Knit In Weekend, 5-6th October 2013

At the end of the weekend, someone said 'When can we do it again?'  It has been such a wonderful opportunity to chat, exchange ideas, help solve problems, share different techniques. If you haven't been on one of these weekends before, why don't you just drop by and see what's going on. You'd be sure of a warm welcome (and a cup of tea!).

Some pics of our adventures ...

Philip mastering his colour changer with a very intricate punchcard pattern.

Pat on her LK150 making an elegant waterfall collar cardigan.

How to unravel















Maureen knitted lots of parts of a raglan sweater/cardigan (I can't remember which!) in both an emerald greenish yarn and a dark apricot yarn.  I'm not sure how they are going to be assembled ...

Bind off for armhole?

Delphine was knitting a beautiful, but complicated, lace v-neck, short sleeve top in a lovely muted pastel Forsell's yarn.

Valerie just kept her mind at ease, spinning.

The knitters hard at work

Members' Meeting, 3 October 2013

A chatty evening with some hand-knitting and lots of laughter ...

Margot talked about her very enjoyable experiences at Metropolitan's DreamWeek last month.

Joan mentioned that she would still like knitted items for the charity, Hope & Aid Direct.
She has been knitting squares to make blankets to be sent to Kosova via Hope and Aid Direct and asks if members if they could make or provide any of the following to fill these before sending them off.

Baby bath towel
Baby bed sheet
4 Terry nappies
4 Nappy pins
1 Babygrow
2 Vests
1 Matinee set
Jar of bottom crème
Bar of baby soap
1 Baby sponge

Please bring anything you can to the first meeting in November (7th). For more information on Hope and Aid Direct you can view their website on http://www.hopeandaiddirect.org.uk/

Margot introduced us to 'knooking'; a method of knitting with a crochet hook. A mini demonstration will follow on 7th November (bring some yarn and a crochet hook if you want to have a go!)

Tiddlywinks competition:

Nora

The winner of the Machine Knitting section was Nora, with a fluffy jacket (from a Maggie Andrews design). 

BarbaraH

BarbaraH knitted a hat, most suitable for a 
Reading Royals football supporter.





Under the Craft category, the winner was Flo's Peacock wall-hanging. 


Flo's Peacock and Beach Hut wall-hanging and Ann's Amigurumi Teddy

Here are the other entries in this category:

Joan

Joan

Delphine

Margot

Summer Party, 6th August 2013

We had a fun evening at our summer get-together with a lovely supper, enjoyed with good company, a quiz and raffle prizes. Here are some photos from the evening.

Meg Crowther, Independent Knitwear Designer

Thursday, 18th July 2013

Our Guest Speaker for this evening was Meg Crowther who gave a very interesting talk and slideshow on 'Finishing Touches for Hand Knitting'.

Meg spoke about different stitch shapes, joining methods for seams, hems and edges, applied trims including i-cord , how different stitches affect the finished fabric, blocking and tensions; how mood and air temperature when handknitting can affect tension and that different colours of the same yarn can sometimes give different tension results.

Meg's designs can be seen on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/designers/meg-crowther

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Members' Meeting, Thursday 4 July 2013

Club members were treated to a huge selection of yarns as well as knitting books, patterns and magazines from the sales table.

Highlights from the meeting -

• The topic of Liz Holness's talk/demo on 17th October, will be changed from Cut & Sew to Machine Maintenance. This will help get our machines ready for the winter knitting season.

• Knit-in Week-end will be on Saturday/Sunday 5th/6th October. Cost approx. £18 for 2 days, £10 for 1 day (dependent on numbers).

• Summer Get-together, Thursday 15^th August (7 for 7.30pm) We’re now collecting names. Cost £5.

• Starting in September, there will be a monthly competition during each of our Members' meetings.

There will be 3 classes for your entries (beginners, advanced/experienced, other crafts)

Entries to be placed on the table anonymously.

