Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild

GMKG Newsletter September 2011

2011-09-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
September 2011

The next meeting is Tuesday, September 13th in the dining room of Berstrom Hall, Mount Mary
College. Social hour begins at 6:15pm and our “knitting doctors” are available at that time for advice and consultation on any knitting projects. The meeting itself starts at 7:00pm followed by the monthly program.

AUGUST 9, 2011 MINUTES

Karen L welcomed everyone and called to order the August meeting of the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild at 7:00 p.m.

Old Business:

Karen L announced the winners of the guild sponsored awards from the state fair this week and noted that they will all be invited to the September meeting to receive their checks.

Mary K, membership chairperson, requested that members please submit their surveys to her as soon as possible. In general, she feels that she is getting some good feedback. Of note in the surveys already submitted, several members have indicated that they do not want to meet during the summer months.

New Business:

Mary GF announced that Lorraine Laabs, a charter member of the guide, passed away in July. Also, Joyce Williams, a well-known knitter and author of the book, Latvian Dreams, passed away last Thursday.

Several members commented on the positive experiences they had while knitting in the sheep barn at the state fair.

Darlene H announced that, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson on September 9-11, 2011, they are looking for someone from our guild to help judge the knitting for the Make it Yourself With Wool contest. Anyone interested can contact Darlene for further information. She also stated that our speaker for the September 13th meeting will be Elizabeth O’Brien from Chicago, IL. Her topic will be “Knit to Fit”.

Crystel Mmade a motion to adjourn the meeting, Mary GF seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 pm.

Following the meeting the program was presented by Liz Sutter from Sutter’s Gold’n Fleece in St. Germain, WI. She presented us with a demonstration and spoke about opportunities to use 2 needle points cast-ons to start our knitting.

Respectfully submitted,

Klaudia H, Secretary

September Program:
Elizabeth O'Brien is our guest speaker in September. She will present a program on "Knitting to fit". It will cover: How to select the proper size pattern for your sweater; How to tell what size it really is; and how to alter the pattern.

Also, we have homework!!!! Part of Elizabeth's presentation will be how to lengthen and shorten a sweater after it has been knit. So....with worsted weight yarn, cast on 30 stitches. K1P1 for 2". With another color yarn, switch to Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row. Work for 3". Bind off. Bring the swatch, needles,
scissors and the main color used to knit it.

General Info:
A local yarn store is closing. Loop Yarn Shop has decided to close after 7 years of delighting knitters in Milwaukee. Caitlin and Patricia are selling everything and the sale starts September 9th at 10am. The sale will continue daily until everything is sold, so be sure and get out there!

Membership:
It’s that time of year again, time to renew your guild membership. Mary K has asked that you fill out this form and return it to her

GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD MEMBERSHIP

PLEASE COMPLETE ALL INFORMATION, EVEN IF RENEWING

Name___________________________________________________________

Adress__________________________________________________________

City_______________________________ State______ Zip____________

Phone ___________________________ Additional Number_______________
Email___________________________________________________________

Receive Newsletter via: Email_____ U.S. Mail_____ (provide addressed envelopes)

Regular Membership ($25.00) ____ Junior Membership ($5.00) _____

Birthday Month_____ Day______ Payment: Check ________ Cash_________

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION SURVEY

How many years have you been knitting? _____ Are you a new member? _____

How did you find out about our guild?________________________________

If renewing, how long have you been a member?______ If you are a new member, please tell us something about yourself for the newsletter__________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Please indicate if you have an interest in participating in any of the following:

_____Charity ____Membership ___Programs____ Newsletter/Publicity/ Website

Would you be willing to serve as an officer _____

GMKG Newsletter- July 2011

2011-07-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM

A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

July 2011

NO MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING BUT IT RATHER FOCUSED ON 3 AREAS:
STITCHES, STATE FAIR AND OFFICER ELECTIONS.

We will have a sign-up sheet at the July meeting for State
Fair Demonstrations. Shifts will be from 9am to 1pm and 1pm to
4pm. We will be working with Carol in the Sheep Barn. They
hope to have a new entrance to the Wool Room that will face off
of the main aisle providing more exposure and more room for
demonstrations. Passes will be mailed to your home by the
State Fair people. We have to give Carol our final
head count on Wednesday, July 13. They are also looking for
anyone who might be starting out in retail or marketing and
would like some experience in running a retail space. They
might be able to set up work study or extra credit for running
the booth. Here is some job experience for the resume of your
friends and family.

And if you are looking for an EASY Day trip to a lovely
new YS- try Wall of Yarn on 14 W Stephenson St in Freeport, IL

It was recently opened by owners Jeffrey Wall& Dennis Rinkenberger
and has quite a variety of specialty yarns. www.WallofYarn.com

At this time we do not have a Stitches bus arranged. If you
are seriously interested come to the meeting or send Jackie
an email at sewbad112@prodigy.net. We will see what we
can come up with and the cost involved.

Some of our officers will be staying on for next year. Jackie will stay for one of the Co-President positions, Pat Garrity will stay for the Treasurer postion and Mary Kaems will stay on for Membership. The remaining positions are another Co-President, Secretary, Programs, Historian, Charity, State Fair, Stitches Road Trip. Knit in Public and the Newsletter.

The July meeting will be held across the hall in the South Dining Room.

July 12th: Jane Grogan from
Madison will be with us. Jane is a
weaver and she will introduce us to various frame looms and continuous strand weaving. She
will bring a dishcloth loom and a diamond loom. She will talk
about the "theory" of continuous strand weaving and designing
with the looms. She will also have some show and tell and
looms for sale.

Here’s a shout out to a new yarn store in the area:

Cream City Yarn
15565 W North Avenue
Brookfield,WI 53005
262-923-7014

As Always Happy
Knitting!!

Peg

GMKG Newsletter for June 2011

2011-06-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
June 2011
Our Baby Shower at the May meeting was a great success. We collected 47 baby sweaters, 41 hats, 4 pairs of booties, 1 pair of mittens and 47 donated items such as diapers and baby clothes. We used lots of different yarn and pattern styles. Everything looked so sweet. Peg Vollmer and Pat Driscoll from the Christ Child Society came and spoke of their organization and the focus of their
work. Their group of volunteers will put together about 2000 layettes to be donated within the Greater Milwaukee Area. They also have a need for their "My Stuff" bag program. Backpacks are filed with items for older kids who have been removed from homes. They will fill about 900 backpacks this year. Peg and Pat were very appreciative of our effort on their behalf.
http://www.christchildsociety.com/We enjoyed games, cookies, bars and punch. Prizes were earned for having various items in your purse and for completing a Nursery Quiz with your teammate. It was a lot more fun than I am making it sound. I want to thank Pat Garrity and Kathy Greig for all of the time and effort they
put into this event.

New Members: The Guild has 2 new members: Anita B has
been knitting for about 12 years. You might see her at Renames where she works part time. She has worked in banking and ministry. She has crocheted since her was a small child. She also does needlepoint. She is currently working on a black and white jacket knit in different stripes and then assembled. Sue S has been knitting for most of her life. She is retired from banking. She is a former skier and knit ski sweaters to wear on the slopes. Lately she has been
doing small charity knitting projects in an attempt to use up her stash. Please welcome Anita and Sue.

Upcoming Programs:
June 14th: Please bring your favorite Knitting book, knitting book from the library or your favorite knitting accessory. Share with the guild, why this book or item is your favorite.
July 12th: Jane Grogan from Madison will be with us. Jane is a weaver and she will introduce us to various frame looms and continuous strand weaving. She will bring a dishcloth loom and a diamond loom. She will talk about the "theory" of continuous strand weaving and designing with the looms. She will also have some show and tell and looms for sale.
Aug 9th: Liz Sutter from "Setters Gold-n-Fleece"
will present "Two Needle Cast Ones...How? and Why?" She will talk about the Magic Loop cast on, Judy's Magic Cast on, and hen variations to the magic loop technique. Please bring scrap yarn and needles to practice the techniques.
Sept 13th: Elizabeth O'Brien from Chicago will present "Knitting to
fit...How to select the proper size pattern for your sweater. How to tell what size it really is and how to alter the pattern. Please bring pen and paper to take notes.

Stitch N Pitch is Tuesday June 21 at 7:10pm at Miller Park. The
Brewers will be playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Tickets $25 with the first 1000 purchased receiving the Special Edition Bernie the Brewer Bobble Head. Teaching tables will be available. We will not be going as a group but area yarn shops are selling tickets or you can order them online. http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/mil/ticketing/stitchnpitch.jsp

As always- Happy Knitting

GMKG Newsletter May 2011

2011-05-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD May 2011

Membership: We had 2 new members join at the meeting.

Treasurer: Balance is $3980.51 Pat explained the need for more income since this amount will not cover room rental for the year.

Programs: May will be our Baby Shower. Bring your hand knit orpurchased baby items, diapers, formula etc. Representatives from the Christ Child Society will be there to accept them and talk about their program.Charity: Peg reminded us that we are currently making Chemo Hats for St Mary's Oncology Department. She had some made using fun fur thatwere really cute.

Old Business: None

New Business: Karen M provided the following notice: "The Milwaukee Public Library is planning a regular drop-in for those who knit and/or crochet. No reservation needed. They will meet every last Saturday of the month except May and December at a location within the Central Library that will be posted in the Rotunda. 1:30-3:30.

The Central Library will also be hosting a location for Milwaukee 2011 Knitting-in-Public Day. The date they were told is June11. A time has not been provided yet. You can check their website for more info on events at www.mpl.org.Robbie Rose spoke with us about a charitable group she and friends have started for the HOT unit at Childrens Hospital. (HOT-Hematology, oncology and transplant) She spoke on the need for kit or crocheted toys for the kids to use for comfort. Their website www.palsbringjoy.com has ideas, patterns and book suggestions and drop off locations. Knitch in Delafield is also supporting their effort by offering incentives for donations. Peg donated the yarn from Charity Knitting

Meeting adjourned.Our program was presented by Jan Massie of Just 4 Ewe. She had an interesting topic on Sweater Recycling.. The processes used in China and 3rd world countries use many toxic chemicals. It is to our advantage to recycle. Jan encouraged us to buy yarn made in the USA because the harsh chemicals are not used in processing. She showed us the problems you might encounter when pulling apart a sweater. She also takes sweaters and cuts them into slippers and purses to felt and create a new item.

NewMembers

Nancy S has been knitting for over 40 years. She knits a great variety of items from scarves to sweaters and likes easy patterns.Besides knitting she does silk flower arrangements, including wedding flowers, and other crafts. In the summer she likes to garden. Nancy probably would win the contest for living the closest to Mount Mary. She lives on 93rdand Burleigh and says she could just cross the street, hop the fence, and be on campus. Her daughters are Mt Mary graduates. Welcome to the Guild Nancy.

Anja H has been knitting for 30 years. She learned to knit and crochet as a child but stopped when she was in high school. Afterc ollege she picked up her needles again. She has knit 3 children’s sweaters but she really enjoys knitting stuffed animals and booties. She learned about our group through the central library. Welcome Anja.

Jennifer D has been knitting for 30 years and has now completed level 2 of the Master Knitter of the TGKA program. She likes to knit everything but especially lace and socks. She learned about us from Ravelry. Welcome Jennifer.

Dawn O has been knitting for over 30 years too and is a past guild member. She should be familiar to any of you who shop at Ruhama’s as she is the store manager. She has taught at Mt Mary. She really likes machine knitting. Welcome back Dawn.

Welcome returning members Helen D and Gail M. Both ladies have renewed their membership from last year. Welcome back Helen and Gail.

You are cordially invited to the 1st annual Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild’s Baby Shower!! For: Christ Child Society Date: May 10, 2011 (the May meeting)Time: 7:00pm Place: Mount Mary CollegeBaby Shower Games will be played and refreshments servedPlease bring your baby sweaters and any other knitted items for donation to this worthy cause (remember that non-knitted new baby items will also be graciously accepted!!

As always- Happy Knitting

GMKG Newsletter March 2011 --Auction info

2011-03-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

7p on Tuesday March 8th, 2011 – Mount Mary College This Auction helps to support the different programs we offer as part of the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild Items that may be featured at this year’s Auction:
Beautiful skeins of yarn!
Bath and Beauty things!
Knitting Books full of creative ideas!
Household objects!Fabulous Knitting Accessories!
Stunning Needles!
Attractive Stationary!

Don’t be the only person to miss the great deals and items at this year’s Auction!
Meet us in the North Dining Room of Mount Mary College!
Bid early and Bid often!!

GMKG Newsletter March 2011

2011-03-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

PURLS OF WISDOM A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

March 2011
No treasurers report. Pat had a Community meeting regarding flooding to attend.Membership-no new members. One visitor attended.

The February Program was presented by Sue Forbes and Jenny from Knitch Yarn Shop of Delafield. They brought tables full of Noroyarn and explained the different blends and when best to use them. They also had knitted items so that you could see how they knit up. They also had various types of kits available for sale. We all got 10% off and had a great time.Meeting adjourned.

March is our annual fund raiser Auction. Monies raised will be used toward speaker fees throughout the upcoming year. (No Rummage items please)- Please pass the word around- guests are most definitely welcome!

Mary G-F has offered to be the Auctioneer. We will also need spotters to make sure everyone’s paddle is seen. We will need a few peopleto record and tally the totals of the winning bidders. We will have a registration table where youwill be given a paddle with your number. Please havean index card filled out with the name of the item, theasking price, a description of the item, and whodonated it. We will have extra index cards available.Come early so you can have plenty of time to check it all out.

In April, Jan Massie from Just4ewe will be our guest speaker. Jan recycles sweaters, re-spins the yarn, and then knits into new! She will talk to the guild abouther technique. We look forward to having her!

As always- Happy KnittingPeg

You are cordiallyinvited to the 1st annual Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild’s Baby Shower!!For: Christ Child Society
Date: May 10, 2011(the May meeting)
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Mount Mary College
Baby Shower Games will be played and refreshments served Please bring your baby sweaters and any other knitted items for donation to this worthy cause (remember that non-knitted new baby items will also be graciously accepted!!

GMKG Newsletter February 2011

2011-02-05T14:20:00.001-08:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
February 2011

There were no membership or treasury reports as those members were absent.
Give any scarves, hats or mittens to Jackie H for the Red Scarf Project.
A reminder to keep working on baby sweaters for the May Baby Shower!
We tabled the discussion to not have meetings in January and February until the fall when more of the membership is present.

The Program Committee presented their Round Robin. The skills they taught us were The German Cast On, The Braided Cast On, The Norwegian Purl and How to wind your yarn so that you can pull from the center of the ball. All were very interesting and as always well presented.

This month we're going to have the Knitch Yarn Store from Delafield come to our meeting. They're bringing out their entire line of Noro yarns and books for us to shop! You'll be able to see all of their Noro samples, which are gorgeous, by the way. And as a special Valentine's Day treat, they've even made up a few simple patterns for you that when knit up show off how pretty the Noro yarns can be. So don't miss the program! Join your friends at the meeting and let the Knitch bring their yarn store to you!

March is our annual fund raiser Auction. Monies raised will be used toward speaker fees throughout the upcoming year. So start planning your donation towards the Auction!

In April, Jan Massie from Just4ewe will be our guest speaker. Jan recycles sweaters, re-spins the yarn, and then knits into new! She will talk to the guild about her technique. We look forward to having her!

May is the anticipated "Baby Shower". Keep working on your baby sweaters! They are all so adorable! What a fun charitable events. More details will come in the near future.

This Month’s feature Member:
Susan Forbes
From time to time the newsletter features a guild member. This month we are chatting with Sue Forbes. She has been a member of the guild for about 10 year and has served the guild in a variety of ways. She has been membership and program chairs and has served as both vice president and president. She is serving as member of the program committee this year. Her favorite part of the guild is seeing what everyone is knitting. Sue learned to knit from her older sister when she was 8 but a baby sister taught her that there was much more than plain straight knitting. She loves texture and cables. Her favorite knitting book is Principles of Knitting by June Hiatt which is now out of print. She is a hand and machine knitter. She also spins and dyes yarns. For many years she thought about owning a business while she continued to work as an environmentalist for the truck division of GM at Janesville. When the plant closed she decided to take the plunge 3 years ago and start a yarn business. She sells custom yarns, sock blanks, and her own soaps. She is also designs patterns and teaches classes. She is currently knitting shawls which are being sold in an art gallery in Fish Creek. She is expanding her business each year by
going to more fiber shows and will have booths at the national Knit & Crochet Show and Stitches Midwest. Check out her websites: Fairy Yarnmother and Fiber Art Café to see what great products Sue has available.

