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This Weekend is our I-91 Shop Hop!

Guest: Tina McElmoyl, our Education Manager, talks with Kathy about the Expert Knitter’s program, it’s history and future plans.

They also talk about class requirements and the process of the student’s final Capstone project.

Yarn Picks

• Imperial Yarn Columbia 2-ply
• Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Aire
• Valley Yarns Buckland
• Valley Yarns 5/2 Bamboo
• Universal Yarn Uptown Baby Sport Closeout
• Cascade Yarns Pure Alpaca Closeout
• Cascade Yarns Covington

WEBS will be closed on July 4th.

Each year we celebrate members of the WEBS Expert Knitter Certification Program who have completed all of their required classes and have taken on the challenge of designing and knitting an original sweater. This final phase of the program is known as The Capstone Project.

This year three people spent the months of January through May sketching, swatching, knitting, ripping and reknitting a garment that reflected their shape, style and skill. From elegant bead work to ornate cables, these cardigans are stunning projects and expertly constructed.

This year’s Capstone Projects (from left to right) are the works of Diane, Harriett and Kathy:

(Click on the photos to view them larger.)

Expert Knitter Graduation is one of the best events we hold all year. Filled with knitters, staff members, and friends and family of the graduates, it never fails to be fun, lively and inspiring. You can press play below for a slideshow of images from this year’s graduation.

You can view last year’s Capstone Project sweaters here, and sweaters from years past here.

Recently, we added another group of talented knitters to our growing line-up of graduates of the Expert Knitter Certification Program!  The evening of celebration was wonderful and the garments designed by each program member are inspirational.

Some of the amazing details:

Congratulations to all of the graduates! We are so proud of all of your hard work, and in awe of your creations!

Thanks, also, to all of the current program members, friends and family of the graduates, store staff and mentors who were able to join us for the graduation ceremony.  You helped to make graduation a splendid event!

This week the staff is buzzing about…

1. I’m finally admitting I have a fingering-weight yarn obsession. Shibui Staccato is soft and elegant with a faint luster. I love the mix-and-match solid and multi colors, and immediately saw four or five different combos I would love to use. A few skeins have snuck into my stash already (151, 103, and 112) and I’m thinking stripes! > Emma W.

2. Herdy Sheep Banks – Who needs a Piggy Bank when you can have a Sheepy Bank? More adorableness from the Herdy folks. I think I actually let out an audible “squee” when I saw these the first time! > Kathy E.

3. I-91 Shop Hop 2011 – What a weekend! We all had such a great time Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We were so thrilled at the amount of participants that decided to hop along the I-91 corridor. The energy the staff had, and the energy the customers had was incredible. We had fiber enthusiasts from all over joining the party and sharing the fun experiences they had in all of the other shops they visited. We even had people do the hop all in one day!  They must have slept well that night! Customers Nancy and Cathy bravely let me snap their picture after all their fun shopping, and to top off their visit when they walked in the store, Melissa LaBarre who happens to work at WEBS noticed that Nancy was wearing one of her designs. Of course Nancy had to have Melissa sign her book New England Knits! We consider the first shop hop a huge success and are so thrilled you all had a great time! > Karen M.

4. This week we held a celebration for the graduates of our Expert Knitter Certification Program. Each garment exhibited was unique and so well crafted! It was wonderful to hear each graduate talk about their design journey. > Tina M.

5. I love my Della Q Lily Crochet Roll. The hooks kept falling out of my old case (different company) but the Della Q roll holds them in nice and securely and doesn’t take up a ton of space. It can hold way more hooks than I could hope to own. I often just keep it in my project bag in case I finish something and want to whip up a small crochet project. > Kirstin L.

As I mentioned in the recent post about the WEBS Expert Knitter Certification Program, the final project before graduating the program is the Capstone Project.  This project challenges knitters, who have completed all of the required coursework , to design and knit an original sweater from scratch! Over the course of five months, and with the support of an assigned mentor, program members sketch, swatch, knit, rip out and re-knit, all in the pursuit of a well-constructed, lovely garment that shows off the many skills they have acquired throughout the program.

So far, two groups have completed Capstone Projects and graduated the program.  Their finished projects are an inspiration:

Tomorrow, the 2011 sweaters will be due, and I am so excited to see the culmination of all the hard work the current program members have been putting in over these past few months.  (A few have already made it to my desk and they are gorgeous!)

