Summer garment edgings

We didn't have a speaker this month. Instead Liz brought along her trusty and well travelled
punchcard machine and showed us a couple of edgings which would be suitable for use on summer garments. Neither were her own idea. The first one she had found on the internet and was from a free download pattern for a scarf by Eileen Montgomery. It's a pretty crochet look edging and the original sample she did was in one strand of filegree crepe. It was really simple to knit and looked far more complicated that it actually was.

The second edging was from a pattern by Maggie Andrews. It was part of her Ice Magic pattern. Liz had punched the card the night before. The edging formed the welt of the garment as was best suited to a pressable yarn, something like Bramwell Hobby. Liz explained that normally you would knit the welt, then let it rest and steam it before you started knitting the body of the garment, but we didn't have enough time for that. Liz showed us a sample she had knitted then demonstrated how it was done.

Janet from the Guild Dogs for the Blind also came along to our meeting. She had been given a number of sacks of coned yarn to sell to raise money for the Guild Dogs. We put the yarn onto tables and then decided what we would like and gave a donation to Janet. I think almost everyone came away with a cone or two of yarn, so hopefully we will get a few things for the show and tell next month.

Chris had knitted another of her beautiful shawls (sorry no photograph this time - note to self : must remember to photograph show and tell!). She also had her extreme knitting to show. She uses 15mm needles that are 80 cm long and about 15 strands of yarn to make really thick rugs and garments. She said it was heavy on the shoulders to knit with this size needles and amount of yarn so she couldn't do it for long at a time, but it grew very quickly.

Liz reminded us that next month is the end of the challenge to knit something to wear on our heads. Liz asked how many had started their item and three or four people said they had. Best get my thinking cap on!

June meeting

How quickly time is passing. Next Tuesday (3rd) is our June meeting. It really can't be June already can it?

This month I will be demonstrating a couple of edgings that I have found recently. Both very interesting and different. I will also demonstrate, on request, other techniques that you may be having problems with.

There will also be an opportunity to buy yarn at very reasonable prices. This yarn has been given to the Guide Dogs for the Blind to raise money for their funds. So I hope you will come along and find something that you like and give generously. One of the first people to teach knitting on a sock machine was blind, so there is a connection between us.

Visitors are welcome.

The Guild of Machine Knitters AGM

What a great day! A definite hightlight of any year.

This year the AGM was at Sherborne in Dorset, well within travelling distance for a day out from Fleet. Registration was from 9.45, but some people were early. The AGM itself started at 10.15 and took about 25 minutes. Usual stuff, reports from the Chairman and Treasurer, and election of committee members, then it was on to the more interesting things. The announcement of the results of the Guild competition. Giving this section my full attention of course, I was pleased to receive the Highly Commended Certificate for our club entry. There is a pictur below. This was our first time of entering and I'd like to think we will have another go next year.

Immediately after the AGM there was a coffee break and time to browse the stands set up by suppliers. Undy Yarns were there with their some of their beautiful yarns as well as spares and accessories, Ann Brown, Fiona Morris, Feola Dawes and Elaine Cater had come along with their patterns. Seven clubs had also come along with knitted items to display and what a variety. All the clubs had worked extremely hard to show what they have been doing. There was no way you could look at it all in a 15 minute coffee break, but there was plenty of time later in the day to look as there was also a lunch break and a break in the afternoon for tea.

The first speaker of the day was Janet Nabney. The things she showed us were really amazing, and inspiring. I came out of the talk with my head spinning with ideas. She talked about origami knitting - taking a straight piece of knitting, and shaping it by using holding position into a garment. Some people have such fantastic ideas and her talk left me itching to have a go. It was a good job Janet's talk was followed by the lunch break. I needed time to think about what I had just heard and file it away in my grey matter for later.

Fiona Morris was the speaker after lunch. Her talk was so different from the one we heard in the morning. Manual techniques for making open fabrics - holes to you and me. Again it gave me plenty of food for thought and there were samples that we could feel and look at as well. Both Janet and Fiona were using presentation equipment provided by the venue for the first time. This was necessary as there were over 80 people present and there was no way we could all look at one machine at the same time. It also meant that everyone could see examples of their work at the same time, and you didn't get passed a sample to look at that the speaker had talked about 10 minutes earlier.

