Meeting Update

The Aloha Knitters (and Crocheters and Spinners) Facebook group is now open to the public! You do still need to log in to Facebook, but you do not need to join the group to see the information.

This is a very casual group and visitors are welcome to drop in at any meeting.
Mondays in Honolulu at Pa’ina Cafe (Ward Warehouse), 6:30 – 9:00 pm. Please note that there is another location in Ward Centre and it’s easy to get confused if you aren’t familiar with the area.
Tuesdays in Kaneohe at Starbucks in Windward City Shopping Center, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Tuesdays in Wahiawa at Green World Farms cafe, 10 am – 2 pm. Attendance has dropped recently so check the Facebook page if you want to make sure other people will be there.
Thursdays in Pearl City at Pearlridge Uptown mall near the food court, 10:00 am
Thursdays in Mililani at Starbucks Mililani Mauka, 6:30 – 10:00 pm.
Thursdays in Kunia at Starbucks Kunia, 6:30 – 9:00 pm.
Saturdays at Whole Foods, Kahului, MAUI, 7:00 pm (until ~9:00 depending on how people are feeling). This group doesn’t always meet, so it’s worth checking on the Facebook page to see if people are going.

Yarn & Lessons
Isle Knit
1188 Bishop St., suite 1403, Honolulu
phone: (808) 533-0853
owner: Sue
Knitting and crochet lessons and classes are available; call or drop by for the current schedule and rates.

YarnStory
1411 South King St., 2nd floor, Honolulu
phone: 808-593-2212
owner: Kim
Knitting and crocheting lessons are available and can be tailored to any experience level; call Kim or drop by the shop for schedule and rates.

Aloha Yarn
46-018 Kamehameha Hwy, #209 (next to the Kaneohe Post Office)
phone: 808-234-5865
owner: Nanea
Lessons available; check the website, call, or stop by the shop for schedule and rates.

Ben Franklin Crafts
Various locations on O’ahu; check in with your local branch for information about classes.

 

Yes, We’re Still Active!

Just leaving a note here to let people know – yes, we’re still active! The best place to get the most recent information about meetings etc. is currently in the Facebook group (Aloha Knitters) which is marked ‘closed group’ because you have to request to be added. This is just to keep out robots and spammers; actual people interested in yarncrafting will be added by a group moderator within a day or two.

Monday August 3 12:30 – 2:00 PM we are trying out a lunchtime meeting in downtown Honolulu at the Hawaii State Art Museum. The cafe space in the lobby is currently vacant and we can use the tables and chairs as long as we clean up after ourselves. There’s air conditioning, a water fountain, and restrooms.  250 South Hotel St (corner of South Hotel and Richards St); several bus lines stop nearby or in front of the building. Paid parking is available in the surrounding area at ‘Iolani Palace and Ali’i Place. Please note that this meetup is not affiliated with or run by the museum; it’s a public building and a space we can use temporarily.

This is a very casual group and visitors are welcome to drop in at any meeting.
Mondays in Honolulu at Pa’ina Cafe (Ward Warehouse), 6:30 – 9:00 pm.
Tuesdays in Kailua at ChadLou’s Cafe, 6:00 – 8:00 pm. (NOTE: temporary change July – October, meeting at the Windward City Shopping Center Starbucks in Kaneohe due to the weather)
Tuesdays in Wahiawa at Green World Farms cafe, 10 am – 1 pm, and 12 pm – 4 pm (two groups, overlapping times – note, as of July, group is experimenting with different times and alternate locations)
Thursdays in Mililani at Starbucks Mililani Mauka, 6:30 – 9:00 pm.
Saturdays at Whole Foods, Kahului, MAUI, 7:00 pm (until ~9:00 depending on how people are feeling)

Mini Maker Faire Honolulu 2014

The first Mini Maker Faire in Honolulu was yesterday, and Aloha Knitters was there giving free knit and crochet lessons. It was a successful event, with over 600 participants, and we got dozens of people excited about yarn! Planning for Mini Maker Faire Honolulu 2015 is already underway, and Aloha Knitters will most likely participate.

A big thank you to the Aloha Knitters volunteers: Sandy, Jenn, Lisa, Lisa’s mother, and Kai. Additional thanks to Bethany for providing a handout listing resources for knitters in Hawai’i, and to everyone who donated yarn and tools so people could take some home with them and keep practicing!

If you were wondering about the crocheted hearts on the table, you can take a look at a photo tutorial on Cornflower Blue and get step-by-step instructions.

 

Wahiawa: Green World Farms Cafe

Karen Ortiz has blogged a bit about the Aloha Knitters meetings at Green World Farms Cafe, currently meeting on Tuesdays from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Children are welcome, as you’ll see in Karen’s blog post!

