Schedule of NCKG Programs 2023-2024
We host monthly membership meetings on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. except September, when we meet on the second monday and December when we take a break for the holidays. Whenever possible, we host hybrid meetings that accommodate live, in-person gathering while still meeting the needs of those members who need to join via Zoom.
Those who join us in person do so at Mayfield High School.
Visitors are welcome! To request Zoom login instructions, please drop a note to [email protected].
Video recordings of some of our meetings are available to members.
January 2024 - Best of 2023 - Members will share their “Best of 2023, Knitter’s Version”, as well as any knitting goals or resolutions for the year.
February 2024 - Miss Babs Yarns - Miss Babs herself will tell us about the creation of her business, how she finds color inspiration, and will highlight some of the latest patterns to use Miss Babs yarns.
March 2024 - Stitch and Row Equivalency by Suzanne Bryan - Learn how to compensate for differences in stitch and row gauge across a fabric.
April 2024 - Learn more about sock heels with Roxanne Richardson. Roxanne will be discussing the heel flap and gusset, the short row heel, and the plain heel, along with modification to improve fit.
May 2024 - The "swap" is actually a sale. Swapping is perfectly fine, but most transactions are sales. To participate, just bring yarn, fiber, books and/or knitting notions you want to de-stash tagged with your name and asking price. (Free items are welcome, too.) We'll have tables where you can set out your items and conduct your transactions. Everyone is invited to purchase but only guild members may sell items. The guild traditionally receives 10 percent of your proceeds (cash or checks to the treasurer at the end of the night).
June 2024 - Fix it or Frog it! Kind of like Love it or List it from HGTV, but for knitters! Do you have a project that you are stuck on and don't know how to do what the pattern is calling for? Or perhaps it isn't turning out as you expected? Or worse yet, you have finished something and it just isn't right? Bring it and get input from other members on what to do. After hearing all advice you decide, will you fix it or frog it?
July 2024 - Lindsey Fowler joins us live and in person to talk about her experiences publishing her beautiful book Salt & Timber. Lindsey is currently from Hudson, Ohio and her website is larkspurknits.com.
August 2024 - The topic for August is Charity Knitting.
September 2024- TBD
October 2024 - Member Competition. Open to members only, so join now if you haven't already. Check here for details.
November 2024 - Holiday Party Watch the newsletter for details as plans are firmed up.
December 2024 - No meeting. Happy holidays!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2022-2023
January 10, 2023 - Scandinavian Construction Techniques
Beth Brown-Reinsel will discuss the different methods to construct sweaters in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
February 14, 2023 - Short Rows, Various Methods and Their Application
Suzanne Bryan will demonstrate various methods of doing short rows and discuss where and when to use each.
March 14, 2023 - Knitting Sweaters From Every Decade, 1890-1990
Roxanne Richardson will discuss her project to knit a sweater from every decade and discuss how patterns and construction techniques changed over time,
April 11, 2023 - Member Swap
The "swap" is actually a sale. Swapping is perfectly fine, but most transactions are sales. To participate, just bring yarn, fiber, books and/or knitting notions you want to destash tagged with your name and asking price. (Free items are welcome, too.) We'll have tables where you can set out your items and conduct your transactions. Everyone is invited to purchase but only guild members may sell items. The guild traditionally receives 10 percent of your proceeds (cash or checks to the treasurer at the end of the night).
May 9, 2023 - Knitting Ergonomics
Carson Demers will discuss practices to make our knitting more comfortable and increase our knitting longevity.
June 13, 2023 - Knitting Technology Panel Discussion
Member Ann Smrekar will talk about Ravelry and how to navigate this wonderful online site.
July 11, 2023 - The Story Behind Destination Yarn
Jeanne Stevenson, owner, dyer and designer at Destination Yarn will share her company's origin story. How a trained architect found a way to play with yarn all day!
August 8, 2023 - Evaluating Knitting Patterns
Jen Parroccini, designer, teacher blogger and podcaster, presents "How to Evaluate Knitting Patterns"
September 12, 2023 - Japanese Knitting Patterns
Japanese knitting patterns – a little longer meeting, and there will be pre-work that we do before the presentation. Watch the newsletter for details.
October 10, 2023 - Member Competition
Open to members only, so join now if you haven't already. Check here for details.
November 14, 2023 - Holiday Party
Watch the newsletter for details as plans are firmed up.