As always- Happy Knitting
Peg

2011 Midwest Knitting Events:

Janesville Knit-in
http://jakg.org/id18.html
February 19 at Milton

Sheep In The City Get Away
http://web.mac.com/jmassie1/Sheep_in_the_City/Welcome.html
February 25-27 at the Best Western
Milwaukee Airport

Madison Knit-in
http://www.madisonknittersguild.org/knitin.html
March 19 in Madison

Wisconsin Spin-in
http://www.wispinin.org/
April 7-9 in Pewaukee

Midwest Fiber & Folk Art
http://www.fiberandfolk.com/
June 24-26 in Grayslake, IL

Knit & Crochet Show
http://www.knitandcrochetshow.com/
July 28-31 in Minneapolis

Stitches Midwest
http://www.knittinguniverse.com
August 24-28 in Schaumburg, IL

WI Sheep and Wool Festival
http://wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com/
Sept 9-11 in Jefferson

GMKG Newsletter- JAN 2011

2011-01-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
January 2011

It’s a NEW YEAR

Resolutions, reflections and always time to try something new…..

January is the annual Round Robin. Please make sure you bring extra scrap yarn and needles so you can learn and practice the techniques taught. The Round Robin will consist of 3-4 stations set up in the room. At each station, a technique will be taught to the members of the guild. Each station will be allowed 10-15 minutes to allow member to practice the new skill. Guild members then rotate to the next station. It's a great learning opportunity to increase our knitting skills. This year we will learn "the Norwegian Pul", "the Twisted German Cast-on" and a "cord Cast-on".

February: TBD

March is our annual fund raiser Auction. Monies raised will be used toward speaker fees throughout the upcoming year. So start planning your donation towards the Auction!

In April, Jan Massie from Just4ewe will be our guest speaker. Jan recycles sweaters, respins the yarn, and then knits into new! She will talk to the guild about her technique. We look forward to having her!

May is the anticipated "Baby Shower". Keep working on your baby sweaters! They are all so adorable! What a fun charitable events. More details will come in the near future.

And now a warm welcome to our new members……
Diane K and Rieke D.
Diane has been knitting for about 25 years and has done a variety of projects from scarves to sweaters. She likes to use circular needles. She is retired and also likes to read and golf. Yes she has knit golf club covers.
Rieke has been knitting since she was a small girl in Germany. She knits whenever she can, including on the bus as she commutes to and from work. She loves color and texture. She uses the yarn as her guide on how a project should be knit and often does not use a pattern.

GMKG Newsletter for December 2010

2010-12-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

PURLS OF WISDOM, A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD December 2010

Giving the gifts of…..

The Holidays are bursting out all over and with that brings memories of sleigh rides, snow men and the awesome hand knit sweaters we all(at least the kids in my family) thought were the coolest gifts Mom could give us (she always let us pick the colors)…..may the spirit and good tidings carry over to others…

Minutes of last meeting:

Amy H.- co president opened the meeting asking for confirmation of minutes from the last meeting.

Minimal minutes as I did not receive any so I am going by what few I took:
Treasurers report – 3717.19 in account as of tonight.

Guild members decided on Knit Socks, Shawls and New Knitter Item for the 3 awards the guild wouldsponsor this year for the State Fair. Good news here- the folks in the sheep barn are willing to let us come and do knitting presentations this year……………….details to follow!

December’s Pot Luck/M eeting will be in Helfare Hall- look for everyone there and let’s hope itdoesn’t snow us out!

What’s coming up:

December- Show and Telland the annual Potluck
January- Round Robin
February- Stay tuned for Meg Swanson

Membership:
We have 2 new members and 1 returning member who joined the guild last month. Please welcome Deb P., Carol T. and Troy Y. Deb has been knitting since she was a girl and knits every chance shegets-on the bus, breaks at work, watching TV, and even on her exercise bike. Shelearned to do cables this year and loves the texture that cables bring to aknitting project. She is interested in learning entrelac. Carol also learned to knit when she was young. She likes classicstyles and texture projects, has done lots of scarves and now that she is workingpart time has more time for sweater projects. Troy is re-joining after a few years absence. At the October meetingsomeone mentioned that they were a “Born-Again Knitter” which Troy says describes herself. She has been knitting off and on for about 20 years and has re-connected with knitting again. She loves to knit with color and the newer fibersand uses Ravelry for inspiration. Troy is also a quilter and is retired. With the addition of these three new members- that puts us at 46 on the roster.

November’s guest was Shirley Grade from the Yarn house who gave a “how to” on double knitting and shared a bit of her experiences over the years…..we wish her the best of luck in her retirement.

Happy Knitting, Peg

GMKG Newsletter- OCT 10

2010-10-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM

A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

October 2010

The program for Oct will be a demonstration on how to hand paint yarn and sock blanks.

October 2010 Knitting Guild Newsletter

Fall is upon us

It’s that time of year that we all think of sweaters, mittens, hats and all other knitterly things to keep ourselves and others warm. Sorry for the limited minutes- I did not receive any again this month- so I am using what few I took at the meeting:

Amy Hiley- co president opened the meeting asking for confirmation of minutes from the last meeting.

No minutes due to arriving after newsletter sent out.

Treasurers report – Pat- 3281.03 in account as of tonight- awards have been mailed for state fair prizes

Charity- hats and scarves…yarn in back at each meeting has been donated for charity usage

Hope house as possibility for charity for this year as well as
Christ Child society-( willing to attend meeting in November/December for baby sweaters/hats/booties)

Red Scarf project - orphan.org packages to kids in foster care that are now college students (website has free patterns) the directions are as follows:

HOW TO MAKE AN OFA RED SCARF:

Scarf Size: Approximately 60_ long and 5_ to 8_ wide. Scarves should be long enough to be

wrapped around the neck, with tails long enough to be tied in the front.

Style: Think unisex collegiate. The scarves go to both male and female students, so they

shouldn’t be gender specific. Fringes are optional. Your scarf should be 60-70 inches by 6-8

inches.

Yarn: Preferably DK, double fingering-weight, worsted weight, or light bulky yarns. No lace

weight, super-chunky, or mohair yarns as there are many people who find mohair too itchy. The

yarn should be soft.

Color: Red! However, this could mean burgundy, cherry, russet, red stripes with other colors, or

multicolor hues including red.

Finished and tagged: Yarn ends should be securely sewn in. For a personal touch, attach a tag

saying “Handmade for You” with your first name, city, and group affiliation, if any. We also

suggest that you include washing instructions and personal messages of encouragement.

Scarves are accepted from September 1 to December 15 each year and can be sent to:

OFA

The Red Scarf Project

21351 Gentry Drive

Suite 130

Sterling, VA 20166

More detailed directions can be found at- http://orphan.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/

Scarves should not be in a quantity of more than 5 per person (unless we are going to gather them and send them as a guild donation) and should be sent to:

OFA
The Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive
Suite 130
Sterling, VA 20166

More detailed directions can be found at- http://orphan.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/

No old business-

The “work down your stash” contest winners were- Honorable mention- Dee B
Darleen H- pair of socks
Cristel M- Aran waist coat knit from stash 1400yds (¾ of a mile)- gift card
Jeanie G, total of 3 miles of yarn from stash- Winner

“Pick the pattern you have always wanted to knit and commit to it”- idea for next year’s challenge

New business:

Sue N- project on October 23rd at the Central Library (700 W Wisconsin Avenue) during the afternoon- looking for volunteers to knit/instruct/participate….she is taking names to offer to staff person at the library she knows.

Dana Root was presenter for knitting ergonomics.

It’s time to renew your Guild membership. Dues are $ 25.00 or $ 5.00 if you are a junior member. Please make checks payable to the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild or GMKG. A membership form is included in the newsletter. Please complete the information completely, even if you are renewing your membership. If you wish to receive your newsletter by regular mail, please provide us with 12 business size, self addressed stamped envelopes. If you have any questions please feel free to contact :

Mary K

Remember- this is your newsletter-please don’t hesitate to send articles, information, questions or suggestions to me, but please do so by the 20th of each month so that I can try and each done and sent by month’s end.

Thanks and I look forward to a great year!

Happy Knitting
Thanks

Mary

GMKG Newsletter- SEPT 2010

2010-09-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM

A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

September 2010

September 2010 Knitting Guild Newsletter
Greetings one and all-

Here’s hoping that you all had a wonderful summer and are now gearing up for the mad dash that is fall (in knitters terms I am sure that is the “pre- holiday knitting frenzy”). Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Peggy and for those of you who don’t know me (or read the last newsletter) I am the new “editor in chief” of the GMKG newsletter. I have been a guild member for around 3 years, consider myself an “adventuresome beginner”, have grown quite a stash and have too many projects on needles to speak of. Three furbabies, a husband and one stepson round out my family picture and any one of those separately is a handful, let alone when you put them all together! I look forward to this next year and getting to know many of you.

I apologize that I have included no minutes from the last meeting- but alas I didn’t receive any so I will try and do better this next time around. The next meeting is Tuesday, September 13th in the dining room of Berstrom Hall, Mount Mary College. Social hour begins at 6:15pm and our “knitting doctors” are available at that time for advise and consultation on any knitting projects. The meeting itself starts at 7:00pm followed by the monthly program.

This month’s program is:
An Ergonomics Class for Knitters:
Avoiding Aches and Pains

Do you love to knit? Do you experience aches and pains while knitting? Do you want to learn how to reduce this discomfort? With a little knowledge and new discoveries, some easy changes will keep you knitting happily forever.

Dana Root, an ergonomist and physical therapist, will share her passion for ergonomics and her love of knitting while the knitter will learn how to avoid those knitting aches and pains.

This class is an excellent learning opportunity for every new and seasoned knitter.

The knitter will learn:
Why the body is at risk for knitting aches and pains.
What knitting methods may cause soreness.
Solutions for reducing knitting discomfort.
Exercises to interrupt knitting movements.

A self assessment ergonomics questionnaire will enable the knitter to focus on techniques that may cause discomfort.

The two hour session will involve active discussion, demonstration, and group participation. The knitter should bring an easy WIP. A power point presentation to compliment the session is optional.

It’s time to renew your Guild membership. Dues are $ 25.00 or $ 5.00 if you are a junior member. Please make checks payable to the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild or GMKG. A membership form is included in the newsletter. Please complete the information completely, even if you are renewing your membership. If you wish to receive your newsletter by regular mail, please provide us with 12 business size, self addressed stamped envelopes. If you have any questions please feel free to contact :
kaems@sbcglobal.net

Remember- this is your newsletter-please don’t hesitate to send articles, information, questions or suggestions to me, but please do so by the 20th of each month so that I can try and each done and sent by month’s end.

Thanks and I look forward to a great year!

Happy Knitting

Peg

GMKG Newsletter- AUG 10

2010-08-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM

A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cristel August 8
Elizabeth Zimmerman August 11
Amy August 15

M ission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild is open to anyone
interested in knitting at any level.
Our mission is to promote
interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting.

M eetin g s
Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.

Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.

The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.

Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

Minutes: Milwaukee Knitting Guild
July Meeting 2010
Secretary, Judy

The meeting was called to order by President
Mary at 7:20.
The minutes from the June meeting were
accepted.

Mary reminded the group that the fiscal year
begins again in September.

Old business:
New board positions were announced. Two
positions still need filling, secretary and
historian.

Stitches news: The bus to Stitches is cancelled
as the goal of 30 people was not met.

There being no new business, the meeting was
adjourned at 7:40.

The Traveling Woman Shawl Show was than
modeled.

Thank you to Claudia who has
agreed to assume the position of Historian.

Thank you to Lenore and Peggy
who have agreed to chair our
Community Charitable Knitting.

AUGUST 2010

MEMBERSHIP
By Mary, Membership secretary

Let’s learn a little more about our new presidents, Jackie and Amy.

Jackie joined the guild first, 3 or 4 years ago. She
has knitted on and off for over 30 years. She used to
knit during her lunch hours, and started knitting again
when she got involved in Girl Scouts. She hadn’t
knitted for a number of years but was re-discovering
knitting about the same time that she learned about
the Guild at the State Fair. Carol was
demonstrating knitting and invited Jackie to a
meeting. Amy learned from her Mom and has been
knitting for 3 years and joined the guild 2 years ago.
Amy likes to see everyone’s projects at the guild
meetings and Jackie likes the camaraderie of the
guild and the willingness of members to share their
knitting knowledge.

Amy’s current project is a scarf using the
Stashology 101 technique from the May 2010
meeting. She purchased the Stasholgy book which
is her current favorite knitting book. She is also
knitting coffee cozies. Jackie is finishing a braided
shawl from a class she took at the Knitting Nook.
Amy likes knitting scarves and Jackie likes knitting
cables or Aran patterns. Jackie’’s favorite knitting
book is a book on Cables from Interweave Press.
Jackie knits for herself, for family and charity.
Amy knits for herself and for friends. They both
have small stashes -Jackie has about 20 skeins
and Amy has 1 shopping bag of yarn.

PROGRAMS
After the stash reduction show and

tell, we'll have a small round robin.
For those of you new to the guild, a
round robin is where we break off
into small groups to learn some
technique. These mini classes only
last 10-15 minutes and then they're
repeated so that another group of
people can see them. You get to
pick which round robin you go to,
so you'll get to see 2 different
presentations in a short amount of
time. This month we're going to
look at knitted and crocheted
flowers. The program people have
collected a number of books with
flowers in them and we've got 5
volunteers that have learned how
to make a certain flower and will
show you how to make it at the
meeting

Dana Root will be our speaker at our
September meeting. She is an ergonomist
and a knitter. Dana will be sharing some
techniques for keeping our wrists, hands
and bodies pain free and in alignment,
while we knit. Please bring a knitting work
in progress to the meeting.

GMKG Newsletter- July 2010

2010-07-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Mission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild is open to anyone
interested in knitting at any level.
Our mission is to promote
interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting.
M eet in g s
Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.
Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.
The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.
Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

GUILD BOARD ELECTIONS
Congratulations to the following Greater
Milwaukee Knitting Guild members who
volunteered to assume the following positions
on the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild Board.
Amy H- President
Jackie H -Vice President
Mary K -Membership
Peggy V- Newsletter
Pat G- Treasurer
Volunteers are still needed to fill the positions
of secretary and charity Knitting.
Susan F, Kathy M and Darlene
H have volunteered to assist with
programs.
More volunteers are needed. Do you have an
idea for a program? Are you willing to
demonstrate a knitting skill in a round robin
setting? Do you know a speaker who would
share all things fiber? Are you willing to
contact yarn shops to sell ad space in the
newsletter?
Your Guild need you! The work is light when
there are many hands!
MEMBERSHIP
By Mary K, Membership secretary
Everyone in the Guild should recognize Dan
J. He is the only man in the guild at the
present time.
He is a special education teacher in the Milwaukee
Public Schools and has been a teacher for 20 years.
He teaches cognitive disabled students at Hamilton
High school. He is also licensed to teach Consumer
Education. Both his undergraduate and Master’s
degrees are from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
He has been knitting for about 15 years and enjoys
all sorts of crafts besides knitting. He crochets,
paints, quilts, and makes jewelry. He must be a
good cook too. Hope you tasted his delicious
brownies at the 2009 Christmas party.
Here are his answers to questions we asked him
recently.
Who taught you how to knit?
““I took a class as MATC because I really wanted to
learn knitting.”
How long have you been a member of the Guild and
how did you learn about us?
““6 years. I heard about the group at an MATC
class.”
What do you like best about the guild and any guild
participation?
““I like getting together with other knitters and
learning new things. I use to help get the newsletter
out to the members who received it by mail. I had
some of my students help.”
Favorite type of knitting?
““Scarves”
Current projects?
““I am finishing up a felted bag. This
summer I am going to finish a child’s Disney
afghan I started 1 ½ years ago. And then
there is the tissue cover I started about 8
years when I took Shirley Grade’s Irish
stitches class. It has all sorts of bobbles.”
Stash size?
““It’s not too bad. I have yarn to make a
pair of socks and then a sweater. I didn’t go
to Stitches last year but I have used up all
my yarn from the year before. My fabric
stash for my quilts is another story.”
Favorite Knitting Book?
““I don’t really have a favorite book but I do
like Elizabeth Zimmermann’s videos.”
JUNE MEETING MINUTES
Amy H called the meeting to order at 7:05 Pm.
There were 18 members present.
Membership reported that we had 4 new members
join the Guild in May.
Meeting Minutes for May were not accepted as
none were submitted to the newsletter for
publishing.
Karen L reported that a bus has been
secured for the trip to Stitches. More details will be
available at the July Meeting.
Amy H asked for volunteers to assume the
vacating Guild Board positions.
Amy volunteered to assume the role of president.
Jackie H agreed to assume the role of vice
president. Mary K agreed to continue on as
Membership Secretary. Peggy V volunteered
to compile the newsletter. Susan F, Darlene
H, and Kathy M, agreed to help with
the programs committee.
The board will need volunteers to fill Secretary and
Charity Knitting positions.
New Business. Several Guild members have
inquired about the Master Knitter Course. Could the
Guild find out What it would entail. Could some of
the meetings be geared toward achieving this goal.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:20
pm.

