people for the daytime classes - I am leaving it to them to attend whichever they wish - morning or afternoon - and there are 10 enrolled for the evening group. So exciting!

The two groups are quite different - those in the daytime seeming to be more socially oriented, with those in the evening more keen to learn new skills. Time will tell!

More later - I will post regularly, including the course outline and ideas, details of the lessons and our planning and progress towards the exhibition.

:)