July 2012

Stitchin’ Times

July 2012

Letter from the President

Here we are again - the beginning of a new fiscal year, with a new board getting settled into our new roles with the Guild. I, for one, am excited to continue, and hopefully, build upon the efforts of our prior board members, and would like to take this opportunity to offer a huge "Thank-You" to them for their hard work, dedication, and offers of help and support going forward.

It seems such a short time ago that I was looking for a knitting group to get involved with, and happened upon the guild's website. Coincidentally, there was a meeting that night, and since it was close to my office, I decided to attend. The program that night was a show and share of First Knitting Projects. Despite being totally intimidated by the talent level (some of those first projects were downright amazing!), I decided to come back the following month, and, of course, to join the guild. I am so glad I did! I am still in awe of the talent level of our membership, and I love learning from you all.

If you've been thinking about becoming more involved in guild activities, please do! Everyone's contributions are integral to our success. There are many opportunities, and it is very rewarding. I'd be happy to hear and discuss your ideas, suggestions, and comments.

As we go forward into the new fiscal year, lets keep in mind our goals as a guild of providing education, contributing to charitable organizations, and providing social opportunities for knitters. With everyone's participation and involvement, I have no doubt we will continue to achieve these goals.

I am looking forward to serving as your President.

Lets Knit!

Dawn Goetz

CNKG President

Ask a Lawyer! Knitting and Copyright

Contributed by Judie Agee

Ever wonder if you are infringing on copyright laws? Attorney Jason M. Krellenstein addresses the issue by answering the following questions:

If we knit something from a pattern, can we sell it at a craft fair? We are not talking about setting up a huge commercial business, just hand knitting and putting it up for sale. Part 2: Sometimes on the pattern, people say you can't sell what you knit. Can they do that?

His response: The short, relentlessly legal answer to the question of whether you can sell is “probably.” Copyright protects the pattern itself but does not speak to the article made from the pattern. Check the pattern (or the book or magazine or other source from which you obtained the pattern) to see if the designer included terms limiting the use of the underlying article.

Want to learn more about copyright infringement?

Click here to read the entire article

Six Tips for Knitting in Church

Contributed by Judie Agee

Start simple: a project that doesn’t require referring to a pattern; something mindless, like garter stitch or stockinette stitch.

Start small: don’t haul in a queen size throw. Hats, felted bags, dishcloths or face cloths, and scarves are all great choices.

Know your limits: do you find yourself cursing up a blue streak if you drop a stitch? Holy knitting may not be for you.

Be prepared: have the supplies you need neatly and discreetly* accessible. You’re not going to knitting group, so having every gadget is not necessary; no one is likely to lean over the pew and ask to borrow your scissors or a stitch holder. Just bring your yarn and needles – leave the rest in the car. [*I have a friend who carries her knitting to church in a soft cooler emblazoned with images of lite beer. It works for her!]

Be gracious: people will ask what you’re making. Some will ask because they are truly curious; others as a way to politely find out why the heck you think knitting in church is acceptable. Smile. Answer sweetly. Smile. If you fear that you’ll be harshly judged (wasn’t the sermon on not judging? – obviously they weren’t paying attention!), considering working on a prayer shawl that you’ll give to someone in the church who could use a caring gesture.

Be amazed: you will probably discover some closet knitters. And who knows? You may be the catalyst for a church based knitting group.

Source: http://www.fineneedle.c om/2011/08/six-tips-for-knitting-in-church/

In the Beginning. . .

By: Regina Esposito

Contributors: Jackie Awerman & Erika Verley

How did Cactus Needles Knitting Guild start? In the early 1990s, the ONLY knitting Guild that existed in Arizona was Old Pueblo Knitters(OPK) in Tucson . Jackie Awerman was a member of this Guild and drove to Tucson on a regular basis to attend meetings. To those of us who frequented Jackie’s booth called Gourmet Yarns at Arizona Arts & Crafts Marketplace on 16th Street just below Camelback, we heard her mantra of, “Gotta Get A Guild”.

In 1993 at Arizona Arts & Crafts Marketplace, a get together of knitters was held. Two women from the OPK, Jill Holbrooke and Barbara Askren came to advise what it means to be a knitting guild. Some of our meetings were at the Tea House at the Cloisters where Jackie lived.

Jackie Awerman was the first President, Gus Awerman was the first Treasurer, and I was the first Secretary. Our first logo was created by Erika’s daughter. The “Cactus Needles Knitting Guild” name was suggested/created by Dee Epstein (think of what are name could have been!). Some of the other charter members were the Gibboney sisters, Mary Helen Strand, a blind lady named Ellen, Edie Sutherland were some of original members, as well as Erika Verley, Bev Walker and myself.

The actual formation 501(c)(3) organization took place in January,1994.

More about the past to come in the future!

The Pragmatic Knitter: Needle Size

by Georgia K. Green

One’s first thought about this topic may be something along the lines of “OK, simple enough, needles come in different sizes.” It’s not that simple, though. (You suspected it wasn’t, didn’t you?)

The basics:

Needles *do* come in different sizes. By “size,” we refer to some kind of measurement of the girth, thickness, bulk, diameter, or circumference of the needle (and nothing else … not its length, for example).

Different sizes of needles produce different sizes of stitches, assuming that everything else (the knitter, the yarn, etc.) that could affect the size of the stitch produced is held constant. (Not to worry … We’ll be assuming that for the rest of the column, by the way.)