PROGRAMS UPDATE
Stash Down 2010
The following Guild Members have
committed to “knit down” some of their
yarn stash.
Cristel M is knitting an Aran
waistcoat with Kathmandu yarn.
Darlene H is busy knitting socks out
of some supersoche yarn. Dee Bhas
selected a shell made from Diva yarn and
two sweaters made from Charleston and
Divine yarns for her stash down projects.
Please bring your completed Traveling
Women Shawls, which we cast on back in
January, to the July meeting for show and
tell.
Dana R will teach us some tips for
keeping our hands and bodies aligned and
pain free with her presentation on
Ergonomic Knitting.

Don’t forget that the Midwest Folk and
Fiber Fair is July 16-18 at the Lake County
Fair Grounds in Greyslake, Illinois. They
have a powerhouse line up of classes from
Beadwork, Color Theory, Dyeing, Felting
Handspinning, Jewelry Construction,
Knitting, Looping, Machine Knitting
Polymer Clay, Quilting, Rug Hooking
Weaving, and Wool Applique . The
marketplace has yarns from Creatively
Dyed, Happy Hands, Briar Rose Fibers just
to name a few.

The Midwest Felting Symposium will take
place July 21-25 at the Alliant Energy
Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Besides
shopping opportunities for all sorts of
felting supplies, they have classes from
felted jewelry, to felted flowers and
purses.
STITCHES MIDWEST
Stitches Midwest will be held August
19-22 at the Renaissance Hotel and
Conference Center in Schaumburg,
Illinois. The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild has chartered a bus for Saturday August 21. The
bus is limited to 55 passengers.
The cost is 35 dollars per person for the bus and
admission to the Stitches Marketplace. We need fill a
minimum of 31 seats on the bus by August .
Karen L will collect payment at the July meeting
or you may mail your payment to her:

The bus will pick up at the State Fair Park and Ride, the
Ryan Road Park and Ride and the Hwy 20 Park and Ride
Lot.
Some reasons to take the bus to Stitches:
1. You can knit while onboard.
2. The bus has air conditioning.
3. The bus has a bathroom.
4. The bus has comfortable seats two across.
5.The bus has an extra large cargo hold for all those
marketplace purchases.
6.Why drive through the Wisconsin I-94 construction,
the Illinois Tristate Tollways construction and the Illinois
I-90 construction when you can knit on the bus while the
bus driver deals with the traffic and detours.
7. By taking the bus, you will not need to cruise the
parking lot for 30 minutes to locate a parking space.
8. The bus stops at the main entrance door so you will
not need to hike from the back 40 lot to the entrance in
the rain.
9. All your Knitting Guild friends will be on the bus
relaxed and stress free.

YARN ABOUT TOWN
Submitted by Margaret D and Jeannie G
This past May, Margaret D and I set out on a chilly Friday
for the Door County Shepherds Market. Our mission
was to visit every yarn shop from the North Shore to Door
County.
Our first stop, the Grafton Yarn store located inside
a former knitting mill at 1300 14 avenue. We both
registered for a Summit shawl class, then went in
search of the perfect yarn for our summit shawls.
Instead , we found several exquisite patterns for
future projects which we purchased
Our second stop, Magpie’s Cottage located at 308
Pine Street in Sheboygan Falls has a varied
selection of yarns, beads and fabric. Carla, Magpies
owner is extremely helpful.
All that shopping made us hungry. We headed to
Bread and Beans Eatery just down the street at 107
Pine Street for a delectable sandwich. I dined on a
hearty potato soup and a Panini sandwich filled with
turkey, ham, tomato, dill pickle, Swiss cheese and
tangy mustard sauce . Margaret had black bean
soup and the house special, a grilled salmon gyro.
The very moist and flavorful salmon was wrapped in
pita bread and topped with sliced tomato, cucumber
sauce. Both sandwiches were served with home
made potato chips.
Our next destination, The Shaggy Sheep in
Manitowoc was closed. We set the GPS for Sturgeon
Bay and Spin. At Spin we found so many cuddly
yarns in luscious colors, it was hard to choose.
Saturday morning found us at the Shepherds market
at Whitefish Bay Farms. There were many venders
selling hand spun yarns, roving, hand made soaps
and all thing fiber.
We set the GPS for our last yarn shop and had to
take a detour right past 3 winery’s. After sampling
the local wines and pairing them with cheese,
chocolate and yarn we made it to our final
destination. Red Sock Yarns, located in Fish Creek at
9331 Spring Road. While we shopped, several
people were getting one on one knitting lessons
from the shops owner and her daughter. Both were
extremely helpful in helping me ferret out the
perfect Pinot noir colored yarn for my summit shawl.
They even offered to special order it for me and ship
it to me in Milwaukee.
We had so much fun, we decided our next yarn
destination would be the yarn shops from Delafield
to Madison. I can’t wait!
STITCHES MIDWEST BUS TRIP
GUILD
MEMBER________________________________
Please provide a telephone number and email address so we may send you confirmation.
TELEPHONE____________________________EMAIL______________________________
GUEST NAME___________________________________phone___________________
GUEST NAME___________________________________phone___________________
GUEST NAME___________________________________phone___________________
GUEST NAME___________________________________phone___________________
Which Park and Ride lot will your group be picked up at:
STATE FAIR RYAN ROAD HWY 20
TOTAL ATTENDEES ____________ @ $35.00 each = $_______________
Please Remit payment to
KAREN L

World Wide Knit in Public events around Milwaukee

2010-06-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here are the World Wide Knit in Public
day activities for Milwaukee:

For the northside, Meet at the Bravo Italian Cucina at Bayshore Mall (instead of meeting at the North Point Snack bar) and knit in the Mall Courtyard. Check Bayshore website for maps to the Mall.

North Point Snack bar (now cancelled because of the air show)

The Southside Knitwits will host activities
near the Gazebo in Downtown Greendale
on June 12 from 1-5 pm.

Loop Yarn Shop will be knitting outside the
shop on June 12 and Just 4 Ewe will be
hosting activities on June 12.

GMKG Newsletter for June 2010

2010-06-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
APRIL/MAY 2010
GUILD BOARD ELECTIONS

The focus of our June
meeting will be Guild Board
Elections . Without a board
our Guild would not be
allowed to meet at Mount
Mary College. Here is a run
down of the duties of the
Board of Officers and the
committee Chairs per the
articles of charter for the
Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild.

ARTICLE IV OFFICERS
1. The executive officers of the Greater
Milwaukee Knitting Guild shall consist of a
President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a
Treasurer. Term of office for each officer shall be
for one(1) year. The immediate past President
shall remain on the Board of Directors for one
year and serve as the fifth Executive Officer. The
Vice-President may become President for the next
Year if decided upon by the membership before
the annual election takes place.
2. The President shall preside at all meetings of
the membership, and all meetings of the Board of
Directors•and shall be an ex-officio member of
any committee established by the Guild. The
President shall appoint all chairpersons to
standing and new committees of the Guild. The
President, upon the advice and consent of the
Board of Directors, shall be authorized to sign any
and all communications between the local Guild
and The Knitting Guild of America. The President
shall review and sign any contracts on behalf of
the Guild and secure any additional signatures per
each contract requirement. The President shall
notify all necessary factions of the newly elected
officers prior to the September meeting
3. The Vice-President shall assist the President and
serve in the absence of the President. The Vice-
President may be the chairperson for the Guild's
program committee. This option may be reviewed
yearly before election of officers if so desired.
4. The Secretary shall keep all minutes of all
proceedings of meetings of the membership and
the Board of Directors. Minutes shall be read at
the membership meetings or published in the
newsletter. The Secretary shall take care of
correspondence at the direction of the President.
The Secretary shall keep all pertinent information
of the Guild on file.
5. The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all
monies and present a statement of the current
financial condition of the Guild at all membership
meetings. Additional responsibilities of the
Treasurer shall be to pay the Guild bills including,
but not limited to, program presenters and
reimbursements, in a timely manner. The
Treasurer shall prepare a budget and submit it to
the Board of Directors for approval prior to a two-
thirds (2/3) vote of those present at a regular
scheduled membership meeting that has a
quorum. The Treasurer and President shall have
the power to sign the accounts for the Guild.
ARTICLE V COMMITTEES
1. The Guild shall have committees for
membership, programs, service projects,
education, publicity, and any others as shall be
determined, from time to time, by the Board of
Directors. The President shall appoint the
chairperson of each committee. Each chairperson
shall recruit all necessary committee members as
needed.
2. The Board of Directors shall define the
following suggested duties of committees each
year as necessary:
A. MEMBERSHIP: Chairperson shall track
member's addresses and dues (payment and
eligibility). Chairperson shall forward any monies
collected for dues to the Treasurer in a timely
manner and forward a list of eligible members to
the newsletter committee chairperson before the
20 of each month for mailing labels. Chairperson
shall calculate membership of each meeting and
inform the President of a quorum.
B. PROGRAMS: Chairperson shall schedule
programs to be presented following each monthly
meeting and forward information regarding
presenter fees to the Treasurer in a timely manner.
Chairperson shall copy any materials needed by the
presenter and forward receipts to the Treasurer in a
timely manner for reimbursement. Send "thank
you" letters to presenters following each meeting.
C. SERVICE PROJECTS: The committee shall be
responsible for determining the Guild's service
project per quarter (3 months). Committee members
shall be responsible for distribution of items
donated by members.
D. EDUCATION: Members shall work with
Programs and Service Chairpersons to ensure the
membership is receiving any and all educational
needs. The committee shall poll the membership to
determine the educational needs of the Guild.
Committee shall recruit the Guild's "Knitting
Doctor(s)" for each year and notify the newsletter
committee of the Knitting Doctor(s).
E. PUBLICITY: Chairperson shall coordinate
several subcommittees to include the newsletter,
advertising, photography, tours and trips,
Committee shall work in conjunction with
Membership to recruit new members and knitters to
the Guild.
F. STATE FAIR: Chairperson shall be a liaison
between the State Fair staff and Guild members.

MEMBERSHIP
Submitted by Mary K
From time to time the newsletter will be featuring
a guild member. Every guild member should
know Jeannie G . She is this year’s
programs chair and newsletter editor. So let’s
learn a little more about her. Here are her
answers to questions we asked her.
GUILD INVOLVEMENT: Currently Programs chair
and newsletter editor.
GUILD MEMBER: 3 years.
BEST PART OF THE GUILD: All of the members
coming together to share a love of yarn and
stitches.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A KNITTER AND
WHO TAUGHT YOU:
I learned the knit stitch from my mother when I
was a child. I just never understood what to do
with it. In 2002 a friend of a friend gave us a
lesson. She taught us to cast on, cast off, the knit
and purl stitches.
Somehow, after that lesson, my brain mixed
everything up and I could knit left
handed(Continental) and purl right handed(
English). This made knitting very difficult when
the pattern called for mixing the two stitches
together. I abandoned knitting until the summer
of 2008 when I took a sock class at Loop. Several
months and three pair of socks later, I fractured
my patella, I was unable to work or walk for
nearly 4 months. Finding myself with a lot of free
time, I was determined to master a new stitch or
technique every week.
FAVORITE TYPE OF KNITTING: Socks. They are
fast and easy and a great way to learn new
stitches.
CURRENT PROJECT(S):I just finished a pair of
Genome socks knit on size 1 needles with Brown
Sheep Wildfoote yarn and cast on my third
Clapotis using Noro Taiyo. I can only knit one
project at a time .
WHO DO YOU KNIT FOR: I knit for myself,
and gifts for others. The Clapotis will be a
gift for a friend who lives in Arizona.
STASH: My stash is organized on Ravelry.
Check it out under Jeannieboom. I also
keep a copy of it in my knitting basket. It
takes up one large plastic bin.
FAVORITE KNITTING BOOK: I don’t have a
favorite book, however, my favorite
website’s are Ravelry, Twist Collective, and
Utube where one can watch a lot of knitting
tutorials.
OCCUPATION: Executive Chef.
OTHER INTERESTS: Gardening, reading,
making decorative showpieces like
chocolate sculptures. I’m currently enrolled
in a glass sculpting class which I will take
later this summer.

World Wide Knit in Public
day activities will be held
at the following locations:
North Point Snack bar
North Point Snack Bar located on
Milwaukee’s lakefront beginning at 11 am
on June 12. Hosted by the guilds own Ellen
J .
The Southside Knitwits will host activities
near the Gazebo in Downtown Greendale
on June 12 from 1-5 pm.
Loop Yarn Shop will be knitting outside the
shop on June12 and Just 4 Ewe will be
hosting activities on June 12.

Please welcome our newest members to the Guild.
Toni B has been knitting for 4 years and is an
avid knitter. She already belonged to 3 groups
and now that she is a guild member she belongs
to 4. She knits for family, friends and herself and
she especially likes to knit socks.
Genavieve D has been knitting for 2 years.
She has 3 children all under the age of 3 so she
has to get creative with knitting time. She learned
to knit from her mother-in-law and fell in love with
knitting.
Ginny Lee P has been knitting on and off
for 45 years. After a few years of lapse
membership, she is returning to the guild. She is
now retired and her health has improved so she
has more time to knit. She has 7 grandchildren
ranging in age from 18 months to 16 years.
Penny T has been knitting less than a year.
She has 2 daughters ages 5 and 12. Her youngest
girl wants to learn knitting. She learned mostly
from books but she is also is a member of the
Butler Library Knitting group. The library group
has helped her learn more about knitting and even
suggested she join the Guild. Now she wants to
learn to crochet.

