Sock KAL

It's time for our SnB Sock Knit Along once again! Knitters of ALL ages can join us Thursday, March 17th at Basics from 6-8pm as we begin. Feel free to join in and start at any time in the coming week's gatherings. Supplies needed: Size 2 double-pointed knitting needles and approximately 4oo yards of sock wt. or fingering yarn in your favorite color. A free pattern will be provided. If you simply need to learn how to knit, we'll get you started, too. Please join the fun and you'll have something to wear when you finish!

2nd Annual Midwinter Fiber and Yarn Tasting

The Janesville Area Stitch 'n Bitch invites all ages to attend the 2nd Annual Midwinter Fiber & Yarn Tasting on Saturday, February 19, 2011 from 9am-4pm at Basics Natural Foods Co-op, 1711 Lodge Drive, Janesville, Wisconsin. Admission is free to enjoy the "Yarn Bar" where you can touch and work with a variety of natural fibers and yarns, watch fiber arts demonstrations, win one of many door prizes, learn about area fiber farm resources, buy hand-spun, knit, and crocheted items or wood tools such as hand spindles, shuttles and more, and even get FREE lessons in spinning, crochet or knitting! Participating vendors include Clear View Farm, Firefly Field Finns, the Illinois Wool & Fiber Mill, Loveless Fiber Farm, Pacesetter Alpaca, Red Brick Road Farm, Frene Creek Farm, Rock Farms, and Spring Beauty Farm featuring the fiber of various sheep breeds, goats, llama, alpaca, rabbit and silk.

Pacesetter Alapca Weekend

Saturday and Sunday, September 25 & 26

Join SnB as we demonstrate and teach spinning with alpaca fiber at Dennis and Christy's farm for the Pacesetter Alpaca Festival. Please come out, enjoy the animals, learn about their fiber, and enjoy a great autumn day! Here's a link map to find the farm that is between Janesville and Beloit: http://maps.google.com/maps?num=10&hl=en&q=5546+West+Plymouth+Church+Rd.+Beloit,+WI&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=5546+W+Plymouth+Church+Rd,+Beloit,+WI+53511&gl=us&ei=UmCVTMvoGoq7ngfoxrX1Bw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA

What's Happening?

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Tall Grass Farm Spring Fiber Jubilee

Saturday, April 3 • 10am-4pm

•

Rainbow Fleece Farm 30th Annual Spring Shearing
Sat. & Sun., April 10-11
11am-4pm
Featuring Kate Hartman and Alan Holzhueter showing and demonstrating various methods of Northern Eropean Knitting including various shoulder
and yoke styles used in sweaters.....
Textile historian, Pat Hilts, will do a presentation on spindle wheels including the Great Wheel, Minors head, Persian wheel and Chakra.....
hands-on needle felting with Michelle Martin and more!
Visit the woolen mill and fiber studio for your artisan yarns, astonishing fleeces, spinning and felting fibers, "hand-cranked" socks, silk scarves and fabric paints, sheep skins, Ashford wheels and naturally-raised, chemically free lamb cuts.

Coming this spring & summer:

SnB items available for sale at the Janesville Renaissance Faire, May 15 & 16
Stop in and spin or stitch with us at the Faire!
•
Janesville Farmer's Market
Beginning Saturday May 8!
Watch for the dates SnB will be at the market
selling amazing handspun yarns, felting kits,
and finished knit and crocheted items.

Holiday Schedule

While one of the cats stole a drink from the sheeps' water container, this Rainbow Fleece Farm ram (below) was waiting to see YOU at the annual Holiday Open House on 11/23...



As usual, SnB'ers who came on the field trip to the farm saw gorgeous rovings, beautiful yarns, warm FOs, books full of project ideas and lovely holiday gift items in the barn before stopping at the New Glarus Sportsman's Bar & Grill for a surprising tasty lunch. Next spring, we hope YOU can join us as we visit area farms and enjoy SnB friendships.

There will NOT be a gathering on Thanksgiving Day and we hope all have a very special holiday enjoyed with their family and friends. REMEMBER: the next THURSDAY gathering on December 4th will be our Christmas Party beginning at 6pm. If you need details or instructions, please inquire.


Remember a new sock-knit-along will begin at the end of January and we will be giving FREE lessons at CoDoS on January 10 and 24. If there is some other project you are having trouble with, please let us know and we'll do our best to help!

Needles Spark as Cold Weather Descends

As the weather begins to cool, we start to realize the year is now winding down . . . and time to make holiday gifts is running short! Do you recognize any of these SnB participants in their Halloween finery?













New participant, KI (Beloit), found out our SnB gathering has FREE lessons so Paula has helped her learn to crochet while Judith has introduced her to spindle spinning. We also have a yarn ball winder, swift, and other tools that are available for use upon request to our stitchers to help them with their projects! Don't forget the books and DVD's on loan, too...

On Saturday, November 8, SnB participated at the Roosevelt Elementary School PTA Arts & Crafts Fair as our last sale venture in 2008. We plan on continuing to sell our FOs in 2009 at the Janesville Farmer's Market and other venues. Get those knitting and crochet needles busy during the winter months so you can join us for the fun and profit next year!

Please remember to write your FOs in our binder for the year-end tally. Last year our group completed over 600 projects and we hope we can top that number in 2008.

