Riverside Knitting Guild

Riverside, CA

Newsletter

To contact us: E-mail: knitters@riversideknittingguild.com

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                                    July - August 2008

 

                                    "President’s Message"

Hello, lady knitters;

             Actually, the other day I gave a beginning knitting lesson to a husband and wife couple. He did great! There is another male person (Scott) learning how to knit socks. Do you think someday down the road, RKG will have a male member? I doubt it, but it's something to think about. Alamitos Bay Yarn Company (in Long Beach) has a Male Knitting Group that meets once or twice a month.

             And, Alamitos Bay Yarn Company has a bay cruise. The electric boat holds up to 12 people, reservations needed, every Wednesday during the summer, $15. Bring your lunch, your knitting, and relax with friends as you cruise around the marina. Sounds like an ad, doesn't it. It is a wonderful trip, well worth taking. Share the gas with friends. If any of you are interested, please let me know. We'll put a date together.

             Do you know what's great about being a member of RKG? It's the learning and sharing with other members, some wonderful (some nationally known) instructors, and members from other guilds in the area. We just had an outstanding workshop "Kool-Aid Dyeing" by our own member, Ann Nilsson. So much FUN. The members present were treated to Ann's extensive samples, the thrill of getting the Kool-Aid color into the yarns, and the surprise of what "overdyeing" can create. Thank you, Ann!

             Just a note: we apologize for not having time for Show 'n Share. It's such a special time of our meetings, to see what project other members are working on. So, hopefully in the future, we will have the business part, then Show 'n Share, then the workshops. Members needing to leave early will be able to "show their stuff", and we love to see that stuff!

Thank you for your participation. We hope you are enjoying this year so far: the programs,

the instructors, the special events, and our Newsletter (now to be on the Website)

We value your input, so let us know.

           Happy Knitting! Sue T.

 

P.S. A correction: We will be having Needle Felting with Diane Pippin at the July meeting.

Additional information, regarding materials, homework, etc. will be sent to you.

 

WWKIP (World Wide Knit In Public)

Thanks Inge and Mary C for organizing this wonderful event!! A good time was had by all. Thanks also go to our local yarn stores (LYS) for being so supportive.

 

News from Our Program Chair

At our June 7 meeting Ann Nelsson presented a wonderful workshop on Kool Aid dyeing. It was very informative and lots of fun. Thanks Ann.

 

             Saturday, August 2nd, is JUDY STINTON. She will be teaching how to construct and embellish a fiber-based necklace. Kits will be available at $6.oo per necklace. Attendees need to bring a basic sewing kit, beads/buttons, milliners or beading needles and waxed beading thread such as Silamide. She will need to know how many will be attending in case you would like to purchase the kit. So please let me know if you are planning on attending so that I can give her an idea of how many kits to bring. I've seen her presentation at the North Coast Knitters and it was fun.

 

             Joyce Wyatt, an El Segundo instructor, is scheduled for November 1st, 2008. A list of classes that she offers have been e-mailed or mailed to all our guild members. I've asked that each of you tell me 3 choices of classes you might like to take, and let me know by July 5th.

                          Anita

 

Afghan Report

The afghan is completed and on display at Knit ‘n Stitch. “Opportunity’ tickets are available, so get yours early before they are all gone!! If you would like to have a picture of this year’s afghan contact Lois. She has some great pictures. If you have not seen this year’s afghan, drop into Knit ‘n Stitch and take a look. It is different than any afghan the guild has made before.

 

 

Library Update

We have some new additions to the library:

Knit Knit profiles 27 artist-crafters in the knitting world today from the USA and

Europe. It's a fascinating book and a departure from the knitting we are most

familiar with.

The Knitter's Guide to Combining Yarns is an exploration of color and texture

relationships. The book presents the art of mixing yarns for beautiful blended knits.

Issue #78 of Woolgathering is also available in RKG's library located at the Knit 'n Stitch. Please observe the lending rules printed in the front of the sign-out book.

             Gerri Leichtenberg, Guild Librarian

 

Updates From Around the Guild

Cindi L would like you to know that she has changed her email address from CBL200@aol.com to CBL2000@mac.com. Please make the change in your copy of the Guild roster.

