Winter updates

Hello again.

2 changes I want to let you all know about. First of all, the spinning has been changed to Sunday the 14th & the 21th but will not be offered on the 28th. I guess Mary thinks she wants to go out of town and this is more important than working (luv ya, Mary!). She is also going to include needle felting during these classes so it should be informative. The second is that, due to the impending cold snap that everyone seems excited about, the accessory club this Friday will be offering 2 projects-the short row hat from Interweave Knits and an original pattern, A Fun Pocket Scarf. I will be using some of my cool handspun novelties for this but for those of you that are more into neutrals (and we know how I feel about that) we have some lovely tailored boucles that would work wonderfully.

I am getting in a huge shipment of Ozark Handspun in a few days. I am really excited as there should be about 12 colors and I got to pick them before Terri & David went to the trade show in San Diego so we might not see some of these colors again for awhile. For those of you who aren't familiar with Ozark, check out their website at ozarkhandspun.com. Very exciting.

I hope I'm not jumping the gun, but look for a brand new company to be in the store by the end of January. We hope to be a stockist but competition is fierce so I'm not going to jinx it by letting too much out of the bag. We'll keep you posted.

We are still working on Lizard Ridge off of knitty.com. This continues to be fun and addicting, especially as new colors of Kureyon come in. In continuing to explore free form needle work I have come across the knit along for Ocean Currents at http://www.knittersreview.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=70806 with Jane Thornley. Check it out-she has some marvelous patterns.

One other item of interest. Starting 1/15, we will be offering Daily Lunch Specials. These will only be available M-F, 11-2 and will be 15% off specific items which change for every day of the week. Sorry, but CAP can't be used in conjunction with these specials.That's all for now. Hope to see you soon!!

Karen, Bonnie, Tierney & Natalie

January Events

December 26, 2006
Well, we are almost at the New Year and we are excited to be at the beginning of so many exciting changes. If you haven’t gotten by the new shop yet, we hope you will be able to stop in after the holidays. It has a warm ambience that is perfect for a fiber arts enterprise.
We continue to offer “Accessory Club” on Friday afternoons from 3-6. The patterns and instruction are free and we endeavor to teach a new technique in a fun project. Many of the patterns are originals so you get them before they go on sale. I am attempting to get the samples up quicker so you have a chance to check it out before the day they are presented. The 5th & 19th are original patterns, the 2 hats are downloads from the internet and we will have copies for your use.
“What is New” ;
Included in our Saturday classes will be a series I am calling “Cardigan Construction”. The first part on the 6th will be the Gauge workshop. This is an introduction to gauging, swatching and planning the details for finishing. This is also a stand alone lesson and the pink fuzzy, glittery mobius that many of you have commented on is a result of one of these workshops. But if you have ever thought about starting a garment, this series will make sure that you are successful. Although I am calling it Cardigan Construction, it can be any garment you choose. The second part will be on the 20th and will deal with armhole and shoulder shapings, again with an eye to finishing. These are both on Saturdays but, if I have requests, I will be happy to repeat these on Sundays.
Spinning is again being offered on 2 Sundays, the 14th & 28th and we hope to offer it every Sunday by February. We are also planning on including weaving as part of our expanding repertoire so let us know if you are interested and when you would like to see it offered.
We continue to receive new colors of Kureyon for those of you that are working on the Lizard Ridge from http://knitty.com/ and it was also used in the Short Row Hat, our Accessory Club project on the 12th.
I continue to work on the Scrumbling project that was started on 12/16. Again, it is a super way to use up those scraps you have accumulated. Check out Prudence Mapstone’s website at http://gallery.knotjustknitting.com/. Aren’t the purses marvelous?
I hope to have the Shibori project (see Interweave Knits Fall 2005) finished in the next 2 weeks and will begin workshops on this in February. Check out Jeung-Hwa Park’s work at http://www.guild.com/artist/7086.html to get an idea of the inspiring results that can be accomplished. I also hope to have some hairpin lace samples up in a few weeks and will offer this in February as well. As I say, we are excited to explore new fields, although knitting will always be my first love, so let us know if there are areas of interest that you would like to see.
I continue to work on getting the website updated and hope to have this accomplished soon. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to make your visits more pleasant and creative.
Happy New Year !!!
Karen, Bonnie, Tierney & Natalie
Hope to see you soon!


ABC's of Creative Pursuits
1412 17th St, Ste E-Haberfelde Gallery
Bakersfield, CA 93301
661.323.4450
creativepursuits@gmail.com
http://www.abcsofcreativepursuits.com/
M-F 10-6, Sat 10-5, Sun Noon-4


January 2007
Fri 5th- Accessory Club A Different Kind of Ruffled Scarf 3-6PM
Sat 6th- 10-12 Open lessons; Cardigan Construction Part 1 Gauge workshop 1-3 $15 incl handouts
Sun 7th- Block Club $20 for 4 sessions Open lessons 1-3Pm

Fri 12th- Accessory Club Short Row Hat 3-6PM
Sat 13th- 10-12 Open lessons; Scrap Ripple Poncho 1-3 $25 incl pattern
Sun 14th- Spinning & Open lessons 1-3Pm, Block Club

