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 […]
An isle, an island and more
In the spirit of long distance fellowship between islands and the joy of knitting and color, we were excited to have two classes focusing on Fair Isle knitting. First, learning the traditional methods and techniques by knitting a small sweater, suitable for a teddy bear, in class with Mary Germain and Sandy De Master. Then, immediately following, was Janine Bajus’ Fair Isle Vest Design class. Students developed their own colorway from inspiration photos, knit several swatches and then planned their vest design. Fair Isle, the most geographically remote inhabited island in the UK, is famous for its knitwear. Sievers is honored to help keep their island traditions passed along and practiced on our island and beyond in the hands of […]
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 […]
Catching up
It’s been three weeks since our last post so it’s well past time to catch up with what’s been happening at Sievers. After a short break in classes over the Fourth of July, Sandy De Master and Mary Germain were here for their Baltic Knitting Extravaganza class. Knitters new to Latvian and Estonian knitting began with a lined, ornament-sized mitten and went on to design their own pair or other project. The hardest part is deciding which of the many great color and motif inspirations to choose! These mittens deserve a hand (and these hands deserve the mittens)! What can we say about Rigid Heddle Weaving with Deb Jones? It’s a fast-paced weaving experience, complete with excellent instruction, beautiful yarns, […]
A tale of two classes
Back in February, we had no idea that it would be July before the first Sievers class of 2020 would take place. In May, we weren’t sure when and if we could hold a class. Then guidelines were issued and we hoped some of our classes would work with precautions in place. Many factors are being taken into consideration for each class. Can an instructor teach from a six-foot distance? Depending on the subject, how many students can be accommodated in the studio? Are students using any shared equipment? What level of comfort is there from all involved in travelling and gathering with others? All that being said, we have so far been able to hold two classes, Quilt Design […]
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 […]
Give them a hand…
…for all the knitting and quilting and learning that took place in both Sandy De Master and Mary Germain’s Baltic Knitting Extravaganza and Ellen Graf’s Balance in Quilt Design classes! From the smallest Latvian mini-mittens to a full-size quilt, there were new and renewed projects in both studios. Following traditional designs or adapting and creating new ones were options in both classes. Both were equally wonderful! Studio visit times allow everyone to share and show the work of their hands, demonstrating a quote often associated with Walter Schutz, “Happiness is in your hands…and it keeps you young!” From the Reader’s Digest article Walter found that quote in, the last sentence reads, “We need the sense of self-confidence, self-respect, that comes […]
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 […]