December, 2023
No meeting. Happy holidays!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2022
January 11, 2022 -- Knitting Vlogs
A guided tour of about 16 knitting-focused video blogs on YouTube. Whether you are already a fan or new to the idea of watching programming about knitting on YouTube, you will enjoy seeing and hearing what these vloggers have to say about their knitting! Here's the list we reviewed together.
February 8, 2022 -- Brioche Stitch - what it is and how to do it
Program presented by local professional knitting instructor Bonnie Wolfe.
March 8, 2022 -- Choosing the best knitting pattern for you
The Devious Knitter, Amy Snell, will join us on Zoom to walk us through the many variables one should take into account when deciding what to knit next. We invest untold hours in our knitting projects. Amy will help us make sure we will enjoy the process and be happy with the finished product.
April 12, 2022 -- Choosing the Best Size Sweater for You
Kerry Bullock-Ozkan, Knitwear Designer/Tech Editor will join us on Zoom to present a program on an improved way to choose what size sweater to make. Also, we'll show and share the results of our brioche knit-along.
May 10, 2022 -- The Phenomenon Known as Knitty
Amy Singer, the Ontario, Canada-based founder of Knitty, joins us on Zoom as part of her celebration tour of Knitty's 20th year publishing some of the planet's most popular, well-written, FREE knitting patterns.
June 14, 2022 -- A Knitter's Journey With U.S. Heritage Sheep Breeds
Margaret Radcliffe, who publishes patterns, teaches knitting classes and provides editing services through her business Maggie's Rags, will take us on a tour of her experiences working with U.S. heritage sheep breeds over the past three years, from her beginner challenges washing, preparing and spinning wool from over 20 breeds, uncovering the wide variety of wool properties across these breeds, and crafting successful knitted garments from her hand-spun yarns.
July 12, 2022 -- Show Us Your Favorites!
What hand-knit do you wear the most? Which one makes you feel great every time you put it on? That is the one we want to see! And we want to know WHY you like it. Is it the color? The fit? The style? All of these? Something else?
As to knitting notions, do you have something in your knitting bag that you find invaluable? We'd love to know what it is, especially if you think other knitters might not be using it.
August 9, 2022 -- Natural Dyeing: History and How-To
Stacy Deraway, educator at Hale Farm and Village, will share a wealth of information on natural dyeing including how to get started, what kinds of plants to use (including many that can be found or grown locally) and what kinds of equipment you'll need.
September 13, 2022 -- Knitting in Art
A presentation via Zoom by Fronia Simpson, former contributor to Interweave Knitting.
October 11, 2022 -- Guild Member Competition
November 8, 2022 -- Holiday Social
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2021
January 11, 2021 -- From Blue Jeans to Baskets on Zoom
NOTE - for this meeting only, we will be meeting on Monday to avoid conflicting with the Western Reserve Guild's special event with Laura Nelkin.
Do you have old pairs of denim jeans that don’t fit anymore or have holes in the knees? Here’s an easy way to clean out your closet and create beautiful and useful baskets of any size. Make unique gifts for family and friends - but beware... you’ll want to keep them for yourself!
Varina Patel will show us how to make easy denim baskets, from start to finish.
Materials: denim jeans, sewing scissors, crochet hook, strong cotton crochet thread, needle, optional: fat straw or cardboard tube to help with rolling fabric. I’m using the cardboard tube from the center of a roll of dog waste bags. Yes, really. ;)
Skills: Single crochet, chain stitch
February 9, 2021-- Get Ready for the County Fair/Fiber Festival on Zoom
Thinking about entering a county fair competition or the Great Lakes Fiber Show competition? You’ll learn all you need to know from a panel of guild ribbon winners and judges on Tuesday, February 9 at 7 pm. Panelists are Nancy Curtiss, Mo Doerner, Nora Eason, Lorraine Ehrlinger, and Kathy Mates. Finished UFOs encouraged for Show and Share.
What to bring: Questions for the panel and Show and Share items, especially FOs
March 9, 2021-- Community Service Through Knitting on Zoom
Learn how you can help members of our community through your knitting. On Tuesday, March 9 at 7 pm, we will have someone from Saber Healthcare Nursing Homes speak to us about lap blankets and shawls for their residents and the importance of such donations during the pandemic.
Please join in the discussion about your favorite patterns for hats, mittens, cowls, scarves, and baby blankets. These are some of the most requested items.
The service project for the 2nd quarter of 2021 will be announced.