Fri 19th- Accessory Club Garter Blocks Scarf or Wrap 3-6PM
Sat 20th- 10-12 Open lessons; Cardigan Construction Part 2-Armhole Shaping 1-3 $15
Sun 21th- Spinning & Open lessons 1-3Pm; Block Club

Fri 26th- Accessory Club Marigold Hat 3-6 PM
Sat 27th- 10-12 Open lessons; Socks 1-3 PM
Sun 28th-Open lessons 1-3 PM; Block Club

Holiday Newsletter

Hello out there!
This my first attempt at an on-line newsletter so bear with me. Here goes;

First of all, I want to thank all of you for supporting us for these last 3 years. Without you, the dream of having a fun place to share the love of working with fibers would not be possible. I am deeply grateful. We have recently moved, the actual address is 1412 17th St #E in the Haberfelde Gallery and, for those of you that know the Haberfelde, you can imagine the charm and warmth that the new shop has. It is a perfect place to continue to grow and expand into new fields. As a thank you for your patronage, we are offering you a free gift between December 11-December 24 with every $50 purchase.

On to “What is New” ;
We have new patterns from Karabella (see Interweave Knits Winter 2006 pg 73) that are featuring the more tailored looks. These are marvelous in the Aurora 8, Melange and Space Dyed. There is a KAL for A Cardigan for Arwen at http://knitalongs.xaviermusketeer.com/ in which several of the members are using Aurora 8. IK also has an article on Berta Karapetyan who founded and owns Karabella and she has a book coming out in the spring called Runway Knits. Can’t wait!

We have new colors of Kureyon for those of you that are working on the Lizard Ridge from http://knitty.com/ and I am also using it to work up a variation of Sally Melville’s Faith Jacket which really shows off the striping to good effect.

There is a large shipment of Plymouth in, including Encore, Rimini, 3 kinds of alpaca, Dreambaby and new yarns “Patches” (see IK page 43), “Yesterday”, “Today” and “Tomorrow”. The pattern support for these are easy yet stylish.

Our classes for this month include Scrumbling on 12/16. For anyone who is interested in this freeform process, check out Prudence Mapstone’s website at http://gallery.knotjustknitting.com/. Aren’t the purses marvelous? And it is a super way to use up those bits of yarns you just can’t bare to throw away.

We continue to offer “Accessory Club” on Friday afternoons from 3-6. The patterns and instruction are free and we endeavor to teach a new technique in a fun project. Many of the patterns are originals so you get them before they go on sale.

In January we will begin to explore Shibori which I first saw in Interweave Knits Fall 2005. Check out Jeung-Hwa Park’s work at http://www.guild.com/artist/7086.html to get an idea of the inspiring results that can be accomplished. We are also going to be delving into weaving and hairpin lace as other ways to create gorgeous wearable and home dec items. As I say, we are excited to explore new fields, although knitting will always be my first love, so let us know if there are areas of interest that you would like to see.

Our website should be updated soon so forgive me if this is excessively long, but we have so much happening. In the meantime, I’ve listed our upcoming activities. Come in, check out the ambience of the new location and please let us know if there is anything that we can do to make the experience more pleasant.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!!!!
Karen, Bonnie, Tierney & Natalie
Hope to see you soon!

Friday 12/15-Accessory Club 3-6: Evening Buttonhole Bag
Sat 12/16-10-12: Open lessons, 1-3: Scrumbling
Sun 12/17-1-3: Open lessons & Block Club

Friday 12/22-Accessory Club 3-6: Cabled Hooded Scarf
Sat 12/23-10-12: Open lessons, 1-3 Open lessons
Sun 12/24 1-3: Open lessons & Block Club

Friday 12/29- Accessory Club 3-6: Ojos de Dios Felted Bag
Sat 12/30-10-12: Open lessons, 1-3 Mosiac Mitts (Interweave Knits Holiday issue)
Sun 12/31-1-3: Open lessons & Block Club

Let The Pinwheels Begin

Come in and see what all the buzz is about. We started a fun Knit Along with our friends. We are knitting the famous Elann.com Pinwheel Sweater for Women and Children by the very talented Shelly Mackie. Here are a few photos of our yarns and our start of this fun fast moving sweater.


This is Lauren's beginning of her abstract Pinwheel using Quellion, Nature Wool, Baby Alpapa and much more. Lauren has taken the pattern and adapted it to her fun style. The colors that Lauren is using are so bright and wonderful. In Lauren's own word "The Pinwheel thing is so addictive". As of yesterday she was on her bind off. She is planning on wearing it to an outing on Saturday. I am sure she will have it completed in time, since she only had the sleeves to finish.


Here is Karen's second version made with Noro Silk Garden and Cash Iroha. This pinwheel will have not only have different fibers but also different stitch textures for an added pinwheel effect. If you look closely you will see the added pinwheel with in a pinwheel.


Here are Kara's yarns all picked out and ready to start. From Noro Kureyon to Karabella's Aurora 8.


And here is Karen's first version of the pinwheel. Both Tori and Gail also started their Pinwheels along with Janet but their photos will be posted soon. Stop in to see what all the fuss is about.