PROGRAMS
Subm itted by Jeannie G
SABLE 2010 Yarn Stash Down
Its not too late to make your 2010 yarn stash down
Fill out your commitment card and turn it into
Margaret, Peggy or Jeannie today. AS you finish your
projects, let us know and we will mark it off your cards.
Prizes will be awarded at the August meeting to
the person who knits the most yardage from
their stash and for knitting the most skeins from
their stash
Thank You to Chris Bylsma for her
presentation on Stashology 201.Here are
some important points from her
presentation:
- Think of your yarn stash as a yarn 401K.
- Never place yarn skeins in a plastic bag
with the pattern in hopes that some day
you will knit it up. You will forget about the
yarn. Instead consider storing your stash
out in the open in baskets etc. You will be
inspired every time you look and touch the
yarn.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Judy K June 6
Mary Jo M June 24

CHARITY KNITTING
Submitted by Marge A
Look through your stash because we need hats,
scarves, and mittens (adult and children) for these
worthy causes:
School Health Nurse Program: Children’s Hospital
nurses provide services to 43 schools in the
Milwaukee area. Children’s ages range from
infants to high school. There are approximately
12,000 students and many in need of hats,
scarves, and mittens. They can accept our
donations at any time of the year and store them
until needed.
Chemo Infusion Center which is affiliated with the
breast and GYN Oncology programs: Aurora
Women’s Pavilion at West Allis Hospital. They
could definitely use hats for cancer patients (men
and women). Use soft yarns and avoid using any
yarn that contains wool because it can be harmful
to some cancer patients. When cancer patients
receive handmade chemo caps, they know that
someone cares. I found great patterns on the
following Internet site: www.headhuggers.org I
couldn’t resist knitting up a few.
Food for the Hungry, Inc.: They deliver to
Children’s crises centers, day care centers,
women’s abuse centers, food pantries, and other
social service programs in South Eastern
Wisconsin. I got a nice letter thanking the Guild
for all the knit items we donated last year, and
they are hopeful that they could be a recipient
again this year.
You can choose any of the above organizations to
receive your knit items, and I will make sure they
are delivered to that organization. I will try to
collect finished items at all our meetings.

W H AT’S AH EAD
June
12-13 Iowa Sheep and Wool festival, Adel,
Iowa www.iowasheep.com
12 World Wide knit in Public Day
July 16-18 Midwest Folk and Fiber Fair
August 11 -Stitch and Pitch - Milwaukee
Brewers
2010 Board of Directors and
Committee Chairs
Presidents
Mary G-F
Any H
Past President
Linda M
Treasurer
Karen R
Secretary
Judy K
Membership
Mary K
Charity Knitting
Marge A
Newsletter
Jeannie G
Website
Susan F
State Fair
Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctor
Karen L
Historian
Nancy K
Programs
Jeannie G

GMKG Newsletter for May 2010

2010-05-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Mission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild is open to anyone
interested in knitting at any level.
Our mission is to promote
interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting.

Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.
Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.

The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.

Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

The subject of our May meeting , is Stashology
201 with Chris Bylsma.
We will learn to release our creative powers to
combine fibers, textures, colors, and varying
weights to create many different types of
“stash fabric.” Please bring with you 8-10
different skeins of yarn in a variety of weights
and colors- but no extra bulky or chenille and
appropriate sizes of knitting needles.
Chris retired from a career in marketing
communications and advertising to pursue her
artistic passion – knitting and “texture play.”
She teaches workshops coast to coast for
guilds, TNNA, conferences and shops and in
her hometown, Madison, Wisconsin. In
addition, she has her own line of knitting
patterns available through retail yarn stores.
Her approach to knitting is that the process
and the end product should both be a joy and
designs with that in mind.
Chris is noted for her Crayon Box Jacket and
inventive Ladder Scarf and Ladder Shawl. She
encourages knitters to “color outside the lines”
where it’s more fun, and to “think outside the
box” (she has occasionally been accused of
actually not having a box).

MEMBERSHIP
Submitted by Mary K
From time to time the newsletter will be
featuring a guild member. Every guild member
should know Mary G-F. She is this
year’s president and conducts our meetings. So
let’s learn a little more about her. Here are her
answers to questions we asked her.
GUILD INVOLVEMENT: Currently president,
served as secretary for 2 years. Has given
programs on beading and mittens, and been a
demonstrator at round robins.
GUILD MEMBER: Over 15 years. Joined after
TKGA (the Knitting Guild of America) had a
convention in Milwaukee and learned about the
Milwaukee guild.
BEST PART OF THE GUILD: It’s lot of fun and
I’ve learned lots of things but I wish everyone
would get more involved.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A KNITTER: over
35 years.
WHO TAUGHT YOU: Dot Spransy who owned
the Wool Works yarn shop on Irving Street on
Milwaukee’s east side.
FAVORITE TYPE OF KNITTING: Lace
CURRENT PROJECT(S): Knit One Below scarf,
and 2 shawls. Usually start 6 or 7 large projects
a year and completes 2, not counting any sock
projects.
WHO DO YOU KNIT FOR: me, socks for my
husband, and gifts for others.
STASH: 1 room in the house plus part of
another room. Some day the stash will be
organized.
FAVORITE KNITTING BOOK: Principles of
Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt which is
now out of print.
OCCUPATION: U.S. Bank in the Wealth
Management Division for over 20 years.
OTHER INTERESTS: Beading and making
jewelry, spinning and some weaving, ballet
classes 4 times a week.
Mary takes the bus to and from work and
knits while on the bus. She does not drive
so instead of spending money on a car and
maintenance, she spends it on knitting.
The guild has two new members, Ann
F. and Lois N.
Ann has been knitting most of her life. She
enjoys knitting sweaters, socks, hats, and
mittens, some of it as charity knitting. In
addition, she is a quilt maker and a bike
rider. She owns her own business, Ann
Marie’s Window Fashions designing and
producing custom window treatments. She
is the Box Office Manager for the
Menomonee Falls Patio Players. She
participates in a small knitting group.
Welcome Ann.
Lois has been knitting since she was 10
years old. Lois is now retired but she is a
former school teacher and US government
worker.
Welcome to the Guild

SABLE 2010 Yarn Stash Down
Its not too late to make your 2010 yarn stash down
Fill out your commitment card and turn it into
Margaret, Peggy or Jeannie today. AS you finish
your projects, let us know and we will mark it off
your cards.
Prizes will be awarded at the August meeting to the
person who knits the most yardage from their stash
and for knitting the most skeins from their stash .

STASHOLOGY
The subject of our May Guild meeting is
Stashology 201 with Chris Bylsma.
Ms. Bylsma has asked that everyone bring
along 8-10 partial skeins of yarn. The yarns
may be any fiber or color and any gauge but
No chenille or extra bulky . The skeins need
to be wound ahead of time. Also bring a range
of knitting needles appropriate to the yarn that
you will be knitting.

CHARITY KNITTING
Submitted by Marge A.
Look through your stash because we need
hats, scarves, and mittens (adult and
children) for these worthy causes:
School Health Nurse Program: Children’s
Hospital nurses provide services to 43
schools in the Milwaukee area. Children’s
ages range from infants to high school.
There are approximately 12,000 students
and many in need of hats, scarves, and
mittens. They can accept our donations at
any time of the year and store them until
needed.
Chemo Infusion Center which is affiliated
with the breast and GYN Oncology
programs: Aurora Women’s Pavilion at
West Allis Hospital. They could definitely
use hats for cancer patients (men and
women). Use soft yarns and avoid using
any yarn that contains wool because it can
be harmful to some cancer patients. When
cancer patients receive handmade chemo
caps, they know that someone cares. I
found great patterns on the following
Internet site: www.headhuggers.org I
couldn’t resist knitting up a few.
Food for the Hungry, Inc.: They deliver to
Children’s crises centers, day care centers,
women’s abuse centers, food pantries, and
other social service programs in South
Eastern Wisconsin. I got a nice letter
thanking the Guild for all the knit items we
donated last year, and they are hopeful
that they could be a recipient again this
year.
You can choose any of the above
organizations to receive your knit items,
and I will make sure they are delivered to
that organization. I will try to collect
finished items at all our meetings.

WHAT’S AHEAD
May
13 Hands on 2010-www.handsonretreat.com
retreat for glove and mitten knitters, Chicago,
IL
15-17 Door County Wisconsin Shepherds
Market, Whitefish Bay Farm
June
12-13 Iowa Sheep and Wool festival, Adel,
Iowa www.iowasheep.com
12 World Wide knit in Public Day
15 Michigan Fiber Fiesta, Klackle Orchard,
Greenville Michigan

Minutes April 13, 2010 Knitting Guild
meeting
The meeting was called to order by President
Mary G–F at 7:20 P.M.
The secretary was not present so Mary K.
volunteered to take minutes.
Treasurer’s report: At our March meeting
Treasurer Karen R. resigned and Joanie
C., last year’s treasurer, agreed to
serve as treasurer until there is a new one.
Membership: Mary K. reported 2 new
members joined last month.
Programs: Next month’s program will be
“Stashology 101” with Chris Bylsma. Please
bring 8 to 10 partial skeins of yarn and
needles. Tonight’s program is our annual
auction.
Money made from the auction helps pay for
speakers for programs, as our dues mostly
only covers rent.
New Business:
A nomination committee should have been
formed in March per our by-laws as we should
have elections at our June meeting. If you
are interested in serving as an officer or being
on a nominating committee please contact
Mary G.-F.. Mary K. agreed to be
the membership chair for next year.
Stitch and Pitch sponsored by the Milwaukee
Brewers will be August 11.
Stitches Midwest will be held August 19 – 22.
Registration for classes begins online April 14.
We need a volunteer to get a bus organized
for the guild’s field trip to Stitches.
The Wisconsin State Fair: The fair will not
have groups demonstrating crafts at the fair
Fiberwoods is sponsoring a Yarn Stash sale.
Please contact the shop for more information.
Carolyn M. moved to close the meeting
and was seconded by Jackie H..
Submitted by
Mary K.

GMKG Newsletter- March 2010

2010-03-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD
MARCH 2010

Mission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild is open to anyone
interested in knitting at any level.
Our mission is to promote
interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting.
M eet in g s
Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.
Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.
The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.
Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

Susan B Anderson will share
her projects from her new
book Itty-Bitty Toys with
The Greater Milwaukee
Knitting Guild during our
March meeting.
Susan B. Anderson is also
the author of Itty-Bitty Hats
and Itty-Bitty Nursery. Her knitting blog,
www.susanbanderson.blogspot.com
gets more than 50,000 hits a month. Her
series of 10 knitting tutorials, posted on You
Tube, has been watched by more than
130,000 people in just the past 6 months. She
lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband
and four children.
The Guild will have a limited number of copies
of all three of her books available for purchase.
Her books which regularly sell for $17.95 each
will be available for $15.00 each. The
proceeds from the sale of the books will be
donated to the Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild!
Don’t forget to bring in your Susan B Anderson
Hats for our Charity Knitting Projects. For each
hat you donate, you will get a raffle ticket to
win one of Susan’s books! We will have one of
each book to raffle off!
The collected hats will go to Children’s
Hospital.

MEMBERSHIP
Submitted by Mary K
Our members have been knitting for 1,371
years!
Here are some interesting little tidbits gleaned
from the 44 members who fully completed the
membership form.
Four members are our newest knitters at 1-1/2
to 2 years. The member who has the most
knitting experience has been knitting for 68
years!
Eleven members have been knitting for less
than 10 years, and four for over 60 years. The
biggest block of knitters were the nine who
have been knitting for 40 years followed by the
five who have been knitting for 50 years.
Eight knitters are new to the Guild this year
and two are founding members, but many of
you have been members for at least ten years.

KNITTING GADGET of the MONTH
Wondering how you are going to block your
Traveling Woman Shawl?
Guild member Peggy B uses the
Imaginarium Alphabet and Numerals 36 foot
Foam Puzzle Mat for blocking her large
projects.
The mat is 36 square feet of half inch foam,
comes in a plastic carrying case and can be
purchased at Toys are Us for about $24.99.
The pieces fit together so you may use 1
square or many.
CHARITY KNITTING
Submitted by Marge A
Look through your stash because we need
hats, scarves, and mittens (adult and
children) for these worthy causes:
School Health Nurse Program: Children’s
Hospital nurses provide services to 43
schools in the Milwaukee area. Children’s
ages range from infants to high school.
There are approximately 12,000 students
and many in need of hats, scarves, and
mittens. They can accept our donations at
any time of the year and store them until
needed.
Chemo Infusion Center which is affiliated
with the breast and GYN Oncology
programs: Aurora Women’s Pavilion at
West Allis Hospital. They could definitely
use hats for cancer patients (men and
women). Use soft yarns and avoid using
any yarn that contains wool because it can
be harmful to some cancer patients. When
cancer patients receive handmade chemo
caps, they know that someone cares. I
found great patterns on the following
Internet site: www.headhuggers.org I
couldn’t resist knitting up a few.
Food for the Hungry, Inc.: They deliver to
Children’s crises centers, day care centers,
women’s abuse centers, food pantries, and
other social service programs in South
Eastern Wisconsin. I got a nice letter
thanking the Guild for all the knit items we
donated last year, and they are hopeful
that they could be a recipient again this
year.
You can choose any of the above
organizations to receive your knit items,
and I will make sure they are delivered to
that organization. I will try to collect
finished items at all our meetings.
MEETING MINUTES
Due to last months snow fall, there are no
meeting minutes to report.
W HAT’S AHEAD
April
17- Stephenson County Fiber Arts Fair
Jane Aadams Community Center, Cedarville,
IL
23-25 - Midwest Masters Seminar sponsored
by Yarns by Design, Neenah, WI
May
13 Hands on 2010-www.handsonretreat.com
retreat for glove and mitten knitters, Chicago,
IL
15-17 Door County Wisconsin Shepherds
Market, Whitefish Bay Farm
Fav or ite Free Online K nit t in g M agaz in es
Knotions Online Magazine - www.knotions.com
Knitch online Magazine- www.knitchmagazine.com
Twist collective- www.twistcollective.com
Knitty- www.knitty.com
Knit Circus- www.knitcircus.com
Happy Birthday
Sue B- April 4
Mary H- April 5
Linda M- April 6
Amy H- April 7
Carol C- April 12
Mary S- April 13
Mary G F- April 17
P ROGR AM S
S u bm it ted b y J ea n n ie G

SABLE 2010 Yarn Stash Down
Is your yarn stash taking over your home? Then
make a commitment to knit down some of your
yarn stash in 2010. Perhaps your goal is to knit
one skein or 100 skeins.
Fill out your commitment card and turn it into
Margaret, Peggy or Jeannie today. AS you finish
your projects, let us know and we will mark it off
your cards.
Prizes will be awarded to the person who knits the
most yardage from their stash and for knitting the
most skeins from their stash .
In January we cast on the Traveling Woman
Shawl. If you have finished your shawl, please
bring it for show and tell. Mine is finished but
it needs to be blocked.
At our April Guild meeting we will hold our
Annual Auction.
This is an opportunity for our guild to earn
money to cover the cost of our monthly
programs. Last year we earned nearly $1000
dollars! Do I hear $1200? $1500? $2000? For
this year!
How the auction works: Guild members
donate new items for bid. The items are
brought to the April Guild meeting and
arranged on tables. Each Guild member gets a
paddle with a number. There will be a short
period of time to view all the treasures, then,
the bidding begins! After all the items have
been auctioned off, each member pays for
their new treasures with cash or a check
payable to the guild.
Here is a list of suggested items to donate to
the auction:
• Restaurant Gift Certificates
• Potted Plants
• Bath and Body Works
• Scented Candles
• Godiva Chocolates
• Barbecue and Grill Accessories
• Knitting Notions
• Gardening Accessories
• Jewelry
• Itunes Gift Card
• Gift Cards to a Grocery Store
• Stationary
• Gift Baskets
• Starbuck’s Gift Card
• Quilted Items
• Art
• Think Spring!
• Picture Frames
• Think Mothers Day Gifts!
• Barnes and Noble Gift Card
• Gas Card
• Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns
• Luxury Yarn such as Silk or Cashmere
• Fused Glass Buttons
• Shawl Pins
• Handmade Beaded Stitch Markers

STASHOLOGY
The subject of our May Guild meeting is
Stashology 201 with Chris Bylsma.
Ms. Bylsma has asked that everyone bring
along 8-10 partial skeins of yarn. The yarns
may be any fiber or color and any gauge but
No chenille or extra bulky . The skeins
need to be wound ahead of time. Also bring a
range of knitting needles appropriate to the
yarn that you will be knitting.

IMPORTANT MEETING INFO

2010-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Members of the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild,

As of 10 am this morning, FEB 9, 2010, Mount Mary College has NOT closed its campus due to the winter storm warning in effect. However, due to travel and weather conditions, tonight's guest speaker Dana Root - Ergonomic knitting has been postponed. Dana has rescheduled for our September 14, 2010 meeting.

