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Western Reserve Knitting Guild

Canfield, Ohio

Welcome to the

20th Annual

A Knitter’s Fantasy

presented by the

April 11, 2015

Chaney High School

731 South Hazelwood Avenue

Youngstown, OH 44509

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A Message from A Knitter’s Fantasy Committee Members

Welcome to the 20th annual A Knitter’s Fantasy, hosted by the West-ern Reserve Knitting Guild of Canfield, Ohio. We wish to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who worked to make this day a success. A special thank you goes to the teachers, who have volunteered to share their time and experience with us. We hope you find today to be fun, educational and inspirational!

If you have any questions today, please ask a committee member wearing a name tag with a yellow flower, or go to the registration table near the front entrance and someone will be happy to assist you.

Raffle Auction: Raffle-auction tickets are sold until noon. Tickets are $1 each, or 6 for $5. Winners will be drawn at noon and posted after the Style Show. Check the winners’ board in the raffle area to see if you had a winning ticket. All items must be picked up by 4pm. If you need to leave before the prizes are posted, leave your tickets with a friend who can check the prize board for you.

Door Prizes: Market vendors, yarn stores, individuals and yarn com-panies donated the Door Prizes for this year’s event. Please stop by the MACHINE KNITTING DEMO Room (Room 151) to check out the prizes. Winners were selected at random from all registered attendees, teach-ers and committee members and were notified when they picked up their registration materials. To claim a prize, winners must show their name tags/identification to the door prize attendant and must be pre-sent to claim a door prize. Any prizes not claimed by 4pm will be do-nated to the Western Reserve Knitting Guild. If you won a door prize, please consider sending a thank you note to the donor.

Caps For Kids: Caps are being collected just inside the cafeteria area. If you would like to enter a hand-knit cap in the contest, fill out an en-try blank and the Caps For Kids attendant will pin it up for voting. Eve-ryone attending Knitter’s Fantasy is eligible to vote on one cap for each of the two categories. Voting ends at noon and the winners will be an-nounced after the Style Show. Thank you in advance for your generous donations, which will be shared with needy children in the Mahoning Valley area.

Fashion Show: Begins at 12:15 PM. Participants should meet in room 151, just outside the cafeteria, beginning at noon.

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History of A Knitter’s Fantasy

The inspiration for A Knitter’s Fantasy came from Knitter’s Day Out,

held annually in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania since 1986. Those of us who

attended this event were so enthused that we thought, ”Why can’t we

do it here in Ohio?”

We established a Steering Committee in the fall of 1995 with mem-

bers from four area guilds and met to discuss how we could accom-

plish this. It was decided that the Witty Knitters would host the first

Fantasy in 1996, and that it would be passed on to the other guilds to

host each subsequent year. The original members of this Steering

Committee were Candy Kratsas, Nancy Walpole, and Karen Staples of

the Witty Knitters; Dorothy Voitus, Marlyn Ibele, and Kay Thompson of

the Western Reserve Knitting Guild; Sue Crowe and Ann Egan of North-

coast Knitting Guild; and Rita Haby of Northeast Ohio Knitting Guild.

We have been passing the host duties among three guilds as the

Northeast Ohio Knitting Guild is no longer meeting.

Now, after 20 wonderful and successful Fantasy events, the three host

knitting guilds have decided it is time to turn their attention to new

endeavors. As such, this will be the last time they sponsor A Knitter's

Fantasy. On behalf of the Witty Knitters, the Northcoast Knitting Guild,

and the Western Reserve Knitting Guild, we thank you for participating

in this year's event, and wish everyone continued success and enjoy-

ment in the pursuit of knitting, spinning, crocheting, felting, dyeing,

and all things fiber.

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A Knitter’s Fantasy 2015 Planning Committee

Co-Chairs: Jen Kendall, Loren Lease

Caps for Kids: Jean Kaba, Linda Lash, Linda Thompson

Door Prizes: Brenda Lawrence, Diana Strudwick

Fashion Show: Martha Largent, Patricia Williams-Jones

Instructors, Pre-Registration: Jen Kendall

Market: Jacquie Thomas

Name Tags: Elizabeth Dailey, Brenda Lawrence, Diana Strudwick,

Bonnie Smiley, Marlene Martin

Raffle: Eileen Dodson, Sherry Fender, Melinda Ford, Eva Pugh, Patty

Shives

Refreshments: Brenda Lawrence, Joyce Markota-Vitikas, Shawn An-

derson, Earlyn Bentfeld, Trudy Burnham, Marlyn Ibele, Mary Ibele-

Emler, Lynne Janis, Helen LoSasso, Barb Rook

Registration/Tickets: Roni Bosze, Marty Cash-Burless, Michelle Collins

-Sibley, Vicki Felton, Barb Lyons, Judy Ramos

Signs: Judy Ramos, Elizabeth Dailey

Swap Table: Diana Strudwick

Treasurer: Jen Kendall

Event Volunteers: Crystal Carter, Jess Morris, Mel Waltman, and

members of the Western Reserve Knitting Guild

Additional Thanks to the Northcoast Knitting Guild for allowing us to use their Knitter’s Fantasy website. Online registration would not have been possible without their generosity.