Upcoming Special Events Calendar:
Saturday, November 22
Stitch 'n Assist at 10:00
CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville

Sunday, November 23
Field trip to Rainbow Fleece Farm Holiday Open House
Yarn, roving, felting, kits, FOs, carding and meat available

Thursday, December 4
Annual Holiday Party REVISED TIME: 6-10
Call 608-752-9248 for details.

Saturday, December 13
Stitch 'n Assist at 10:00
CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville

NOTE: No gatherings on Christmas
and New Years Day

Saturday, December 27
Stitch 'n Assist at 10:00
CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville

Saturday, January 10
Stitch 'n Assist at 10:00
CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville

Saturday, January 24
Stitch 'n Assist at 10:00
CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville

Looking forward . . .
January – Sock Knit-Along (learn to make socks!!!)
March – Mystery Project (knit or crochet)
May – Annual A Good Yarn Contest
June - October – Farmer's Market and other
opportunities to sell our FOs

NEED SOME HELP OR A TEACHER?

FREE LESSONS & TROUBLE SHOOTING

CoDoS Coffee Shop
119 N. Main St., Janesville, WI
10:00 a.m.
(2nd and 4th Saturday of each month)

New FREE Classes Offered

FREE LESSONS & TROUBLE SHOOTING
Available beginning September 13, 2008

Beginning Saturday, September 13, CoDos Coffee Shop, 119 N. Main, Janesville will be the site on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month for free spinning, knitting, and crochet lessons, trouble-shooting and general stitching advise by "Stitch 'n Assist", an affinity group of the 2 Janesville Area Stitch 'n Bitch gatherings. Those who want to learn but need to know what to bring, which instruction will be available on a given Saturday, or volunteers interested in assisting others, should contact SnA at proartist@aol.com, revada100@yahoo.com, or call 608.752.9248.

Autumn Activities Announced

JANESVILLE FARMER'S MARKET
Saturday, August 30 8a.m. - 1 p.m. (Set-up at 6:30)
SnB will be at the market on Saturday.
Come sell you knit/crochet/stiched items or just to
join us for a morning of delightful KIP*ing.
*Knitting in public

Interested in attending the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival?
September 5-7 • Jefferson County Fairgrounds
http://www.wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com
Last notice: Car pool going early from
Janesville on Sunday, Sept. 7
If you need a ride, please let us know!

NEW SNB "FRIEND" ON MAIN ST.
September Class Days: Saturdays
September 13 & 27th
10am
Please stop by and visit the
CoDoS Coffee House
119 N. Main Street (Next to Main St. Saloon)
Stop in and say "hi" to Russ the owner.
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11AM to 11PM
Sat. mornings during Farmer's Market - open at 7AM
The shop is DELIGHTFUL and the coffee also wonderful.
Brick walls lined with local art, antiques and more.
Beautiful, serene space for all kinds of activities and
including a FREE use meeting room at the back!
Russ has welcomes SnB providing
FREE knitting - or any other type of stitching -
lessons on Saturday mornings.
If you'd like to teach your favorite needlecraft,
please let Judith know at
proartist@aol.com


ADDITIONAL UPCOMING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES:
Participation is encouraged and YOU
are invited to join the fun.

Friday and Saturday, October 3 & 4: UAA ArtsFest
SnB Demo & Vendor Space will need volunteers

Saturdays, October 11 & 25
Stitching Class @ CoDos Coffee House 10am

Saturday, October 11
SnB Vendor Space at Rock County Fair Grounds Craft Sale

Saturday, November 8 (POSSIBLE)
Vendor space at Roosevelt Elementary School Craft Sale

Thursday, December 4 - Annual Holiday Party
7PM
23 S. Atwood Ave. - Bring-a-dish dinner and holiday fun
"Missing-in-Stitching" veteran SNBers are
especially encouraged to join us for a reunion!

What a summer! First re-visiting British arrived and then for

3 weeks in July, we hosted an English teacher,

Wu Ton (Toni) from Chongqing, China!

"Toni" (above) with stitchers, Crystal and Paula who were performing

at the Janesville Farmer's Market in July as UAA buskers.

We wish more people could experience the wonder,

the learning, and the friendships that can develop worldwide when we're
open to new experiences. This year, a new friendship has begun to
bloom between SnB'er Paula and friend Malcolm in Essex!
If you're interested in finding ane-friend, let me know and we'll see what
we can do so you can beginan international exchange through our
existing "circle of friends"!

Interested in attending the

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival?

September 5-7 • Jefferson County Fairgrounds

http://www.wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com

It's that time of year again and those who have been before

KNOW this is THE event for stitchers in our area.

Want to car pool? Let us know...

Other activities and ideas are always welcome...

Help us set a September date for Farmer's Market sales...

Anyone interested in a SnB Reunion to encourage previous participants

(over 200 total now!) to return? Thoughts on a date?

Should we have an end-of-summer picnic?

Is it too early to look at our calendars and schedule

our annual winter holiday party?

Do you have ideas for speakers to invite?

Your ideas and thoughts to "grow" SnB are ALWAYS welcome.

Interested in learning a particular skill.

Is it time for another "knit or crochet-along"?

What do YOU want to learn?

To Market, To Market....one stitch at a time

SnB stitchers will be able to sell their FOs at the Janesville Farmer's Market again on Saturday, July 19 from 8-Noon. Remember the market is relocated to the top of Courthouse Hill in the parking ramp behind the courthouse. Those who sell items will share the cost of our 2 spaces but others are invited to just join us for stitching. FREE lessons and trouble-shooting always available. Weather permitting as usual.

Want to Learn for FREE?