Blog - Patty Lyons | Knitting Teacher

Blog

Vogue Knitting Live turns FIVE! (and other tales of knitting)

January is a big month for a knitting professional. First up there’s our annual trade show TNNA, and just days later, came the show I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time – Vogue Knitting Live New York (5th year anniversary show!!!)

It took me a few days (or five to be exact) to recover from the excitement. So much yarn, so many friends, such many incredibly brilliant students it’s hard to sum up.

Here’s my recap in a nutshell. I did a TERRIBLE job remembering to take pictures, but in my defense, I taught 4 classes in two days at TNNA and 7 classes in three days at VK Live, so . . . yeah, I just forgot.

Let me go out of order and give a shout out to the AMAZING fifth anniversary of  . . .

Vogue Knitting Live

I’m so proud to have been a teacher for all five years. This year I was blessed to have nearly 200 students in seven amazing classes. Here’s a few pics (like I said, I didn’t take many). For all you West Coasters, we’re coming your way next! Join us in April

I don't pack light went traveling from Brooklyn to mid town - okay, remember SEVEN classes!
VK Live - 5th Anniversary
Happy 5th Anniversary VK Live New York!
View from my hotel room
View from my hotel room
My annual selfie with my pals Brooke Nico and Carol Sulcoski
My annual selfie with my pals Brooke Nico and Carol Sulcoski
Fabulous Times Square!
Fabulous Times Square!
My class
The only picture I remembered to take, getting ready for day one first class
Only a TINY section of the amazing two floor marketplace!
Some of the incredible fiber art on display - Yummmm
A fridge full of yarny food
A fridge full of yarny food
What would a fiber art NYC refrigerator be without a fiber rat underneath??
Stunning knittine glass!

TNNA – The First Building Better Business Day!

Just days before VK NY, I was in sunny Phoenix for TNNA. It was beautiful and I hardly ever got to go outside. I went with my pal Zontee Hou (amazing marketing guru), who was also there to teach at the first Building Better Business Day. It was great to meet so many other professionals (shop owners, designers, wholesalers, reps, teachers) who wanted to strengthen their businesses.

I was only home from vacation for a few days before TNNA, but I did manage to bind off my brand new extra small version of the Windsor Cardi (pattern available on Ravelry)

Windsor Cardi p.lyons

Here are a few shots from the weekend:

Flying west over the mountains
Flying west over the mountains
Waking up before the dawn getting ready to teach
Waking up before the dawn getting ready to teach
Sun . . . in January!
Sun . . . in January!
Getting ready for day one of teaching
Getting ready for day one of teaching
TNNA - show floor
The entrance to the showroom floor
This is how professionals behave at a trade show
This is how professionals behave at a trade show
YARN (that is what the show is all about)
YARN (that is what the show is all about)
Inspirational Display - pretty!
Inspirational Display - pretty!
New products sneak peak
New products sneak peak
oooh Amy Herzog's new book is out!
oooh Amy Herzog's new book is out!
A collage of designer's sketches, swatches and finished designs (I'm in there somewhere)
A few of my designs
My annual selfie with Melissa Leapman

Just so you know how professionals on a showroom floor at our trade show behave . . . please enjoy this video of Cat Bordhi

 

in Knitting / New York City / Travel 3 comments

Squeeeee — New Season of Knitting Daily TV!

Me & Vickie Howell

Vickie is either really listening or thinking “wrap it up”

Knitting Daily TV
Check your local listings. I’m on episode 1 & 13 of the new season.

Last October I flew out to film a couple of segments for the new season of Knitting Daily TV. The crew was fantastic, and Vickie Howell was so welcoming and funny and great to work with. 

Here’s, by FAR, my favorite Vickie moment . . . I’m pretty good with timing a filmed segment. I prepare and I have a good internal clock.  As I’m filming my first segment with Vickie, I can tell by her questions, I’m doing fine on time, so I start to slow up a bit. Well, of course, Vickie has an ear piece so the producer can talk to her and give her wrap it up cues.  I’m just at the end of my segment and I say about the technique I’m demoing, “Want to know how”, and just then Vickie gets the wrap it up cue, but she knows I can finish the segment in one take so she says to me “Yes, tell me, and quickly”.  I LOVE HER SO HARD!

Here’s a teaser for the two episodes I’m on. The new season begins on Jan 15th, so check your local listings.  You can click here to find where it plays in your area. I book end the season on episode 1 & 13

Episode 1401

To purchase single episode click on picture below

Knitting Daily TV Episode 1401

Knitting Daily TV Episode 1401

Episode 1413

To purchase single episode click on picture below

Knitting Daily TV Episode 1413

Knitting Daily TV Episode 1413

Click HERE to purchase the whole season

Here’s a few backstage shots. Hope you enjoy the show!

