October and knitting seem made for each other. The first reach for a warm sweater, hat or scarf tends to happen at the same time the leaves change color and sunsets come earlier. Maybe that’s one reason the Creative Knitting Retreat with Mary Germain and the companion Open Knit Studio take place in October…it’s a perfect fit (and you can wear your handknits as you create more)! The garments and accessories worn in class set the tone for the week, along with the projects students plan to work on. The range of expertise Mary Germain brings, and has at the ready to assist with each knitted piece, takes everything to the next level. How wonderful to have Mary as a […]
Knitting season
For a knitter, all seasons are knitting seasons, but it seems especially fitting, and now has almost become tradition at Sievers, to offer a week of knitting in the fall. There’s really no better time to think about cozying up with a project, be it challenging or simply soft and comforting, as the colder weather settles in. One of our two knitting favorites in October is the Creative Knitting Retreat with Mary Germain. Students have the option of a 5-day or 3-day class and they bring spectacular knitting projects to start, or continue, or finish, all with encouragement, instruction and guidance from Mary. We considered ourselves lucky to be able to simply see these beautiful handknits in person! Across the […]
Knitting at the ready
When the calendar turns to October, we know it won’t be long before we see our Sievers knitting friends. For them and for our dear knitting instructors, Sandy De Master and Mary Germain, knitting is always at the ready, but it’s even more so when meeting for the Creative Knitting Retreat and the Open Knitting Studio. Yes, it’s a time for knitting, but also a time for everyone to gather together. Some of those knitting friendships were made almost 20 years ago and each year there are always new friends to meet. Both studios are filled with fantastic knitting projects in all stages. What a delight to see a combination of ideas transformed, projects started, completed, blocked and/or worn! Fair […]
Knitters: Agents of transformation
The students in the Creative Knitting Retreat class with Sandy De Master and Mary Germain and their fellow knitting friends in the Open Knitting Studio know these words are true. From the simplest of tools and a ball of yarn, plus the knowledge of only two stitches, knit and purl, the possibilities are endless. From our Sievers Readings file: “I am a knitter. I take yarn and needles and become an agent of transformation…taking my part in moving a sheep’s’ fleece to garment…knitting my intentions and love into the fabric. I am linked to the past and my knitting Grandmothers, I am linked to my present when people ask me what I’m doing. I am knitting a future, honing myself […]
Knitting with friends
Many hands were in motion throughout last week’s Creative Knitting Retreat with Sandy De Master and Mary Germain and in the Open Knit Studio. Each person was working on a different project, (actually on multiple projects!) and that made for a “stone soup” of pattern, yarn and project ideas that any knitter would savor. As always, there were new and returning projects brought to class, including lots of color work, Fair Isle knitting and Latvian or Estonian mittens. New friendships were made and returning friendships enriched. Many came to class together as established friends. Two “Sievers stories” are shared here, first from Eileen P., “My friend Cindy and I have been coming to classes at Sievers for years. These retreats […]
K2Tog (Knit two together)
Can you knit both yarn and two groups of people together at the same time? Of course! It all happens during the week of Sandy De Master and Mary Germain’s Creative Knitting Retreat class and the companion Open Knitting Studio. Returning students, new-to-Sievers students, past and present students of Sandy and Mary, Carol Anderson, Carol Huebscher Rhoades and others “K2Tog”, picking up and knitting from year to year, working as established. In both groups, students bring projects of their own choosing. It can be a time to focus on mastering color work as in Fair Isle knitting, starting, working on and/or finishing anything from shawls, cowls, sweaters, hats, mittens, socks, a knitted pig (it’s true!) and more. The Creative Knitting […]
Together again
It didn’t seem like an entire year had passed since the Creative Knitting Retreat with Sandy De Master and Mary Germain and Carving Songbirds class with Jerry Landwehr met again at Sievers this past week and weekend. Coming together like caramel and apples, or turkey and stuffing (if you were on Washington Island over Columbus Day weekend, you know what I’m referring to…), the knitters and woodcarvers had the opportunity to savor a favorite hobby or get a taste of something new. A lot of knitting projects were out on the tables during the week, but a main focus was spending time catching up with knitting friends. Projects included Fair Isle knitting, lace, color knitting and working with beautiful Washington Island handspun yarn. […]
