2017

All are welcome

The Guild of Machine Knitters National Guild Day and AGM will take place on Saturday 17th June 2017 from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. The venue is Leigh Park Community Centre, Leigh Park Way, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 3FN and it’s on the A3098 and not far from the A350 and the A36. Nick Traylen will take a good choice of Uppingham Yarns and you can pre-order anything special. He’ll also bring a selection of machine-knitting accessories including needle retaining bars.

Jan Truman is guest speaker and she’s exhibited widely. Her large floating sculptural pieces for ponds and lakes have been seen at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Jan knits smaller pieces, too, including jewellery and she works with wire and beads to create her wonderful pieces. Marianne Henio will also give a talk during the morning. She’s created her own designs on a standard gauge Brother punchcard machine for over 30 years and has now moved on from making bespoke clothes to selling her patterns.

The AGM is held just before lunch, usually takes no more than 40 minutes and often a lot less. You’ll need your own packed lunch, but there’s a local supermarket just across the road. The Westbury Woollies will provide tea and coffee and maybe a few cakes as well. Non-members are welcome to go along to enjoy the day, but obviously they’ll not take part in the AGM. (Members free, non-members £5.) Put Saturday 17th June 2017 in your diary now, to make sure you don’t miss this important day in the Guild year, or enjoy a day out with lots to see and do in a lovely area. For more details, visit www.guild-mach-knit.org.uk

Speed knitting

I returned recently from a trip to visit family in the North. We drove out of Scotland with gale force winds blowing, as well as sleet and hailstones pounding down on the car. As I write, the sky is a cloudless Mediterranean blue and it’s a balmy 17 degrees in the South East. It’s a good reminder of how easy it is to knit something quickly on our machines. We may need light and lacy if Spring arrives sooner than we anticipate, or warm and woolly to keep out the chill for a few more weeks. For a truly quick chunky top, there’s nothing faster than to adapt the design on Page 22 of the May 2017 issue. If you need speed, forget the side vents and make two rectangles for the back and front. Add another rectangle for each sleeve and put it all together in a jiffy. Worn over a comfy top, you’ll have an extra layer of added warmth and reduce your stash a little!

Suzette Williams tells us that in association with The Guild of Machine Knitters, Timberdine Machine Knitting Club and Malvern Enthusiastic Machine Knitters will present a Knit ‘n’ Natter in Sacred Heart Church Hall, 208 Worcester Road, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 8AZ. The date for your diary is Saturday 15th July 2017 from 10.30 am to 4.00 pm and there’s a large car park at the rear of the church. The Guest Speaker is Melissa Warren. They’re planning workshops and will have a few trade stands, as well as yarn and a premature baby charity table. Tickets will cost £6 in advance, which includes tea and coffee. Tickets will be available from Suzette and all are welcome so email her at sue@incoming-email.co.uk for details.

You may not know that the Guild of Machine Knitters has a new-look A4 Newsletter. There are 24 pages in full colour including two or three patterns and it’s all dedicated to machine knitting. If you’d like a couple of free issues just drop me a line. There’s no obligation and if you’re a machine knitter, I’m sure you’ll be interested. Come rain or shine, happy knitting!

July 2017 magazine

Subscription copies were mailed out on 1st June and the magazine was officially on sale on 8th June. Order this magazine now in our back issues.

Nottingham Show

Hi Anne

You did it for Bournemouth, so do let us know who will be at the Nottingham Show and give us some info about the talks please. Looking forward to it.

The show takes place this Sunday 9th April from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at West Park Leisure Centre in Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton, Derbyshire NG10 4AA. Although the centre’s kitchens were decommissioned at the New Year, we’ve some great local caterers who will supply freshly-made hot and cold drinks and food throughout the day. 

 Tickets are available and cost £6 on the door, plus tickets to our talks at just £1 each and we’ve three Guest Speakers.