Swatches packed up for the shoot
Hanging with the fabulous Tanis Gray
Backstage with Lindsay Smith
Vickie in a moment of intense concentration

 

in Knitting 0 comments

Knitter’s New Year’s Resolution

new year's baby

Okay, I know, it’s not 1916, I wanted to change it to 2015, but one of last year’s resolutions (to learn Photo Shop), clearly never came to be.

A new year, brings a new list of  . . .

Knitter’s New Year’s Resolutions!

1) Stop procrastinating

okay, so based on the fact that I’m writing this on Jan 3rd instead of Jan 1st, I might have already missed that one.

2) Steek without tears

Although it’s possible that the tears slightly felt the wool making for a more stable steek prep.

3) Devote one day a week to be my “learning day”

A teacher needs to commit to continuing education. I have a giant pile of books to read and new knitting techniques to master. You all want fresh class content, so I gotta keep up with ya :).

3) Knit for pleasure

The only drawback to making your living playing with yarn, is it’s really easy to find that you haven’t knit one stitch that isn’t for a video, a class or a magazine for a year and a half.

3) Wipe the dust off my spinning wheel and make some yarn

I know this isn’t really a “knitter’s resolution”, but get off my back.

4) Devote one day to swatching . . . really, every week

Swatching is fun, swatching is dating your yarn, playing the field, messing around. I get sent yarn all the time from generous yarn companies to try. I want to have a regular (I’m gonna say Tuesday) day of cracking out the Stitchionaries and playing with yarn.

5) Stop telling my husband “As soon as I finish this row” when it’s time to (fill in blank), a) leave the house, b) eat, c) go to sleep.

Okay, everyone knows I’m not keeping that one 🙂

What are your “Knit Year’s” Resolutions?

 

in Knitting 3 comments

Year In Review 2014 – My Students

I can’t believe 2014 is has come to a close. I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my amazing students.  That includes all of my online students from Craftsy, Annie’s and Interweave (but I don’t have pictures of you guys).

Year in Review 2014 (can’t believe it’s done!)

You all have taught me so much and inspired me to work even harder to keep providing you with fun classes. I had a new Annie’s class launch in November, and I’ll have three new DVDs coming out in 2015 with Interweave and I’m working on several new live classes to launch this spring.

Here’s a look back on all your shiny faces. I wasn’t always great at taking photos (somehow have virtually no Stitches South or West photos).

If you see yourself in a photo, leave a comment and say hi!

See you somewhere in class in 2015 (maybe on a Cruise) 🙂

Vogue Knitting LIVE New York
Vogue Knitting LIVE New York
Vogue Knitting LIVE New York
Sow's Ear, Verona WI
Madison Knitter's Guild
Big Apple Knitter's Guild
Vogue Knitting LIVE Seattle
DFW Fiber Fest. A wonderful student gave me a gift of a Portuguese Knitting hook
TNNA
Knit and Crochet Show
Knit and Crochet Show
Knit and Crochet Show
Knit and Crochet Show
STITCHES Midwest
STITCHES Midwest
Apparently I was too blown away by the awesome gifts to have taken photos of my awesome students - Thanks Dayton Guild
Make Wear Love Retreat
Make Wear Love Retreat
Britta showing off her progress at Make Wear Love Retreat
Make Wear Love Retreat
Make Wear Love Retreat
Relaxing afternoon knitting break at Make Wear Love Retreat
Cindy proud of her swatch at Make Wear Love Retreat
STITCHES East
Vogue Knitting LIVE Chicago
Vogue Knitting LIVE Chicago
Vogue Knitting LIVE Chicago
Camp Stitches
Camp Stitches
A card given to me by a student, but really it sums up how I feel about all of you! THANKS FOR BEING AWESOME! See you in 2015
in Knitting 4 comments

Somethings Coming, Something (I think) Good

IMG_2817

A few weeks ago I got on a plane for the 44th (and last) time in 2014 to head to Colorado to the set of Interweave.  Yup, that means I have . . .

New Knitting DVDs coming out soon!

I can’t tell you what the new titles will be, but I can tell you I filmed 3 new classes . . . a shocking 6 1/2 hours (approx) of content in 2 days. Thanks to the awesome Interweave crew, we got it all done before heading off to our holidays.

Make sure you sign up for my newsletter HERE to get the first announcement of the upcoming classes.  You’ll be able to get them as digital downloads or DVDs.

Here’s a few sneak peek at me on the set

Patty Lyons on set

Day 1 – Look how fresh I look!

Lake Michigan Cardi by Patty Lyons

Pattern coming soon on Ravelry!

Patty Lyons Interweave DVD shoot

Swatches standing by . . . ready for their close up

Patty Lyons on the set

Some of the awesome Interweave Crew

Patty Lyons on set

Such Concentration!

Make up cloth

Ever wonder what a day’s worth of video make up looks like?

A big thank you to all of my live students.  I’m excited for you all to see the new classes. There are just so many things you can teach on video that you would never have time to teach in a live class.