Our Guilds official policy states that should Mount Mary College close for any reason on the day we meet, there will not be a meeting that night. Please check the local closings for information on Mount Mary College before venturing out.

GMKG Newsletter February 2010

2010-02-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

PURLS OF WISDOM
A NEWSLETTER OF THE GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD

MEMBERSHIP
by Mary K
The guild has 5 new members that joined last
month. Please welcome the following:
Linda S: Linda is a newer knitter and
really loves knitting. She is also a quilter. In
addition, she teaches nursing at UWM and is
working on her PhD.
Linda W: Lenore has been knitting for 6
years. She works at the UWM College of
Nursing as a research and project librarian.
Susan K: Sue belonged to the guild
years ago when it met at the Wauwatosa
Library. She has been knitting for over 40
years.
Diana D is a returning member. She is a
retired teacher, has been knitting for about 4
years and loves to buy yarn. She knits once a
week with a group of friends and is happy to
be back at the guild.
Melinda I is new to the guild but has
been knitting off and on for 45 years. She
states that she finds yarn shops like a magnet
in her travels and loves the Taos Wool Festival.
She loves colors and textures. Melinda works
full time and also enjoys reading, gardening,
hiking, biking, baking and traveling.

Minutes from the January Guild Meeting
Submitted by Judy K -Secretary
The meeting was called to order by President
Mary G-F at 7:20 P.M.
Old Business
Treasure’s report.. Karen Rgave an
update of funds in the guild’s account.
There were no minutes from the December
holiday meeting. Mary reported that 15
adventurous souls braved the snow storm.
The stoic group shared holiday treats and
oooooooed and ahaaaaaaaaed at the show
and tell of completed projects.
Mary asked if there were any changes or
additions to the November newsletter. No
changes were necessary.
New Business
Mary asked if there were any visitors. There
were two, Katherine, a new knitter and
Deana, and former member. Welcome
February’s program: Dana Root will be our
guest presenter. She will teach us knitting
ergonomics which will help relieve the aches
associated with knitting. Please bring a work
in process.
Our guest presenter for March is Susan
Anderson, author of Itty Bitty Hats, Itty Bitty
Nursery and her new book, Itty Bitty Toys.
Knitting magazines were left behind after the
Nov. meeting. A suggestion was made to
establish a magazine library.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40.
Jeannie G, introduced the Traveling
Woman Shawl as a group project. She and
Margaret Driss, showed their in-progress
shawls, gave tips and suggestions, and
encouraged participation.
Thanks Jeanne, Margaret and Peggy.
Yarn Alert
River Boutique and Yarns moved from its
Hartland location to Brookfield, Wisconsin.
The store is located in the Galleria West
Shopping Center, near Kopps Custard.
The address is 18900 West Bluemound
Road.
Judy K visited the shop and reports
that it is well lighted and spacious with lots
of yummy yarn displays and completed knit
projects for sale. She did not make it out of
the store without making a purchase.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Vicki P January 5
Barbara B January 7
Jackie H January 12
Kathleen WJanuary 13
Pat H January 24
Diana D February 1
Dan J February 6
Margaret D February 9
Melinda I February 18
Peggy B February 19

2010 Board of Directors and Committee
Chairs
Presidents Mary G-F
Any H
Past President Linda M
Treasurer Karen R
Secretary Judy K
Membership Mary K
Charity Knitting Marge A
Newsletter Jeannie G
Website Susan F
State Fair Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctor Karen L
Historian Nancy K

P ROGR AM S
S u bm i t ted b y J ean n ie G
February :Knitting Ergonomics: Avoiding Aches
and Pains.
Do you love to knit? Do you experience aches and
pains while knitting? Do you want to learn how to
reduce the discomfort? With a little knowledge,
and new discoveries, some easy changes will keep
you happily knitting forever.
Dana Root, a board certified ergonomist and a
licensed physical therapist, has knitted on and off
for many years and practiced as an orthopedic
physical therapist. For the past 10 years she
travels a six state region as an ergonomist.
She will share her passion for ergonomics and her
love of knitting.
The knitter will learn:
Why the body is at risk for knitting aches
and pains.
What knitting methods may cause soreness.
Solutions for reducing knitting discomfort.
Exercises to interrupt knitting movements.
Please bring a knitting project, so you may
practice these new techniques.
The Programs Committee would like to thank both
Peggy B and Ellen J for suggesting
our February speaker. If you would like to be a
presenter or know someone who would, please
give the programs committee the contact
information.
March : Susan Anderson, author of Itty Bitty
Hats and Itty Bitty Nursery will be here with her
new book Itty Bitty Toys.
We will hold a drawing for Susan’s new book. To
enter please knit a hat from one of Susan’s books,
or one of her free hat patterns from her website or
ravelry. For each hat collected in March and
donated to our charity knitting projects you will
receive a ticket for the drawing.
SABLE 2010 Yarn Stash Down
Is your yarn stash taking over your home? Then
make a commitment to knit down some of your
yarn stash in 2010. Perhaps your goal is to knit
one skein or 100 skeins.
Fill out your commitment card and turn it into
Margaret, Peggy or Jeannie today. As you finish
your projects, let us know and we will mark it off
your cards.
Prizes will be awarded to the person who knits the
most yardage from their stash and for knitting the
most skeins from their stash .

GMKG Newsletter for December 2009

2009-12-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Purls of Wisdom Newsletter

Mission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild is open to anyone
interested in knitting at any level.
Our mission is to promote
interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting.
M eet in g s
Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.
Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.
The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.
Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

MEMBERSHIP
by Mary K
The guild has 7 new members that joined last
month. Please welcome the following:
DEE B: Dee has been knitting for 2
years. She looks forward to knitting interesting
projects. She works full time but finds time to
swim, read, play bridge, and meet new people.
CAROL C: Carol has been knitting
for 3 years. She also loves to crochet and to
quilt.
AMY L: Amy has been knitting for about
20 years and likes to learn how to knit new
things. Socks are her newest passion. She is a
nurse and a mom of 4. She also likes to read
and crochet.
KATHY M: Kathy has been knitting for
over 40 years. She learned to knit in grade
school and still loves it. For the past 2 years
she entered items in county fairs and the state
fair and won ribbons. She looks for a challenge
with each new project.
RUTH M: Ruth as been knitting for 45
years. She likes working with texture and
learning new techniques. Lately she has been
exploring directional knitting. She works full
time.
LAURA P and daughter ELEANORE: Laura has been knitting
for 15 years and retired from teaching high
school in Milwaukee. Eleanore is a novice
knitter.
We are glad to have all you ladies with us.
Visit us on the internet
at www.gmkg.blogspot.com

If you haven't renewed your membership,
please do so now. Dues are $ 25.00. Your dues
help pay for the rental of our meeting room
and for special guest speakers.
A copy of the membership form is printed
elsewhere in the newsletter. Please bring the
completed form and your payment to the
December meeting. Checks may be made
payable to the Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild and mailed with the renewal form to
Karen R, GMKG treasurer
or Mary K, GMKG Membership Chair

Minutes for November Guild Meeting
S u bm i t ted b y J u d y K
President Mary called the meeting
to order at 7:00 P.M.
She reminded all to wear their name tag.
New members/guests:
Amy, Kathy, and Laura. All are experienced knitters. Welcome
to the guild.

Old Business
Mary asked if there were any changes to the
September and October minutes. There being
none the minutes were accepted by Carole
K, and Kay T seconded.
Karen R gave an update on our financial
account and reminded every one to pay their
membership dues to Mary K.
A suggestion was brought up for consideration
at our last meeting concerning recruitment of
new officers. It was suggested that new
officers be exempt from paying guild yearly
dues. A vote was taken and the suggestion
was voted down. Officers will pay dues.
New business
December holiday meeting: Bring all your
completed knitted Christmas gifts and other
finished items for Show and Tell.
Kimberly Leach of Happy Hands Yarn was
at the November meeting featuring her hand
dyed yarn. If you weren’t there to see her
beautiful yarns, she sells on Ravelry, Flicker,
Loopy Ewe, bakinbabes@yahoo.com, and
happyhandsyarn.com
Charity knitting
Marge A displayed all the hat and
matching mitten sets to be given to the
Women’s Shelter, and reminded all to bring
hotel sized or sample sized shampoo, hand
lotion, and soaps to be given to the shelter,
along with any mittens, hats or scarves you
wish to donate.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting
at 7:20 by Karen R, and seconded by
Jeannie G.

CHARITY KNITTING
Submitted by Marge A
Thank you so much for all the beautiful hats,
scarves, and mittens I collected and delivered
to the Food for the Hungry. The organization
wanted to thank the members for their
generosity.
At our December meeting, I will collect all the
items you want delivered to the Milwaukee
Women’s Shelter for Christmas. Remember to
bring the soap, shampoo, and body lotion you
collected from recent hotel stays.
The manager of Volunteer Services sent me a
wish list if any member wants to give extra this
year. It includes some of the following items:
Underwear for women and children, diapers,
baby wipes, socks, slippers, toothbrushes,
toothpaste, hair combs/brushes and
deodorant. Donations are down this year, so
anything is greatly appreciated.
2009 Board of Directors and Committee
Chairs
President Mary GF and
Any H
Past President Linda M
Treasurer Karen R
Secretary Judy K
Membership Mary K
Charity Knitting Marge A
Newsletter Jeannie G
Dan J
Website Susan F
State Fair Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctor Karen L
Historian Nancy K
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Nancy K12/6
Patricia G 12/7
Sue B 12/13

P ROGR AM S
SABLE 2010 Yarn Stash Down
SABLE is an acronym for Stash Acquisition Beyond
Life Expectancy. In other words you have more yarn
than you can knit in one lifetime.
Is your yarn stash taking over your home? Then make
a commitment to knit down some of your yarn stash
in 2010.
Here are the rules.
1. Take an inventory of your yarn stash and choose
what yarns you will commit to knitting up between
January 1, 2010 and August 1,2010. For example I
plan to make 8 pairs of socks, 2 hats, another clapotis,
one gathered scarf, Currents Wrap and some Target
wave mittens. If I complete this I should use about 30
different skeins from my stash, which is around 5500
yards or 3.1 miles of yarn.
Your commitment may be one skein, 10 skeins or
more!
Ravelry has a great way to keep track of your yarn
stash and it can be downloaded to your computer as
an excel file. You can also tag your project queue with
a stash down tag or include stash down in the
comments section of your stash.
2. Fill out the commitment form.
3. Begin “knitting from your stash.”
You are committing to knit from your stash,
you may still acquire yarn, but your new acquisitions
will not count toward this commitment. You must
have the yarn in your stash on January 1, 2010. You
must knit or crochet the yarn. Giving away the yarn
will reduce your stash, but it will not count.
4. Your planned project may not use up a whole
skein. If there is less than 15 yards left of a skein it
will be considered used up.
5. When each skein that you have committed to using
up is gone, bring the knitted project or a picture of the
project to the Guild meeting for show and tell. You
should also post a picture in your projects area on
Ravelry so everyone can see your handiwork( this is
optional). The “stash administrators” will help track
your finished skeins at each Guild meeting. You can
also email us.
A prize will be awarded for knitting to most
yards of yarn from your stash and for knitting
the most skeins from your stash.
December is our annual Potluck. Bring
something to share and all your wonderful
projects to show off!
January: Guild members Peggy and Margaret
have chosen the Traveling Woman Shawl pattern
for Guild members to knit along.
The pattern is a free download from Ravelry or
Feministry.com The pattern was designed by Liz
Abinante. It uses approximately 385 yards of
fingerling yarn and is knit on US size 6 circular
needles. The shawl is approximately 48" by 17"
long. Please bring your shawl for show and tell if
you have already knit this project. Don’t forget
to check your stash for some yarn!
Bring your yarn, pattern and supplies this
January and we will cast on together!
Due to copyright laws each guild member must
download and print their own pattern.
February : We are working with the Janesville
and Madison Knitting Guilds to bring guest
speaker Donna Druchunus. There will be more
details next month if we are able to book her.
March : Susan Anderson, author of Itty Bitty
Hats and Itty Bitty Nursery will be here with
her new book Itty Bitty Toys.
We will hold a drawing for Susan’s new book. To
enter please knit a hat from one of Susan’s
books, or one of her free hat patterns from her
website or ravelry. For each hat collected in
March and donated to our charity knitting
projects you will receive a ticket for the drawing.
April is our Auction Fund Raiser. Its never too
early to start planning your donation to this
event. This is our fund-raiser for the year and
the proceeds help pay for our programs. Many of
the nationally known speakers charge $400.00
for the evening. The more money we raise the
more programs we can offer next year.

GMKG Newsletter for November 2009

2009-11-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Meetings
Meetings are held in the North
Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the
second Tuesday of each month.
Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.

Our “ Knitting Doctors” are
available at that time for advice
and consultation on your knitting
projects.
The monthly meeting begins at
7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program.

Mount Mary College is located at
2900 N. Menomonee River
Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

MEMBERSHIP
by Mary K
Please join me in welcoming our new member
Ruth M. Ruth has been a knitter for 45
years. In her free time, she likes to read.
When knitting, Ruth likes to work on knitting
pieces That have a lot of texture.

If you haven't renewed your membership,
please do so now. Dues are $ 25.00. Your
dues help pay for the rental of our meeting
room and for special guest speakers.
A copy of the membership form is printed
elsewhere in the newsletter. Please bring the
completed form and your payment to the
November meeting. Checks may be made
payable to the Greater Milwaukee Knitting
Guild and mailed with the renewal form to
the GMKG treasurer or Mary K.

September Meeting Minutes
Submitted by Judith K
The meeting was called to order by our
co-President Mary G-F at 7:00 P.M.
New Guests were introduced .A hearty welcome to
you all.
No changes to the August 2009 minutes. A motion
was made to accept and approve the minutes as
published in the newsletter. The motion was
accepted.
It is time to renew membership. Commitment
forms were filled out and signed by new and old
members.
Community Service-A table was set-up for yarn
donations for community knitting projects.
Treasurer Joanie C announced that there
was still room on the bus for anyone wishing to go
to Stitches. Ellen J showed all the prizes
lucky bus riders might win on the way home from
an exhausting day at Stitches..
State Fair Winners: We had several State Fair
winners. Some of the items were a shawl, and
another was a cat hat and a sweater.
Congratulation to the winners.
Next months program will be a demo on how to
better use Ravelry.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting and
seconded.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Kathy G 11/2
Ruth M 11/8
Rose Ann K 11/24
Lisa S 11/25
Gail McG 11/ 26
Klaudia H 11/28

October Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Co-president
Mary G-F at 7:00 pm. As the meeting
minutes were not published in last months
newsletter a motion was made and accepted to
publish both September and October meeting
minutes in the next newsletter.
Mary K Membership Chair reminded all that
the annual dues is now due.
A treasurers report was read by Karen R.
Marge A placed the donated projects for
the charity knitting on the table for all to view.
There was no old business for discussion.
New business- Some of the members have
inquired about reduced membership fee for those
who are serving on a committee. The board will
discuss this in the future .
Karen L Chair of State Fair inquired
whether the Guild will continue to sponsor the
categories and prizes for next years Wisconsin
State Fair. A vote was taken and it was agreed
that the Guild would continue this.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 pm.
Jeannie G from Programs introduced
Erin Hommeland tonight speaker. Erin gave a
demonstration on navigating Ravelry.

COMMUNITY KNITTING GROUPS
SUN DAY
i 2:30 pm The 1 st Sunday of the month Lake
Geneva Caribou Coffee.
M ON DAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm weekly. Elm Grove Knitting Group
at the Elm Grove Library. If you would like
more information, contact Karen P.
i 7:00-9:00 pm Barnes and Noble Café located on
South 76 Street.
i 6:30 Pm The Yarnivores - John Harbors Coffee
Shop, Menomonee Falls
TUESDAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Crafters. The Church is
located near 78th and Grant.
i 1:00-3:00 pm 3rd Tuesday of the month at
Brookfield Library
W EDN ESDAY
i 10:00-Noon weekly at Just 4 Ewe
i 6:30 pm 1st Wednesday of each month Ernie’s
Wine Bar located at N49W5471 Portland Road,
Cedarburg, WI
THUR SDAY
i 6:30 pm The Knitting Knuts meet weekly at
Panera Bread located between Mooreland Road
and Sunny Slope Road. i
FR IDAY
i 6:00-9:00 pm weekly at Artistic Fibers.

