Hi Everyone,

A number of you have mentioned wanting to go to Stitch 'n Pitch and trying to sit together. I have called Have You Any Wool and they do have tickets but we will have to hurry if we want to get them because there are fewer tickets this year. So while I will be happy to pick up the tickets in a block (so to speak) I will need to have the people interested contact me right away at kwhelanATwowwayDOTcom and get me their cash by Tuesday May, 27th. I intend pick up the tickets on Wednesday.

Here are links to more pictures from the May meeting:

http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/lindapf/?action=view&current=7fede68c.pbw

http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/lindapf/?action=view&current=533f9c57.pbw

For those who missed the May meeting at the Coffee Beanery, you missed out on a great time! The food was yummy, the people delightful, the bags wonderful [both our BSKG bags and Sneaky Sheep bags].

A special thank you goes to Greg for his hard work and for the lovely fruit *arrangement* he gave us as a gift.

After dinner and talk it was time for the Sneaky Sheep exchange. We were all in awe at the creativity shown.....knit bags, felted bags, sewn bags, quilted bags. Some were purses, some knitting bags, some shopping bags. Even Greg was amazed. If you didn't take part, there's always next time [I'd like a new bag every 6 months, thank you].

Then came swap/barter time.... it looked like a yarn shop in the C.B.! Nobody really explained I'd be going home with much more than I came with. At the end of the fun packed evening you heard "I really don't want to take it home...please take it" a lot.

Camille and Joanie took pictures of all the bags so we should have pictures soon.

Linda F

As promised. . .

. . .and in no particular order. . .more pictures from the retreat!







We had such a good time last weekend, I hope you can see it in these pictures. . .you'll also want to check out Linda's blog, she has some there too. We've already started to make phone calls and start planning for next year, so if you're jealous, fear not! We hope to have an even more special retreat for you in 2009--stay tuned for the dates so you can mark your calendars and ask for time off!

No WiFi at the Inn

More later, I promise! But since I've only been home 15 minutes and am missing the retreat already, I thought I'd post some pictures for those of you who missed out.
It was a serious weekend. We forced folks to get their pictures taken. . .especially Suzanne.


Lots of beautiful yarn was dyed. . .and I mean LOTS!!!

Oh yeah, and we laughed!

An Honor to be Nominated

It has recently come to our attention that adults don't often get recognized for their accomplishments. As a society, we do a great job of noticing when our children do something wonderful and applaud their efforts. . .we want to groom our younger generation to be motivated to push boundaries and to achieve their highest potential.

So what happens when we become adults? Why don't we continue in the same vein? Why is it that no one applauds when we finish a really hard task? What happened to recognizing super human effort (say when you clean the really dirty bathroom that your kids use, for example)? We don't get report cards anymore to demonstrate to those who care about us what we've learned, and how well we've mastered what we've learned.

Some of us in the BSKG have noticed that our members are doing some pretty fantastic things, and we want to recognize them at our May banquet, swap and sale. We've come up with some ideas for awards, but want your input before we send out the survey. . .so, what do you think? What should we recognize and award? Here are some of the things we've come up with, add your thoughts to the comments. . .and look for a ballot/survey coming to your email by the end of the month. . .

First Socks Knitted
First Sweater Knitted
Most Improved Knitter
Most Enthusiastic
Most Helpful
Completion of an Epic Project
Most likely to Drop a Stitch (and then make it work anyway)

I know there are some of you that are far more creative than I am. . .what else should we recognize? shout it out in the comments!
--t

What a great meeting last night! If you missed it, Ann W from the Knitting Room gave a talk on the history of knitting, and we got to see everyone's current projects.

Also, we started to plan for the May swap and sale. If you weren't with us last year, we had a great time, so start to clean out your stash and get ready to haggle, barter and swap! If you don't reduce your stash, at least you'll change the way it looks! Some had an easy time selling off some of their stash as well, we'll leave that and the pricing up to you.

If you'd like to have dinner with us before hand, the cost is $10 for non-members and if you're up to date on your dues and a member in good standing, the cost is only $5. Please send an email to blacksheepnewsletter at hotmail.com if you're interested in coming so that we can have an accurate head count and the proper amount of food. Payment would be appreciated by next week, but certainly reserve your spot ASAP!

Last night marked the last meeting at the Fifth Third bank--we've outgrown yet another location! The May meeting will be held at the Coffee Beanery, and we'll reveal our new location for the fall then! (Lots of good lighting, clean, comfortable and cheap! Who could ask for more?)