what where and when
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Webmaster has not been able to attend meetings since April 2022 so there will be no reports for the time being. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Howver, the June meeting – Felting workshop was a success and most memebers managed to make a felt necklace.
There is no August meeting.
September – normal schedule is resumed with a brand new program to be announced soon.
The theme this month was Chunky Knitting machines. Both the club machine Brother chunky and the Chair’s Zippy 90 a plastic bed machine from the 1980’s were brought along to demonstrate some techniques.
Neither of these chunky’s had any automatic patterning so hand tooling was used to show their capabilities. Many members already have chunky machines – some with punch card patterning, the old Knitmaster 155 has a 12 stitch repeat whilst a Brother has a 24 stitch repeat. We also looked at various patterns using chunky’s and discussed yarn choices.
The meeting started with the AGM
There were reports from various members of the committee: the Chair, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Webmaster. Then the club members re-elected most committee members although Margaret our Vice Chair stood down this year.
After that we had our usual refreshments and then there was a talk and demo by Clare.
A jolly meeting when everyone was glad to be together after missing January. Plenty of show and tell items .
This months theme was machine knitted furnishing fabrics.
This included various cushions and some chair set covers done in a weaving pattern which had proved very hardwearing.
March 2022 – there are changes at Undy Yarns. The owners are retiring but the shop will continue under a new name. Visit the link to check on what is happening next. And view their online shop.
An interesting meeting on Circular Knitting. Frances demonstrate the technique using a standard Brother machine with a ribber. Most members have a suitable machine and could emulate the things that Frances showed us.
Lyn brought along her Addi Express King size which can make scarves, hats and other items. For machine knitters this was the first time this circular machine had been demonstrated at club and there was some interest – however the limitations were apparent to everyone familiar with knitting machines as there was no tension facility and so only a limited number of yarn weights could be used successfully. That said, it is very easy to use and ideal for those knitting large volumes of hats and scarves for family and friends or for charity.
A very nice crafting evening was held with two subjects – embellishing a gift bag and a crochet garland of stars.
Whilst Gill provided us with the instructions and fabric for the bags, sewing kit and embellishments were provided by several people. We started designing our bags and had brought sewing kits along to attach ribbons and bows as well as cutouts of various Christmassy shapes. These bags will be finished off at home for showing at next month’s meeting.
Margaret showed us how to crochet a star and attach it to second and subsequent ones to create a garland. The pattern was surprisingly straightforward and the results effective.
There were bursts of chatter alternating with near silence as people concentrated on their tasks.
A technical glitch has forced a redesign of this site, please bear with us, it will take time to get the site working properly again.
In the meantime a new front page with the most important information will be available.
At last we were back at the Barn Hall – socially distanced at least at first.
This was a lovely meeting, with news of absent members and a yarn sale as well as a demonstration.
Lots of us gathered to watch a demo from Tricia who was showing us a Bill King idea from an old Machine Knitting Monthly magazine issue. It was a time consuming idea where stitches were transferred by hand, the result was a stunning pattern that could not be discerned from the right hand side so the process could be error-prone.
There was a show and tell and Sarah passed around some stunning felted bags we had only seen on Zoom. Angie had crocheted a super stripey cardigan in a chunky yarn which was also admired. Let me know if I have forgotten anybody’s work.
We also had our usual coffee and cake after the demo.
We also have a members challenge – make an interesting scarf /scarves to show at the December meeting. everyone is encouraged to join in.
During the second part of 2020 and the first part of 2021, members continued to meet virtually using Zoom. This was a very successful “coffee morning” format for keeping in touch and showing our current projects, knitting and other crafts. Most of the members had the opportunity to speak about what they had been doing and generally chat. As no photos were taken it is not possible to create a regular post.
We would especially mention our chair Gill and deputy Margaret who expertly put these meetings together and guided the meetings.
Also we need to thank those who answered the call to make knitted dolls and monsters for children who needed help expressing their emotions and also those in hospital unused to wearing masks. Several members also made huge numbers of scrubs for health workers and many of us made face masks for family and friends.