Different sizes of stitches result in different gauges being knitted. (For our purposes, gauge means either stitches per inch or rows per inch or both [and, yes, you may freely substitute centimeter for inch to avoid anti-metric bias throughout].)

So far, so good. You’ll notice that there has been no mention of Size N knitting needles yet. Wonder why not? There is no existing US Bureau of Standards specification on record for the measurement of American knitting needles (nor crochet hooks, for that matter).

Thus, actual sizes for our Size N knitting needles may (and do) vary by knitting-needle manufacturer, by line (or brand) within a single manufacturer, and over time (notably between the 1940s and the mid-1960s and today). Knitting a sample swatch becomes a vital necessity every single time we begin a project under these circumstances.

In an effort to provide a helpful, albeit necessarily incomplete, table to which knitters can refer for guidance in just such a situat ion, appended to this column is my very own record of the actual measured sizes of the knitting needles that I have used.

As background, there are three main systems of needle-size numbering in use for the knitting needles available to consumers in the US today. These systems are generally referred to as (1) European/metric, (2) British, and (3) American. None of the numbers in these systems really reliably relates to the other systems’ numbers.

Die-cutting tools originally determined certain size designations in the US, while in Britain size designations correspond to standard wire gauge (SWG). Needle size numbers get larger in the American system as the needle itself does, while the opposite is true for the British system (where needle size numbers get smaller as the needle itself gets larger).

As potentially confusing as the American and British systems are, the European/metric needle-size numbering system may be the one with the greatest danger for the novice knitter. Strangely enough, some manufacturers only approximate the metric value, an odd idea indeed!

A fourth system of needle-size numbering is sometimes encountered in the westernmost part of the US, particularly in Hawaii and California. It is an older Japanese system wherein sixteen (16) needles [usually found as a set] are consecutively labeled from zero (0) to fifteen (15), with needle sizes getting larger as the needles themselves get larger. The incremental step-increase from each size to the next is 0.3 mm, typically without much if any variation.

Thus, in the Japanese system, Size 0 is 2.1 mm, Size 1 is 2.4 mm, Size 2 is 2.7 mm, etc., through Size 14 at 6.3 mm and Size 15 at 6.6 mm. This system is mentioned simply so that if one comes across a set of knitting needles where Size 3 is 3.0 mm, but Size 8 is 4.5 mm, and Size 13 is just 6.0 mm, then one may possibly realize what one has.

You knit a swatch (or even two with different sizes of needles), and you don’t get the gauge you want. How do you decide what needle to try next? Do you give up and recalculate the stitch/row count of the pattern to match your obtained gauge? (Don’t laugh! You could do that more quickly in some instances than to keep knitting swatch after swatch.)

To view the chart, click he re

July Program - Book Review

For the July program, members were asked to bring their favorite knitting books and share them with the group. Here are the comments from the book review.

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Reviewed by: June Fessenden

The Knitter’s Companion (Deluxe Edition) by Vicki Square

Can be purchased at Amazon, Family Arts for $25.00.

It is small and a portable size. It lies flat and has easy-to-follow directions. It contains a knitting gauge and DVD. This book is great for a newbie!!

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Reviewed by: Lonnie Zbniegien

Noro Knit 40 Fabulous Designs by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton

Can be purchased at Borders for $24.95.

In most books, Lonnie likes one or two patterns, but likes 15 on them in this book. She loves this book!

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Reviewed by: Velvet Dishon

Twist & Knit by Miriam L. Felton

Can be purchased at mimknits.com for $20.00

This book is cool for one-of-a-kind yarns, with limited yarns. Patterns are designed to use all of the yarn.

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Reviewed by: Velvet Dishon

Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby

Can be purchased at royalyarns.com for $30.00

This book has lovely lace shawls and a lot of history.

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Reviewed by: Jennifer Wujcik

How to Knit by Debbie Bliss

Can be purchased at Amazon, half.com.

This book is a great resource for basic tips and increasing skills with tips and patterns.

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Reviewed by: Jennifer Wujcik

Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff

Can be purchased at Amazon, half.com.

This book is talks about working with natural fibers and the festivals where the fibers can be found.

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Reviewed by: Dawn Goetz

Knit. Sock. Love by Cookie A

Can be purchased at Amazon, Knit Picks, Cook A’s website for $26.95.

This book has great patterns, beautiful photos and very few errata

Cable without a Cable Needle

Here’s an interesting way of making a cable without the headache of wondering where you left your cable needle! Give it a try!

Row 1: P2, K4, p2

Row 2: K2, P4, K 2

Row 3 & 4: Rep rows 1 & 2

Row 5: P2, k the 4^th st on LH needle but do not

remove it from the needle, k 3^rd st on LH needle

but do not remove it from the needle, k 2^nd st on

LH needle but do not remove it from the needle,

k 1^st st on the needle and draw all four sts off

needle at once, p2.

Row 6: Rep row 2

Upcoming Events

July 16 - Fry's Marketplace knit-together – 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

July 28 – Stich & Pitch – Chase Field – 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

August 6 – CNKG Meeting 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM*

August 20 – Fry's Marketplace knit-together – 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

August 6 – CNKG Meeting 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Sept 10 – CNKG Meeting 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM*

*Dinner for Hungry Knitters – 5:00 Streets of New York.

Don’t forget to Host your Own Knit Together! Refer to the “Latest News” under “Members Only” for a list of available months. I hope you enjoy the pictures below from our June meeting. We are a good looking bunch, aren't we???

UNTIL WE KNIT AGAIN!!

Barb Hahn, Newsletter Editor