"Madison's Men's Knitting Group....."

The Madison's Men's Knitting Group that I participate in (there are actually 1 or 2 more), held its monthly gathering this past Sunday. Originally, we all met on Ravelry, an online fiber community. (http://www.ravelry.com/)

This time, instead of meeting at a local Madison coffee or fiber shop, we took a mini road trip to Lake Mills, WI, which is about 30 minutes east of Madison. Our destination was a fiber shop called Kaleidoscope Fibers (http://www.kaleidoscopefibers.com/).

Here are 2 of the members of our group (L to R), Jamie and Larry. Both do some very intricate knit pieces and are very knowledgeable about yarns, patterns, and books. Larry is also a weaver and gave me the suggestion of using a thicker weft for my twill sampler in order to have the designs show up more clearly.

Cory, our Lake Mills representative, who suggested we meet at Kaleidoscope Fibers. :)

Patrick, our newest member, from Lodi, WI. I first met him when he worked at Lakeside Fiber in Madison. I also know his Mom, Diane, who is a circular sock machine enthusiast.

On the right is Karen, the owner of the shop. Unfortunately, I did not hear the names of the other 2 women. The woman on the far left (in Packer colors) was there for a lesson with Karen, learning to knit mittens. You can see a completed one on the table in front of her. They are not just "plain knitted mittens", but are lined with links of dyed roving (clean, ready to spin fleece)......that is what creates the speckled color pattern on the mitten. The roving will "felt" inside the mitten as they are worn, compacting to a smooth, solid, thick, and very warm interior.

We had a very enjoyable time in Lake Mills and I'm sure we'll make it a destination for more of our gatherings.