One last hint . . . for all of you who have asked me over the years about a certain signature class of mine, that is pretty jam packed, “Is this a video class” . . . I’ll now be able to answer – yes!

in Knitting 3 comments

5 Steps to the Perfect Knitter’s Thanksgiving

timesunion.com

The Knitter’s Thanksgiving

This is the time of year we all gather with our loved ones to give thanks for all we have.

As knitter’s, we have some special needs when it comes to creating the perfect holiday.  Here are my 5 steps to the perfect knitter’s Thanksgiving:

1) Pack MINIMUM 1 project per day out of town

Remember, variety is the spice of life. There can be stress when family is involved, you need options.

2) The time it take to preheat the oven is enough time to cast on for an additional project

Why limit yourself to the 4 projects you’ve already packed?

3) When the inevitable act of going around the table and stating what you are grateful for comes up, be honest – simply say “Cashmere” and leave it at that

Perhaps it will give some loved ones some shopping ideas.

4) Don’t forget about leftovers

I speak (of course) of left over yarn. A striped scarf could be nice

5) When it doubt, make a turkey hat

2164879548_cd9505184b_z

 

in Knitting / Travel 1 comments
Better SSK

Tuesday Tip – Matching SSK & YOs

Tuesday Tip copyRecently I ran a knitalong with Creative Knitting for my Fan the Flames Cowl. Since you know, I’m gonna pack it full of tips and tricks that aren’t on the page, I thought I’d share some of my favorites here.

Here I go over the two things that drives a perfectionist lace knitter crazy. How to make their SSKs match their K2togs and making their YOs match in size.  I’ll tell ya the truth, there are three different tricks to making your YOs match, this is just one of them (I teach all three in Patty’s Knitting Bag of Tricks!)

Read More›
in Knitting / Tutorial (Tuesday Tip) 6 comments

Book Now – Caribbean Knitting Cruise

We’re going to the Caribbean Baby!
Caribbean Knitting Cruise

You’ve been patiently waiting (all right some of you not so patiently :), but here it is, we are ready for booking!

Caribbean Knitting Cruise

Dec. 5th-10th, 2015

Pack up your yarn, bathing suit and flip flops and join me, Melissa Leapman and Laura Nelkin as we sail and knit.

I’m insanely excited to be sailing with two fabulous designer / teachers (and all around awesome ladies), and I’m teaching some of my all time favorite classes.

I think I may end up designing a special little tank top just for the occasion!

Book now, because Melissa’s last cruise sold out FAST.

Click here to find out info on the cruise and to BOOK!
Click here for the full downloadable brochure.
Click here for a mail in registration form.

For more information, contact Ms. Joel Irby at (253) 815-6625 (Monday through Friday, 9-5 Pacific) or e-mail her at joelirby@hotmail.com

in Knitting / Travel 1 comments

Learn Blocking – Online Webinar

Online Knitting classes – Blocking

Knitting Webinar

Knitting Daily

It’s time for another Webinar. I’m returning to teach an encore performace (da, da, da, da!) of my blocking class

Blocking Techniques for Knitters

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Use promo code: PATTYLYONS15 to get 15% off

shawl unblocked
shawl block
sink
Spacer 20x20 pixels Blocking Techniques in Knitting
webinar with Patty Lyons. Why spend all that time knitting a garment, only to stop short of making it look great! Blocking is an essential part of finishing your garment off perfectly. Blocking evens out your stitches, sets your size, and in some cases can even mask your mistakes.  Patty has spent years teaching thousands of students to consider the importance of every step of knitting, such as yarn selection, gauge and blocking.In this webinar we will go over the three main methods of blocking (wet, steam and spray) and learn how to use all the tools such as blocking boards and wires. We will go over the importance of blocking your swatch and how we make choose our blocking method. We’ll also discuss blocking unusual shapes, special stitch patterns, as well as learn a bit about different fiber properties. Come on, don’t stop short of the perfect finish!
Spacer 20x20 pixels

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Learn how to choose your blocking method.
  • Learn how to wet block, steam block and spray bottle block.
  • Master proper use of tools such as blocking board, wires, tailors ham, seaming roll, wooly board and more.
  • Explore how different fibers react differently to blocking methods.
  • Discover how to avoid common blocking mistakes that can ruin your garment.
  • Learn how to block unusual shapes as well as shaped garments.
scarf

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

  • Knitters or crocheters who are new to blocking.
  • Experienced knitters or crocheters who have not been happy with their blocking results
  • Knitters or crocheters who want to learn more about fiber properties.
  • Knitters or crochetrs who have always used the same method to block (with not always the best results).
  • Knitters and crocheters who have never used blocking wires.
  • Knitters and crocheters who want to learn how to block unusual shapes
  • Knitters and crocheters who want to avoid blocking disasters.
  • Knitters and crocheters who want their project to come out perfect every time!

 

Don’t miss out on the perfect pair to this class: Secrets of Yarn Substitution

 

in Knitting 0 comments