Events, News

Local Yarn Store Day

Wild Knits Event – Saturday, April 17

Wild Knits Salem will be hosting “Local Yarn Store Day” on Saturday, April 17. Local Yarn Store Day (LYS Day) is a TNNA program designed to drive traffic to local yarn stores. LYS Day has brought thousands of ‘yarnies’ from across the U.S. and Canada to go to their local shops to see the exclusive, unique products created specifically for LYS Day. Think of it as an international Yarn Crawl!

Wild Knits is still limiting the number of people in the shop, so please do a quick headcount before entering.

Events, Meeting Minutes, News, Tips

March 2021 Minutes

We had 14 members join our Zoom meeting for our March Guild meeting.

Guild Business

Birthday Cards

Tia Purdy has volunteered to send birthday cards to members and reach out to members who might need some contact. Tia told us all that if we don’t share our birthday months, she’ll just pick one at random. 😊

Charity Knitting Project

Tia also shared about a school project we can get involved in. Every year in November/December they put up a tree and place scarves, mittens, and hats on it. Each of the 300 kids, grades K-5th, can take them off the tree. Contact Tia or Su to provide knitted items. Su shared a great hat pattern with basic instructions that includes size suggestions for various ages that you’ll find attached.

Retreat

Due to COVID-19, Twin Rocks Conference Center could not accommodate our group this year, so we cancelled the retreat, and refunds are being sent out. Contact Su Fennern if you have questions.

Program

Patty Scruggs shared how to make glove fingers, and several members shared gloves they had made. Patty shared that her favorite fitting gloves repeat the pattern of 2 rows of K, then a row of K1, P1. She also shared a link to a YouTube video for knitting gloves with magic loop and one for making top down gloves without a pattern.

Show and Tell

We’re getting a little bit better working with our cameras on these Zoom meetings and enjoyed seeing a whole bunch of projects. I’m sure we missed some, but here’s what we captured:

Free Yarn

The Guild has received a yarn donation that we’re passing on to the Guild members. It’s first come first serve, so if you want any, don’t hesitate to email Su Fennern to claim it.

The yarn is 3-ply Persian Wool by Paternayan Yanrs. Each hank is 4 oz with 160 yards, except for the Mixed Lot – not sure how much is there.

Persian yarn is well known the world over for its superiority for needlework such as needlepoint, embroidery, and cross stitch. It can also be used for knitting and felting.

Su’s Tips and Tricks – Weaving in the Ends

A class on weaving in ends could take 2-4 hours, but Su put together a one-pager for us to help make weaving in all those ends a bit more bearable. Thanks, Su!

Upcoming Events

April Meeting – April 10, 10 AM to Noon (see Zoom info below)

We’ll be sharing with one another how we stash our treasure – aka yarn and tools. 🙂
Some things to consider talking about during the meeting:

  • What helps you keep your yarn/knitting stash available – organized or not?
  • Where do you keep your yarn stash?
  • Do you sort by: color, yarn weight, or projects?
  • Is your yarn in plastic bags, bags, or containers?
  • How do you store your needles: all longs, double points, circular?
  • Are needles sorted by size? Or something different?
  • Do you have a chart listing which needles you have?
  • Do you have a chart for your yarn?
  • What is the oldest yarn you have?

If you have a picture or link to a helpful “knitting thing” for stash organization, please send it to Teresa at SalemKnitters@outlook.com by Thursday, April 8. You can also share your screen or camera during the meeting if you’re comfortable with the technology.

April 13, Newsletter Deadline

If you’d like to share an upcoming event, pattern, or other news with the Guild members, please email Teresa at SalemKnitters@outlook.com. Deadline for newsletter content is the first Tuesday after our monthly meeting. We look forward to hearing from you!

May Meeting – May 8, 10 AM to Noon (see Zoom info below)

We’ll be discussing all the different types of sock heels that we use. Su Fennern is planning to get some folks lined up to share their favorites. She said she has a list of oodles of different heels that she’ll be sending out and asking us to share what we use, so keep an eye out for it!

Zoom Info

Join our meetings using your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Call into our meetings (audio only)

  • Dial +1 253 215 8782 (Note: this is a Tacoma number, which is the closest available for Zoom users in Oregon. You could be charged for the call depending on your phone plan.)
  • You will need both the meeting ID and the Passcode.
  • Meeting ID: 826 2206 6475
  • Passcode: 227463

Resources to help you use Zoom:

Zoom video tutorials: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials

YouTube search results for “using Zoom”: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=using+zoom

Zoom’s support page: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362033-Getting-Started-on-Windows-and-Mac

Events, News

Love on a Lamb Day

Wild Knits Event – Saturday, March 13

Wild Knits Salem will be hosting “Love on a Lamb Day” on Saturday, March 13 from 11:15 AM – 1:30 PM. The Iron Water Ranch of Albany, Oregon will bring their lambs to the courtyard outside of the Wild Knits shop in downtown Salem for folks to hug and take a selfie with. Social distancing and masks are required (except while you’re taking a photo).

