Weekend Class Wrap-Up - Day Two

Day Two of the first 2012 "Getting Stitched on the Farm" Retreats revolved around knitting and crocheting sunflowers. On the day of the class, how appropos that my first sunflower in my garden began to bloom. This plant was a self-seeded one that seems to be a cross of a Sungold type.

The students were assigned "homework" so that we all had something to begin with. They arrived with lots of petals and leaves, ready to build their very own creations. The nice thing about these kinds of flower projects is that it is okay to mix knit and crochet together in one piece. All morning we made different types of centers - both knit and crochet, stems, and more petals.

Upstairs five of the kittens were taking a nap in a pile. So cute.

Shortly after a lovely lunch (thank you Cynthia!), we loaded the flowers into my washing machine and felted them. Although the flowers look fine unfelted, I really do prefer how the felting softens the fabric and makes the flower look more sculptural. Below are Mary's flowers tacked onto a "Knitter's Block." Do you know about the Knitter's Block? It is a very cool set of blocking boards developed by Julie Weisenberger. All the ladies had Knitter's Blocks with them. They swear by them.

I was so happy that they all brought the sunflower pillows they finished after last year's class. Since the knitters were here last summer, they had added more embroidery and the edging. They looked lovely on the floor of my studio. You can buy this pattern if you can't get to a knitting retreat at our farm on my website here or on Ravelry here.

Here are the fruits of their labors. What a beautiful and colorful array of projects. 

 

Smiles all around in this photo shortly before everyone departed.

Here is the lampshade Ann painted already installed at Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Cockeysville, MD. Check it out if you are local to MD. They will also be stocking my new yarn Color By Kristin.

What a delightful and lively group of knitters. This upcoming week, I've got a group coming for my first one day retreat of the season. Busy week here.