After a short break for tea and cake there was a fashion show. Attendees at the AGM had been "spotted" by a committee member and asked to stand up and show the garment they were wearing. There are so many clever people around and it is always interesting to see what others have made. The day finished at 4.15. It had been a thought provoking, and inspiring day and I am sure everyone who attended went home with their head full of ideas - I certainly did.

There will be photographs from the day as well as entries in the competition will be posted on the Guild of Machine Knitters website: www.guild-mach-knit.org.uk

Remember the box last month, now we can reveal the contents! Our club entry for the competition, The Three Bears Breakfast Table.

Here is the complete table setting. All these pieces were knitted by Liz, Carole, Sheila H, Kathy and Nina. Most items are machine knitted, but the flowers decorating the photo frame are felt, the picture is machine embroidered as is the milk carton label.












This is Baby Bear's bowl, porridge and spoon, napkin complete with ring, on a place mat. Mummy and Daddy's place setting are the same, but getting larger in size.











Here is the photo frame and vase with daffodils.
















Here is the milk carton and sugar bowl. The sugar crystals are beads.

The club stand at the MK Guild AGM, showing some of the work done by members, and a hard copy of our blog.

May Meeting

Our speaker this month was Glynne Jones who talked to us about combining knit weave with lace. Some of these patterns were achieved by hand tooling and others with the use of a punchcard. All were very effective, and not too time consuming. Some patterns were more distinctive from the wrong side and some from the right. We all had an enjoyable and informative evening.

Lace and knit weaving viewed from the "wrong" side.

"Right" side of knitting showing how the pattern using black yarn is more effective viewed from this side.

Chris has been busy hand knitting more shawls, the white one is a baby shawl.

May meeting

All the rain over the past month may have kept you in doors, but have you put your time to good use and been knitting? I do hope so. Maybe you've been trying out some of the things Iris showed us when she was here a few weeks ago? Bring along the things you've done, successful or otherwise. We'd like to see them.

It's almost time for our May meeting. Tuesday May 6th is the exact date and it will be easy to forget to come as it's the day after the bank holiday. I hope you can make it. Glynn Jones is coming to talk to us this month about weaving combined with lace. She will be demonstrating some of the techniques as well. It promises to be a really informative evening.

Don't forget you should also be working on the challenge I set you last September. It was to make something to wear on your head. Can be anything you like - hat, head band, scarf, - so long as it goes on your head. Obviously the more unusual the better as far as I'm concerned but please try to make something. You've still got a few weeks before we show what we've made, so you still have time to make something special. The challenge items will be shown at the July meeting. And I'll have to get my thinking cap on and decide what the challenge will be for next year!

Happy 30th Birthday April Meeting

This month we celebrated the 30th birthday of the club! There was a lot of chatter and reminiscing, looking at old club photos and the print out of this blog. Talk of people we no longer see, past speakers and all the good times!
We even had a beautiful cake for all to share, decorated with patterns, cones of yarn and knitted swatches! A ball of yarn with hand knitting needles too as we now have several hand knitting members.
Also available were various "toys" to play with, such as bobble makers, knitting looms, cord knitters, lucet.





Liz cutting the cake, watched by some club members.

Watch this box, it will be opened next month! It contains our club entry for the GMK competition!

April meeting - our 30th Birthday

Yes the Fleet Knitting Club has now been in existance for 30 years. So we are celebrating our birthday on Tuesday 1st April. No, it's not an April Fools Joke, some of you really have been coming to the club for 30 years.

We will be celebrating with a Birthday cake and a look back over the past 30 years as well as trying some modern "toys" that relate to our knitting.

Past members are invited to join us for the evening. The venue and time haven't changed. Visitors are always welcome.