2009 Board of Directors and
Committee Chairs
Co-Presidents Amy H
Mary G-F
Past President Linda M
Treasurer Karen R
Secretary Judy K
Membership Mary K
Charity Knitting Marge A
Newsletter Jeannie G
Dan J
Website Susan F
State Fair Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctors Karen L
Karen K
Historian Nancy K

WHAT’S AHEAD
November
Programs
Thank you to Erin Hommeland for the informative
insight at the October meeting on navigating Ravelry.

SABLE is an acronym for Stash Acquisition Beyond
Life Expectancy. In other words you have more yarn
than you can knit in one lifetime.
Is your yarn stash taking over your home? Will you
need to clean the yarn out of your oven in order to
cook the Thanksgiving Turkey? If a member of your
family has opened the cookie jar recently only to find
yarn hidden inside then this commitment is for you.
Here are the rules.
1. Take an inventory of your yarn stash and choose
what yarns you will commit to knitting up between
January 1, 2010 and August 1,2010. Your
commitment may be one skein or 10 skeins or more.
Ravelry has a great way to keep track of your yarn
stash and it can be downloaded to your computer as
an excel file.
2. Fill out the commitment form found on the last
page of the newsletter.
3. Begin “knitting from your stash.”
You are committing to knit from your stash,
you may still acquire yarn, but your new acquisitions
will not count toward this commitment. You must
have the yarn in your stash on January 1, 2010. You
must knit or crochet the yarn. Giving away the yarn
will reduce your stash, but it will not count.
4. Your planned project may not use the whole
skein. If there is less than 15 yards left of a skein it
will be considered used up.
5. When each skein that you have committed to using
up is gone, bring the knitted project or a picture of the
project to the Guild meeting for show and tell. You
should also post a picture in your projects area on
Ravelry so everyone can see your handiwork( this is
optional). The “stash administrators” will help track
your finished skeins at each Guild meeting.
Susan Anderson, Madison native and author of Itty
Bitty Hats and Itty Bitty Nursery will be here in
March with her new book Itty Bitty Toys.
We will hold a drawing for Susan’s new book. To
enter please knit a hat from one of Susan’s
books, or one her free hat patterns from her
website or ravelry. For each hat collected and
donated to our charity knitting projects you will
receive a ticket for the drawing.
April is our Auction Fund Raiser. Its never too
early to start planning your donation to this
event. This is our fund-raiser for the year and
the proceeds help pay for our programs.
Chris Byslma is our featured speaker at the May
meeting. She will give a presentation on knitting
from your stash.
If you or someone you know would like to give a
presentation or demonstrate a knitting
technique, please let the programs committee
know. We have open dates in January and
February. Suggestions for speakers or programs
are also welcome.

GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD MEMBERSHIP
NAME_______________________________________________________
ADDRESS____________________________________________________
CITY____________________________________ STATE____________ ZIP___________
DAY PHONE____________________________ NIGHT PHONE_______________________
BIRTH DATE_____________________
Email( please remember to print clearly as emails are case sensitive)
______________________________________________________________________
RECEIVE NEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL___________________ REGULAR MAIL_______________
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP( $25.00)___________________ JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP($5.00)____________
M EM B ER SHI P IN FORM ATION SUR VEY
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN KNITTING?____________________________________
ARE YOU A NEW MEMBER?_________
IF YOU ARE A NEW MEMBER, PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________
IF RENEWING, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER?____________________________
PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
COMMITTEES.
_________CHARITY ________MEMBERSHIP
_________PROGRAMS ________STATE FAIR
_________NEWSLETTER/WEBSITE/PUBLICITY
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRAMS?_____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

SAB LE “K nit from your S tash “Commitment Form
Name______________________________ Ravelry Name____________________
I have these skeins of yarn in my stash and I commit to knitting them up on or before August
1, 2010. I will bring my completed projects or a picture of my project to a guild meeting as
verification of my stash reduction. I am committing to knit a total of ________ skeins of yarn
Signature_______________________________________ Date______________________
Name of stashed yarn __________________________________
Yarn Company Brand Name______________________________
Yarn Weight ( example sport weight)_______________________
Yards per skein_____________________ Amount of skeins in stash to use up ____________
Planned project______________________________________________________________
Completion date to be filled in by the stash administrators ________________________
************************************************************************************
Name of stashed yarn __________________________________
Yarn Company Brand Name______________________________
Yarn Weight ( example sport weight)_______________________
Yards per skein_____________________ Amount of skeins in stash to use up ____________
Planned project______________________________________________________________
Completion date to be filled in by the stash administrators ________________________
************************************************************************************
Name of stashed yarn __________________________________
Yarn Company Brand Name______________________________
Yarn Weight ( example sport weight)_______________________
Yards per skein_____________________ Amount of skeins in stash to use up ____________
Planned project______________________________________________________________
Completion date to be filled in by the stash administrators ________________________

GMKG Newsletter for October 2009

2009-10-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Mission
The Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild is open to anyone interested in knitting at any level. Our mission is to promote interest, appreciation, and skill in
knitting. Meetings are held in the North Dining Room of Bergstrom Hall,
Mount Mary College on the second Tuesday of each month. Social Hour begins at 6:15 pm.
Our “ Knitting Doctors” are available at that time for advice and consultation on your knitting projects. The monthly meeting begins at 7:00 pm followed by the Monthly
program. Mount Mary College is located at 2900 N. Menomonee River Parkway, Milwaukee, WI

CHARITY KNITTING
by Marge
Thank you for the beautiful hats and scarves I
collected at our September meeting. I like
displaying them at the meetings, so other
guild members can admire all the unique
patterns.
For the remainder of 2009, we will be knitting
hats, scarves and mittens for the Food for the
Hungry, Inc. I will collect completed items at
any meeting. Our second, worthy cause is
knitting prayer shawls for patients receiving
palliative care and to their grieving family
members at Froedtert Hospital. I would like to
collect any completed shawls at our November
meeting.
I will have a wish list from the Milwaukee
Women’s shelter on 45th and Fon du Lac
avenue at our November meeting. Al items
will be collected at the December meeting and
then distributed to the shelter in time for
Christmas. Also Jean mentioned that
travel sized soaps, lotion, shampoo and
conditioners are always in need by the
shelter. If you are traveling and staying at a
hotel please consider bringing it home for this
cause.
I have a few ideas for next year’s projects;
and I would welcome ideas from members.
From all the suggestions, the board will
choose a couple of worthy causes.

2009 Board of Directors and Committee
Chairs
Co-Presidents Mary
Amy
Past President Linda
Treasurer Karen
Secretary Judy
Membership Mary
Charity Knitting Marge
Newsletter Jeannie
Dan
Website Susan
State Fair Carolyn
Karen
Knitting Doctors Karen
Karen
Historian Nancy

WHAT’S AHEAD
October
13-Guild Meeting - Using Ravelry
30-Wisconsin Spin In2009 visit www.WISspinIn.org
for more details
November
10-Meeting

Happy Birthday!
Melanie K 10/1
Marge A 10/4
Beth H 10/12
Carollynn D 10/17
Helen D 10/18
Nancy S 10/31

COMMUNITY KNITTING GROUPS
SUNDAY
i 2:30 pm The 1 st Sunday of the month Lake
Geneva Caribou Coffee.
MONDAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm weekly. Elm Grove Knitting Group
at the Elm Grove Library.
i 7:00-9:00 pm Barnes and Noble Café located on
South 76 Street.
i 6:30 Pm The Yarnivores - John Harbors Coffee
Shop, Menomonee Falls
TUESDAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Crafters. The Church is
located near 78th and Grant.
i 1:00-3:00 pm 3rd Tuesday of the month at
Brookfield Library
WEDNESDAY
i 10:00-Noon weekly at Just 4 Ewe
i 6:30 pm 1st Wednesday of each month Ernie’s
Wine Bar located at N49W5471 Portland Road,
Cedarburg, WI
THURSDAY
i 6:30 pm The Knitting Knuts meet weekly at
Panera Bread located between Mooreland Road
and Sunny Slope Road.
FRIDAY
i 6:00-9:00 pm weekly at Artistic Fibers.

Yarn About Town
Submitted by Jeannie G
On a recent hunt for the perfect yarn to knit my
first clapotis, I stopped at Knitting Knook located
at 8585 North Port Washington Road in Fox Point.
The store is the former French Knot II. The last
time I visited, the store was packed floor to ceiling
in a small space with all sorts of interesting yarns.
New Owner Piper Melkonian doubled the space
since she took over the operation on May 1,
2009. The store contains an even larger variety of
yarn. The selection of sock yarn alone, made my
heart skip a beat! I purchased the new Misti
alpaca worsted weight yarn in a yummy shade of
green for my clapotis project.
The store also sells HiyaHiya knitting needles and
several other brands. A new HiyaHiya circular
needle kit with the interchangeable cables soon
went into my shopping basket, then some
HiyaHiya circular needles with a 9" cable in size
1.5 for sock knitting soon followed. Now, I was
kid in a candy store!
At the check out counter owner Piper Melkonian
suggested , I purchase the yarn club. For an
annual fee of $30.00 I would receive 20% off
everything in the store, 20% off classes, additional
bonus sales for yarn club members only, a
birthday gift on my birthday and use of the
lending library of patterns and books.
The Knitting Knook would like to extend an
invitation to all Greater Milwaukee Guild Members
to stop in and see all the wonderful yarns,
buttons, needles and other “knitting candy.”
Bring in a copy of this newsletter and receive 15%
discount on your yarn purchase. This offer can not
be used with the yarn club discount.

The Cat and The Crow
If your planning a drive to see the autumn
leaves, then head over to Mount Horeb.
Mount Horeb is the home of the famous Mt.
Horeb Mustard Museum which sells over 500
varieties of mustard .It is also the home of
the troll way and On October 3rd, a new yarn
and fiber shop will open.
The Cat and Crow is its name, and its mission
is to provide an outlet for locally produced,
fair trade yarn and fibers, offer classes in
knitting, crochet, spinning, dyeing, and
felting, as well as being a gathering place for
fiber artists of all levels.
The shop is owned by Melissa( MO) Brown
and Rebecca Boelhower Santi and located at
205 east Main Street, Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.
The telephone number is 608.437.1771.
Several classes including lace knitting,
beaded knitting and a class on how to hand
paint yarn and roving are planned for
October and November.

MEMBERSHIP
by Mary K
Please join me in welcoming our new members
Kathy G, Becky H, Mary H and Lisa
S.
Kathy G recently retired and has an interest
in a variety of crafts. She has been knitting for
50 years.

Becky H, a mother to three teenagers, 2
dogs and 2 cats loves to relax from her busy life
by knitting. She has been knitting for 1 ½
years.

Mary H loves to knit by hand and with her
three knitting machines. She uses computer
software to design her knits. She is currently
knitting charity projects from her stash.

The annual membership dues is now due.
Please print the last page of the newsletter and
bring it to the October Guild meeting. Checks
may be made payable to the Greater Milwaukee
Knitting Guild.

Programs Update
This month’s program is Ravelry for Dummies.
Susan Anderson, Madison native and author of
Itty Bitty Hats and Itty Bitty Nursery will be
here in March with her new book Itty Bitty
Toys.
We will hold a drawing for Susan’s new book.
To enter please knit a hat from one of Susan’s
books, or one her free hat patterns from her
website or ravelry. For each hat collected and
donated to our charity knitting projects you will
receive a ticket for the drawing.
April is our Auction Fund Raiser. Its never too
early to start planning your donation to this
event. This is our fund-raiser for the year
and the proceeds help pay for our programs.
Chris Byslma is our featured speaker at the
May meeting. She will give a presentation
on knitting from your stash.
Speaking of stash, once everyone learns
how to put their yarn stash on Ravelry this
month, we will have a commitment form in
next months newsletter for our “Knitting
from your stash “ campaign. Start planning
what stash yarn you are going to use up.
Knitting an an itty bitty hat or two could
use up one skein or more. Rumor has it the
winners will receive a gift certificate to
replenish their yarn stash!
If you or someone you know would like to
give a presentation or demonstrate a
knitting technique, please let the programs
committee know. We have open dates in
January and February. Suggestions for
speakers or programs are also welcome.

GREATER MILWAUKEE KNITTING GUILD MEMBERSHIP
NAME_______________________________________________________
ADDRESS____________________________________________________
CITY____________________________________ STATE____________ ZIP___________
DAY PHONE____________________________ NIGHT PHONE_______________________
BIRTH DATE_____________________
Email( please remember to print clearly as emails are case sensitive)
______________________________________________________________________
RECEIVE NEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL___________________ REGULAR MAIL_______________
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP( $25.00)___________________ JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP($5.00)____________
M EM B ER SHI P IN FORM ATION SUR VEY
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN KNITTING?____________________________________
ARE YOU A NEW MEMBER?_________
IF YOU ARE A NEW MEMBER, PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF FOR OUR
NEWSLETTER_______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________
IF RENEWING, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER?____________________________
PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
COMMITTEES.
_________CHARITY ________MEMBERSHIP
_________PROGRAMS ________STATE FAIR
_________NEWSLETTER/WEBSITE/PUBLICITY
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRAMS?_____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

GMKG Newsletter for Sept 2009

2009-08-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

AUGUST MEETING MINUTES
Submitted by Karen P
August 11, 2009
Linda M called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
New Guests –The Guild had three new guests present.
Sunshine- birthdays were acknowledged.
Secretary- No changes to the minutes were noted by Guild
Members from the July 2009 meeting. A motion was made by
Jean G to accept and approve the minutes as published
in the newsletter. Carolyn M seconded the motion.
Treasurer-Checking account balance is $3001.03.
Membership-No new members
Newsletter- Paper copies of the July newsletter are available at
tonights meeting.
Community Service-See newsletter for details.
Old Business- No new updates
New Business- The old website is still on the internet. Karen
R will assist in trying to close it down. Susan F is
keeping the blog up to date. Bookmarks are available for
members to distribute. New officers were introduced and will be
installed at the September meeting.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:25pm by Karen
R and seconded by Joanie Cannestra

BUS TRIP TO STITCHES
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 12th $30.00 per person.
This includes bus and entrance to Stitches.
Bus leaves from three different stops.
1. 8:00am leaves Watertown Plank Rd park and
ride. Please be there 10 minutes before , to load
onto bus.
2. 8:30am leaves Ryan Rd park and ride. Please be
there 10 minutes before to load.
3. 9:00am this is a rest stop at the McDonalds on
hwy 20 in Racine.
Bus should arrive at Stitches at 10:00 am. Shop and
lunch at your leisure.
Bus leaves from the conference center at 4:00pm.
Stops are in reverse

2009 Board of Directors and Committee
Chairs
President Linda M
Vice President Rose Ann K
Treasurer Joanie C
Secretary Karen P
Membership Ana
Charity Knitting Jean G
Newsletter Jeannie G
Dan J
Website Susan F
State Fair Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctors Karen L
Karen K
Historian Nancy K

WHAT’S AHEAD
September
8 Guild Meeting- State fair Winners and Induction of
New Officers
10-13 Stitches Midwest www.knittinguniverse.com
11-13 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival
21-24 Susanna Hansson workshops in Monticello Email
knitterstreat@wekz.net or phone 608-235-2835.
October
3 Yarn con, Pulaski Field House Chicago, Il
www.yarncon.com
13 Guild Meeting - Using Ravelry

Happy Birthday!
Terri S 9/13
Celeste M 9/16
Carole K 9/20
Patricia S 9/23
Sandra S 9/24

COMMUNITY KNITTING GROUPS
SUNDAY
-2:30 pm The 1 st Sunday of the month Lake
Geneva Caribou Coffee. Call 262-757-0960 for
more details.
M ON DAY
-1:00-3:00 pm weekly. Elm Grove Knitting Group
at the Elm Grove Library. If you would like
more information, contact Karen P at
262-7439-8739
-7:00-9:00 pm Barnes and Noble Café located on
South 76 Street.
-6:30 Pm The Yarnivores - John Harbors Coffee
Shop, Menomonee Falls
TUESDAY
-1:00-3:00 pm 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Crafters. The Church is
located near 78th and Grant.
-1:00-3:00 pm 3rd Tuesday of the month at
Brookfield Library
WEDNESDAY
-10:00-Noon weekly at Just 4 Ewe
-6:30 pm 1st Wednesday of each month Ernie’s
Wine Bar located at N49W5471 Portland Road,
Cedarburg, WI
THURSDAY
-6:30 pm The Knitting Knuts meet weekly at
Panera Bread located between Mooreland Road
and Sunny Slope Road. Contact Ellen at 262-
327-4451 for more details.
-FRIDAY
-6:00-9:00 pm weekly at Artistic Fibers.

