Pam Powers and Amy Opie Visited the Guild September 5
Knitwear designers Pam Powers and Amy Opie presented “Color and Embellishment” September 5. Pam, of Pam Powers Knits, visited in person, while Amy, of A. Opie Designs, appeared virtually from Birmingham, Alabama. Their goal was to show us easy ways to make our handknits stand out by using embellishments and color.
Pam Powers began designing 16 years ago. When she couldn’t find the yarns she wanted, she started her own yarn company, Ikigai Fiber.
She displayed a variety of projects using trims as well as embroidery, duplicate stitch and other techniques for making a garment special. She offered useful tips for adding embroidery to knits, whether handknit or store bought.
Amy Opie first became a color expert when she was working at yarn shop. She found that knitters wanted her help picking colors for projects because they weren’t confident about doing it themselves. She gave us many tips for combining colors but stressed that there are no rules about color, other than “do you like it?” After all, she said, you have to make the garment and wear it. She offered a list of books and other helpful resources for working with color.
After the presentation, Guild members visited the Ikigai Fiber trunk show to shop for patterns, yarn, and embellishments.
Photos from the meeting – click on any photo to view enlarged photos and to start a slide show.
— Tina Rounsavell