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2015 Vendors and Door Prize Donors

Annadele Alpacas

Autumn House Farm

Behind the Pines

Black Walnut Alpacas

Cultured Purl

Delightful Ewe

Dreamweaver Fiber Arts

Dyed in the Wool

Ewe & I Originals

Ewenique Fibers

Fibernymph Dye Works

Fields of Grace Alpacas

Gwen Erin Natural Fibers

Heidi & Lana Artisan Yarns

Knit Spin and More

Knit-Wit Knits

Michelle’s Assortment

Noah’s Landing

Oasis Yarn

Pleasant Valley Alpaca

Pucker Brush Farm

Roving Acres Farm

Sally’s Shop

Say it With Sheep

Sheephaven Hutchworks

Shepherd's Custom Wood-

working, LLC

Soft ’n Sassy

Storybook Alpacas

Susan Yarns

The Flaming Ice Cube

The Woolroom at Longmeadow

Farm

The Yarn Shop

Wolf Creek Yarns

Door Prize Donors

Berroco

Blue Sky Alpacas

Brittany Needles

Brown Sheep Company

Cascade Yarns

Coats & Clark

Lorna's Laces Hand Dyed Yarns

Patternworks

Premier Yarns

Plymouth Yarn

WEBS

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All Day Demonstration (Except during Lunch/Fashion Show:)

Mahoning Valley Machine Knitter’s Guild, Room 151

A Knitter’s Fantasy 2015 Schedule of Events

8AM: Doors open, registration opens

8AM—4:30 PM: Yarn Market (located in the Gymnasium)

9-11 AM and 9:30—11:30 AM: Morning Classes

11 AM—Noon: Lunch

12:15: Fashion Show

Caps For Kids Contest Winners announced immediately after Fashion Show

Raffle Auction Prize winners will be posted shortly after ticket sales close at

noon.

1:30—3:30 PM: Afternoon Classes

Facility Information

We are guests of Youngstown City School District and Chaney Campus

and kindly ask that all attendees respect the facility during our time

here. Please note that smoking is not permitted in the building at any

time. Also, food and beverages are not permitted in classrooms.

Please keep all food and refreshments in the cafeteria area. Do not

disturb any materials or equipment in the classrooms. Please put all

trash into appropriate receptacles. Thank you!

Knitters’ Swap Table will be available from 8AM—4PM. Bring your

unwanted extra needles, pattern books, extra skeins of yarn and

knitting notions. Everyone is welcome to contribute items they no

longer have use for and take items they can use. Please, no sales–

free items only.

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MORNING CLASSES SECTION ONE: 9:00 AM-11:00 AM

101 Brioche G. Patricia Williams-Jones RM 198

102 Cuff Down Socks: Heels & Toes Mo Doerner RM 175

103 Free Form Knitting Sandy Hardy RM 157

104 Many Ways to Cast On Beverly Bortner RM 186

105 Hand & Arm Injuries In Knitters Christine Jordan LIBRARY

106 Double-Knit Pouch Margaret Myer RM 154

107 Knitting 101 Melinda Bowen-Houck RM 117

108 Viking Wire Weaving Tracy Jackson & Sheila Colarik RM 176

109 Knitting the Eastern European Way Joanna Romaniuk RM 174

110 The Incredible Alpaca Gail Bable RM 193

111 Cabled Tea Cozy Elizabeth Dailey RM 113

MORNING CLASSES SECTION TWO: 9:30—11:30 AM

212 Knitting A Swatch Olivia Johnson RM 123

213 Stranded Knitting Portuguese Style Andrea Wong RM 172

214 Put A Clock In It* Carol Briggs-Dragos RM 197

215 Tunisian Crochet Nicki Kellogg RM 182

216 Knitting With Roving Christy Macintyre Ball RM 155

217 Finishing Knitting Projects John Martin RM 124

218 Fixing Mistakes Jenny Dosch RM 196

219 Knitted Broomstick Lace Sue Crowe RM 199

220 Unraveling Ravelry Diana Parker RM 136

221 Knitted Lace Ruth Fulks RM 173

222 Lucy’s Ripple Afghan Kathy Meier RM 189

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AFTERNOON CLASSES: 1:30 PM-3:30 PM