 

Preemie Hats, Baby Quilts, Knitted Blankets, & Thank You Notes.

 

             I have received a thank you note from Riverside Community Hospital thanking the Guild for 25 Preemie Hats, 2 baby quilts and a knitted blanket they received. They were happy to receive them and greatly appreciated them. They were given to the Hospital in May 2008.

             I also received a thank you note from Fr. Joseph Felker of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church for the generous donation for the use of one of the rooms for the May 3rd general meeting that was held at the Katherine Drexel Center on the church grounds. It will be used towards some remodeling being done at the Center.

             Elsie Ann Myers

Precious Pals

 

What to wear? There are still bears available to be dressed. If you need some ideas for how to dress your bear, there is a pattern book available in our Guild library at Knit ‘n Stitch. Bears should plan to be dressed and attend the October business meeting.

 

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

                      Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Writer

 

Eco Yarns—Organic Isn’t Just for The Produce Department Anymore

By Marie Mains

 

             Crowding in on the yarn scene this season are a surfeit of yarns labeled “organic”, “eco”, “natural”, “sustainable”, “biodynamic” and the like. Just as people are becoming more aware of what goes INTO our bodies in the form of food, we are becoming more conscientious about what goes on the OUTSIDE of our bodies when it comes to fibers. Like many people, I surfed the wave of polyester in my younger days and I recall polyester fabric

being hailed as the best thing since the gasoline-powered engine—didn’t wrinkle, held dyes brightly (too brightly) and was inexpensive. Guess what? In the midst of the polyester craze began a backlash of the cottons, linens and

wool. Some of the Love Children did wear polyester under their love beads (those who wore anything under their love beads, anyway) but most of those peasant blouses, long skirts and the ubiquitous blue jeans were made of cotton, linen and wool fibers. Ah, immediately then, natural fibers were relegated to the marginal fringe while

mainstream Americans went their way in polyester pantsuits.

             Fast forward forty years and take a peek on the shelves of yarn shops and in the stashes of knitters of 2008 and one finds far more natural fibers than not. And, as if the standby wool and wool blends weren’t enough, we are now witnessing an explosion of yarn fibers the knitter of 1968 would have never dreamed of. Silk, linen, viscose, tencel, bamboo, soy and hemp (the latter was not being knit in 1969) are just a few of the many “new” fibers found on the needles of today. I remember how weird my mother was considered for her use of dog-hair yarn in the early 1960s (pretty yarn—light, very warm and outdid angora for softness and fuzziness) and how she had to put up with jokes about whether or not a sweater would smell when wet or want to chase the neighbor’s cat up the tree. But that was the era when orlon acrylic was queen of the yarn bin and knitters who still used wool were considered to be old-fashioned and hopelessly “out of it.”

             Into this sea of new fibers now flows an even more recent development, spurred on by the current spotlight put upon “ecologically correct” or “green” practices. People are demanding and paying for everything from food to yarn that is conscientiously produced through fair trade practices, safe dyes and processing treatments

and humane treatment of fiber-producing animals such as sheep, llamas and alpacas. What was “old” is now “new”. Traditional Navajo weavers, for example, have been raising, shearing, spinning and dying (with natural dyes)

their own wool yarns for centuries. Now, we’re seeing fibers cropping up that tout vegetal dyes or, in the case of cotton yarns, are made from the naturally-occurring colors of the cotton fiber itself. What we used to pour into our children every summer is one of the hottest new ways to color yarn—Kool-Aid! Alpaca and some wool are marketed in the natural colors of the animal itself: grays, browns, tans, off-whites and blacks.

             The knitter is seeing a variety of terms now when it comes to fibers. “Certified organic” means that each stage in the fiber’s production, ranging from the grass the sheep or alpaca might eat, through their care and the entire processing cycle of the fleece, is done under organic standards and has been inspected by a certified agency. Even the treatment of pests and diseases must be done at least three or more months before the wool is produced or it cannot be marketed as “organic.” An offshoot of this organic trade is the term “biodynamic” which means that in addition to being organic, at least 80% of the livestock must be fed from the farm and the soil

which grows the feed must be enriched by composted materials which are organically produced. Sadly, one of the most desired animal fibers, cashmere, is one of the worst for its effects on the environment. To meet the growing demand for cashmere, over 25 million cashmere goats in Mongolia range the Alashan plateau, turning the area into a dust bowl. Goats eat anything they can wrap their tongues around and that number of goats is nearly ten times the number that would be sustainable in that part of the world. What you pay for cashmere may seem outrageous, but what is happening to the environment to create that cashmere is even more shameful.

