Nautical Knitting 2018 with Melissa Leapman, Patty Lyons, Brooke Nico, and Carol Sulcoski

REVISED Workshops December 16 Morning Sessions (9-12:00)

Sobremesa Baby Blanket: (with Melissa)

Learn the secrets of counterpane knitting as you stitch a gorgeous, heirloom-worthy baby blanket. Nearly every row is different, and I can hear you saying “just one more row” all the way from here!

Design Your Own Triangular Shawl (with

Brooke) In this class, participants will learn the ins and outs of designing with lace patterns. We’ll discuss lots of ways of shaping a simple triangle shawl. We’ll also learn how to graph out a lace pattern in the body of the shawl, adding repeats in the most effective and aesthetic way as the shawl grows. Intermediate level, must be familiar with basic lace knitting, including yo's and decreases.

Patty’s Bag of Tricks (with Patty)

There are so many wonderful knitting tricks that make our lives better. Over the years of knitting and teaching I’ve accumulated quite a few fantastic tricks. I’ve dug into my knitting bag of tricks and put them all in one class. From how to do a better SSK, make matching size YOs, how to avoid the gap at the end of a bind off, how to tighten your first stitch, how to make better neck di-vides, and more. Find your new favorite knitting tricks!

December 15-20 to Labadee Haiti and Falmouth Jamaica

2

December 16 Afternoon Sessions (1:30-4:30pm)

Celtic Cables (with Melissa) Learn how to use basic

cabling techniques to create Celtic inspired panels and motifs. (Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but these gorgeous cables are much easier to knit than they look!)

Great Gradients (with Brooke and Carol) Join Carol and Brooke as we discuss the wonderful potential of gradients and fades. Carol will start the session with an overview of how to select the gradient for you, and how to create your own from single skeins. She'll lead you through the process of learning how the length of color changes will impact your final piece, and how to select the colors that will accent each other. Then, Brooke will take over and we'll learn swatch some stitch motifs that work well with gradi-ents. We'll end with a discussion of garments and accesso-ries that will show the gradient effects and flatter the body.

Terrific Teaser Tee (with Patty)

A brand new summer top created just for the Nautical Knitting Cruise! The tee will be revealed on the Cruise (can’t tell you more, it would ruin the fun!). The class will create a mini section that will teach all the tricks of the garment. The pattern is included free for all class partici-pants! Enjoy working this interesting construction while you create you new favorite spring / summer top!

3

December 17 Afternoon Sessions (2:30-5:30 pm)

Hip to be Square (with Melissa)

Explore the possibilities of this simple designer's building block. Learn several versions using color, texture, and more! Best of all, since each successive square is built directly onto a previous one, no sewing is required. (Read that: You might actually finish a blanket rather than store individual blocks in a drawer for eternity.) Bonus: Mitered squares are ideal for stashbusting.

Modular Lace Afghan (with Brooke)

Modular knitting is a great way to tackle a big project. Knit-ting small sections at time seems less daunting, you get to “finish” something every day or two, and it's portable! It is also a wonderful way to learn a new knitting skill. This af-ghan is a great introduction to lace knitting. Featuring sev-eral lace motifs of varying skill levels, you can pick and choose which motifs you enjoy knitting. Or, you can work your way through all of them and learn new skills as you go. In class, we'll learn the basics of lace knitting, practice sev-eral motifs, and discuss several ways to construct a modular afghan. Don't want an afghan? No prob. We'll also discuss ways to make a poncho, stole, and other simple garments.

Finishing Seams Simple (with Patty) Has the fear of finishing stopped you from knitting a sweat-er, or are you unhappy with your seams on accessories? Proper finishing is the difference between hand made and home made. Master the simple skills needed for the perfect finish. We’ll learn all the basic seaming techniques such as mattress stitch, shoulder graft and more. We’ll also look at picking up stitches horizontally, vertically and around a neck line. Don’t stop short of the perfect finish!

4

December 18 Afternoon Sessions (2:30-5:30 pm)

Intro to Estonian Lace (with Brooke)

Estonian lace is gaining popularity in recent years. In this class, we will learn the tricks of all those wonderful textural stitch patterns prevalent in Estonian shawls. Great tricks for creating and blocking nupps will be discussed at length. Intermediate level, must be familiar with basic lace knit-ting, including yo's and decreases.