Here is a sneak peek of where this year’s Capstone Projects were just a few short weeks ago!

One of the fun things about working at a shop that so many people consider their local yarn store, is watching all of the different communities that pop up.  There are informal communities such as the regulars at our various Drop-In sessions,  employees who join together in impromptu knit-a-longs, weavers who know they can stop by and get some advice from the store’s founder, Barbara, and people who travel from far and wide with a group of friends to shop at the store on a regular basis.

Another community we have happily worked to build here at WEBS is made up of the members of our WEBS Expert Knitter Certification Program.  Knitters who join this program are interested in taking their craft to the next level by following a course of 18 classes designed to take them from their current skill level (many are beginners) through confidently designing a sweater from scratch.

Just a few of the great classes in the program:

All of the classes are taught on-site, here at the store, by a team of wonderful Teachers-in-Residence, as well as by nationally and internationally known Guest Teachers.  Each instructor brings a unique perspective to the craft, as well as many tricks and tips!  Most classes are open to all customers, but members of the Expert Knitter Certification Program get a head start on registering each season during a special preview period.

After completing the coursework, program participants begin an independent final project, the Capstone Project, designing and knitting a sweater to fit.  Once that sweater is completed and reviewed by the Capstone Committee, participants are awarded the WEBS Expert Knitter Certificate during a lovely graduation event! The sweaters created through this process are an inspiration. (We’ll give you a sneak preview of this year’s Capstone Projects in-progress in an upcoming post.)

Beyond the usual course and materials fees for each class,  a yearly fee of $50 is the only additional cost for participating in the program.

Knitters join the program for a variety of reasons.  Some are looking to take classes that might be a challenge and out of their comfort zone,  some friends join together and see it as a great way to spend regular time together sharing a craft they adore, others want to be able to look at a bag of yarn and declare “I know exactly what that will be!”  Whatever the reason for joining, all members of the program find they have joined a welcoming community of people who enjoy yarn, and who want to learn as much about fiber crafts as possible while having lots of fun in the process.

If you would like more information about the WEBS Expert Knitter Certification Program, you can download the brochure here (pdf) or contact us using the info on this page. You can also check out our newly formed Ravelry forum and meet some of the current members!

It has been quite a week for us at WEBS.  Tuesday was our Debbie Bliss Event, last night we hosted Lexie Barnes and launched her new Classic Collection of bags, we’re prepping to replace the carpeting in the store this weekend which means everything has to be moved and we have new fall yarns rolling in like crazy (more on those over the weekend, so be sure to stay tuned!).

There was another big event this week that I haven’t really talked much about, but for me was definitely the highlight.  On Wednesday evening we held our first Expert Knitter Graduation.  Six of our lovely customers have finished the program and on Wednesday night we celebrated their incredible achievement and talent.

Let me tell you a bit about the program.  Our Expert Knitter Certification program was developed back in 2004.  Our goal has been to provide our students with the skills an Expert Knitter must possess through a comprehensive curriculum.   Our program features 15 core requirements which cover all aspects of knitting technique.  In addition to the core requirements, each student must also complete three electives, one in knitting and one each of two other fiber arts such as crochet, spinning, weaving, etc.  Once all of the coursework is complete, the student is then eligible to start their Capstone Project.  This project will require the students to utilize the skills they have acquired to design and knit an original sweater from measurements.  Each student will be assigned a mentor from the WEBS staff who will offer support, advice and consultation on the project.  Each student has six months to complete the project.  Once done, the final design is reviewed by the Capstone Committee.  Once accepted, the student is then awarded Certification as a WEBS Expert Knitter.

When we launched the program we weren’t sure how it would be received or if anyone would ever complete the program.  I am thrilled for our six graduates and all they have accomplished.   Here are our graduates, their mentors and Pixie who runs our education program:

One of our graduates and one mentor were unfortunately not able to attend.

I had the chance to say a few words and present a plaque that we had made that lists each of the graduates names and year of completion.

This plaque will be hung in Classroom 1 at the store.  Notice there’s lots of space to add future graduates!

We then presented each graduate with a Certificate and a gift:

Here are their Capstone Project sweaters:

We will have pictures of each sweater featured in our fall catalog as well.

Congratulations ladies!

Kathy