301 Beginning Locker Hooking w/ Roving Kathy Krisher RM 155

302 Knitted Gauge Christine Jordan RM 136

303 Peruvian Knitting Andrea Wong RM 172

304 Bamboo Stitch Pillow Grace Williams RM 173

305 Houndstooth Wristlet Bonnie Smiley RM 115

306 Many Ways to Bind Off Beverly Bortner RM 175

307 Mapping A Shawl Carol Briggs-Dragos RM 193

308 Four Ways To Knit In The Found Terri Konzen RM 186

309 Dorset Buttons Tracy Jackson & Sheila Colarik RM 176

310 Unusual Knitting Techniques Gail Bable RM 196

311 Cabled Tea Cozy Elizabeth Dailey RM 113

312 Continental Knitting Jenny Dosch RM 198

313 Shadow Knitting Kay Thompson RM 197

314 Peyote Stitch Beadweaving Victoria Johnson-Parratt RM 117

315 Double Knit Pouch Margaret Myer RM 154

316 Knitting The Eastern European Way Marianna Dostal RM 174

317 Intarsia Michele Barratt RM 157

318 Easing Into Design Mo Doerner LIBRARY

319 Crochet 101 Nicki Kellogg RM 124

320 Easy Mittens On Two Needles Rochelle Kramer RM 182

321 Knitted Lace Ruth Fulks RM 123

322 Free Form Knitting Sandy Hardy RM 199

323 Sock Yarn Soap Sweater Christy Macintyre Ball RM 189

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A Knitter’s Fantasy Volunteer Teachers

Without the following talented people, A Knitter’s Fantasy would

not be possible. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and do-

nating your time to make this day a success.

Gail Bable has taught at the East Palestine Library, at the Embroidered 4

You and Yarn 2 Knitting Shop, a class at Knit Wit Knits Knits, previous Knitter's

Fantasy events, and often for WRKG in past years.

Michele Barratt is the owner of The Flaming Ice Cube in Boardman, Ohio. A

longtime knitter, she offers many classes through her shop for students of all

skill levels and interests.

Melinda Bowen-Houck learned to knit over 15 years ago and has been an

avid knitter ever since. She has taught a number of introductory knitting clas-

ses over the past few years. She is also the current president of the Western

Reserve Knitting Guild.

Carol Briggs-Dragos is originally from Scotland where she began knitting,

studying Shetland Lace, Aran Cables and traditional techniques. She now

owns Dyed In The Wool in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she teaches and

designs with Lynda Bowen. Their designs can be found on Ravelry under the

name Yarnwhisperers. Carol has been knitting for over 50 years and designing

for over 30 years. She has been called a "knitting technician" by Maggie Jack-

son as she believes in strong technical skills mixed with a healthy dose of in-

novation.

Beverly Bortner has been teaching knitting and crochet classes for at least

16 years. She first taught at two great yarn shops in eastern PA - Yarn Gallery

in West Reading, PA and Yarns R Us in Hamburg, PA. She also taught some

Adult Ed classes in knit and crochet for Reading Area Community College.

When she moved to western PA, Bev was fortunate enough to teach classes

for Wolf Creek Yarns in Grove City, PA for over 5 years. After a small break

from teaching she now has the pleasure of teaching for Never Enough Yarn in

Sharon, PA. Bev has also had the honor of teaching at the Pittsburgh Knit and

Crochet Festival for the past 4 years. She loves sharing with people her pas-

sion for knit and crochet.

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Mo Doerner is a Craft Yarn Council of America Certified Knitting Instructor

and has taught previously at A Knitter's Fantasy. Mo is a member of TKGA and

is the Education Chair for the Northcoast Knitting Guild ("NCKG"). She has

been a knitter for more than 50 years and an avid sock knitter since 1995, and

has received many ribbons from NCKG and the Geauga County Fair.

Elizabeth Ann Dailey learned to knit in grade school. She is an active mem-

ber of the Western Reserve Knitting Guild. She has taught many classes at

both the WRKG and A Knitter’s Fantasy.

Jenny Dosch has been knitting and crocheting for more than 15 years. She

began teaching two years ago at Wolf Creek Yarns in Grove City, PA.