April 13, 2021-- Finishing Master Class on Zoom
John Martin will demonstrate a few of the finishing techniques that can take your knitted items from good to great on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 pm.
Homework:
1. 4 swatches 20 st x 20 rows of stockinette st worsted yarn on size 8 needles
2. 2 swatches 20 st x 20 rows garter stitch same yarn
3. 2 swatches 20 sts x 10 rows stockinette st still on needles - one on each needle. - DO NOT BIND OFF.
Please use a light color so you can see what we are going to do
Tapestry needle (blunt)
Yarn for seaming - a dark color to see what we did.
May 11, 2021-- Preparing Your Knits for Summer on Zoom
Judi Pfancuff will lead a discussion on essential techniques for successfully storing handknits over the summer months on Tuesday, May 11 at 7 pm. Come prepared to share your suggestions and horror stories.
June 8, 2021-- Favorite Texture and Ribbing Stitch Patterns on Zoom
Sue Crowe will share some favorite texture and ribbing stitch patterns and invite members to share their own faves on Tuesday, June 8 at 7 pm.
July 13, 2021-- Service and Charity Knitting - Live Meeting
Deb Hajzak, our Service Chair, will give an overview of charity knitting including how it fits into our guild's history, the wide range of charity and service project options available, comments from a few of our highly active service knitters on their favorite projects, where they donate, etc., and she will lead a discussion on developing a new shared focus area for guild service programming.
August 11, 2021-- Colorwork in Knitting: An Overview Lecture on Zoom by Kate Atherley
Note the day is changed to the 2nd WEDNESDAY of the month.
There are many different ways to incorporate multiple colors into your knitting: stranded/Fair Isle, intarsia, slipped stitch, stripes, even two-color variants of linen stitch and brioche. The challenge for knitters is that each method requires different techniques, and they’re not always well-explained! This session provides an overview of the different methods – and their associated techniques – to equip knitters with the core skills to be able to identify and tackle different types of projects.
September 14, 2021-- Knit Companion - Live Meeting
Knit Companion presentation/discussion.
October 11, 2021-- Guild Member Competition - Live Meeting
Guild Member Competition.
November 8, 2021--Gift Exchange and Holiday Party - Live Gathering
Gift Exchange and Holiday Party.
We host monthly membership meetings on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. except September, when we meet on the second monday and December when we take a break for the holidays. Whenever possible, we host hybrid meetings that accommodate live, in-person gathering while still meeting the needs of those members who need to join via Zoom.
Those who join us in person do so at Mayfield High School.
Visitors are welcome! To request Zoom login instructions, please drop a note to [email protected].
Video recordings of some of our meetings are available to members.
January 2024 - Best of 2023 - Members will share their “Best of 2023, Knitter’s Version”, as well as any knitting goals or resolutions for the year.
February 2024 - Miss Babs Yarns - Miss Babs herself will tell us about the creation of her business, how she finds color inspiration, and will highlight some of the latest patterns to use Miss Babs yarns.
March 2024 - Stitch and Row Equivalency by Suzanne Bryan - Learn how to compensate for differences in stitch and row gauge across a fabric.
April 2024 - Learn more about sock heels with Roxanne Richardson. Roxanne will be discussing the heel flap and gusset, the short row heel, and the plain heel, along with modification to improve fit.
May 2024 - The "swap" is actually a sale. Swapping is perfectly fine, but most transactions are sales. To participate, just bring yarn, fiber, books and/or knitting notions you want to de-stash tagged with your name and asking price. (Free items are welcome, too.) We'll have tables where you can set out your items and conduct your transactions. Everyone is invited to purchase but only guild members may sell items. The guild traditionally receives 10 percent of your proceeds (cash or checks to the treasurer at the end of the night).
June 2024 - Fix it or Frog it! Kind of like Love it or List it from HGTV, but for knitters! Do you have a project that you are stuck on and don't know how to do what the pattern is calling for? Or perhaps it isn't turning out as you expected? Or worse yet, you have finished something and it just isn't right? Bring it and get input from other members on what to do. After hearing all advice you decide, will you fix it or frog it?
July 2024 - Lindsey Fowler joins us live and in person to talk about her experiences publishing her beautiful book Salt & Timber. Lindsey is currently from Hudson, Ohio and her website is larkspurknits.com.
August 2024 - The topic for August is Charity Knitting.
September 2024- TBD
October 2024 - Member Competition. Open to members only, so join now if you haven't already. Check here for details.
