TTC Knitalong!

TTC Knitalong 2011 in Photos!

2011-07-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Better late than never I always say... and going through these has been a lovely way to re-live a wonderful experience. I can't say thank you enough to the LYS's for their generous discounts and prizes, the local yarn distributors and indie-dyers for their gorgeous donations to our swag bags and prizes, and of course all our participants!

The setup: getting ready the night before the actually knitalong... it was hard to divide up and distribute all this luscious indigodragonfly yarn, but we were good captains and we did it!

Short turning: my first shot of a TTC vehicle that day... as I walked up to the first yarn store from my house (yes, I live within a 15-minute walk of Lettuce Knit). Ironically this was the tone for the first 3 stops for Team Orange and we didn't actually ride the TTC until much later that day!

Will knit for tattoos: Hong arrived and impressed us all with her knit/tattoo t-shirt.

Also Known as Supermeredith: one of my incredible co-captains is my BFF of almost 20 years. This pose at one of the LYS's on our route is becoming a tradition! Last year was at the Purl, this year it was in front of some of Lettuce Knit's lovely wall 'o yarn.

Stashquisition: my first purchase of the day! Those 6 skeins of blue Sweet Georgia in the front are for Nadia aka madhatressTO. My measly 3 skeins of sunny beautiful yellow are piled behind so you can better appreciate the magnitude of Nadia's yarn purchases ;)

Camnesia: is what I had after we arrived at Romni. I did so much damage here that when she rang me up, the cashier kind of hesitated and then told me how much money I'd SAVED before admitting the total due. I loved it -- lets just say I saved a LOT of money here that day! FYI if you are also interested in saving your money... the sale here is on until the end of July and its an impressive 20% off everything in the store (including basement saleroom yarns!).

Ahhhhh: our next stop was a perennial favourite of mine. Americo Original, you always have lovely colours, beautiful displays and amazing contemporary samples to try on and be inspired by. I didn't go quite as crazy here as I did at Romni but I definitely scored my favourite yarn purchase here (mmmustard de-haired llama).

Table of yarn: I think everyone enjoyed the cool, quiet atmosphere whether they were buying or not. Here is Sophie, another big Americo fan, investigating some of the yarns that lined the centre table.

Boarding the 501: for our first TTC ride of the day, it was onto the classic Toronto Streetcar route. We rode the 501 Queen east towards our next destination.

Squirrels: and enroute we finally had a chance to sit and compare WIPs and FOs. This particular FO was a knockout - cuteness and incredible hard work all bundled into squirrel form.

Go east: and discover the Purple Purl! After an uneventful streetcar ride (other than the fact that we literally scared the muggles out of the back of the streetcar for our moveable stitch 'n bitch.

Running into the competition: we encountered team orange! They were just heading out when we arrived, and Lisa took a moment to brag about her scores.

Team green rocks: as you can see, our team was the awesomest! We finally managed a semi-organized group shot and got to include the delightful Jen in our shot.

But it has to end somewhere: so after a nice break and some knitting (and shopping) time, we got back on the 501 and headed downtown again.

To be continued... tune in soon for the details of who won what!

TTC Knitalong 2011: Success!

2011-07-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on sorting through the hundreds of photos I took but I have tabulated the final numbers and have some fun stats to share for the time being. Check back on ravelry and on the blog for event memories soon, and leave a link to your photos in the comments!

Number of Participants this year: 79

Number of Captains: 12

Number of amazing Prizes contributed: 24

Total Amount of Funds Raised for Sistering: $490

We'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone who came out to participate, and of course to all our amazing contributors and local yarn stores:

LOCAL YARN STORES
All stores offered generous discounts for TTC Knitalongers as well as providing prizes & swag bag items. We couldn't do it without so many amazing LYS's! Special thanks to you all:

The Knit Cafe

Knitomatic

Romni

The Purple Purl

Americo

Passionknit

Mary Maxim

Lettuce Knit

YARNY CONTRIBUTORS

Diamond Yarns put a ball of yarn in every swag bag

Indigodragonfly put lovingly named sample skeins in every swag bag

The Sweet Sheep sent yarns and delicious smelling SOAK for prizes

Tanis Fiber Arts sent gorgeous yarn for prizes

Viola sent luscious yarn for prizes

Westminster Fibers contributed amazing prize knit kits

Registration Update

2011-06-21T11:10:00.001-07:00

All teams are full, but we're still taking names for the waiting list!

TTC Knitalong 2011: Registration Open!!