Events, News

Virtual Knitting Live! by Vogue Knitting

July Virtual Knitting Live!

With virtual events, no one has to miss out on attending Vogue Knitting Live! Register and buy tickets on the Vogue Knitting Live website for the July 16-18, 2020 events. There will be live virtual classes with designers like Karida Collins, Lucy Neatby, Connie Peng, Safiyyah Talley, Natalie Thomas, and so many more, plus knitting classes, free content, and dozens of vendors to shop from!

Take advantage of this opportunity to experience Vogue Knitting Live from the comfort of your own home devices. Use #virtualknittinglive to follow the events on Facebook and Instagram.

There will be another Virtual Knitting Live! in August as well. Go to the main Vogue Knitting Live website to register for the August 13-16, 2020 event.

Events, News

Virtual Events!

Virtual Knitting Live! by Vogue Knitting

With virtual events, no one has to miss out on attending Vogue Knitting Live! Register and buy tickets on the Vogue Knitting Live website for the May 11-18, 2020 events. There will be live virtual classes with designers like Norah Gaughan, Denise Bayron, Brandi Cheyenne Harper, Mieka John, Angela Tong, and so many more, plus knitting classes, free content, and dozens of vendors to shop from!

Take advantage of this opportunity to experience Vogue Knitting Live from the comfort of your own home devices. Use #virtualknittinglive to follow the events on Facebook and Instagram.

News

2020 Cancellations

It is with heavy hearts that we have to share the news of the following cancellations. Remember that the SMKG Ravelry Group is always available for chatting and sharing projects you’re working on or have completed, asking questions, or just to stop by and look at what others might be working on.

Salem Millstream Knitting Guild Beach Retreat

May 14-17, 2020 at Twin Rocks Conference Center

The safety and well-being of the retreat attendees is our utmost concern, and mid-May is too soon to ensure your safety. This year’s retreat will not be held.

We are all disappointed by this decision, but we know it is the best decision for you, your family, our event, the staff at Twin Rocks, and our community.

Black Sheep Gathering

June 25-28, 2020 at Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany, OR

With heavy hearts, we have decided it is in the best interest of our community to cancel the 2020 Black Sheep Gathering. The safety and well-being of our attendees is our utmost concern, and the June timeframe is too soon to ensure that safety. We will plan to see all of you June 25-27, 2021.

To help our vendors, please visit our Marketplace page. By April 30, you can find links and/or contact information to make purchases and support our community. We will be working with our animal exhibitors to see if we can find a way to similarly support them.

If you made camping reservations through Linn County, they will be refunding you.

Be safe and stay well!

News

April 2020 Meeting CANCELLED

Given the Covid-19 pandemic, it will come as no surprise that the April 2020 meeting of the Salem Millstream Knitting Guild is cancelled. We will reschedule Kathy from Ryberry Yarns in the future. Also, the Retreat Committee is discussing what to do about the Rockaway Beach Knitting Retreat in May.

If you’re not already knitting charity items, Donna Cowan has suggested that now would be a great time to start, and we totally agree!  You can knit hats, blankets, scarves, whatever you fancy. I’m sure we will be able to find someone who wants whatever we’ve made.

Remember that you can visit the Ravelry group to stay in contact with members and other knitters. Please do what it takes to keep yourself as safe as possible from this deadly pandemic. Stay home as much as you can, and practice social distancing and frequent hand-washing when you can’t.  We want to see everyone back for a knitting party as soon as we can! 🧶

News

March 2020 Meeting CANCELLED

Due to the concerns about the spread of Coronavirus, the March 14, 2020 meeting of the Salem Millstream Knitting Guild is cancelled. The Board thought about it carefully and considered holding the meeting and just reminding people to stay home if they are sick. Ultimately, we decided that canceling was best because it’s possible for people to be contagious even if they don’t have any symptoms. We care about all of you and want you to be safe and healthy!

Hopefully, you’ll still have a morning full of knitting, and maybe even knit up something new to show everyone in April. If you would like to make a hat with a pom-pom, we have a nice hat pattern from Purl Soho and some really easy instructions for making a pom-pom with supplies you probably have on hand at home. 🧶