BILL KING is first to speak at 11.00 am and his talk is called Strange Shapes. There’s always a huge interest in his holding position garments, so he’ll  go into detail about the short row garments you love and include fresh ideas and possibilities. He’ll bring his knitting machine and be available all day to explain techniques personally.
ELAINE CATER  follows Bill at 12.30 pm and she’ll be talking about cables. Let’s Twist Again takes the fear out of knitting a cable and Elaine will explain the cheats cables  suitable for  all single bed machines.
SUE BOOTH is our final speaker at  2.00 pm and she’ll talk about  Finishing Touches.  Sue will include feature seams, zipper enclosures, reversible joins and all sorts of other things using her garments as samples.
Confirmed exhibitors are Anne Baker and Karabee Designs, Sue Booth, the popular button man Arnold Bennett, Elaine Cater, Bill King, Brenda Gould and Knitting Machine Journal, David and Jason Hampson from The Wool Cabin, B Hague & Co with twisters, linkers and accessories, Mary Hawkins representing the Framework Knitters Museum, Guild of Machine Knitters including Ann Matthews from Mapperley Machine Knitting Club demonstrating throughout the day, Knits ‘n’ Bits from Wendy Piper, Machine Knitting Monthly also with Anjo Designs, Metropolitan Machine Knitting, Nina Miklin, Rob Fountain, Erica Thomson and Uppingham Yarns. We also welcome Patricia Dyson and a team of six representing the Nottinghamshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers.
I hope this is all the information you need, but do please ask if you’re unsure about anything. 

New for old sponge bar

Hi Anne

I’ve just replaced the sponge bar on my Singer Model 120. After trial and error, I put a strand of 100% pure thick wool in the bar and pushed it in with a spatula. Then I put white glue on it and laid in another strand of wool. I just pressed with my fingers to make sure it glued on. You might have to repeat pressing with your fingers every two or three minutes for fifteen minutes. Use the same spatula to push both strands about one inch at beginning and end, so the wool doesn’t get caught in the needles. It worked for me! Best, Gisele

We all do what we can to support our craft

Hi Anne

Thank you kindly for your support. We all do what we can to support our craft.

The Carolinas Machine Knitters Guild (CMKG) is hosting a seminar just minutes away from the airport in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (RDU). It will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 4810 Page Creek Lane, Durham, NC on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, 2017, including an optional banquet dinner and fashion show on Friday night. Our demonstrators are Mary Anne Oger, Mike Becker and April Mills.

Anyone interested in registering for the seminar can go to this link: http://carolinasmkg.com/Events/CMKGseminar2017.html and either register online or download and mail the attached registration form with a check or money order, as indicated on the form (sample attached). Below are the seminar costs. The hotel is lovely and we’ve negotiated a nightly rate of $99 for reservations made by April 12, after which they’d be a whopping $139/night. Hotel reservations can be made from a link on our site or by calling the hotel directly. Their number is also on the form.

Friday OR Saturday (One Day) Seminar Registration with Lunch $70 (USD)
Friday AND Saturday (Two Day) Seminar Registration with Lunch $125 (USD)
Friday Banquet Dinner and Fashion Show (Optional) $39 (USD)

Anne, again, thank you so much for your support. Best regards and happy knitting,

Cindy LaDelle

President – Carolinas Machine Knitters Guild

We’ve got EXCITING NEWS!

Hi Anne

I’m Mary Karnes and I’m writing to let you know that Carolinas Machine Knitters Guild (CMKG) is hosting a machine knitting seminar conveniently located just minutes away from the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina airport (RDU). Seminar registration includes lunch and chances to win door prizes, and there’s an optional banquet dinner and fashion show on Friday night with prizes. Our demonstrators are Mary Anne Oger, Mike Becker and April Mills. Since we’re all interested in promoting machine knitting, I thought I might let you know how you can help make this a great experience for the machine knitting community.

