World Wide Knit in Public events around Milwaukee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.