2011-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

We're back and we're better than ever! We know there have been some communication issues this year due to our even-more-hectic-than-usual schedules, but we assure you we've been focusing on the good stuff like planning new routes, fun swag and activities for us all.

This year's TTC Knitalong will take place on Saturday, July 9, 2011.

Registration will open on May 28 and run until the teams are full OR until midnight on Thursday, July 7, 2011.

THE ROUTES
We've been playing around with fun new routes that take us all around the city on the TTC instead of the traditional East, West & North routes. These new colour-coded teams all start at the same time in five different yarn stores around Toronto. Some teams start downtown while some teams still start a little further out although all our stores are pretty central (and easily accessed via TTC!). There are a lot of overlaps between the routes so for those of you looking to hit certain stores you have at least 2 team choices for almost every store.

ORANGE TEAM
The Knit Cafe
Romni
The Purple Purl
Americo

TEAM BLUE
Knitomatic
The Knit Cafe
Lettuce Knit
Romni

TEAM GREEN
Lettuce Knit
Romni
Americo
The Purple Purl

TEAM RED
Passionknit
Mary Maxim
Knitomatic
Romni

TEAM PURPLE
The Purple Purl
Americo
Romni
Lettuce Knit

THE SCHEDULE
We've simplified the schedule this year and as usual we've allowed generous travel time, plenty of knitting AND shopping time at every store on each route. There are scheduled lunch times on each route and knitters will have some choices of where to get their food.

11:00am - All teams start at their yarn store
11:00am-5:00pm - Each team will follow their scheduled route
5:00pm - All teams gather at the Rivoli for PRIZES!

HOW TO REGISTER
Registration costs $10, and the proceeds will be going to Sistering, an amazing charity group that helps a lot of women in need. Payment is cash only to the team captain the day of the TTC Knitalong. Please read the "not so small print" below to see what this includes and what it doesn't!

To register, please email ttcknitalong@gmail.com and include the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your first choice team (Orange, Blue, Green, Red or Purple)
3. Your second choice team direction
4. Your email address
5. Optional: your blog and/or ravelry details

THE (NOT SO) SMALL PRINT
Registration does not include the cost of transit -- you are responsible for bringing your own metropass, daypass or tokens. Fare details including prices can be found here on the ttc website.

No personal information will be published online other than ravelry user names and/or blogs if you choose to share that information.

If you are signing up with a friend please indicate this so we can make sure you end up in the same group.

Once you register, you will be sent a confirmation email within 48 hours.

Team assignments may take a bit longer but you will get another email that details your route schedule and team leaders within 1 week of registering.

Meals are scheduled throughout the day at local restaurants convenient to the route. Meal costs are not included in the cost of registration. We have tried to schedule meal-times at locations that have multiple options for food in case you have specialized dietary requirements. If this is you we ask that you email us in advance so we can make sure you end up on a team with maximum flexibility, but its also a good idea to mention it to your team captains the day of!

**NEW RULES**

Cancellation Policy
If you are unable to attend, please notify us as early as possible. Anyone who cancels less than 48 hours before the start of the event will be wait-listed for the next TTC Knitalong.

Mobility Issues
We welcome participants of all ability levels. Unfortunately, our team captains are already very busy running the teams and are not available to help out. If you need assistance we require that you to bring a friend or companion to help you. This person will be welcome to participate fully in the TTC KAL for free.

2010 TTC Knitalong, Best Knitalong Ever!

2010-07-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Did you blog / tweet / photograph your adventures? Send us a link at ttcknitalong@gmail.com or add your photos to the TTC Knitalong flickr pool. If you're a twitterer, use #ttcknitalong to tag your posts!

I know we say this every year but its always true -- these Knitalongs are more fun every year!

We had some crazy great contributions from yarn shops & distributors around the city, resulting in wickedly good swag bags for absolutely everyone who participated. Becky blogged her swag bags here and even managed to get one of the super-bonus bags with 3 books from Simon & Schuster in it!

We then proceeded to have tremendous fun running around the city on the TTC, knitting and yarn-shopping as we went. Check out the details from:

Photos from everyone in the Flickr Pool!

Team East Red

from Team Captain Michelle

Team Central Purple

from Becky aka Fantasticmio

Team East Blue

from Team Captain Glenna

Team Central Orange

from Team Captain Nadia (photos)
from Robbisaurus (photos)

And we wrapped up by giving out generous PRIZES!

Thank you everyone from team TTC Knitalong!

The Winners!