Marianna Dostal learned to knit when she was about seven years old. Her

bear needed a scarf and her mom taught her how. She vaguely remembers a

small scarf knit so tightly that the dropped stitch went absolutely nowhere. It

wasn't until college when, as a poor student in need of Christmas presents,

she picked up knitting again. It was also at that time that she discovered her

friend was knitting completely the wrong way! Why did she throw her yarn

around so much instead of just picking it up with her needles? And thus she

learned that there are various styles of knitting. You learn all kinds of things in

college. Marianna has been knitting for many years and enjoys sharing what

she knows of knitting with those around her.

Ruth Garber Fulks taught 1st grade for 30 years. She has been knitting lace

for over 30 years. Ruth learned to knit at a young age from her mother. She

has taught at A Knitter’s Fantasy for several years and in different places in

the area. Ruth is a member of Witty Knitters.

Sandy Hardy is a TKGA Certified Knitting Instructor and has taught at prior

Knitter's Fantasy events. She believes having fun and trying again when things

go well or fail is the key to enjoying and succeeding in knitting.

Susan Crowe has been knitting and crocheting for 50 years. She is the recipi-

ent of many fair ribbons and guild competitions. Her favorite type of knitting

is Fair Isle. Susan has been teaching various classes at A Knitter’s Fantasy for

over 10 years and is a member of NCKG.

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Christine Jordan is a past president of Northcoast Knitting Guild and a long-

time teacher at A Knitter's Fantasy. She has won ribbons for her knitting at the

Cuyahoga County Fair, Northcoast Knitting Guild, and Woolfest. Christine is a

practicing MD in the Cleveland area.

Tracy Jackson has been teaching lacemaking, weaving and needlework for

about 25 years. She owned a small business doing the same for 14 years.

Olivia Johnson learned how to knit 6 or 7 years ago when she was in high

school, and hasn’t stopped since! She’s taught many friends and family mem-

bers how to knit, and recently founded the YSU Fiber Arts Club to teach stu-

dents on campus as well as spread the love of knitting and other fiber arts.

Victoria Johnson-Parratt has been beading since the turn of the century.

One of her designs placed third in an international design contest. This design

was then on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Nicki Kellogg is a self-taught crocheter who has been crocheting for over 10

years. She has taught crochet classes for the last year at Wolf Creek Yarns in

Grove City, PA.

Terri Konzen is the owner of Wolf Creek Yarns in Grove City, PA, which she

opened in 2007. She knits all the time and loves to share her knowledge and

enthusiasm with others. Her shop offers many classes for knitters of all levels.

Rochelle Kramer has been a teacher at Knitter’s Fantasy for over 12 years.

She is also a Knitting instructor at JoAnn Fabric Etc. in North Canton. Rochelle

is a member of the Canton Weavers and Spinners Guild.

Christy MacIntyre Ball has been knitting for over 30 years. She lives on a

small sheep farm in Stark County with her 2 teenage boys.

John Martin is the owner of Susan Yarns. He has taught at many events for

many years, and has taught in several areas including spinning, tatting and

knitting.

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Kay Thompson is a founding member of A Knitter's Fantasy and Knitter's Day

Out in Pennsylvania. Kay is a Master Knitting Volunteer through the Craft Yarn

Council and PA State Cooperative. A knitter since she was 10, taught by her

Grandmother, Kay is the former owner of Colonial Yarn Shop in Shiremans-

town, PA and current owner of Knit Wit Knits in Salem, OH for 15 years. She

has been a vendor and teacher at A Knitter's Fantasy for the past 20 years. Kay

is also a past president of the Western Reserve Knitting Guild.

Diana Parker has been a reference librarian at the Stow-Munroe Falls Public

Library for 15 years, where she teaches computer classes to the public as a

part of her job. She’s also been doing fiber arts for years, dabbling in spinning,

crochet and obsessing over knitting and dyeing. This will be her first oppor-

tunity to combine the two in a classroom setting! Diana loves knitting lace

shawls and socks and has published a few free patterns on Ravelry.

Joanna Romaniuk was born and raised in Poland. She learned to knit as a

child. It was just something that most women were doing. Long after she

came to the US (she came as an adult) she noticed that she knitted differently

from other women. She prefers her way of knitting, because it is much faster.

Joanna has a background in teaching both K-12 and college level.

Margaret Myer has been weaving and spinning since the 1970's, but resist-

ed knitting until the 90's. Once she started she didn't slow down, and now

does more knitting than the other two combined. She has taught at several

Knitter's Fantasy conferences as well as at local guilds

Bonnie Smiley has enjoyed learning/sharing a variety of fiber arts including

hand-spinning, felting, crocheting and knitting since 1992.

