Black Sheep Knitting Guild

posted by Kathy Stasys At this month's meeting, Diane D.  announced that the Black Sheep Knitting Guild now has 89 official members. Another good reason to celebrate this holiday season! Pat K. and Shirley W. donated the beautiful yarns for this month's raffle. Thanks, ladies. We are still in need of a chair for the Events and Field Trip Committee, so please consider actively involving yourself in the guild. The swag will be available at the January meeting so please have your money ready to pay for the bags that you have ordered. The number of sheepies purchasing swag this year set another record. Sign up for 2016's SS8 will be at the January meeting. Donna M. explained the process for the Sneaky Sheep. Anyone who wishes to participate will be secretly matched with another member through the online Elfster site. Linda F. suggested the theme of "Spring Into Summer".  Consider knitting items meant for spring or summer wear, or items for the home that are ma...

posted by Kathy Stasys The November 10th Black Sheep Guild meeting welcomed four new members to the flock. We are growing! Kate P. generously donated many great items for the monthly raffle. The second infinity cowl from the retreat was also raffled off. We heard reports from the committee chairs, but we are still in need of a chairperson for the Events and Field trips committee. Interested? Tell Donna or Kathy. The orders for this year's swag were due this month. Kate P. designed the fabric and Tanya T. is sewing the bags. They should be completed in January. It has turned out to be a very popular item. In November, of course, the guild members vote for a  new vice-president. The nominees were Tracy K. and Vangie A. and the voting results will be announced at the December meeting. One of the most popular events of the year also takes place in November when we do the Brown Bag Swap. Since "stealing" is allowed, it makes the evening more fun. Ask Erika. Next ...

submitted by Kathy Stasys One new member was welcomed to the flock. She has often joined us at the Tuesday night gatherings at Panera’s. These informal get togethers are a good way to get to know more of your fellow guild members. Come join us! Judith D. Charity Committee, proudly showed the huge pile of knit men’s chemo caps people made and another big bag of caps knit for donation at the annual Stitch and Pitch. Good work everyone. Two members were nominated for Vice President: Vangie A. and Tracey K. Elections will be held at the November meeting. Raffle donations: Vangie A., Tanya T. and Katy K.   Winners: Merritt C., Barb C., Sarah T., Heather P., Pat K., Stacey T., Brenda D., Ernestine B. and Valerie K. Members shared their Tips, Techniques, and Tools with the group. Great ideas!! TIPS: -       do not use Woolite or detergents to wash your knits. Use tepid, not cold water. -       cure for the slipperiness o...

Posted by Kim Whelan  "copyright Geneve Hoffman Photography" I have this friend; maybe you have one like her? She’s the kind of friend that has all these crazy, great ideas, and somehow, before you know it, you’re smack dab in the middle of something! This friend is the reason that I found myself starting a knitting guild (BSKG) with her a few years ago and found myself president of said guild a few years later. She is also the reason that I started designing patterns. I was just drifting along, calmly knitting away when she said “write a pattern, challenge yourself” That is how I came to write my very first pattern “Etta” which appeared in Lace One Skein Wonders . Now writing a pattern didn’t come easy, there were many mistakes along the way, but I stuck with it and finally I had a pattern I was proud to publish on Ravelry. After that first pattern I wrote a few more that I was lucky enough to have printed in some local publications. But that friend of mine, ...

On September 8th, the Black Sheep Knitting Guild returned home from “camp meetings” to our regular monthly meetings.   There was one visitor, Dorinda Balanecki.     As our new year begins, we’d like to start each meeting with a Trivia Question. September’s query asked “Who are our Founding Mothers”? The answer: Tanya Thomann and Kim Whelan. If you have any good ideas for questions about the BSKG or knitting, tell Kathy Stasys. Val Koyl has graciously taken over for Chris Hamel as chair for the raffle. Thanks to them both!   Donors for the raffle were Mary Moylan and Stacey Totzke and the winner were Pat Kreilling, Noreen Slank, Karen Sanders, Mary Moylan, Ernestine Bains, Linda Francisco, Linda Dean, Rita Perrone and Linda Doros.   Thank you Mary and Stacey for donating.     Although new swag will not be announced until the October meeting, some swag from previous years was available for sale: umbrellas, hats, BSKG bags. Sorry, s...

The Black Sheep Knitting Guild's last regular meeting until September was a really fun meeting. Well attended by the flock and we had 3 visitors.     We started off with show and share, which is always a very popular event.    complete with the Tanya hiccup if you squint and look very hard you can see Harvey (bunny) in this shadow blanket   Then we moved onto the real reason all these sheep showed up:   Cake          Sell, Buy, & Trade Stash  The next exciting round up of the flock will be September 8, 2015. Meanwhile the flock will gather for summer camp, June 9th, July 14th and August 11th.

It was a busy night at April's monthly meeting!    There were two guests.   Donna Mrozek, President, announced plans for a BSKG Summer Camp. Since the guild pays for the summer months at Our Shepherd Lutheran, it will be a great chance for members to gather in an informal (and cool) spot in June, July, and August. A   time to learn some new techniques or do a little charity knitting. (psstt...inside word is that you should really plan on coming in August.) Judith Davis revealed our new charity knitting project: men's chemo hats. She said that Beaumont is most excited about this effort as a definite need for men's hats exists. Judith prepared many kits and extra patterns for members to pick up. The completed hats are due at the October meeting. Harriet Atlas reminded members that the final payment for the May retreat is due. So far it looks like we will have about 28 people going up north for some serious knitting, socializing, knitting, eating, knitting, ...

A lively flock of sheep were in attendance for the March meeting and there was one guest.     Charli Osborne, events coorinator, announced two up-coming events happening this month.   Black Swamp Fiber Fair in Bowling Green Ohio and the other Fiber Expo in Ann Arbor.   Car pooling will be available for both events.   Hope to see a whole large flock of black sheep at both.   Sign up for the Retreat, May 15 – 17, 2015, is in full swing.   You can still sign up at the April meeting. A weekend with fellow sheep in the north woods at the MacMullan Conference Center , what could be more fun than that.   Of course, Chris Hamel, as always, did a good job herding the raffle with a   help from Linda Francisco.   Donors were Donna Mrozek and Charli Osborne. The winners were:   Rita Perrone, Audrey Helou, Kathy Rasmussen,   Merritt Collins, Sheila Elliott, Ernestine   Bains, Heather Perrone, Mary Curran and Harr...

February’s meeting was a fun, informative and crafty meeting. We had two guests and one new member joining us.   Events/field trip coordinator Charli Osborne is gearing up for the fiber show spring season. Be sure to check out the signup sheets for carpooling at the meetings and the blog for more information. Hope you join us for the first trip to Black Swamp Spinners Guild Market Day & Fiber Fair in Bowling Green Ohio. Carpooling is a really great way get acquainted with other members of the flock, not to mention a ton of fun. Oh, and did I say lunch; we all meet up in town for lunch. Retreat committee is busy planning yet another fun packed event. The flock will be at MacMullan Conference Center the second weekend in May, a weekend of knitting with other Black Sheep, fabulous door prizes, a bonfire, walks to the lake and in the woods and a ton of fiber fun. Another way to bond with fellow sheep while having a great relaxing time. Raffle chair, Chris Hamel, ha...