2010-07-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

After a long day of working hard at yarn-shopping our way around the city on the TTC, we convened at the Rivoli to eat, drink and discuss prize distribution. Serious business!

The first prize was a gift certificate from Mary Maxim, perfect for Drea who won No Cash For Stash (she bought the least yarn of any of the participants) after joining East Blue a little late in the game.

Kim of Team North won a free class from the Knit Cafe for her Knitting Fail -- a bead spill in the food court at the Eglinton Centre.

Team North's Haley Took Knitting to the Next Level: she bought a spinning wheel at Romni! Her prize was a shawl pin from the Knit Cafe; a little something to wear while she's spinning her next shawl's worth of yarn.

Jen from Central Orange was our Ambassador of Knit; she talked up knitting to some of the Muggles on the subway and was rewarded with an incredible knit-kit from Romni, a project bag and all the needles and patterns you need to get a new knitter started off right!

Erica from East Blue rocked the knitalong with a Fierce! Knitting project: a heavy wool colourwork sweater (you can see it a bit better if you click to embiggen the photo). Naturally her prize was a copy of Color Style contributed by Knitomatic.

Central Orange's Anastasia scored a sweet sweater kit from Kertzer in reward for the first Done, FO 'Sho - sadly my photos of her super cute stripey hat all somehow ended up blurry and unflattering. Maybe someone else can submit a better shot?

Mary from East Red won another beautiful Kertzer kit for the Best Knitticism: "Wow, I never thought yarn could be so heavy!" (Jun later said the same thing... with good reason!).

Central Purple's Becky had the best WTF, WIP? for her tunisian crochet mittens -- no one could figure out what was going on with them until they were almost complete. She scored a bonus TTC Knitalong captain's T-shirt and has already blogged to brag about her purchases and swag from the knitalong, so check her out at fantasticmio.com. She was one of the other live-tweeters that day too @fantasticmio.

Nora from Central Purple wowed us all with her Fierce Knitwear - check out that lace detail! She won a great gift certificate from Lettuce Knit to fund her next fierce project with.

Danielle on East Red was the Knitting Pilgrim of the group, coming all the way from Hong Kong to knit on the TTC with us. Naturally, we gave her more to pack -- a great kit from Americo Original!

Katherine from East Blue took Ms. Knit Congeniality for just being so damned nice and helping out our captains a bunch - thanks Katherine! Her prize was a lovely Louet kit from the Naked Sheep.

East Red's Jun really did have reason to say that yarn was heavy. She definitely Needed a Sherpa, buying up over 24 balls of yarn that day. Check out the grand prize she won for this:

A huge gift basket of glorious yarns generously contributed by Spinrite!

ZOMG! Amazing Knitalong Update!

2010-07-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

All the team captains gathered together to put together the swag bags tonight and WOW, this is going to be the best TTC Knitalong ever! These bags are bulging with delicious discounts and sweet swag items. There are even a few special prizes for lucky recipients, so make sure you check your bag carefully! Some of us will be live-tweeting as we go from store to store, so be sure to keep up with #TTCKnitalong tomorrow for all the fresh, yarn details!

The Statistics:

70+ Participants
13 Team Captains / Volunteers
12 awesome prizes to give out at the end of the knitalong
11 swag bag contributors resulting in PACKED swag bags for everyone

We would like to give a GIANT shout out to all the LYS's and yarn companies who are helping to make this year so special by sharing prizes, discounts and bonus items with all of us:

Americo Original
Diamond Yarn
Kertzer Yarns
Knitomatic
The Knit Cafe
Lettuce Knit
Mary Maxim
The Naked Sheep
Passionknit
Spinrite
The Purple Purl
Romni
Simon & Schuster

Registration is FULL!

2010-07-07T09:19:00.001-07:00

We have a full complement of TTC Knitalongers for all the teams this year! We even had to add one extra team to make up the difference. Hopefuls waiting to register should email to be added to the waiting list.

PLEASE, if you are registered and won't be able to make it, let us know so we can open up your spots to other knitters!

Hope you've got your passes and yarn-shopping money ready to go, see you all this Saturday!

Team North Profile: Passionknit!

2010-06-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Passionknit has been an uptown Toronto LYS since 1993. Even though we have a small boutique space, we are able to provide a wide range of quality yarns for all of your knitting needs… from heirloom baby treasures to contemporary and classic garments for the entire family.

Our enthusiastic team enjoys helping you choose the right yarn for each of your projects – in a relaxing and fun environment. We are currently hosting a grand “basement” clearance sale for the entire month of June. All of the yarn collections which we are discontinuing in the shop are being sold at 50% off!

