News

All are welcome

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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

July 2017 magazine

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Subscription copies were mailed out on 1st June and our July issue is now officially on sale. If you select a subscription and latest issue bundle, we’ll send you our current July 2017 magazine and your subscription will start with the August magazine, to be mailed out on Thursday 6th July.

Nottingham Show

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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

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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

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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!

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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

Bournemouth Machine Knitting LIVE!

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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.

Calling all knitters and stitchers

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Help create a river of yellow and blue on Sunday April 30, to line the route of the Tour de Yorkshire when it comes to the Bradford district.

Stage three of the world-class cycle race starts in the city centre and goes through large parts of the Bradford district. Bradford Council is encouraging individuals, groups, organisations and companies to get involved in helping to dress the entire 60 km of the route that comes through Bradford, with colourful bunting and flags. They are looking for people to knit or stitch bunting and flags of any shape or size in yellow and or blue, the colours of the Tour de Yorkshire. They’re also looking for textile or yarn companies who would be get involved by donating materials.

They are calling on individuals and groups including schools, Women’s Institutes, community organisations and companies to pull out all the stops to help trim up the city centre and the  towns, villages and communities along the route with knitted, stitched, quilted, crocheted, felted and woven bunting.  When the Tour de France Grand Depart went through the district in 2014 and they put out a similar appeal they got a great response. They want to inspire anyone whatever their craft be it knitting, sewing, stitching or crocheting to take part. Bradford is built on the wool trade and famous for its textiles so would like to bring this element to the celebration of this fantastic sporting event. For information about how to get involved please contact saira.ali@bradford.gov.uk

Bournemouth & Nottingham Shows 2017

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MACHINE KNITTING LIVE!

Spring 2017

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

As you’ve read and no doubt heard, it’s possible that the 2017 shows at Bournemouth and Nottingham will come to an end. Over the years, these two early shows have always been organised by machine knitters, for machine knitters. They’re not a hotchpotch of lots of crafts, they concentrate through and through on machine knitting. At both friendly events we always offer free help, advice, demonstrations and encouragement. New machines and accessories are on sale, including reconditioned models at bargain prices. There’s always a wide selection of yarn as well as designers, books, patterns and quality lectures. Our Bournemouth event also includes a full Fashion Show, presented by members of Carbery and Ringwood clubs. Refreshments and free parking are available and both shows are supported by leading names in machine knitting. If you want these shows to continue, you need to make every effort to attend this year. Your presence and vote will count towards the decision to carry on or close both shows. Tickets cost £5 in advance, £6 on the door so call Anne Smith on 01628-783080 to order your advance tickets now.

Andee Knits, Anne Baker and Karabee Designs, Anne Croucher, Arnold Bennett, B Hague & Co, Bill King, Brenda Gould with KMJ, Carbery Machine Knitting Club, Clair Crowston, Dave Hampson, Elaine Cater, Erica Thomson, Fiona Morris, Framework Knitters Museum, Guild of Machine Knitters, Iris Bishop, Knits ‘n’ Bits from Wendy Piper, Machine Knitting Monthly, Mapperley Machine Knitting Club, Metropolitan Machine Knitting, Nina Miklin, Ringwood Machine Knitting Club, Rob Fountain, Spinners, Weavers & Dyers, Sue Booth, Sue Castro, Uppingham Yarns

All of these exhibitors support MKM and please check beforehand to see if they will be exhibiting at the show of your choice.

2017 Dates

Bournemouth Saturday 4th March 2016 from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at Bournemouth School for Girls, Castle Gate Close, Castle Lane West, Bournemouth BH8 9UJ

Nottingham Sunday 9th April 2017 from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at West Park Leisure Centre, Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton, Derbyshire NG10 4AA

All the hints and tips for success

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I spoke to Joan Fielding-Browne recently and she’s a fabulous offer for you, running right up to Christmas week. I’m not sure all of you know that she has masses of stock in her shop at Galashiels, as well as online. It includes machine cones from King Cole, Woolcraft and Robin, as well as knitting and sewing machines, tables, cabinets and accessories. She has gift packs, knitting patterns and everything for tapestry, crochet and embroidery. Her special promotions cover all crafts and change each week up to Christmas. Visit www.littleknittingfairy.co.uk or, if you’d like to talk to Joan personally, give her a call on 01896-850734.

Reader offers are coming in thick and fast right now, including price reductions on cones for MKM readers and Club Leaders from The Wool Cabin until the January issue goes on sale in December. You can call the order hotline on 07854-121067 or email singlemalt48@hotmail.com but make sure you put The Wool Cabin in the subject box. Personal shoppers are always welcome and you’ll find full details on Page 28.

The Knitting Fairy will look after all your crafting and gift needs, The Wool Cabin has yarn bargains and Anne Baker has the perfect Karabee pattern for a mermaid snuggly. It’s quickly knitted with Card 1 on chunky machines. Anne has made one for my little grand-daughter to snuggle up in and it’s gorgeous. There have been hand-knitting versions around for a while, but this is the only one I’ve seen for machine knitting. The pattern has been so popular that Anne has had to add teen and adult sizes. As Sally-Ann would say, it’s ‘bang on trend’ and everything I’ve mentioned is available by post. Order now and all that remains is to settle down to some festive knitting!

NEXT ISSUE
January 2017
Subscription copies sent out
Thursday 1st December
On sale
Thursday 8th December
Ask your newsagent to
Reserve a copy : see page 61

CURRENT ISSUE
December 2016
Subscription copies sent out
Thursday 3rd November
On sale
Thursday 10th November

Hello Anne
Do you have a running order for this year’s show at Bournemouth on Saturday 5th March as I am driving and don’t want to miss anything?
Best wishes Mary

Hi Mary
We open at 10.00 am and the cafeteria is already buzzing because they serve hot bacon rolls which none of us can resist!

Ann Brown is our Guest Speaker and her talk will start around 11.00 to 11.30 am to allow those travelling from a long distance to arrive. Members of Carbery Machine Knitting Club and Ringwood Machine Knitting Club will present a combined Fashion Show at about 2.00 to 2.30 pm. Again we need to leave sufficient time for everyone to have lunch which can sometimes be tricky if the school canteen is busy. Demonstrations will take place throughout the day in many of the classrooms. The cafeteria closes around 3.15 to 3.30 and we close at 4.00 pm.

We look forward to seeing you and it promises to be a great day Anne

Mary Lowe
2016-02-18 20:55:19
Dear Anne
I am so sad to hear of the passing of Joan Lafferty I have read her articles for many a year as I have been a machine knitter since the late 60s. She often made me smile and gave so many easy to understand hints and tips.
Thanks for continuing to produce a great magazine without which many of us would be lost.
Best wishes
Joyce
JEDSBITS
2016-02-18 20:51:41
Dear Anne
So sorry to hear you have lost another friend and colleague with the death of Alice Wilmshurst. She worked tirelessly over the years and her Machine Knitting Journals have been such an inspiration to machine knitters all over the world. I still read through my collection of PKMJ every so often and enjoy all the hints tips and encouragement that Alice put together.
Kind regards
Sue
Sue P
2016-08-12 07:30:46