One of the great joys of summer here at the shop, are the kids who come to learn to knit or to get a project.

The other day, after the Kids Can Knit class,

a young knitter named Paul wandered in with his mom and sister. He showed me a few of his recent projects - doll clothes for his sister Kate’s doll. He used mom’s bits and pieces and had an entire wardrobe in no time.

Although we didn’t have the correct size doll for modeling, we compromised with the model found lying around on the clothes line. It is amazing what Linda uses for our displays.

Paul explained each piece and told me that he found a pattern on the internet and started knitting away.

There must be something genetic to this knitting. His mother, Kim, is a local favorite and has created patterns for her company, Big Sky Yarn and Crafts. So Paul has a terrific role model in this knitting world.

What great fun to see his excitement and his sister, Kate’s smile.

We hope to see more as the long days of summer roll along. And just this morning, a darling girl came in to get a new project on the needles. The next generation of knitters are inspiring.

 

Every year in early June, yarn shop owners, manufacturers and designers descend on the lovely city of Columbus, Ohio. Classes are offered, fashion shows take place, and yarn (lots of yarn) is purchased for shops across the country. Most of all, it is fun, big fun.

I always enjoy seeing other shop owners such as Loopy in Missoula, MT and The Yarnery in St. Paul, MN to name just a few. It is a time to learn about trends in the market, compare notes and learn about yarn, knitting and the personalities behind all those wonderful patterns.

Yesterday, I was able to take a class from Lucy Neatby, which was something I’ve wanted to do since the first year I attended. The class was “Fringes, Folderols and Furbelows!” What fun to play with my knitting in new ways…twisting, unraveling and knitting puntas for whimsical edges. Lucy’s style matches her hair color, pure fun! And who was sitting next to me during class, Wendy Johnson of Wendy Knits. We are currently holding the Diagonal Sock class this summer for those who are adventurous in their sock knitting.

Here is Wendy Johnson…

and I couldn’t help but ask for a photo with Lucy and Wendy.

 

This past weekend the Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners held a series of classes, workshops and events at MSU-B. Linda blogged about the event on May 27 and it is wrapping up today.
Here at Wild Purls, we had Nancy Bush visit us on Wednesday. Yes, THE Nancy Bush of teaching and knitting fame. There she is looking at Montana yarns

and visiting with Suzanne.

It was great to see many familiar faces in her Estonian sock class on Thursday. While they were reluctant to have their photos taken, I think they look radiant. It must be from the knitting.

We learned about Estonia and the knitting history of the country. Nancy has visited multiple times and truly loves the people and culture.

The conference was filled with classes, a fabulous vendor area and Wild Purls had a booth.

Linda was hard at work.

We all enjoyed the weekend and I hope to get a sock completed soon.

 

Using a medieval loom for cording and needle felted pieces as overlay, Kayla created this beautiful belt to wear for belly dancing. Every piece was made by Kayla and took over 1,000 hours of time. When she twirls and moves, the entire belt swings out and is quite impressive. The yarns are a variety of everything from Jelli Beanz to Lumpy Bumpy. She also needle felted and beaded using things from her stash.

If you’d like to see Kayla and this belt in action, be sure to attend Summer Fair in July. She and her group will be performing on Sunday. Don’t miss this great weekend.

 

Linda sashayed into the shop today wearing this lovely medallion vest.

She has worked on this for over a year. As knitters we know that all projects do not happen as quickly as we plan. Often, we have great aspirations and then life gets in the way or we simply loose steam. Sweaters can take years because they need to rest until we have the motivation or the strength to return to our previous endeavors.

The Botanica Medallion Vest appeared last year on the cover of the Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2009.

The center medallion is, as Linda says, the easy part. The lengthy part of this project is the band of 4 different stitch patterns that all have a different gauge. The inner stitches have a much tighter gauge than the outer which allow for the drape of the garment.

Last year, Linda held a class called “The Stitch Club” where at each class a new stitch was introduced. I think this vest could be a great class for all of you who enjoy great stitches, great shape to your garment and great results. Maybe we can talk her into teaching this one.