Classes and Lectures
Color Explorations
Color, color, everywhere! Our classes on this trip will be an in-depth exploration of color and all its many applications. We’ll dive into color theory, color patterning, color games, and various types of colorwork techniques. We’ll play with ways to arrange colors, stack colors, strand colors, and even apply colors to non-fiber materials.
Classes and Lectures
Each cruiser will have a guaranteed spot in Xandy’s and Amy’s lectures, a functional art class with Karen, and three half-day knittting classes. You’ll indicate your preferred knitting classes during signup. Placement into the preferred knitting classes is attempted but not guaranteed; timing of registration will also be taken into account.
Descriptions
Every knitter will be able to attend lectures by Xandy Peters and Amy Snell.
Lecture: The Right Yarn for the Job with Amy Snell
Many’s the sad knitter who has been lured into an unwise marriage of yarn-to-pattern by the flash of color in a pretty little variegated skein or the come-hither glance of mohair, only to realize too late that this pattern and that yarn were never meant to be together. In this lecture, Amy shares some of the worst arranged yarn marriages of all time, then dives into common causes of mismatch and shares guidelines for making smarter yarn pairings. You’ll learn how to avoid color catastrophes, why fiber content matters, the sneakiness of superwash, and best practices for finding your yarny happy-ever-after.
Lecture: Color Theory for Fiber Artists with Xandy Peters
Explore a range of palettes and color perspectives and learn how a pattern is changed by color. The fundamental concepts of color interaction and theory will be introduced in a lecture format. During the presentation, students will learn about the color wheel, historical points of interest, and will see examples of quick and dirty color-ups from a fashion industry perspective, focusing on methods of exploring color combinations without the expense of yarn and the time intensive process of swatching.
Each Knitter will enjoy the Functional Art Class and will be able to choose three additional classes from this Knitting Class list
Intro to Stacked Stiches with Xandy Peters
Stacked stitches are an innovative approach to striped colorwork, best known as the technique behind the Fox Paws pattern. Stacks can add shaping, create 3d texture, replace short rows, and when combined with stripes, they create intricate motifs without unsightly strands on the wrong side of your projects. You’ll never need to manage more than one color at a time or worry about bobbins because stacked stitches bend rows of garter stitch into new shapes and patterns using only increases and decreases. This introductory class will enable knitters of all levels to try out the technique in a swatch and become confident working patterns that incorporate stacked stitches. We will focus on mastering the increase and decrease stitches and learn several strategies for avoiding problems and fixing mistakes.
Requirements: This class is best suited for intermediate level knitters or adventurous beginners who have experience reading patterns and working basic increases and decreases.
Supplies: Worsted weight scrap yarn in multiple colors, circular needles with a flexible cord in a corresponding size to your yarn and a few adjacent sizes (metal or plastic needles are strongly recommended), stitch markers. Optional materials: scratch paper, highlighter tape, and a digital row counter.
Ladderback Jacquard for Stranded Knitting with Amy Snell
Easy, seamless, and beautiful, the ladderback jacquard technique will improve the tension of your stranded knitting while allowing you to span much larger areas between stitches. This knitting method adds stretch to your floats while preventing the alternate color from peeking through, and can be applied to nearly any stranded knitting application. Once you add this technique to your knitting toolbox, you may never want to go back to any other method of carrying floats.
In this class we’ll learn several different options for setting up and resolving ladders, explore best practices for placement and charting, and talk about edge cases like single-row ladders and working with extra colors.
Whether you’re interested in tweaking patterns or developing your own colorwork designs, incorporating this technique means you can design without limits on the space between alternating motifs.
Requirements: Students should already be comfortable working stranded knitting.
Supplies: Smooth, worsted weight yarn in two contrasting colors and your choice of needles in a compatible size (US #7-9) suitable for working a small-circumference project in the round (dpns, magic loop, or two circulars).
Stitch By Color with Xandy Peters
Have you ever struggled to find project ideas for multicolored yarn? In this class we will create colorwork, texture, or lace using variegated yarn as our guide. In plain stockinette or garter stitch, multicolor yarns create linear patterns. You can completely change the way a multicolor yarn looks by isolating or manipulating the colors with your stitches. Students will learn 15+ stitches that can be used in assigned pooling and knit by color patterns and have a chance to experiment with different stitches. At the end of class, everyone will share their results and discuss how each rule affected the outcome of their stitch pattern.
Requirements: Students should be familiar with ONE of these techniques: beginner lace, slipped stitches, bobbles. These techniques and others will be demonstrated in class.
Supplies: A few different multicolor yarns, needles appropriate to your chosen yarn, notebook, pen or pencil with eraser, stitch markers, and a crochet hook.
Functional Color Art with Karen Heitkamp
Every knitter will be enrolled in this class. Working with inks and paints you will transform everyday objects into beautiful pieces of art that you can use during and long after the cruise. In this class you will learn and practice a wide variety of techniques to manipulate and use the fluid nature of inks and paints. Once you have practiced this skill you will be able to create your own unique designs.
Requirements: None!
Supplies: All supplies will be provided. Bring your curiosity and sense of adventure!
Fizzy Drinks Mosaic Felted Coasters with Amy Snell
This is the pattern that breaks all the rules! Make fun color patterns without carrying more than one yarn; don’t weave in a single end, even if you are working in 10 colors; cut up your knitting without fear!
In this make-and-take class, you’ll learn the basics of working mosaic colorwork and have fun felting your finished object.
Requirements: Students should know how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off.
Supplies: Students will need at least 30 yards of each of two contrasting colors of
NON-SUPERWASH worsted-weight yarn (such as Cascade 220, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted, Morehouse Merino 3-Strand Worsted, or Valley Yarns Northampton), plus a sharp pair of scissors and your usual notions bag. Additional colors of the same weight of non-superwash yarn can make the project even more fun, so if you have non-superwash yarn scraps, bring them! Please be aware that if your yarn is listed as being machine washable, it will not work for this class.
Colorwork Games with Xandy Peters
If you love playing with geometry and want to combine your fiber arts with some fun math puzzles and games, this class is made for you! The class begins with an introduction to tiled patterns. We’ll look at Truchet tiles and learn how to use rotational symmetry to turn a simple group of tiles into varied designs. Students will have chance to cut out, fill in, and play with their own tile sets. Once we’ve made some fun patterns with simple tiles, we’ll move on to edge matched tiling. These tile sets are used to create random patterns that look seamless (think of randomly generated maps in video games). These tile sets are surprisingly easy to create, and we will go over various strategies for creating edge matched tiles. Students will have time in class to create their own colorwork tile sets on paper and explore the possibilities. At the end of class, students can share their colorwork designs.
Requirements: Students should be familiar with 2 color stranded colorwork, crochet colorwork, or quilt piecing.
Supplies: Graph Paper. A pencil or erasable pen. At least 2-3 colored pencils. Students will work on paper during class but are encouraged to bring 2 colors of yarn or 16-25 half-square triangles *just in case* they feel like
Colorific Cast-Ons with Amy Snell
Who says we have to wait for the main section of the knitting to begin our color play? Starting from the ridiculously simple and advancing to the stunningly clever, you’ll learn several different ways to add fun, eye-catching two- and even three-color cast-ons to your knitting. We’ll also practice multiple ways to bind off in more than one color and how to adjust our multi-color bind-offs for different effects.
Requirements: Students should know how to knit, purl, cast on, and bind off.
Supplies: Approximately 30 yards each of three contrasting colors of smooth worsted-weight yarn, needles you usually use for worsted weight yarn, crochet hook in a similar size, scissors, tapestry needle.
Note: Instructors and Class Subjects may change