Kathy Meier started crochet around 8 years old, from watching her grand-

mother each night make doilies. She has made afghans and baby items for

countless gifts and taught crocheting at Michaels for a couple of years. She

currently belongs to a group called the Knitting Angels from Holy Angels

Church that makes items for various charities. Kathy’s full time job is in law

enforcement, but her mental release is yarn projects. She loves to learn more

about color use, new techniques, and spreading the love of crochet.

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Andrea Wong was born and raised in South America. She teaches knitting at

venues throughout the country, has been published in a variety of knitting

magazines and is the lead designer for her business, Andrea Wong Knits.

Andrea first learned to knit when she was 7 years old from her mother and

has been knitting since. In 2003, after receiving many invitations to teach

regionally and nationally, she quit her position at the yarn shop and open her

own business Andrea Wong Knits.

Over the past 10 years Andrea has taught thousands of knitters in the USA

and abroad to use the Portuguese Style of Knitting, either personally or

through her 3 published DVDs. She is known to be an expert in the subject.

Andrea is also very proud of her self-published book “Portuguese Style of

Knitting - History, Traditions and Techniques” in 2010. It teaches this method

of knitting step by step and includes 10 projects to practice the technique.

Andrea’s vast experience allows her to transmit her in-depth knowledge of

this style, into clear, concise, effective instructions making the technique

attainable for any knitter who is interested in learning this effective method.

G. Patricia Williams-Jones is a seventh-generation knitter. She received certi-

fication as a Level I Knitting Instructor from the Craft Yarn Council of America

in 2004. She is President of the Liberty Knitting Group and activities coordina-

tor of the Unity Church Centre's Prayer Shawl Ministry for over 5 years. She

has taught many times at A Knitter’s Fantasy.

Grace Williams has been knitting, crocheting, working with Cross-Stitch,

Embroidery, Latch Hook, Crewel, and quilting for over 65 years. Grace belongs

to the WRKG, Liberty Knitters, and the Unity Church Centre’s Prayer Shawl

Ministry.

Thank you to all of the teachers who generously

shared their time and talents with us today.

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Western Reserve Knitting Guild of Canfield, OH, founded in

1984, is the first guild listed with TKGA. Some of our members

have been knitting for over 60 years. We have meetings year

round except in December. We donate children’s hats to differ-

ent programs in Mahoning and Columbiana counties through our

“Caps For Kids” service project. Some of our members also do-

nate blankets and hats to the Akron Children’s Hospital neonatal

division.

Our meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month (no

meeting in December) at 7 PM at the Rotary Building at Fair Park

in Canfield, OH. For more information, contact:

WRKG.Ohio@gmail.com.

About the Guilds of A Knitter’s Fantasy

The three Knitting Guilds that share the host duties for A

Knitter’s Fantasy are members of the national The Knitting Guild

Association (TKGA). TKGA’s mission is “To provide education and

communication to those wishing to advance the quality of work-

manship and creativity in their knitting endeavors.” There are

currently over 290 local knitting guilds affiliated with TKGA. Indi-

viduals can also join and are encouraged to do so by their local

guilds. TKGA publishes Cast On, an educational knitting journal;

and also provides ample opportunities for knitters to increase

their skills through the Master Knitting Program. More info avail-

able online at www.tkga.com.

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Witty Knitters Guild began in 1989 in Warren, Ohio. Some of

their members have been knitting for over 50 years. They have

meetings year round except for in December, when they have a

banquet, and in August a picnic. The Witty Knitters donate hats

to Caps for Kids and knitted bears for police officers to use dur-

ing domestic disturbance calls. They have also collected hats,

booties and blankets for preemies.

Meetings are held every 4th Tuesday of the month at 7 PM at

Grace United Methodist Church, 1725 Drexel Ave NW, Warren,

OH 44485. Their officers can be contacted at:

WittyKnittersguild@gmail.com.

Or call 330-856-2208.

The NorthCoast Knitting Guild of Cleveland, OH serves knitters

in the East side suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. They meet the 2nd

Tuesday of each month, except December, at 7 p.m. at the Ross

C. De John Community Center, 6306 Marsol Rd., Mayfield

Heights, Ohio, behind Golden Gate Plaza, just west of the I-271

Mayfield Road Exit. Annual membership dues are $20.00. Guests

are welcome. For more information contact:

nckginfo@gmail.com.

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