Carolinas Machine Knitters Guild 2017 Seminar

First, spread the word about this and any other machine knitting seminar. There seem to be quite a few seminars being held across the country lately, and all are great learning opportunities. Please feel free to share this information about our upcoming seminar. Anyone interested in registering for the CMKG 2017 Seminar can go to this link: http://carolinasmkg.com/Events/CMKGseminar2017.html to register online or download a registration form and mail it with a check or money order, as indicated on the form.

Next, consider advertising in our seminar registration booklet to help offset the printing cost. Advertisements that fill one‐eighth of a page are available at a minimal cost of $20. This can help direct our attendees to your shops or services for machine knitting supplies, accessories and parts. Simply e‐mail the contents of your ad to this email address:  Treasurer@Carolinasmkg.com. Payment can be made by PayPal to this same address, for your convenience.

Finally, kindly consider donating door prizes. Anything related to machine knitting would be graciously accepted and your name and business information, if applicable, would be read aloud as door prizes are drawn. Appropriate items include patterns, tools, accessories, magazines, subscriptions, and anything else related to machine knitting. Your generous donations can be mailed to:-

Cindy LaDelle

President, Carolinas Machine Knitters Guild

619 Near Post Drive

Fuquay Varina, NC 27526‐5872

Help! I need a machine knitter

Hi Anne

Help! I need a machine knitter to make a chenille man’s sweater my daughter has designed for Uni. I have the wool and I’m obviously happy to pay for the knitting. I also have all the measurements and a rib knit sample. Can someone help with this please and the deadline is the end of April.

Thanks, Debbie.

Bournemouth Machine Knitting LIVE!

Hi Anne

I’ve had a request from some club members wanting to know about the Bournemouth Machine Knitting LIVE! Exhibition specifically. They would like to know about the speakers and the exhibitors who will be at Bournemouth. I did see there was a list of all exhibitors in the magazine for both Nottingham and Bournemouth but no indication of who was specifically going to which show. If you could point me in the right direction that would be appreciated.

The show takes place this Saturday 4th March from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at Bournemouth School for Girls in Castle Gate Close, Castle Lane West, Bournemouth, Dorset BH8 9UJ. Tickets are available and cost £6 on the door. The school refectory opens and staff provide hot and cold refreshments throughout the day. Cadets and officers from the local branch of St John Ambulance are on standby and also look after left luggage and run a tombola to swell club funds.

 Guest Speaker is Fiona Morris at 11.00 am and Carbery and Ringwood club members organise and will present a fashion show in the afternoon around 2.00 pm.
Confirmed exhibitors are Andee Knits, Anne Baker and Karabee Designs, Anne Croucher and the Knit Clinic, Bill King, Brenda Gould and Knitting Machine Journal, Carbery MKC, Dave Hampson from The Wool Cabin, Elaine Cater, Fiona Morris, Guild of Machine Knitters, Knits ‘n’ Bits from Wendy Piper, Machine Knitting Monthly also with Anjo Designs, Metropolitan Machine Knitting, Nina Miklin, Ringwood MKC, Rob Fountain, Sue Castro and Uppingham Yarns.
 
I hope this is all the information you need, but do get back to me if you’re unsure about anything.

Love your lace

Dear Anne

Here’s a tip about re-programming your punchcard machine if you’ve made a mistake when knitting a lace pattern. It’s always best to undo the whole block repeat of lace just knitted. This may mean putting several stitches that are on one needle back to their original place. Turn the punchcard back to where the last black curved arrow is on the card. It’s at this point you’d have worked, for example, ‘K 2 rows’ or similar. Look at the arrows on the left hand side of the card. By the black arrow is the red arrow, pointing to the right. Don’t lock the card, but carry on ‘lacing’ and you will be on the right row. The only time you do lock the card, when re-programming in lace, would be if the arrow was pointing to the right and the lace carriage was on the left. You’d next work one pass with the lace carriage and then release the card. Bye for now, Judith