During the evening all members will *vote for their favourite item in each class.

Each club member to take 3 tiddlywinks (1 for each class)
During the tea break, the winners will be announced.

Our Show & tell items

  

Members' Meeting, Thursday 2nd May 2013

Some of our members' creations shown at the meeting



Pat's Crop Cardie



Nora's Baby Surprise Jackets



Margot's suit made from knitted fabric



Nora's top



Margot's knitted skirt and doilies



Valerie - cushion made from fabric samples

 

Valerie - pin cushion and thread bag

Joan presented a beautful cardigan, handknitted in white King Cole Opium. 


From   http://www.kingcole.co.uk/knitting-patterns/womens/ladies-cardigan-vest.html

***


It was suggested that at future Members' meetings we do some 'train knitting' where someone starts to knit a small project, that would be suitable to go into a 'charity shoebox', then when ready, hand to the person sitting next to them to continue with the knitting.

Members were asked to bring any spare 4 or 4.5mm knitting needles (size 8 or 9 old size), and doubleknit or similar yarn they may have.

With that in mind, some suggested patterns have been emailed to members ready for the next Members meeting.

Knit-In Weekend

Nine club members came to the Knit-In weekend on 27th and 28th April.

It was a busy and enjoyable couple of days with lots of knitting, and many tips and techniques were shared.



Plans are already being laid for another Knit-In weekend in the autumn.

Thursday, 18 April 2013

Ann Brown, knitwear designer from Posh Frocks  was our speaker for this evening.

Ann brought with her a selection of jackets and coats designed and knitted in  2 x 2ply Lambswool or 3 strands of Crepe and described the various techniques used to achieve the trims and edgings.

She then went on to demonstrate how to knit a bias ruffle for attaching to hems and cuffs. This was followed by showing how to shape knitting when doing rib fabric.

An inspirational evening, with lots of information to absorb, was thoroughly enjoyable.

Ann's website is http://www.poshfrocks.com/index1.htm

Thursday, 7 March 2013

Members' Club night on Thursday, 7 March was well attended despite being a damp and dark night.

The sales table was ladened with a huge selection of yarns as well as knitting books, patterns and magazines.

The meeting started by welcoming Joy, who hopefully will join the club. This would bring the total number of new members since the beginning of this year to 5.

Ann Brown will be demonstrating machine knitting techniques during her visit to us on 18th April, and it was suggested that shaping/deceasing in rib would be an area of particular interest to members. 


Two additional events for this year were announced ...

Knit-In Weekend on Saturday & Sunday, 27th & 28th April 9.30am to 4.30pm

Woodley Age Concern, Southlake Crescent, Woodley, RG5 3QW

Tea/coffee/milk/biscuits will be provided, but you will need to bring a packed lunch each day plus, of course, your knitting machine and table, yarns, patterns, etc. 
If you wish to attend, add your name to the list which will be on Joan's table at our next meeting on March 21st. The cost for this will be dependent upon how many members sign up, cost is likely to be around £18.00 for two days, less for one day.

Wendy Piper Knitting Machine Maintenance Workshop (1 day)

Venue:  to be arranged

To be held on a Saturday during October 2013 (not the 12th). Further details will be given as soon as arrangements with Wendy have been finalised.

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Vest and KAS cuddle (baby
sleeping bag (Eileen & Valerie)



Child's Tee (knitted by Pat)



Members' club night does not usually have a Speaker, but this Thursday was an exception because late last year we had arranged for Wokingham based Eileen Fletcher to come and talk to us about KAS (Knit-a-Square) a worldwide charity for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa.

Eileen has created this website

http://woolaid.wordpress.com/ 

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Here are our members' items from our 'Show & Tell' section.


  





Barbara's hand-knitted blanket







Joan's Leather Spectacle Case



 



Nora's Machine Knit Cable Cardi









Margaret's hand-knitted Gilet









Margot's hand-crafted Handbag







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