November 2024 - Holiday Party Watch the newsletter for details as plans are firmed up.
December 2024 - No meeting. Happy holidays!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2022-2023
January 10, 2023 - Scandinavian Construction Techniques
Beth Brown-Reinsel will discuss the different methods to construct sweaters in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
February 14, 2023 - Short Rows, Various Methods and Their Application
Suzanne Bryan will demonstrate various methods of doing short rows and discuss where and when to use each.
March 14, 2023 - Knitting Sweaters From Every Decade, 1890-1990
Roxanne Richardson will discuss her project to knit a sweater from every decade and discuss how patterns and construction techniques changed over time,
April 11, 2023 - Member Swap
The "swap" is actually a sale. Swapping is perfectly fine, but most transactions are sales. To participate, just bring yarn, fiber, books and/or knitting notions you want to destash tagged with your name and asking price. (Free items are welcome, too.) We'll have tables where you can set out your items and conduct your transactions. Everyone is invited to purchase but only guild members may sell items. The guild traditionally receives 10 percent of your proceeds (cash or checks to the treasurer at the end of the night).
May 9, 2023 - Knitting Ergonomics
Carson Demers will discuss practices to make our knitting more comfortable and increase our knitting longevity.
June 13, 2023 - Knitting Technology Panel Discussion
Member Ann Smrekar will talk about Ravelry and how to navigate this wonderful online site.
July 11, 2023 - The Story Behind Destination Yarn
Jeanne Stevenson, owner, dyer and designer at Destination Yarn will share her company's origin story. How a trained architect found a way to play with yarn all day!
August 8, 2023 - Evaluating Knitting Patterns
Jen Parroccini, designer, teacher blogger and podcaster, presents "How to Evaluate Knitting Patterns"
September 12, 2023 - Japanese Knitting Patterns
Japanese knitting patterns – a little longer meeting, and there will be pre-work that we do before the presentation. Watch the newsletter for details.
October 10, 2023 - Member Competition
Open to members only, so join now if you haven't already. Check here for details.
November 14, 2023 - Holiday Party
Watch the newsletter for details as plans are firmed up.
December, 2023
No meeting. Happy holidays!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2022
January 11, 2022 -- Knitting Vlogs
A guided tour of about 16 knitting-focused video blogs on YouTube. Whether you are already a fan or new to the idea of watching programming about knitting on YouTube, you will enjoy seeing and hearing what these vloggers have to say about their knitting! Here's the list we reviewed together.
February 8, 2022 -- Brioche Stitch - what it is and how to do it
Program presented by local professional knitting instructor Bonnie Wolfe.
March 8, 2022 -- Choosing the best knitting pattern for you
The Devious Knitter, Amy Snell, will join us on Zoom to walk us through the many variables one should take into account when deciding what to knit next. We invest untold hours in our knitting projects. Amy will help us make sure we will enjoy the process and be happy with the finished product.
April 12, 2022 -- Choosing the Best Size Sweater for You
Kerry Bullock-Ozkan, Knitwear Designer/Tech Editor will join us on Zoom to present a program on an improved way to choose what size sweater to make. Also, we'll show and share the results of our brioche knit-along.
May 10, 2022 -- The Phenomenon Known as Knitty
Amy Singer, the Ontario, Canada-based founder of Knitty, joins us on Zoom as part of her celebration tour of Knitty's 20th year publishing some of the planet's most popular, well-written, FREE knitting patterns.
June 14, 2022 -- A Knitter's Journey With U.S. Heritage Sheep Breeds
Margaret Radcliffe, who publishes patterns, teaches knitting classes and provides editing services through her business Maggie's Rags, will take us on a tour of her experiences working with U.S. heritage sheep breeds over the past three years, from her beginner challenges washing, preparing and spinning wool from over 20 breeds, uncovering the wide variety of wool properties across these breeds, and crafting successful knitted garments from her hand-spun yarns.
July 12, 2022 -- Show Us Your Favorites!
What hand-knit do you wear the most? Which one makes you feel great every time you put it on? That is the one we want to see! And we want to know WHY you like it. Is it the color? The fit? The style? All of these? Something else?
As to knitting notions, do you have something in your knitting bag that you find invaluable? We'd love to know what it is, especially if you think other knitters might not be using it.
August 9, 2022 -- Natural Dyeing: History and How-To
Stacy Deraway, educator at Hale Farm and Village, will share a wealth of information on natural dyeing including how to get started, what kinds of plants to use (including many that can be found or grown locally) and what kinds of equipment you'll need.
