August meeting

Knitters' Guild of NSW Executive Business

• A bus trip to Morpeth (an historic town near Maitland) will be held on August 30th to see the Morpeth Tea Cosy challenge. Cost is $40 including lunch. For more information email elaindewey@optusnet.com.au
• The Guild constitution is being amended. Please see Merrin if you have any ideas or suggestions.
• The Guild is in the process of setting up a merchant account.
• The Guild Camp to be held on Oct long weekend still has some vacancies. The Prudence Mapstone elective is booked out.
• A list of knitting hints and tips for the Guild's book is still being compiled. Please give your contributions to Merrin
• The Guild website has an open letter written by the president Carolyn Murtagh regarding membership costs and amending the fee structure. Please have a look.
• If you have not yet set up a logon and would like one, please contact Kris Howard.

Blue Mountains group

• The emergency contact list is being compiled by Merrin. Please give her the necessary details if you have not already done so.
• Five new members welcomed to the Blue Mountains group: Natalie N., Carolyn A., Michelle C., Iris S. and Rosalin D.
• The Blue Mountains Group submitted 29 squares to the ABC Knit-In ,they were taken in by Merrin. Many members donated at various venues. Suzanne did a blanket of 35 squares. Lynne donated four full wraps [a total of 112 squares] to the Western Sydney Institute of TAFE collection for Wrap with Love.
• The afternoon tea roster needs volunteers, please give your name to Merrin.
• We have spare funds; the suggestion was made by Donna that we buy a swift and ball winder for the use of the group. This will be kept in the library cupboard and will not be made available to be taken home.
• Merrin has all the archives of our group organised into yearly folders. We started in 2000 so this year is our 10th birthday. The first meeting November 1999 at Robyn Green's house. The first official meeting was February 2000. We will have a birthday cake for our November meeting.
• Vicki has 2 copies of Spin Control for $24 each from Interweave. She also has the brochure for the new Jane Slicer-Smith book.
• The raffle was won by Karen.

Dates of Upcoming Events

• 19-23 August - Stitches and Craft Show - Rosehill Gardens; Winterwarm items are being collected on Sunday August 23rd.
• 30 August - bus trip to Morpeth to see the Morpeth Tea Cosy challenge. Cost is $40 including lunch. For more information email elaindewey@optusnet.com.au
• until 11 October - exhibition of Silk Ikats - the Art Gallery of NSW

Next month

• stash sale: please bring in any yarn or books that you want to sell or donate.
• Fay Elsworthy will be here to talk to us about achievement certificates and judging at shows.
• Afternoon tea roster: Janette S, Rosie, Michelle and Natalie.

Workshop
A wonderful all-day workshop in freeform (also known as scrumbling) was held by Jenny Dowde. Jenny has published three books and was a very generous in sharing her knowledge and experience with the workshop participants. She also very generously made several samples of her work available for us to admire and touch and encouraged us at intervals to refer to them. Unfortunately no photos were taken as all participants were too engrossed in knitting and/or crocheting to take photos. Thank you Jenny for a fun, well-taught and inspiring workshop.

July meeting

Welcome to visitors to our meeting this month.

Knitters' Guild of NSW news

• The Guild's constitution is being rewritten to bring it into line with the Corporations Act. Any submissions/comments are to be made to the covennor [Merrin] or contact Sally Ogilvie. All changes will be made at the AGM next March.
• Please give your emergency contact details to Merrin. An energency contact list for all Blue Mountains members will be kept at the back of the sign on book.
• Please also check your contact details - phone number and email address - are current.
• The Guild is in the final stages of setting up a merchant account for credit card payments to the Guild.
• More knitting hints and tips are needed for the anniversary book. Please leave them with Merrin.
• An asset register is to be compiled so that the Guild will know what all groups hold, this way groups may be able to borrow from each other for exhibitions.
• The Guild website has a log on members only section . To join email Kris Howard and she will give you a password. Merrin puts up information for our group at this site.

Dates of upcoming events

• July 25th - Spinners and Weavers Guild NSW annual open day - St Pauls Burwood; 9.30-3.30
• August 5th - Knit In for Wrap with Love - Penrith: in the empty shop opposite The Wool Inn 9.30 - 1.30 (coffee and tea supplied)
• August 7th - Knit In for Wrap with Love - ABC building in Ultimo from 7am; also 10 am at Penrith, Windsor and Blackheath libraries.
• August 15th and 16th - Moebius workshop at Epping. Contact June Maddick at the Guild
• August 19-23Stitches and Craft Show Rosehill Racecourse; admission $10
Winterwarmers - Stitches and Craft Show; donations of warm children's clothing for Afghanistan*
• September 20th - Hornsby Bushland Festival - Fagan Park Galston: organic produce, quality arts and crafts
• October long weekend - Guild camp at Kurri Kurri
*If you can't make it and want to donate please bring your finished articles to the August meeting and Merrin will pass them on.

Blue Mountains group

• More names for the afternoon tea roster for the next 4 months. Volunteers please.
• Next month's workshop with Jenny Dowde will go ahead as planned. It is an all day workshop in Room B and starts at 9.30. Morning tea is provided. $40 fee, bring your own lunch. Vicki has space for another two or three so please contact her if you are interested. Bring as many colors as you want and needles to suit your yarn. DK or lighter is preferable. Any questions to Vicki Hughes.

Presentation

Jane Slicer-Smith was our guest retailer. She gave a slide presentation about her company, Signatur Knits, which sells knitting kits and finished garments. It was a very interesting talk about how she got started at art school in the U.K., how she ended up in Australia and started her business at a stall in Paddington markets. She has a background in design working with many of the U.K. woollen mills. She has a team of knitters who produce the finished goods for her. We saw a sneak preview of her new book due to be released later this year. She modelled many of her designs and explained how she designed to suit a figure. Jane showed us many design tricks that make the finished garment much more flattering. We then had a chance to try on garments for ourselves and buy finished or kits and yarns.

The raffle was won by Lynne and Vicki.

Afternoon tea next month: Monica, Anne, Yvonne and Marie.