Beginning of a new club year, and sticking with tradition, with started with the AGM and paying subs for the year. There has been a small increase in venue cost with the move last year, but this has been offset by the lack of available speakers, so the subs have stayed the same at £15 for the year, or £3 per evening for those who can only occasionally attend.
AGM
The AGM section was dealt with swiftly. There was discussion on changes to the committee and the requirement for a new treasurer. It was decided to continue supporting the Royal Marsden charity, but also to discuss other charities in the local area to also support (further discussion on this took place after the AGM section). There was also lively discussion on plans for the Xmas meeting and appropriate celebrations.
Charities
There are a lot of national and local charities that put out requests for knitted items. Over recent years the requirements have been getting increasingly specific, which is putting some people off. As the roots of the club are with Machine Knitting, the increase in requests for items that are specifically hand-knitted has frustrated many. Here are some of the charities and requests that we discussed:
UK Hand Knitting Association -
Commit to Knit month (June)
Knit for nowt - Therapy hand puppets and worry monsters
Knitted octopus for preemie babies
Emily's Gift neonatal boxes - including bonding squares
Royal Navy and Royal Marines RNRMCF - knitted family toys for military families
Knit for Peace
The Donkey Sanctuary - knit a donkey toy for the charity to sell in their shop
Twiddlemuffs for Hampshire hospitals
Comfort blankets for Surrey hospitals
Royal Surrey - knitted hats for babies
Show and Tell
Julie knit a snuggly adult green cardigan with colourful buttons.
Sandra had knit two preemie baby cardigans and a hat for charity.
Nina machine-knit a 4-ply Branwell Savannah Cotton top with shaped neck and picot edge. Was a labour of love, as Nina's knitting machine was being a little grumpy working with the Savannah cotton.
A hand-knit garter stitch scarf looked warm, and kicked on a discussion on different ways to wear such a scarf, including the use of a strategic feature button or brooch.
Two colourful and super-soft crocheted knee blankets intended as comfort blankets for hospital to keep patients comfortable whilst in waiting areas.
Stash-busting 'odds and ends' striped top with cut-and-sew neckline.
Pink, yellow and green tops for children.
Annette won first place in a WI competition with a crocheted sheep. There was also a friendly frog made from a free knitting pattern that was being given out from a stand at the Ally Pally knitting show