Our address is 3355 Yonge Street – we are well located to accommodate TTC patrons (just a few blocks north of Lawrence subway station) – we are also handy to out-of-town knitters… since we are just south of Highway 401.

We look forward to seeing you in the shop during the TTC Knitalong!!

www.passionknit.ca

Registration Update & some FAQ's

2010-06-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

We can’t believe the enthusiastic response we’ve gotten so far! This is going to be a great KAL and all of the organizers are really looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new knitters again.

REGISTRATION UPDATE

EAST RED is now completely full!

~~EAST BLUE has just one spot remaining on the team, so if you were thinking of participating, email us now at ttcknitalong@gmail.com to grab that spot!~~

EAST BLUE is now completely full!

If people cancel we'll announce new spaces on these teams right away.

SOME FAQ’s

Q. Is registration still open?

A. YES! Registration will remain open until we have filled all the teams or until 11:00am on July 9th. We will create new teams whenever it is logistically possible, so hopefully we won’t have to close registration until the final deadline.

Q. Can I bring my child?

A. We don’t have an official policy about this, however, we do ask that you consider the age of your son or daughter and how they will feel and behave during a 6-7 hour day of yarn-shopping. People have brought babes-in-arms or portable strollers in the past without any difficulty, but mobile little kids between ages 2-9 tend to get bored and antsy with nothing to do but tag along with grown-ups all day.

Q. What about my husband / mom / donkey?

A. Husbands and moms have both joined us in the past! Other family members are also welcome, but we’re pretty sure most stores have a “no donkey” policy. The TTC also. Again, consider how enjoyable a day of yarn-shopping will be for your family member of choice!

Q. I have mobility issues, can I still participate?

A. Please contact us to discuss the route of the team you want to join. Team captains are happy to help out but unfortunately, the TTC isn’t fully wheelchair accessible yet. The East teams are all streetcar, and both Central and North involve subways, streetcars and buses.

Registration Open!

2010-05-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the 2010 edition of the TTC Knitalong!

NEW THIS YEAR
This year's KAL will include many of the same great features as previous years, but we've decided to make just a few changes based on feedback from last year.

New Routes
We're keeping the relaxed saturday morning start times of late morning and changing the routes up a just little bit. There will now be East, Central & North teams all travelling along unique routes, and each will visit 4 different LYS and then gather at the end for the final prizes, a bite to eat and a chance to show off your loot from the day!
Expanded Swag Bags
One of the most popular features of last year was a custom TTC KAL bag for toting new purchases with. We've expanded the idea a bit this year, and each bag will contain coupons and other fun items from many of the LYS's around Toronto, not just the ones on each route. Some of the items are pretty sweet, and we're pretty excited about sharing them with everyone!

THE DETAILS
Teams will start at 3 different points throughout the city on Saturday, July 10 and converge on the yarn-rich centre of the city, and ending at a restaurant for a meal, beverages and prizes. This year we have East Red, East Blue, Central & North teams, each with amazing different LYS's offering prizes, discounts and special sales for our benefit. Additional routes may be offered if the Central & North teams fill up, with staggered start times so there isn't any overlap.

EAST RED
The Naked Sheep
The Purple Purl
Lettuce Knit
Americo

EAST BLUE
The Naked Sheep
The Purple Purl
Americo
Romni

CENTRAL
The Yarn Boutique
The Knit Cafe
Romni
Lettuce Knit

NORTH
Passionknit
Mary Maxim
Knitomatic
Romni

HOW TO REGISTER
Registration costs $10, and the proceeds will be going to Sistering, an amazing charity group that helps a lot of women in need. Payment is cash only to the team captain the day of the TTC Knitalong.

To register, please email ttcknitalong@gmail.com and include the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your first choice team (East Red, East Blue, Central or West)
3. Your second choice team direction
4. Your email address
5. Optional: your blog and/or ravelry details

THE (NOT SO) SMALL PRINT
Registration does not include the cost of transit -- you are responsible for bringing your own metropass, daypass or tokens. Fare details including prices can be found here on the ttc website.

No personal information will be published online other than ravelry user names and/or blogs if you choose to share that information.

If enough people register for North & Central routes, we may divide these into 2 groups (like East Red & Blue) with staggered start times. If you are signing up with a friend please indicate this so we can make sure you end up in the same group.

Once you register, you will be sent a confirmation email that confirms your team, and gives you more information about the start time, route schedule and payment details.

