Spend Saturday, November 14, with designer and author Sharon Brant: Rowan’s Autumn/Winter Collection Workshop plus Book Signing - 11/18/2009 Sharon’s workshop, Rowan’s Autumn/Winter Collection, will be held Saturday, November 14th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Colorful Stitches, 48 Main St. (rear of building), Lenox, MA. Join Sharon as she demonstrates and explains the key colorwork techniques used in Rowan’s latest knitting & crochet magazine, Rowan 46. Principal among those techniques will be Fairisle or stranded knitting and intarsia. Working with swatches you’ll experience these techniques for yourself. If you already use many of these techniques Sharon will give you tips to help you improve them. Throughout the workshop you’ll have the opportunity to ask Sharon about what goes on behind the scenes at Rowan. Description Each issue of the bi-annual Rowan Magazine is filled with tempting colorwork garments with the current issue 46 no exception. We’re often tempted to knit these garments that so beautifully combine pattern and yarns but hesitate unsure of our ability to knit with multiple colors. Sharon has taken a number of colorwork techniques, both common and special to a number of the magazine’s patterns, to explain and demonstrate. Among the techniques reserved for Fairisle you’ll learn how to hold both yarns in one hand or in both hands for quicker and smoother knitting; how to join a new color mid-row; and how to catch your yarn in the back to prevent long loops. Among techniques associated with intarsia you’ll learn how to change colors along vertical and horizontal lines; how to eliminate the many ends from joining and cutting yarns; and how to approach a complex intarsia chart noting where stranding will reduce the number of color joins. Sharon will also help you build confidence in mixing yarns together for gauge and color. The workshop is open to knitters who know how to knit and purl. There will be a 45-minute lunch break. Lunch is not provided, but light refreshments will be available throughout the day. Workshop participants will need to bring: yarns in different colors and weights knitting needles in various sizes scissors paper & pencil ruler calculator Workshop Fee: $65.00 (Rowan International members receive 5% off fee) Full payment for the workshop is required at the time of registration. Workshop limited to 12 participants. To register for the workshop: By phone: 800-413-6111 or 413-637-8206 By mail: Colorful Stitches, PO Box 2278, Lenox, MA 01240 Pay by MasterCard, VISA, Discover or MA check. Registration closes Friday, November 13. Book Signing Immediately following the workshop on Saturday, November 14, at 4 pm Sharon will be available to sign copies of her latest books, Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters and The Ultimate Knitting Bible. Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters presents expert tips and tried-and-tested shortcuts for beautifully finished hand-knits. Sharon Brant understands that after spending many hours knitting a garment its final appearance can be undermined by bad finishing. It is the reason why most knitters are reluctant to finish their own projects. She also understands that finishing starts with the first stitches cast on since decisions taken at the start of a project and throughout its knitting affect the techniques used in assembling a garment. So she starts with the reading of patterns and instructions and all that it entails from gauge, yarns, choice of size and altering pattern measurements to fit. Among the techniques she explains the different ways of casting on and off, shaping, picking up stitches, seaming, buttonholes, button bands and necklines. For most of the techniques Sharon offers two or three ways to do it. Finally, a section on decorative detail shows how to add beads and other embellishments. The trouble-shooting pages tackle those annoying problems that occur when things have gone wrong. Pattern instructions are included for all the sweaters used to illustrate techniques. The Ultimate Knitting Bible is the one-stop resource for both beginning and accomplished knitters. It’s a definitive reference for all aspects of knitting, from the first stitch you cast on to the care and maintenance of your finished projects. If you are a novice knitter then this book will guide you step by step through everything you need to know in order to confidently knit any project that catches your eye, from the simplest scarf to the most gorgeously textured and embellished sweater. If you are an experienced knitter you’ll find this book a treasure trove of techniques that will help you both brush up on the familiar and expand your abilities. The book has more than 400 illustrations and diagrams to follow covering the basics, knit construction, textured stitches, colorwork, embellishment, professional finishing, troubleshooting and design. There’s even a section on crochet that covers basic crochet stitches and their incorporation into your knitting. About Sharon Brant Did you notice the knitwear in any of the following blockbusters, Harry Potter, Phantom of the Opera, Atonement, Elizabeth or Batman? If not, next time look a little closer. Featured in all those films is knitwear that Sharon helped to design. Sharon Brant is Rowan’s Retail and Brand Development Manager. She has been a passionate knitter since she was a child. Despite starting out in banking, Sharon began working with knitting while she was home with her children. She has run her own knitwear business for over 19 years. She began working for Rowan in 1996 and is now responsible for running the Rowan Design Consultancy across the UK and for planning and coordinating Rowan’s huge workshop program. Sharon calls herself a ‘technician more than anything’. “I either work with designers to help them develop their own ideas, or I write technical knitting books.” She has written and collaborated on several books about knitting and crochet, including the before mentioned two books plus Knitting Goes Large, and Classic Knits for Real Women. She was also the technical support on Rowan’s Crochet Workshop book, Kate Buller’s Knitter’s Bible and Style Your Own Kids’ Knits. Sharon has worked as a pattern writer and technical support for knitwear designers Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably.	Stornoway from Rowan Magazine 46 Claremont from Rowan Magazine 46 Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters Ultimate Knitting Bible Sharon Brant