December meeting

The final meeting for the year was attended by Ainsworth Books - distributors for Interweave Press and other publishers of knitting books. There was a great deal of interest in the stock on show and many happy purchases made.

A Christmas party was held with more than enough delicious goodies for everyone to share.

Members are reminded that annual renewal fees are due now. If fees are not paid before February then a rejoining fee will also be charged.

Dates for 2009

The Knitters Guild of NSW will hold its AGM on 7 March at the Powerhouse Museum with Bill Crews from the Exodus Foundation as the guest speaker.

Craftfest is 6-8 March at Sydney Olympic Park.

The Craft and Quilt Fair is on 20-22 February in Newcastle.

The Craft and Quilt Fair is on 10-14 June at Darling Harbour.

WorldWide Knit in Public [WWKIP] Day will be held in Darling Harbour on 14 June.

The Stitches and Craft Show will be held on 19-23 August at Rosehill Gardens.

Opera in the Domain is on 31 January and there will be a knitting group present from midday until the opera is finished.

The Blue Mountains Group Workshop calendar will be finalised at the meeting on 17 January. One suggestion was a workshop on the unspoken rules of RAS judging with some one from the Guild standards committee.

More names are needed for the Afternoon Tea Roster for 2009, especially for the second half of the year.

The Guild Standard's Committee is seeking hints for knitting and crochet to be published in a book - further details in the latest newsletter.

Springwood School of Arts in Ferguson Road runs a spinning class on Tuesday afternoons for all levels. They will be running them again in 2009 and are seeking expressions of interest for a night class.

If you have any suggestions for books for the library please let Lesley know.

There is an anonymous survey on the Guild website seeking feedback on what is wanted on the website. All comments will be made anonymously. Click here to go directly to the survey.

The raffle was won by Anne.

September meeting

A small gathering of people attended the September meeting. The all day lace workshop was small in numbers but our tutor, Raelene, was wonderful [as usual] - nothing was too much trouble and she was incredibly patient. Thanks Raelene.

One of our members, Clare, is now the editor of the Guild newsletter, a demanding but interesting job. Congratulations Clare.

Members are reminded of the Guild exhibition to be held at Dence Park on the long weekend. Items for the exhibition must be taken to Beverley Hills or Epping. See the latest Guild newsletter for more details.

The latest contact list of the members of the Knitters Guild of NSW has been published. Only members who ticked the box on the membership form allowing details to be published are on the list. That is, non-publication of details is the norm unless permission is granted for publication. Fees next year are divided into metropolitan and country members; metropolitan are those who reside within the Sydney telephone district [numbers starting with 8 or 9].

The Annual General Meeting of the NSW Knitters' Guild will be held at the Powerhouse Museum on Saturday 7 March 2009. The guest speaker for the day will be the Reverend Bill Crewes of the Exodus Foundation, a charity supported by the Guild.

The Annual General Meeting of the Blue Mountains branch of the Knitters' Guild will be held on Saturday 15 November.

Next month members are invited to try their hand at spinning. Members who own spinning wheels are encouraged to bring them to the meeting so that non-spinners can try them out. A retail display by Virginia Woolworks will also be held at the October meeting. Afternoon tea will be provided by Lindsay, Michelle and Rhonda.

The Love Lawson Festival will be held on 15 November; many thanks to the members who volunteered to assist on the stall on the day.

The raffle was won by Kate.

July meeting

A small group this month. Welcome to Lindsay who joined at the recent Craft Show in Darling Harbour.

A crochet workshop was held - thank you Mavis for your helpful tutorial.

The ABC Knit-In [supporting Wrap with Love] for the Hawkesbury area is to be held on Friday 1 August at the Windsor Library 10am-noon; all welcome. There will also be a Knit-In at the Springwood Pool [time unknown].

A new group has formed on Ravelry. It is called "Up the M4". The group meets outside the new Spotlight Penrith store on the first Sunday of the month and every third Friday at 10am.

Spun Out , a studio selling fibre and handspun yarn is owned by Pat Glenhill and located at 14 Flirtation Hill Lane, Gulgong, Ph 6374 1170. Workshops are occasionally held at the studio.

A member moved that the quilt made by the group be added to the Australian Quilt Register.

The Love Lawson Festival will be held on Saturday 15 November at the Mid Mountains Community Centre. This is the same day as our Annual General Meeting; however we will be having an information stall and volunteers are required.

charity knitting
Australian Interior Ministries [formerly known as Australian Inland Mission] and The Samaritan's Purse "Operation Christmas Child" projects have so far collected 198 sweaters, 100 beanies,80 scarves and 60 small patchwork bags. A big thank you to all contributors,including those from the online group: Knit4Charities. Items will be collected until September; more small cuddly items like teddies are needed.

Library News
new book - Noah's Ark
Patons has released some new patterns for knitted toys.

AUGUST MEETING

• Members involved in the Scarf Exchange are reminded that scarves are overdue - please bring them to the next meeting.
• The One Skein Challenge will be adjudicated [by popular vote] at the August meeting. To enter: knit any item from any one skein of yarn.
• Members are invited to bring yarn from their stash to the August meeting for a yarn sale/swap.
• workshop: intarsia - please bring scraps of yarn in various colours and appropriate needles.

Much thanks to Diane for taking notes at the July meeting during Lynne's absence.

November meeting and AGM

Our new executive:
Convener - Merrin
Secretary - Cheyne
Treasurer - Rosemary

Volunteers
Workshops - David
P.R. - Rosemary
Hospitality - Yvonne
Library - Lesley
Blog - Lynne

Congratulations to all incoming executive and volunteers, thanks for taking on these roles. A big thank you to the outgoing treasurer [Merrin] and convener [Kate] - you both did a tremendous job in your respective roles, thank you.

After the official business was ended, a workshop on grafting [Kitchener stitch] for stocking stitch and garter stitch was held - thanks, Raelene, as usual you were helpful, thorough and easy to understand.

Show and Tell brought many beautiful items from knitted lace to a colourful no-pattern cardigan.

The raffle was won by Merrin, second prize by Cheyne.

The December meeting will be a Christmas party; everyone is asked to bring a small plate of food. Ainsworth Books will also be present for some retail therapy - please bring cash only as Ainsworth Books does not take debit/credit cards.