             Non-wool fibers are increasingly labeled as “sustainable” or “natural” (and these labels are often applied to wool products as well). “Sustainable” means that the fibers in some way reduce environmental impact, support and nourish the earth and people involved in producing it. Recycled fibers and Fair Trade fibers are often found under this umbrella category. “Natural” is a bit broader term, encompassing any fiber that grows in nature, but it usually denotes fibers that are done with as few chemicals and harmful impact on the environment as possible.

             Some of the plant-based fibers are being marketed in new ways. Silk, for example, is produced from the cocoons of silk worms, which are immersed in boiling water to kill the silkworm so that the continuous piece of silk isn’t broken when the worm emerges from its cocoon. “Peace silk” or “vegetarian silk” is now being made from silk where the moths are allowed to make their way out from the cocoon naturally; the fiber is spun rather than reeled onto a spool in one continuous strand. More interest is also being shown to the silk textile workers in Asia, as they are often exploited and poorly paid.

             Another natural fiber, cotton, is being produced now organically. Pests are controlled by bio-natural methods: ants, soap or chili pepper-based sprays are often used as controls. As with silk workers, more attention is being paid to the harvesters and producers of cotton by international Fair Trade organizations. Even the processing of cotton has improved with the use of natural dyes instead of harsh and dangerous chemical dyes. And, as mentioned earlier in this article, there are naturally-occurring colors of cotton which are cultivated and left alone (not bleached out as before), which provide pleasing soft colors in cotton yarns. Non-organic cottons

are often chemical sponges which we put next to our skins; about 25% of the world’s insecticide and 10% of the worlds pesticides are used in the world’s cotton production. Exposure by workers to these chemicals is, needless to say, also a problem.

             Hemp, bamboo and soya are three new fibers that are becoming increasingly popular with fiber artists. Hemp is easy to grow organically and can be processed by mechanical means and spun with potato starch, thus eliminating the need for chemicals. Bamboo is being scrutinized for its production; the bamboo plant is easy and quick to produce, but current practices which involve strong chemicals have come under criticism. At the current time, most bamboo fibers are being made with the use of such harsh chemicals as sodium hydroxide, carbon disulfide and sulfuric acid; there are a few bamboo fiber products being produced that use enzymes to process, but they are in the minority. As consumer demands increase, perhaps the use of enzymes will take precedence.

Soya fibers made from soybean plants, which add nutrients to soil and don’t require pesticides are also desirable, but the processing of soya is still a bit of an industrial mystery and producers aren’t saying exactly how it is accomplished. As with silk, treatment of the workers is also an issue in the production of “green” soya and bamboo fibers.

             If all this talk of what goes into the yarn we handle daily and wear in our knitted products serves to concern you, what can the average knitter do to ensure safer products? With a little bit of research, knitters can only knit with organic or locally produced yarns. While this would be ideal, we could all produce even one or two garments a year from local and/or organically produced fibers which are made with methods that are respectful and careful of our fragile ecosystem. Very few of us can live on our own farms, produce our own foods and live off the grid, but most of us can buy and look for products which have been created organically and humanely—even down to what we put on our knitting needles. As consumers begin to demand products that are ecologically produced, producers will listen and begin to produce such products. Take a little time to read labels or check

out brands on the internet. Try using a new fiber in one of your projects—something every knitter loves is to try a new yarn. Oh, and don’t forget to carry your purchase of that new eco-green yarn home in your recyclable/reusable shopping bag. Better yet, knit yourself that shopping bag out of hemp or organic cotton or felt it from biodynamic wool! It’s a natural, organic, sustainable and smart idea.

I’d like to credit information used in this article from the March 2008 issue of Knitting

magazine.

            

Newsletter items, such as the great article you just read, must be submitted to Mary Swartzel no

later than August 10, 2008.  Thank you for your support