GMKG Newsletter- AUG 09

2009-08-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

A Message from The Treasurer Joanie C
Here's the information on GMKG trip to Stitches.
Saturday, Sept. 12th $30.00 per person. This includes bus and entrance to Stitches.
Bus leaves from three different stops.
1. 8:00am leaves Watertown Plank Rd park and ride. Please be there 10 minutes
before , to load onto bus.
2. 8:30am leaves Ryan Rd park and ride. Please be there 10 minutes before to load.
3. 9:00am this is a rest stop at the McDonalds on hwy 20 in Racine.
Get your caffeine on and use the ladies room.
We should arrive at Stitches at 10:00, right when it opens. Shop and
lunch at your leisure. You can buy there or bring your own.
Leave from the conference center at 4:00pm. Stops are in reverse. If
no one boards onto bus at McD's we may pass it up to get home
sooner.
Bring knitting, we can leave stuff on the bus. THE BUS COMPANY
AND/OR GMKG IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOST
ARTICLES.
Can anyone volunteer to ask your LYS for a donation of a door prize?
Let Ellen know if you can.
If your not going to be at Aug GMKG meeting, you can mail your
check payable to GMKG, and send to
Joanie C
7011 W. Bluemound Rd
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
Thank you all and happy shopping!
JULY MEETING MINUTES
Submitted by Karen P
July 14, 2009
Linda M called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
New Guests –The Guild had one new guest present.
Sunshine- birthdays were acknowledged.
Secretary- No changes to the minutes were noted by Guild Members from the June 2009
meeting. A motion was made by Carolyn M to accept and approve the minutes as
published in the newsletter. Karen P seconded the motion. A note there was an error
in the prizes awarded for the Bead knitting contest; $25.00 gift certificate went to Karen
K.
Treasurer-Checking account balance is $4128.08.
Programs-The August meeting will feature a Knitting/Yarn Swap, September will be the
induction of the new Guild officers and State Fair winners will be invited.
Membership-No new members
Newsletter-Reminder that all articles are due by the 20th of the month. If you would like a
copy of the past newsletter, please see Dan J.
Community Service-See newsletter for details.
Old Business-Karen L indicated that State Fair will not have any of the Guilds providing
demonstrations. If you would like to voice your concerns, please contact Karen and see will
provide you the names and numbers of the staff at State Fair to discuss.
New Business-Stitch and Pitch will be July 29th 2009 at Miller Park. The Guild will be providing
a book mark that will be places in a packet and handed out to knitters and interested people
attending the game. Stitches will be September 12, 2009. Joanie C and Ellen J
will be coordinating this event. If you are interested in attending the cost will be $30.00 (for
bus and entrance into Stitches) you can make your check out to the GMKG. The pickup points
will be 8:00am Watertown Plank Road Park and Ride, 8:15am Ryan Road Park and Ride.
Joanie indicated that they need a commitment from 40 people by 9-1-09.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:30pm by Kathy W and seconded by
Barbara B.
AUGUST GUILD PROGRAM
This month we will conduct a yarn swap.
Please bring your yarn in clear bags with the
name of the yarn, yardage and price marked
on the bag. Also remember to bring money to
make change. We will allow everyone time to
walk about and view each others the
merchandise, then open the floor up for sales.
Should anyone have any unwanted yarn
consider donating it to the Guild for our charity
knitting projects.
A special thank you to Mary Germain for
sharing her love of Latvian knitting during last
months meeting.
Should anyone need more inspiration before
knitting up a pair of Latvian mittens please visit
the following website.
www.rigasummit.lv/en/id/cats/nid/698/
In 2006 the NATO summit was held in Riga.
268 knitters from across Latvia knit a total of
4500 pairs of mittens to give to each NATO
delegate. Each pair of mittens was different.
The site also has a link to the story of the 1000
year old mitten with history of the symbols
used in Latvian knitting.
Several Latvian mittens from the Collection of
Mary Germain.
COMMUNITY KNITTING GROUP S
SUN DAY
i 2:30 pm The 1 st Sunday of the month Lake
Geneva Caribou Coffee. Call 262-757-0960
for more details.
M ON DAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm weekly. Elm Grove Knitting
Group at the Elm Grove Library. If you
would like more information, call 262-781-7601
i 7:00-9:00 pm Barnes and Noble Café
located on South 76 Street.
i 6:30 Pm The Yarnivores - John Harbors
Coffee Shop, Menomonee Falls
TUESDAY
i 1:00-3:00 pm 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the
month. St. Paul’s Lutheran Crafters. The
Church is located near 78th and Grant.
i 1:00-3:00 pm 3rd Tuesday of the month at
Brookfield Library
W EDN ESDAY
i 10:00-Noon weekly at Just 4 Ewe
i 6:30 pm 1st Wednesday of each month
Ernie’s Wine Bar located at N49W5471
Portland Road, Cedarburg, WI
THUR SDAY
i 6:30 pm The Knitting Knuts meet weekly at
Panera Bread located between Mooreland
Road and Sunny Slope Road. Call 262-327-4451 for more details.
i
FR IDAY
i 6:00-9:00 pm weekly at Artistic Fibers. Call
262-757-0960 for more details.
2009 Board of Directors and Committee
Chairs
President Linda M
Vice President Rose Ann K
Treasurer Joanie C
Secretary Karen P
Membership Ana B
Charity Knitting Jean G
Newsletter Jeannie G
Dan J
Website Susan F
State Fair Carolyn M
Karen L
Knitting Doctors Karen L
Karen K
Historian Nancy K
WHAT’S AHEAD
Au gus t
11 Guild Meeting -Yarn Swap
S ep tem b er
8 Guild Meeting- State fair Winners and Induction of New
Officers
10-13 Stitches Midwest www.knittinguniverse.com
11-13 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival
Oc tob er
3 Yarn con, Pulaski Field House Chicago, Il www.yarncon.com
13 Guild Meeting
Advertising is Available
Small Ad (Business card size) $5.00 per month or $50.00 per
year
Large Ad ( 1/4 page) $8.00 per month or $80.00 per year.
Other sizes are available. Please Contact the newsletter for
more options.
Visit us on the internet at www.gmkg.blogspot.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cristel Mr August 8
Lisa G- August 19
Margot M August 24
Karen B August 30

July Newsletter

2009-08-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

A Message from Rose Ann
Thank you to all members who registered 23 items to be judged in the
“Knitting with Beads” contest. Entries included everything from scarves
and shawls to jewelry. The 1st place prize of a $75.00 gift certificate to the
Knitting Knook went to Patricia G for her beautiful beaded shawl.
2nd prize , a $50.00 gift certificate to Fiberwood Studios went to Jean G
for her stunning beaded scarf and 3rd prize a 425.00 gift
certificate to Just 4Ewe went to Karen K for her original
design amulet necklace. Thank you for all the great participation in the
contest.
We had 11 commitment forms for the UFO contest. Karen
R, Margaret Rose D and Mary Guy F presented
their finished projects and each received a $10.00 gift
certificate to the Yarn House.
Our next Guild meeting will feature Mary Germain with a
program on Latvian knitting.
The August 11th meeting will be a knitting related swap. Each
member should bring any unwanted yarn, patterns etc in good
condition from their stash that is priced to sell. Remember to
bring cash to make purchases or make change and swap away.
JUNE MEETING MINUTES
Submitted by Karen P
Rose Ann, Vice President called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
New Guests - none present
Secretary- No changes to the minutes were noted by the Guild Members from the May 2009
meeting. A motion was made by Jean G to accept and approve the minutes as
published in the newsletter. Karen K seconded the motion.
Programs- The July meeting will feature Mary Germain and a presentation on color and
patterns of Latvian knitting. August will be a yarn, pattern, knitting accessory sway.
Membership has 78 paid members. Please welcome new member Carlotta S.
Newsletter- Please email Jeannie G your most interesting or exotic place that
you have knit in public.
Community service- Projects are hats, mittens, scarves and gloves for children and
adults which will be distributed by the organization Food for the Hungry in Brookfield.
Also prayer shawls for Froedtert Hospital Palliative care ministry. The shawls must be
made out of washable yarn9 no wool), laundered, and without fringe. Please see Jean
G for more details.
New Business- Ellen J discussed the bus trip to Stitches, further details will be
forthcoming, but those wishing to attend will have to make a financial commitment
ahead of time. The upcoming World Wide Knit in Public Day is set for June 13, 2009.
Ellen indicated that there will be a location at Bradford Beach starting at 11:00 am. Pat
indicated that the Pewaukee Public Library will be holding a knit in from 10-2 pm as
well. Just 4 Ewe in Oak Creek will hold a knit in also. Karen Knoted that the
Midwest Felting Symposium will be held from July 29through August 2 at the Alliant
Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. This is a free event.
We had 23 entries for the “Knitting with Beads” contest, Patricia G won first place
with a beautiful, beaded shawl; Jean Gwon second place with a stunning
beaded scarf and Karen K won third place with her original design amulet
jewelry.
There were 3 entries for the UFO ( Unfinished Object) contest. The winners with their
great entries were Karen R, Mary G-F and Margaret Rose D.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 pm by Kay T and seconded by
Judy K.
3 PURLS OF WISDOM JULY 2009
Ysolda Teague Visits Main Street Yarn Shop in Hartford
Submitted by Margaret Rose D
On Tuesday June 2, 2009 The Main Street Yarn Shop in Hartford, Wisconsin hosted a
reception and book signing for the popular Scottish knitting designer Ysolda Teague.
Her designs have been published in Twist and Knitty. She had samples of all the
patterns from her new book Whimsical Little knits. The book includes a variety of
projects; everything from beautiful lacy shawls and scarfs, hats and even a whimsical
doll. Many of her other patterns are available on her website and blog www.ysolda.com
Besides meeting Ysolda, the best part of this wonderful event was sitting and knitting
with friends. One could really feel the warmth of the knitting community. Ysolda later
commented in Edinburgh, people go to yarn stores, buy supplies and leave. They do not
sit and knit. She has truly enjoyed the welcome and friendship of all the yarn stores she
has visited in the United States.
My compliments to Rhonda Hattori for hosting this event with only 48 hours notice. The
Main Street Yarn shop is a cozy shop in downtown Hartford with a wonderful selection
of yarn and friendly helpful staff. Please visit their website: www.mainstyarnshop.com
CHARITY KNITTING
Submitted by Jean G
We have two different charities that we are knitting for this year. Hats, Scarves and
Mittens will be donated to the food pantries for distribution as needed. And, Prayer
Shawls for Froedtert Hospital. If you want to read more about Prayer Shawls and get
detailed information go to: http://www.shawlministry.com/instructions.html
The website contains several prayer shawl patterns under the pattern category located
at the bottom of the main page. Please visit the page and print off one or more patterns
for your personal use.
Visit this link for some children’s hat patterns www.madronafiberarts.com/charity.html
Knit in Public
Last month to celebrate World Wide Knit in Public
Day, we asked where the most exotic place that our
Guild members have knit in public. Here are two
submissions:
Knitting in public almost always gets a response or
two from someone, usually another knitter or a former
knitter who almost always share a comment or an
observation or two.
I have a son who lives with his family in Sydney,
Australia, so of course, I’ve been there often to share
in the lives of my three grandchildren.
It was almost time for me to return home this past
January, when I decided that I had to visit the Sydney
Art Museum, so of course I brought along my knitting,
and rested my feet and knit – probably a pair of socks
in the main entrance way. That time of the year is
Summer. Several people wandered by informing me
that they used to knit. One was surprised that I was
knitting in summer! I said I knit all year long.
On New Year’s Eve, we were at Rushcutters Bay,
picnicking, and waiting for the fireworks to go off over
the Sydney bridge, and again a friend of a friend
wondered that I was actually knitting in summer!
Before I left Sydney I had knit a pair of socks for each
of the five members of my son’s family, so the day I
left they all put on their new socks and we took
pictures of them all together with their feet towards
the camera to show off their newly clad feet.
I also knit on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, but then a
few of us do. Knitting socks doesn’t make me too hot.
I also knit around the pool. I’m usually there for two
months in the winter. It has helped me make some
new friends.
I knit on airplanes and in airports, usually socks. It’s a
great way to pass the waiting time.
I had surgery this past April. While in the waiting room
waiting for my therapist to come and get me, I was
knitting. A young man confided that he too had knit a
pair of socks when he was a teenager. This
was a surprise – my first comments from a
man!
Both my therapist and my doctor want to
learn to knit socks. I told my doctor I’d teach
her when she had more time, or when she
retired.
I suspect that knitting is keeping my hands
from becoming gnarled – a condition
suffered by my mother, who by the way
warned me when I lived at home, before I
was married that if I bought any more yarn,
my trunks of yarn and me would be ousted
from my parents’ home! I was never cured. I
still own lots and lots and lots of yarn!
Karen P
Knitter to Rock Stars?
Often I look up and find someone
with a puzzled look on their face. This is
because two passions have been combined
to allow both my partner Mike and I to enjoy
our favorite activities together. My partner is
a musician and plays bass in various bands.
This means many hours traveling and many
hours waiting. A one hour performance may
take 5 hours travel and 2 hours set up. So
what do I do? Knit of course.
I have designed shawls and tops for
performers local and International. I have
designed a shawl for Tina Lie a Norwegian
singer that performs in Europe and the US.
Or you may see my creations on Bobbie Jo
Landon in the Milwaukee area. So when
you’re are at Summerfest, a church festival,
or any venue in the Midwest take a peak
backstage or around the audience. You may
see me working on my latest project.
I am blessed to share my passion for the needle arts
with Mike’s passion for music. It’s hard to be unhappy
when you are doing the things that put a smile on
your face.
Karen R
WHAT’S AHEAD
July
12- October 15 Elsebeth Lavold
Knitting Along the Viking Trail,
Vesterham Norwegian American Museum, Decorah, Iowa
www.vesterheim.org
14 Guild Meeting with Guest Speaker Mary Germain
17-19 Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair, McHenry
County College, Crystal Lake IL ,www.fiberandfolk.com
29 Milwaukee Brewers Stitch and Pitch www.stitchandpitch.com
29- Aug 2 Midwest Felting Symposium, Alliant energy Center,
Madison, Wi www.midwestfeltingsymposium.com
August
11 Guild Meeting -Yarn Swap
September
8 Guild Meeting- State fair Winners and Induction of New
Officers
10-13 Stitches Midwest www.knittinguniverse.com
October
3 Yarn con, Pulaski Field House Chicago, Il
www.yarncon.com
13 Guild Meeting
Advertising is Available
Small Ad (Business card size) $5.00 per month or
$50.00 per year
Large Ad ( 1/4 page) $8.00 per month or $80.00 per
year.
Other sizes are available. Please Contact the
newsletter for more options.
Visit us on the internet at www.gmkg.blogspot.com

May Newsletter for GMKG

2009-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

A Message from The President
We’ve had another successful auction and I’d like to thank the entire membership
for your participation. Whether it was bringing an item to be auctioned, a friend or
bidding everyone played an important role. We should be proud. Our speaker
budget is growing by leaps and bounds, and that’s a good thing because Rose Ann
has already contracted a national speaker for May 2010. There’s so much to look
forward to!!! - Linda
PROGRAMS
A Big Thank You to all those who donated items to the auction, to those who bid
on and bought those items, and to all the volunteers who made the evening a great
success. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!
Loop Yarn Shop will be setting up shop at our May meeting. Patricia
will have lots of ideas and materials to start your next project. As an
added bonus, Three lucky Guild Members will receive $20.00 Loop
Yarn gift certificates to assist in your shopping. We will draw names
for these certificates right after the meeting adjourns. Don’t miss out,
be sure to attend!!
Have you started your project for the “Knitting with Beads” Contest?
This will be judged by Guild members after the June 9th meeting. Prizes
will be warded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
The UFO’s will be presented at this meeting as well. Prizes will be
awarded in this category also.
Our July meeting will be a slide presentation on “Color and Pattern in
Latvian Mittens” presented by Mary Germain.
A knitter most of her life, Mary has taught knitting, weaving and other
fiber arts since 1983, and was owner of The Wool Works yarn shop in
Milwaukee from 1985-96. Her woven and knitted garments have won
awards at the WHI Annual Shows and Harrisville Designs’ Convergence
Contests. Inspired by a Latvian friend, Mary published a pattern on
Latvian knitting in Piecework magazine. Trips to Latvia in 2001 and
Estonia in 2005 provided Mary with more knitting inspiration, which she
enjoys sharing with her students.
Her program will include a slide presentation showing some of the sights
of Latvia, photos from museums and craft fairs and actual samples of
the work of Latvian knitters and weavers.
-Rose Ann

April Newsletter-- Join us for our annual Auction-- Everyone's welcome!