September 13, 2022 -- Knitting in Art
A presentation via Zoom by Fronia Simpson, former contributor to Interweave Knitting.
October 11, 2022 -- Guild Member Competition
November 8, 2022 -- Holiday Social
Schedule of NCKG Programs 2021
January 11, 2021 -- From Blue Jeans to Baskets on Zoom
NOTE - for this meeting only, we will be meeting on Monday to avoid conflicting with the Western Reserve Guild's special event with Laura Nelkin.
Do you have old pairs of denim jeans that don’t fit anymore or have holes in the knees? Here’s an easy way to clean out your closet and create beautiful and useful baskets of any size. Make unique gifts for family and friends - but beware... you’ll want to keep them for yourself!
Varina Patel will show us how to make easy denim baskets, from start to finish.
Materials: denim jeans, sewing scissors, crochet hook, strong cotton crochet thread, needle, optional: fat straw or cardboard tube to help with rolling fabric. I’m using the cardboard tube from the center of a roll of dog waste bags. Yes, really. ;)
Skills: Single crochet, chain stitch
February 9, 2021-- Get Ready for the County Fair/Fiber Festival on Zoom
Thinking about entering a county fair competition or the Great Lakes Fiber Show competition? You’ll learn all you need to know from a panel of guild ribbon winners and judges on Tuesday, February 9 at 7 pm. Panelists are Nancy Curtiss, Mo Doerner, Nora Eason, Lorraine Ehrlinger, and Kathy Mates. Finished UFOs encouraged for Show and Share.
What to bring: Questions for the panel and Show and Share items, especially FOs
March 9, 2021-- Community Service Through Knitting on Zoom
Learn how you can help members of our community through your knitting. On Tuesday, March 9 at 7 pm, we will have someone from Saber Healthcare Nursing Homes speak to us about lap blankets and shawls for their residents and the importance of such donations during the pandemic.
Please join in the discussion about your favorite patterns for hats, mittens, cowls, scarves, and baby blankets. These are some of the most requested items.
The service project for the 2nd quarter of 2021 will be announced.
April 13, 2021-- Finishing Master Class on Zoom
John Martin will demonstrate a few of the finishing techniques that can take your knitted items from good to great on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 pm.
Homework:
1. 4 swatches 20 st x 20 rows of stockinette st worsted yarn on size 8 needles
2. 2 swatches 20 st x 20 rows garter stitch same yarn
3. 2 swatches 20 sts x 10 rows stockinette st still on needles - one on each needle. - DO NOT BIND OFF.
Please use a light color so you can see what we are going to do
Tapestry needle (blunt)
Yarn for seaming - a dark color to see what we did.
May 11, 2021-- Preparing Your Knits for Summer on Zoom
Judi Pfancuff will lead a discussion on essential techniques for successfully storing handknits over the summer months on Tuesday, May 11 at 7 pm. Come prepared to share your suggestions and horror stories.
June 8, 2021-- Favorite Texture and Ribbing Stitch Patterns on Zoom
Sue Crowe will share some favorite texture and ribbing stitch patterns and invite members to share their own faves on Tuesday, June 8 at 7 pm.
July 13, 2021-- Service and Charity Knitting - Live Meeting
Deb Hajzak, our Service Chair, will give an overview of charity knitting including how it fits into our guild's history, the wide range of charity and service project options available, comments from a few of our highly active service knitters on their favorite projects, where they donate, etc., and she will lead a discussion on developing a new shared focus area for guild service programming.
August 11, 2021-- Colorwork in Knitting: An Overview Lecture on Zoom by Kate Atherley
Note the day is changed to the 2nd WEDNESDAY of the month.
There are many different ways to incorporate multiple colors into your knitting: stranded/Fair Isle, intarsia, slipped stitch, stripes, even two-color variants of linen stitch and brioche. The challenge for knitters is that each method requires different techniques, and they’re not always well-explained! This session provides an overview of the different methods – and their associated techniques – to equip knitters with the core skills to be able to identify and tackle different types of projects.
September 14, 2021-- Knit Companion - Live Meeting
Knit Companion presentation/discussion.
October 11, 2021-- Guild Member Competition - Live Meeting
Guild Member Competition.
November 8, 2021--Gift Exchange and Holiday Party - Live Gathering
Gift Exchange and Holiday Party.