Nebraska Knit & Crochet Guild

September 4, 2009| Lindy| 0 Comment | 5:29 pm

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I recently joined the Nebraska Knit & Crochet Guild. It is a wonderful group of knitters and crocheters who meet at various locations in Omaha, Nebraska about three times per week. I have attended six “meet ups” so far and have found the women in the guild to be very friendly, supportive and willing to share their expertise with any and all.

It is a delightful experience to be able to meet up with a group of women who share my love for both knitting and crocheting. And the social interaction adds a wonderful new dimension to my pleasure at participating in these crafts. It does, however, pose some challenges as I find it difficult to concentrate on my knitting while busily chatting away with the other women around the table.

The Guild meets Wednesdays at Whole Foods from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. Saturdays at Willa Cather Library from 1:00 – 4:00 PM and at Panera on 78th Street on Sundays from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. I have been going to the Wednesday and Sunday meet ups. Saturdays are just too busy for me, so I probably won’t do any Saturday meetings.

Many of the Guild members are on Ravelry – so this is a good way to communicate with them. There is also a Yahoo group and I now get email updates periodically. If you are in the Omaha, Nebraska metro area and are interested, here’s a link:
http://www.nebraskaknitandcrochet.org/

Acquiring Needles over TimeAcquiring Needles over Time

September 9, 2021| LindyBeir| 0 Comment| 9:58 am

When I started knitting decades ago, the choices and types of knitting needles were limited. I started out using the Boye brand of aluminum straight single point needles in US size 10.5 – I think they were about 8 inches long. My next set of needles were US size 8 and were 14 inches in length. I continued acquiring single point aluminum needles – buying them one set at a time as I needed for the project I was working on. I still have most of those sets and I don’t use them much anymore.

I also acquired double point needles(dpns) as I learned to knit in the round or circular. These were purchased generally from big box type stores that carried knitting supplies. I have a mix of aluminum. bamboo, and birch needles. Again, I still have these needles but I rarely use them.

My first sets of circular needles were also purchased at big box stores and are aluminum or bamboo with thicker cables. I eventually found a local yarn shop in my area and this opened up a whole new avenue for buying knitting needles. The needles carried by the shop were of a much higher quality than what was available through the big box stores. My first purchases of fixed circular needles were Addi brand. Over time, I acquired a collection of these needles in various lengths. Again, I bought the size and length of needles as I needed them for projects.

I purchased my first set of interchangeable knitting needles about 25 years after I started knitting. I still use this set regularly but I also have acquired additional interchangeable needles and cables over time.

What I describe above is a process that I believe most knitters go through as they progress in the craft of knitting. You start out with what you are introduced to as a beginner and go from there. Today’s knitter has a much wider array of choices in knitting needles.

There are many different brands available as well as many different materials, not only aluminum and bamboo, but different types of woods, stainless steel, nickel, and acrylic. There are also many different options for where to buy knitting needles today. Knitters now have the option of buying knitting supplies online in addition to stores/shops in their area. It is wonderful to have so many different choices – but it can also be challenging for the new knitter. In my next post, I will discuss tips for selecting needles that I hope will help you the next time you wish to buy a set of needles.

I’m a Grandma!I’m a Grandma!

January 29, 2010| Lindy| 0 Comments| 7:54 am

There are very few things sweeter than the birth of your first grandchild. Yesterday was filled with anticipation and much waiting. Then finally, Evan Patrick was born at 7:03 PM. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces and is 19 inches long. He has dark curly hair and a very strong cry. 🙂

New Mom and Dad are doing very well. It was a joy to watch them as new parents. I am simply bursting with pride at the way my son holds and handles his son. My DH and I both got a chance to hold the little guy last night and get acquainted.

I’m off to knit him a little hat to wear home.

Buttons! Who knew?Buttons! Who knew?

November 29, 2011| LindyBeir| 0 Comment| 12:36 pm

I am making significant progress on my Color Block Vest. In fact, I am nearly done! So Saturday, I realized that I really needed to go buy buttons for this vest. And off I went.

Now, I must admit that it has been some time since I ventured into a fabric store to buy buttons. And usually when I am buying buttons, I am also buying thread and fabric to match. What I discovered is that in the time that I have been absent from the fabric store scene that things have really changed. Changed in a good way, actually. Oh my! the selection was enormous! And really wonderful. In addition to the standard buttons in rather standard colors that come in sets of four or five — there are all these unique and stylish buttons available. Who knew? Obviously, not someone like me who hasn’t ventured into the button section of the fabric store in a good long while.

I was enormously challenged — I had so many choices! Wonderful choices! And then…I found them! The perfect buttons for my vest!

Aren’t these just wonderful? They have a lovely brown background with swirls of pink, green and darker reddish brown. They match the three colors where they will be placed nicely.

As wonderfully matched as these buttons are — I must also admit to sticker shock when I went to check out. They were on sale, fortunately, but even at that they were expensive. I paid $7.00 apiece for them. (ON SALE!) Who knew buttons could cost so much? Now, I was willing to spend the money to get these perfect buttons — especially since I have invested money in a high quality yarn for this project. Still I think that buttons should not be so expensive. Even if they are perfect…