2009-04-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

The April Auction
Our April meeting will be the annual auction. We’ll be looking forward to
all our creative items to be auctioned off. The money received from the
auction will help pay for guest speakers and Guild activities.
The more items we have the more fun we will have. Please submit your
items with the pre-printed cards on page 6 or a 3x5 index card with the
item, items value, opening bid, and name of donor.
Here are some suggestions:
Children’s Items Candles
Stuffed Toys Gift Certificates
Easter Baskets Spring Decor
Easter Decorations Handmade Soaps
Planters Jewelry
Gardening Tools Gift baskets
Chocolates
Coffee

CHARITY KNITTING 2009
We have a new plan for the 2009 charity knitting. We
have received requests from two very worthy causes
for our knitted goods.
Food for the Hungry, Inc. Has asked for donations of
hats, scarves, mittens or gloves for both children and
adults. Food for the Hungry will distribute our donated
items to children’s crisis centers, women’s abuse
shelters, day care centers and homeless shelters. We
can donate these items throughout the year, as they
have a significant amount of recipients.
Froedtert Hospital Palliative Care Chaplaincy Service is
seeking donations of prayer shawls. Prayer Shawls will
be made available to patients receiving Palliative care
and to their grieving family members.
Froedtert Hospital uses the shawl ministry website at
www.shawlministry.com
as its guideline for the shawls.
Both are wonderful ways for us to share our love of
knitting with people who will truly appreciate what we
make. You can knit something for either project
during the coming year. We will collect the items at
each of our monthly meetings and distribute them to
the organizations.
The Guild is also accepting new requests for Charity
knitting and will add patterns or pattern sources
throughout the upcoming months for these
projects.
So lets start using up some yarn and make some
really cute items. Start with 2 needle mittens
found at
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/2-needlemitt
s.htmll
Then make a scarf to match.
Try this website to view five different easy
patterns.
Http://alison.knitsmiths.us/pattern_beginners_scarves.
html
Happy knitting
Jean

WHAT’S AHEAD
April
4 Tall Grass Farm Spring Fiber Jubilee, Delavan,
WI
9-11 Half Price Sale Knitters Treat Monticello,
WI
14- Guild Auction
18 - Stephenson County Fiber Arts Festival
Cederville, Illinois
May
11- Guild Meeting Featuring Loop Yarn Shop
16-17- Door County Shepherds Market at
Whitefish Bay Farms, Wisconsin
June
9- Judging of Knitting with Beads Contest
13- World Wide Knit in Public Day
July
12- Oct 15 Elsebeth Lavold Knitting Along the
Viking Trail, Vesterham Norwegian
American Museum, Decorah, Iowa
14- Guild Meeting
16-19 Knitting Camp with Meg Swansen, Holiday
Inn, Marshfield , WI
17-19 Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair,
McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL
29- Milwaukee Brewers Stitch and Pitch
29- Aug 2 Midwest Felting Symposium, Alliant
Energy Center, Madison , WI
August
11- Guild Meeting
September
10-13 Stitches Midwest
10-13 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival
21-24 Susan Hansson at Knitters Treat,
Monticello, WI

March 2009 Newsletter

2009-03-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Knitting America: A Glorious Heritage From Warm Socks To High Art

The Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild welcomes
Dr. Susan Strawn to the March Guild meeting.
Dr. Strawn will have samples of vintage knitting
as well as a slide presentation based on her
research from her book :Knitting in America:
Glorious Heritage From Warm Socks To High
Art.
Knitter, writer and illustrator, Susan Strawn has
a PhD in Textiles and Clothing from Iowa
State University. A regular contributor to Piecework, Interweave
Knits, Spin-off and other textile magazines and journals,
she presented a paper entitled “ Back to the Knitting Needle:
Manufacturers, retailers, and the image of handknitting in
America, 1935-1955: to the Costume Society of America.
Strawn teaches textile-related classes at Dominican University in
River Forest, Illinois, and researches, hand- produced traditional
textiles. She lives in Oak Park, Illinois.
Spin-Off Magazine wrote:
“ Part picture book, part social history, part entertainment and
all fun, Knitting America” places the ordinary task of knitting
into the larger “context of American history. Beginning with the
first American knitters and working her way through the
decades to the present, historian and avid knitter Susan Strawn
shares a wealth of information about how knitters have
supported our troops during wartime, clothed their families,
founded businesses and expressed their creativity... There are
images of beautiful knitted items, and examples of printed
patterns and knitting posters.”

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I have the best news and as you can see, we have a newsletter editor!! It’s so
good to be in communication with everyone again. You don’t realize how much you’ll miss
something until you don’t have it. Thanks to Jeannie Goljenboom for volunteering to compile and
print the news for GMKG.
Our February meeting was a big hit. Tricia Anderson, a super talented, creative lady from Bigsby’s
Sewing Center came to demonstrate wool felting to us. Materials were supplied by the club and
donated by the Yarn House so we could sample the technique.
I’m looking forward to the March meeting. Our speaker is a knitting author who writes about the
history of knitting. I think she’s got a lot of understanding about our passion and will give us insight
on where many knitting facets came from. Don’t forget that the April meeting is our second annual
auction. Last year you were rookies and did a fantastic job of bringing auction items and bidding
generously. I can’t wait to see what we’ll do this year.
I hope all of you can make it to the meetings. It’s such a nice way to spend an evening. We can
talk to and get to know interesting people and learn our craft.
See you on March 10th
Linda
SECOND ANNUAL AUCTION
Our April meeting will be the annual auction.
We’ll be looking forward to all your creative
items to be auctioned off. Here are some
suggestions: think spring, picnics, sports,
jewelry, chocolate, coffees, candles, children’s
items( stuffed toys, Easter baskets), baskets of
gardening supplies. You get the idea. Look
through your magazines and start your projects.
Now it’s up to you. The more items we have the
more fun the Auction.
Your Auctioneer, Linda

No more Newsletters for awhile

2009-01-14T11:21:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the inconvenience, but there won't be any newsletters for awhile. We'll put any announcements in the Blog that effect members, like changes in times or dates etc. So check the Blog before the meetings to make sure you have all the information you need for the meeting and we’ll try to put out a newsletter soon. Thanks for your patience!

Programs for the next few months

2009-01-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

February Program:
“Hands on” needle felting will be lead by Trish Anderson of Bigsbys. The Guild will provide
the felting needle, the roving (some was donated by Shirley at the Yarn House) and the pad.
Trish will provide samples and assist in designing. All YOU have to bring is the article you
want to embellish. You can needle felt on wools, denim, twill, home decorating fabrics with
no backing, heavy cotton. Bring your moth eaten coat, jacket, sweater or dress to make a
design to cover the holes. Do NOT try polyesters, synthetics, silk or corduroy.
This promises to be a fun program so be sure to attend!!!!

March Program:
Knitting historian/author, Susan Strawn’s program will consist of historical samples of
knitting as well as a presentation on knitting in America during certain historical periods.
Susan is the author of Knitting America: A Glorious Heritage from Warm Socks to High Art.

April Program:
Our 2nd annual auction. Find an interesting item to donate to the auction. Round up all your
friends to attend. Auction items do not have to be related to knitting. Do you have other
hobbies? Bring one of your creations to the auction!

June Program:
Are you working on your UFO to show at the June meeting?? If you need a commitment form,
see me (Rose Ann) at the next meeting. Prizes will be awarded.

Have you selected your project for the Knitting with Beads contest? Entries will be brought to the
June meeting and the members will vote for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Prizes will be awarded.

December 2008 Guild newsletter

2008-12-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

POTLOCK!

December is our Annual Potluck. Bring something to share and be prepared to Show Off your projects! Don’t forget your Charitable Donations for the Milwaukee Women’s Center. See you Tuesday, Dec 8th at 7 pm.

Rare Exhibit to come to Midwest in January

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota will be having an exhibit Radiant Knits: The Bohus Tradition beginning January 23, 2009 at 6 p.m. The opening weekend will have amazing people presenting various aspects of the Bohus tradition. Kerstin Olsson will discuss her experiences at Bohus Sticking as a designer as , she leads a special 30 minute showing of the exhibit. Kjell Andersson, film producer, will present his documentary film "Bohus Knitting - From Relief Work to World Success" which is a follow-up to his other film "Fragments from a Time Gone By" which will be shown at ASI in early January. After his film showing, he will be available for questions. Master Swedish dyer Solveig Gutafsson will speak about her efforts to recreate many of the stunning Bohus designs and introduce a few newly recreated designs. She works closely with the museum that houses the Bohus collection in Sweden. The American connection is represented by Mary Jo Burke, owner of Stagecoach Yarns, a
small dye studio in Illinois. Poems of Color by author Wendy Keele is the book relating the history of the Bohus tradition and has patterns and photos of the fabulous movement. http://www.americanswedishinst.org/ is the website for more information about the exhibit and this special opening weekend. Their telephone number is 612-871-4907 for reservations. The exhibit is being co-sponsored by the Minnesota Knitting Guild The exhibit ends in March - but don't miss this special weekend with so many original sources. We believe the American Swedish Institute hasn't any idea how many people will be interested in this exhibit - they don't
know the power of knitters! Susanna is teaching workshops Sunday and Monday: if you are unable to attend in Minneapolis these same classes will be presented in Monticello later in the year. Susanna Hansson has been fascinated with the Bohus history and made it her mission to
collect as many of the original Bohus to be presented to a museum at a later date. She has spoken to the Guild and taught and shared her collection with knitters in Monticello in 2008 and will return to Monticello in September 2009 to again share her expertise and collection.

2008-2009 Calendar of Events
December will be our Christmas “potluck” and a “Show
and Tell”.
January Program: Marge Giralte from Giralte Bead and Gem in Cedarburg will bring samples and techniques for incorporating beads into knitting projects. She will have a couple kits available for sale as well as some ideas for your entry in the “Knitting with Beads” contest.

February Program: Trish Anderson, a guru of needle felting both by hand and machine, will conduct a “hands on” needle felting class. Bring your felted wool project or any scarf, sweater, coat or jacket to embellish. The item does not need to be felted. Trish says wool, denim, twill, home decorator fabrics (with no backing) are easiest to work on. Silks, corduroy, polyester and synthetics do not work as easily. The Guild will provide each participant a felting needle, roving and a foam base. Trish will have samples and patterns to use. The idea for this program came about with the donation of roving by Shirley Grede from the Yarn House.March -- Possibly Janet Szabo from Big Sky Knitting
Designs; also waiting to see if we will fit into her schedule.
April -- Our Guild Auction – We had so much fun last
year. Do not limit your creativity for donations. Also, we
want lots of guests for that evening!
May -- Tentatively author Dr. Susan Strawn will have
samples of vintage knitting as well as a slide presentation
based on research for her book Knitting America: A Glorious
Heritage from Warm Socks to High Art.
June – Judging (by all guild members) of the “Knitting
with Beads” contest
July -- TBA
August -- TBA

Milwaukee Women’s Center Wish List
The wish list is for new items
not used.
For Women:
Candles
Lotions/pampering product sets
Cologne (for Women)
Robes (for Women Size medium to XXX
large)
Slippers for women (all Sizes)
Gift Cards, Target, Wal-Mart, Pick N
Save
Pajamas/ nightgowns
For Children and Teens:
Cologne (for teen boys and girls)
Toys (for toddlers to teens)
Board games
Baby dolls & Barbie dolls (Caucasian
and African American)
Toy cars and trains
Art/Craft toys
Handheld video games
Basketball/ Footballs
Portable radio/CD player
Pajamas /Nightgown

Stop by and say hello!

2008-12-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody!

We've been getting lots of emails on the new blog. Try leaving a comment so we can all talk to each other.

Remember the next meeting is the pot luck Holiday party. Bring a dish to share and come join us for a big hug. Bring something to show too. It's a fun time.

NOVEMBER 2008 newsletter

2008-12-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

Below is a small portion of our Guild Newsletter which has been edited to fit in this blog. Please contact us if you want a copy of the entire newsletter.

November 2008 Volume 22 Issue 11

Note from the President:
Greetings —
It was very heartwarming to see so many new and current members at the Vivian Hoxboro lecture last month. We literally filled the room. A very special welcome goes to the Mt. Mary students who attended Thursday evening’s festivities. I hope all of you enjoyed Vivian and found her both informative and entertaining. We will love to see more of you in the coming months. It amazed me that Vivian designed 70………that’s right 7…0 patterns for a magazine each year for several years. To keep that momentum up is really inspiring. It also helped to
refine her style. I could see the progression of Vivian’s designs and how they evolved. She is as nice a person as she is talented. Her trunk show was fabulous and I hope everyone had an opportunity to try on the fashions. It’s like sampling dessert before you have to make the meal.
Enjoy your Halloween and I will see you on our regular meeting night, November 11th at 7:00pm.

Linda

Charity Program
Milwaukee Women’s Center
Where Abuse Ends and Hope Begins
Hats, Mittens,Scarves and slippers
for Women and Children....All sizes,
colors and styles welcome! Now
would be a great time to try a new
pattern or different yarn out. There
are lots of free patterns at
http://www.berroco.com/
pattern_library.html and http://
www.straw.com/cpy/
free_pattern_yarnssort.html#kidM
Along with the knitted items there is
a wish list provided by the
Women's Center. I will collect items
at the November and December
meeting and deliver the items
during the second week of December.
They were very thankful for
all the items we donated last year
which helped them with there
Christmas shopping for the families.
The wish list is for new items is on
page 6 of the newsletter.
Happy Knitting ! Jean

2008-2009 Calendar of Events
November The Knitting Room from Fond du Lac,
WI will open shop for us with lots of current samples and
Yarns available for purchase.
December will be our Christmas “potluck” and a “Show
and Tell”.
January TBA
February -- I am waiting for a response from Vintage
Sock Expert, Nancy Bush to see if we will fit into her
schedule.
March -- Possibly Janet Szabo from Big Sky Knitting
Designs; also waiting to see if we will fit into her schedule.
Sunday, November 1st
April -- Our Guild Auction – We had so much fun last
year. Do not limit your creativity for donations. Also, we
want lots of guests for that evening!
May -- Tentatively author Dr. Susan Strawn will have
samples of vintage knitting as well as a slide presentation
based on research for her book Knitting America: A Glorious
Heritage from Warm Socks to High Art.
June – Judging (by all guild members) of the “Knitting
with Beads” contest
July -- TBA
August -- TBA

Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild

2008-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for viewing the blog for the Greater Milwaukee Knitting Guild. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month at Mount Mary College. Come join us for a night of knitting comraderie. We'll post part of our newsletter on this blog so you can check out the program before the meeting.