April Showers bring, what, now? May showers? Hopefully not, because in our unofficial polling of the Portland crafters, one thing we can all agree on is: enough already with the wacky weather! We are ready for Spring! And flip-flops. Short-sleeved tops. Skirts with bare legs. And, most of all, no more hail. Whew.
May also brings with it a bevy of fun crafty events here at your friendly neighborhood Twisted. We want to remind you about the exciting things we have coming up in the next few weeks...
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LARISSA BROWN BOOK-SIGNING AND CRAFT-ALONG
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Thursday, May 8, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, we're hosting a get together with Larissa Brown to celebrate her new book, Knitalong. Larissa, an avid knitter, and her husband Martin, a writer, wrote the book together to celebrate the phenomenon of knitting together, and trace it back through years of tradition, community, and shared purpose. Their website has lots of fun details, stories and photos.
Larissa will be at Twisted Thursday evening signing books and showing us how to put together one of the projects featured in it - the "Knitter's Magic Ball." This is a yarn ball wound up with notions and treats inside. It's an easy and thoughtful project for non-knitting friends, partners and children to make for the knitter in their lives. Perfect for Mothers' Day!
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FIONA ELLIS RECEPTION AND LECTURE
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Friday, May 9, 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Twisted is thrilled to be partnering with Blue Moon Fiber Arts for a part of their Fiona Ellis Weekend.
On Friday evening, renowned author and designer Fiona Ellis will be at Twisted for a reception and lecture. You'll recognize her talent and style from her two popular books Inspired Cable Knits and Inspired Fair Isle Knits. This event is free and there is still space available. But, since the shop is only so big, we're asking people to pre-register by calling us at 503.922.1150. We'll be closing early that evening for the event.
The rest of Blue Moon's weekend will feature Fiona leading a series of classes on design, cables, and slip stitch knitting at the World Forestry Center. You can see the full schedule and register for these classes here on the Blue Moon website. Each class has space for 25 students.
Saturday, May 10, 2008. Dive into Design - 6 hours, $115.
Sunday, May 11, 2008. Morphing Cables - 3 hours, $60.
Sunday, May 11, 2008. Slip Stitch Illusion - 3 hours, $60.
Sunday only, both classes - $115.
All classes on both days - $195.
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WHY I KNIT
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Sunday, May 11, from 2:00-4:00pm, our friend Laurie Ann Greenberg will be here, video camera in hand, to ask the BIG question: Why Do You Knit? We've had a journal in the shop for the last month or so, and have had lots of people contributing their answers. Laurie Ann has been talking about why she knits on her blog. For this event, on Mothers' Day, we're hoping moms and daughters will come in together to share how they got started in the craft and what it means to them.
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LANTERN MOON TRUNK SHOW
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Friday, May 30 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm, the wonderful folks from Lantern Moon will be showing off their complete line of bags, baskets and knitting-related wares here at Twisted. The trunk show is open to all, no reservation needed. We'll have treats to nibble and sip on and, best of all, all Lantern Moon products will be discounted during the event! We're also hoping to convince Sharon to give a short talk and show off some of the photos from her many trips to Vietnam.
For those of you not familiar with Lantern Moon, it is a small local Portland company with a global reach. They focus not only on producing beautiful and functional handcrafted products, but also on the social, environmental and economic impact their company has in the world. They partner with communities in Vietnam to provide workers with a fair wage, job training, and a good working environment. It is a fantastic company all around and we are thrilled to join forces for this event. Don't miss it!
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CUSTOMER PHOTO GALLERY
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What do your Twisted purchases become when they grow up? Show us your creations and check out everyone else’s in the new Twisted customer photo gallery. It’s a flickr group where you can show off the finished objects that started their lives on our shelves.
Read more about it on our website, or just go straight to the full photo gallery on flickr. We'd absolutely love it if you'd join the group and share your photos of Twisted finished objects! To the left is one of our favorites that was recently uploaded of two of our favorite gals showing off their Zephyr Style sweaters.
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AND MUCH MORE!
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Keep your eyes peeled for more fun events this summer, like another CRAFT Launch Party on June 1. And an event with the uber-crafty Susan Beal and her brand-new, fantastic book Bead Simple!
And, as always, there are classes a-plenty to keep you busy. We've got a smorgasbord of fantastic classes and vivacious teachers to help you figure out whatever crafting problem you may be having, or whatever new technique you are dying to master. Check out our class schedule.
There are also oodles of groups that meet here at Twisted. Come check one out when you've got an evening free. Open crafting night is every Tuesday from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Queer knitting nights are every other Sunday from 4:00 - 7:00 pm. The Twisted Stitchers, a knitting group for yoga lovers meets every other Wednesday from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. And the BMFA Rockin' Sock Club Portland-area knitters come a-callin' every other Thursday, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. See the class schedule or events page of our website for upcoming dates and details about all of these groups.
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HAIKU CONTEST
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Last month's haiku contest addressed the theme of crafting and the weather. Not an obvious link, but we had faith you all would come up with something brilliant. And we were not disappointed. In fact, though we're the first to admit that we usually go for the funny poems, this month Brianne swept us off our feet her very lovely and perceptive lines. View our blog post to read all the entries.
Rivulets of rain
make cables down my window.
Inspired, I knit.
-Brianne P.
This month's contest is NOT a haiku at all. We're looking for a slogan for Twisted. Think "Got Milk" or "Just Do It." Something appropriate for t-shirts and bumper stickers. Something fun, funky, and fresh. Something that encapsulates the Twisted vibe. Feel free to submit crazy and/or bawdy slogans, as we'll surely enjoy reading them, however the winner will be something that your mother would not be embarrassed to read on the bumper off the car in front of her while stopped at a red light. For this month, multiple entries WILL be allowed. To enter, click here. This month's prize is a t-shirt and bumper sticker with our new catch phrase on it!
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