March Meeting

This month our guest speaker was Iris Bishop, a very talented lady who can make wonderful fabric on a knitting machine.
Iris brought many samples with her and was very interesting to listen to. She talked us through her thoughts and experiments and freely shared all she had learnt. All was made easy to understand with the use of diagrams to show needle set ups. Some of the samples combined material with knitting and produced lovely light fabrics. Others incorporated some of the delicious hand knitting yarns now available, by weaving into an open knit fabric. There were also garments to admire!
Very good news for all knitters, Iris is venturing into the world of the internet and working on setting up a website.










A beautiful slip stitch top inspired by the necklace.

These are some of the samples which Iris brought and explained to us.
Just amazing what can be done with a knitting machine!

More of Iris's samples showing combinations of knitting and material, weaving hand knitting yarns into knitted fabric and open double bed knitting.

March meeting with Iris Bishop

I'm really looking forward to our March meeting. Iris Bishop is to be the speaker and she always has something interesting to show and tell us about. It's been a couple of years since Iris last visited so I'm sure there will be plenty to interest everyone. The date for the meeting, in case you haven't worked it out, is Tuesday 4th March. The time is 8pm so don't be late!

Also, just as a reminder, those of you that aren't busy on Saturday 1st March, might like to visit Machine Knitting Live at Bournemouth. It's a good opportunity to see what's happening in the world of machine knitting and also to buy some much needed yarn and all those other things we can't live without. More details about Machine Knitting Live can be found on the Machine Knitting Monthly website http://www.machineknittingmonthly.net/mklive.php. I'll be there of course, on the stand of the Guild of Machine Knitters.

So if I don't see you on 1st March at Bournemouth, I'll see you at Fleet Club on 4th March.

February 2008

Another meeting and we had our eagerly awaited visit from Ann Brown. Ann had brought lots of her garments with her for us to examine as she explained her techniques to us. Her incorporation of fancy hand knitting yarns into the garments adds a touch of luxury and colour.
Particularly interesting were the new drapey jackets that Ann showed us, made using a combination of holding position and straight pieces of knitting.










As always Ann was more than wiling to demonstrate how she does things! And answer all our questions. All her patterns were available too.

Some of Ann's creations. A mock twin set with a twisted join! A lovely drapey black jacket, and a

This is Fiona, very important member of the club, she controls the finances!

Show and Tell

Another beautiful shawl, hand knitted by Chris.














This shows the size and how lacy the shawl is!











A lovely hand knitted baby jacket from Marcia.

Time for our February Meeting

Ann Brown of Posh Frocks (http://www.poshfrocks.com/index.html ) is coming to talk to us this month. She will be showing us what she has been working on recently and demonstrating how she uses the luxury hand knitting yarns on her knitting machine.

Ann's talks are always very intersting and inspiring so I hope we remember to take some photographs. It won't be the first time we get so interested in what our speaker is saying that we forget.

As usual the meeting will start at 8pm and visitors are welcome. If you missed hearing Ann, or haven't seen her for a while do come and join us.

This is a picture of 30 hats completely knitted and finished at the exhibition, there are another 14 awaiting completion and they will be donated to the Sailor's Association.

Esher show January 2008

Once again members of Fleet club and the Middlesex club helped to set up and man the Guild stand at the Esher show. We were given a very large stand but had no difficulty filling the space with competition winning garments and other knitted items. We also had 3 machines set up and spent any spare time knitting hats for the Sailor's Society, these were simple stocking stitch hats which were doubled over and had a roll brim. We did have a lot of people coming to talk to us, some already knitters and some thinking of becoming knitters. We hope we have recruited a few new faces! We also managed to help a few people with their problems!
Such a shame there was so little at the show for machine knitters but all the extras were there!

Esher show January 2008

Views of the Guild stand which members of the club helped set up and man.

Esher show January 2008

Another award winning jacket!

















Display shelves with various items including Sheila's beautiful doll's clothes!

Esher show January 2008

We were knitting hats on the machines for the Sailors Society. Simple double thickness stocking stitch with roll back brim and either pompom or i cord on top.














Beautiful ribbed jacket, pattern was in the Guild magazine.



















Liz's throw cape, beautifully warm!



















Elaine Cater's winning socks.


















Janice's award winning top!