One more change to the meeting schedule – the Central O’ahu group has moved again; after 3rd Cup Cafe closed, they tried out the Pearl Highlands Shopping Center Food Court, and are now trying out the Starbucks in Mililani Mauka.

ARTSPREE 2012: Pom Pom Yarnbomb

This Saturday, July 14th, The Fuzz (with the help of Aloha Knitters volunteers) is hosting a pom pom yarnbomb at The Honolulu Museum of Arts Spalding House annual ARTSPREE family event. Admission is free, and a free shuttle will be running between Punahou School and Spalding House from 10 AM – 4 PM.

Parents of the Art Camp kids have been asking about where to find supplies and lessons; this is a short list of resources both local and online.

Yarn & Lessons
YarnStory
1411 South King St., 2nd floor, Honolulu
phone: 808-593-2212
owner: Kim
Knitting and crocheting lessons are available and can be tailored to any experience level; call Kim or drop by the shop for schedule and rates.

Aloha Yarn
46-018 Kamehameha Hwy, #209 (next to the Kaneohe Post Office)
phone: 808-234-5865
owner: Nanea
Lessons available; check the website, call, or stop by the shop for schedule and rates.

Ben Franklin Crafts
Various locations on O’ahu; check in with your local branch for information about classes.

Online
Jimmy Beans Wool carries a wide range of yarns, tools, patterns, and books. Shipping is fast and reliable, at a flat rate of $4 per order.

Elann offers great bargains on brand-named yarns (often discontinued colors or types), and has a value-priced house brand. They also sell tools, patterns, and books.

WEBS offers a wide range of yarns, including their own house brand. Quantity discounts available on many items. They also sell tools, patterns, and books.

Knit Picks sells their own brand of yarn at competitive prices, as well as tools, patterns, and books.

There are many more retailers – this is just a short list!

Tools
The Embellish-Knit! Machine for making knit cord is available at joann.com.

Clover Pom-Pom Makers are available at Ben Franklin Crafts.

Templates for making your own pom-pom makers are available from Vogue Knitting.

Counterfeit Crochet “crochet-in” workshops with Stephanie Syjuco

Next week from June 27 – 30, 2012, Stephanie Syjuco will be hosting Counterfeit Crochet “crochet-ins” during the Find Art Festival in Honolulu’s Chinatown. At least a few Aloha Knitters are planning to attend the Friday 5:00 – 8:00 PM workshop.

From the official press release, here’s the schedule:
Pegge Hopper Gallery
1164 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI

Wednesday, June 27, 2:00-5:00 PM:
Beginning crocheters welcome

Thursday, June 28, 2:00-5:00 PM:
Advance crocheters

Friday, June 29, 3:00-5:00 PM:
Advance crocheters

Friday, June 29, 5:00-8:00 PM:
Opening reception, crocheters of all levels welcome

Saturday, June 30, 2:00-5:00 PM:
OPEN SESSION! Come one, come all!

All workshops are open for drop ins (at any skill level), but Stephanie is going to try to tailor her activities according to the schedule above.

International Yarnbombing Week + WWKIP Week 2012

Fibonacci sequence tree sleeve by ArchiPURLago

In celebration of International Yarnbombing Week, TheFUZZ (with the help of several Aloha Knitters) installed a variety of knit and crochet pieces on the grounds of the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Spalding House location. In celebration of World Wide Knit In Public Week, members of TheFUZZ will host ‘sit-and-stitch’ hours at Spalding House (every Wednesday and Thursday in June, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 p.m. Bring a project in progress or just come to hang out and take a look at the yarnbombs!

Workshop and lecture times are posted on the Honolulu Museum of Art’s exhibitions page.

Kailua meetings – day change

The Kailua Aloha Knitters meetings are now Tuesdays 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Still at ChadLou’s, and it’s a great time of year for their Iced Grinds espresso drinks! 

Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest? I have been pinning to “But What Do You Knit or Crochet in Hawai’i” (the real answer is “whatever you want to” but the board has lots of ideas for warm-weather appropriate items).

Kokua Market Yarnstorming 30 November 2011

On the afternoon of 30 November 2011, I removed all of the yarnstorm items from outside the store, as we had agreed to do. It was definitely time to take some of them down; there was a lot of fading and some pieces got really grimy. There are still pieces up in the interior of the store, so take a look around the next time you are in there! 

All the pieces got washed this weekend and are laid out to dry. I’ll be returning pieces to the yarnstormers and assessing the condition of the remaining items – might re-dye some of the tree sweaters and put them up elsewhere.