Salem Millstream Knitting Guild

It is with heavy hearts that we have to share the news of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are still virtual events happening, and hopefully in-person events in the future to look forward to! We have updated our links section and also the Events page with upcoming events for 2021 and 2022.

We had 16 people attend our Zoom meeting on January 9.  That was our biggest turnout since we started meeting virtually.  Hopefully we’ll have even more in February!

Guild Business

Dues for 2021

Last month, we sent membership forms and ballots along with a stamped envelope to return info to us. We received 28 dues responses with dues as of January 9. We have not yet deposited the dues because of the transition of board members, but if we received your dues, we sent you an email.  If you sent your dues and did NOT get an email, please let us know.  We will stop sending emails to past members who have not paid dues by the end of January.  Of course, you can rejoin any time!  If you would like to be a member but cannot afford dues right now, please contact us.

Board Elections

Along with membership dues, we also received ballots.  Members elected Teresa Furnish as Secretary and Debbie Juul as Treasurer.  We had some write-in votes for Vice President and are checking with them to see if they are interested. If not, we will need to have some volunteers step forward if we want to have a program at our monthly program.

Show and Tell

Slideshow

We asked for photos from members so we could put together a slide show to highlight some of our great knitting.  We had 8 people respond, and Teresa put together a presentation with pictures of these amazing projects!

It’s a bit time-consuming, but it was also really fun to see, so we’ll be doing one every three months.  The plan is to have one for April, July, and October.  So, look for a call for photos!

Projects

• Knitting from Books and TV
  • You can find many cute “Miss Marple” patterns on Ravelry (if it’s safe for you to use), including the sock patterns by Ambrose Smith, who also has two Jane Austen collections in addition to her Miss Marple Collection.
  • If you’re a fan of a book or TV show, try searching for it in Ravelry.  Here are some from Downton Abbey, Star Wars, and there’s even a Great British Baking shawl and cowl.  There’s also a shawl worn by the character Nakia in the Black Panther movie. It came into existence because knitters noticed the shawl in the movie and talked about it all over social media. The costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, responded and shared Jeff Gillies’ pattern on Twitter.  It has since been added to Ravelry. The point here is that if you love a knit you see in a show, there just might be a pattern for it!
• Stephen West’s Hiberknitalong is going on now. During the discussion about Hiberknitalongs, we discussed weaving in ends and how much so many of us dislike it. Stephen West has a video about weaving in ends as you go!  You can find it on YouTube:  Weavin’ Stephen
• We also discussed where to find unique buttons.  Both Mission Mill in Salem and Brigittes’s Place in Albany came up.  If you have any other sources, let us know, and we’ll share with everyone.

February Meeting

Patty Scruggs and Kathy Goebel will be sharing how to make fingers for gloves. To knit along, please prepare a fingering weight swatch. It should be 25-30 stitches by 2 inches. You could also choose to start making yourself a pair of Basic Plain Gloves or Gloves for Kids, or a pattern of your choice. Work them up to where the fingers start, and you’ll be ready to go! Thanks, Patty, for the patterns! Kathy works on DPNs, and Patty uses Magic Loop, so you should be able to participate with either method.

Without a Vice President, we need members to come up with ideas and reach out to potential presenters. Let us know if you can help.

The same Zoom link works every month, but we’ll send it again closer to the meeting date (February 13).  Hope to see you then!

This Month:

We met via Zoom and had 11 participants.  It was great to see everyone who joined us and get caught up on one another’s lives.

Program

Laura Wegman shared a wonderful presentation about historical knitting.  It was full of photos of knitters during various war times and even a song and a poem.

Show & Tell

We saw socks, hats, cowls, scarves and more.  Lovely, beautiful work, as always!

Business

Voting and Membership

Our president, Janet Bubl, has been working with Su Fennern to get ballots and membership forms mailed out to past and current members.  Be watching for that in your postal mail box in the coming weeks.

Address Changes

We’ve made efforts to keep the roster updated, but sometimes edits get missed.  As mentioned, we’re mailing out ballots and membership forms to you soon and want to make sure it gets to you.  If you have moved in the last two years, please send us your postal address.  Thank you!

Future Meetings

We miss all of you and hope you’ll consider joining us for future Zoom meetings. You can join on any device – phone, tablet, computer – using the link below (the link is the same every month).

Topic: SMKG Monthly Meeting
Time: 10:00 AM to noon; Every month on the Second Saturday
Join Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82622066475?pwd=L2drUXBoSmNIeERHTGZPd2p0dld3dz09
Meeting ID: 826 2206 6475
Passcode: 227463

Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 826 2206 6475
Passcode: 227463

This Month:

Just a quick recap of our Guild meeting via Zoom last Saturday, November 14.  First off, if you weren’t there – we missed you!  We had 13 people attend and enjoyed a time of sharing knitting projects as well as just chatting and being together. It’s difficult to stay positive right now – so many people are feeling isolated. Please reach out to Guild members and other people in your lives to just say hello and let them know that you’re thinking about them.

Business

We are updating the bylaws and will be sharing them in early January and discussing them during our January meeting. Members will see a second email soon asking for nominations to serve on the board. We need a vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Members please send your nominations to salemknitters@outlook.com no later than November 30, so we can get the ballots sent out before the December meeting.  Voting will take place via email in early December.

Program

Due to technical difficulties, Laura Wegman was unable to provide her presentation on historical knitting. She graciously offered to bring it back to the December 12 meeting, so we’re looking forward to hearing it then.

Sandy Galbraith shared that Hope Station Community Services is a local charity collecting items to distribute to Oregon wildfire victims. The website states they are a “faith-based” organization. They can use baby sweaters, and hats would be of use.
Address: 1337 Madison St, Suite 115
Phone: 503-339-7710
Temporary Office Hours: 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Donation Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
https://hopestationcsi.org

Next Meeting

December 12, 10 a.m. – noon via Zoom.  We’ll send a link about two weeks prior and a reminder the Thursday before. I hope you give it a try, so you can enjoy Laura’s presentation on historical knitting.

Until then, stay safe and keep your needles going! Thank you!

NEXT MEETING IS DECEMBER 12, 2020 (Zoom)