At the January meeting, a drawing was held for places in the group to visit Brooklyn Tweed. On Friday, January 27, the lucky winners met at the Brooklyn Tweed office and warehouse. We were welcomed by Jen, the office manager, and she introduced us to the office staff, many of whom were wearing beautiful sweaters or accessories made from Brooklyn Tweed yarns.

Luigi, who is in charge of business development, gave us an overview of the process that the wool goes through from sheep to yarn. Brooklyn Tweed is proud to say that everything is totally “made in the USA”. The sheep are raised on ranches in Wyoming (the woolen spun yarns) and Montana and South Dakota (the worsted spun yarns.) All of the scouring, dyeing, and spinning processes happen in other places in the US. It is a very complex process! After a Q&A time, we were turned loose to roam the warehouse and shop for patterns and yarn. (more…)

Two Days With Lucy!!!!

I want to thank everyone who spent 2 days with Lucy at our fall retreat. It was an amazing time and much information was shared, practiced, and talked about during the weekend.

Lucy Neatby is one of the most creative and adventurous knitters I know. The samples of her ideas, color-wise as well as functionally-wise, were incredible. The buttonhole was a good one, and I can’t wait to try it again. It will certainly be used in some of my cardigans.

She is not only a marvelous teacher but a top-level designer and Maker of Beautiful Things. Her vests, socks, hats and all the other things covering the table were truly astonishing. The finishing on her garments was breath taking and we were all wondering and asking each other “how did she do that?”

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Some of our members have been knitting hats for the CLICK for Babies Purple Hat Campaign. This campaign works to create awareness of the leading trigger for infant abuse, frustration with infant crying. 26 hats were collected at our last meeting. These baby hats are quick and easy to make – just ask Patti. She finished 14 last month! Anna collects the hats all year long and donates them for us. The need for the hats is great and your efforts will be appreciated. For more information about yarn and sizing see our charity knitting page here or go to the CLICK website for patterns and more info. Thank you to everyone who has participated!!

If you are interested in spending a couple of hours on your charity knitting, please come to our first meeting tomorrow, March 22, from 1 – 3pm at the Beaverton Lodge, 12900 SW Ninth St in Beaverton (off of Watson) in the upstairs lobby. Please use the uncovered parking spaces only!! We’ll be meeting the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. More info is on the Charity Knitting page.