Meals are scheduled throughout the day at local restaurants convenient to the route. Meal costs are not included in the cost of registration. We have tried to choose restaurants that offer a range of food options (ie veg) but if you have specialized meal requirements please plan ahead and either bring your own meals or talk to us about other options in the areas where meals are planned.

Its Alive!

2010-05-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yes that is right -- the TTC Knitalong is back in 2010! We're exploring some new features and a few changes to the routes, but basically the goals stay the same: TTC, knit, shop!

So save the date Saturday, July 10 2010 and get your pointy sticks and TTC passes ready to go.

We're still ironing out some of the details like which stores will be on which routes and what amazing prizes, discounts and swag will be involved so stay tuned for more updates soon.

Registration begins on Saturday, May 29 2010 and full details about it will be published both here and on the Ravelry Group soon.

What is the TTC Knitalong?
3 teams meet at the farthest West, North & East yarn stores on each route. Travelling by streetcar, subway and bus each team winds through the city, knitting and yarn-shopping all the way, eventually meeting up to show off their yarn purchases and compete for amazing prizes.

"
Sincerely, your fearless leaders!

Knitalong Statistics

2009-06-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

We had an incredible turnout today and completely rocked the city. In the end we had:

50 Participants

9 Team Captains

11 LYS’s

15 Prizes

$275 raised for our Charity, Sistering!

And of course, an infinite amount of awesome. Thanks again everyone! We'll be linking to photos and videos that anyone posts so please share them in the comments or the Ravelry group.

Registration Is Open

2009-05-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new TTC Knitalong!
We've kept lots of the great features of TTC Knitalongs from the past, and added a few new elements that will make it even more fun this time around. Here's how it works:

3 teams will start at the far East, North & West of the city and travel by TTC to various yarn shops along the way. Every shop participating has agreed to offer amazing discounts, special sales and a few fun surprises, too! At the end of the day we will all meet up for a bite to eat* and some special prizes.

Team East Route
The Naked Sheep
The Purple Purl
Lettuce Knit
Americo
Romni

Team North Route
Passionknit
Mary Maxim
Knitomatic
Lettuce Knit
Romni

Team West Route
Village Yarns
The Yarn Boutique
The Knit Cafe
Americo
Romni

How to Register
One of the new features we've decided to incorporate this year is a bit of charity fundraising. Registration will now cost $10, and the proceeds will be going to Sistering, an amazing charity group that helps a lot of women in need. Please note that this does not include the cost of transit -- you are responsible for bringing your own metropass, daypass or tokens. Fare details including prices can be found here on the ttc website.

To register, please email ttcknitalong@gmail.com and include the following information:

Your name
Your first choice team direction (East, North or West)
Your second choice team direction
Your email address
Optional: your blog and/or ravelry details

No personal information will be published online other than ravelry user names and/or blogs if you choose to share that information.

Please note that this year we are trying to limit the team sizes to reduce TTC hassles and overcrowding of some of the smaller shops. So register soon to avoid disappointment!

Depending on the number of people who register, there may be 2 smaller groups for each direction, with staggered start times to avoid confusion. If you are signing up with a friend please indicate this so we can make sure you end up with the same group.

Once you register, you will be sent a confirmation email that confirms your team, and gives you more information about the start time, route schedule and payment details.

*Please note meal costs not included in registration fee

The Return of the TTC Knitalong!

2009-05-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for registration details in the next day or so.

*****

Mark your calenders for Saturday, June 6 2009

The TTC Knit-along is back under new management. Beryl and Vivienne have passed on the organizational torch to some of the drunken knitters, but will still be advising us with their Jedi knitting wisdom.

What is this TTC Knit-along you speak of?
3 teams of knitters/crocheters start out in different areas in the city. We take the TTC (AKA Toronto Transit Commission) to other areas in the city, we knit on the TTC and frighten the riders with our pointy sticks. We hit yarn stores and we hit them hard. At the end of a full day of shopping, arms laden with heavy bags of yarn (purchased at a discount) we arrive at a predetermined location and award prizes. Everybody loves prizes, non?

This year we will be visiting many of the same yarn stores as previous years but we like to mix it up a little, so there may be some additions to the roster. Hopefully said yarn shops will be able to offer us the same discount as before. As with previous years there will be a small fee to take part. This year the fee will be a bit higher, as we would like to bring in some sort of charity donation component to the festivities this time around but at the moment all of this is still TBA.

-Totally jacked from Lisa (aka Needleaddict)'s awesome Ravelry thread in the TTC Knitalong Group. Go and join if you haven't already!