Knitting ER! Tragedies and Treatments (with

Patty) It’s happened to everyone. The one thing that can stop our knitting, and cause us to put our projects into a time out – MISTAKES. Never fear simple mistakes again, as you learn how to take control of your knitting. We’ll learn how to read your knitting and master the basics that every knitter needs to know, how to unknit, how to pick up a dropped stitch in stockinette, how to fix garter, how to fix a mistake in a stitch pattern such as rib or seed, and how to fix your stitch mounts to avoid twisted stitches. We’ll also learn a few fancy tricks like picking up a dropped stitch at the end of your row or using a small needle to safely rip down to. Everyone makes mistakes; now learn that it doesn’t have to ruin your knitting!

Crescent Fresh: Designing a Crescent Shawlette (with Carol) Crescent shawlettes are fast and fun to knit. In this class, you’ll design your own shawlette using DK-weight yarn. We’ll walk through the skills you’ll need to complete your shawl – picking up stitches, working basic short rows, and an appropriate bind-off – then you’ll leave class with your own customized pattern for a shawlette that is truly yours.

December 18 EVENING SESSION Crochet for Cowards: The Hat Episode Have you always wanted to learn to crochet? In this class, you’ll learn the essentials while making a toasty hat. Bring a size H crochet hook, approximately 300 yds of worsted weight yarn, and a healthy sense of humor. Fee: $30

5

December 19 Morning Sessions (9-12:00)

Shawl Builder Workshop (with Melissa)

Imagine hundreds, even thousands, of beautiful shawl designs within your reach! In this class, see how interchangeable shawl wedges mix and match to create nearly endless design possibilities. Learn three different starting tabs, three different side borders, and how to use your creativity to design truly one-of-a-kind masterpiece shawls.

Brooke’s Grab Bag of Super Simple Super Astounding Stitches (with Brooke) In knitting there are only 2 stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. However, by manipulating these stitches in a variety of ways, we can come up with an amazing variety of fabrics! In this class, you’ll learn several super easy stitches to create wonderfully complex looking fabrics. Amaze your friends with a lace scarf, with no counting or charts. Using only 1 yarn at a time and slip stitches, we can create intricate color work motifs, or a textured fabric with mock cables. Learn several new varieties of rib stitches as well.

Professional Polish: Secrets of the Pros (with Patty) Learn the professional tricks of the trade that can make your projects look more polished and your knitting life more enjoyable. Patty, our finishing genius, digs deeper into her bag of tricks to present a whole new batch of sanity saving knitting tips. From cast on to bind off and everything in between, learn simple tricks to make your knitting better, like how to avoid the dip you get at the start of a bind off, or the hole under a make one. Learn how to make the knitting decisions that can add polish to your work, like choosing the right way to join a new ball or weave in those ends. Even learn simple fixes to avoid tragedy like how to fix a dropped stitch in your cast on, or what to do when you find a bad bit of yarn in your work, or a mistake in your stitch pattern after you’ve bound off! Be prepared to add a few more of favorites from Patty’s new bag of tricks.

6

December 19 Afternoon Sessions (1:30-4:30 PM)

Two-Faced Knitting (with Melissa)

Want to add more reversible stitch patterns to your knitting backpack? Discover several fun fabrics that are perfect for scarves, blankets, or any project that is seen on both sides. Learn how to look good both coming and going!

Simply Shetland (with Brooke)

All lace is made up of the same simple building blocks: decreases, yarn overs, and knit stitches. In this class, we'll take a deep look at 3 basic Shetland lace stitches, razor stitch, fir stitch, and feather and fan. We'll break each motif down to its core components, and in the process learn why some motifs scallop and others don't, which stitches work well with variegated yarn, and how to alter stitches to create new motifs. Intermediate level: must be comfortable with decreases and basic lace skills.

Colorwork Conundrum Cowl (with Patty)

Get ready to learn a few fun color work tricks while making this wonderful mystery cowl. Like a technique tour, this super fun cowl will be a colorful cruise souvenir!

Ribbing Round-Up (with Carol)

We all have an old faithful ribbing we use on nearly every project. In this class, we’ll break out of our ribbing rut. We’ll start with some simple and sturdy options, then try out some ribbings with decorative elements like eyelets and mock cables. Learn to transition from ribbing to other stitch patterns, to increase and decrease in ribbing, and see how ribbing choice can affect the look of the finished garment. We’ll finish by investigating some alternatives to ribbing.