December Black Sheep Guild Meeting

Kathy Stasys

Although our December meeting was moved from the 13th to the 6th, we had a great  turnout for the evening. Thank goodness as we missed the big snow storm and Arctic air that came the following week.

Much happened in our November guild elections thanks to so many willing to take on the various tasks involved in the BSKG. Here are the election and new volunteer results:

Vice-President: Kate P.

Membership Secretary: Harriet A

Treasurer: Diane D.

Sneaky Sheep: Tanya T. and Kim W.

Blog Mistress: Dorinda B.

Stitch and Pitch: Barb C. who will work with anyone else who is interested

Retreat: Kitty C., Linda D. Kelley G., Pat K., Rita P., Sarah T.

Monthly Knit Along: Noreen S.

Each of these women new to a position brings with her exciting ideas for the Guild's coming year. Congratulations and thank you!

During the December meeting, the BSKG addressed one of its primary goals: education to improve  knitting skills.

Tanya T., a Master Knitter and great teacher, demonstrated how to knit with two yarns in two hands. While at first it would seem to be a fumbling experiment for disaster, Tanya patiently led us through the steps to learning a new (for many) technique. She held up numerous hats as examples of implementing two/yarn, two/hand knitting, and she explained how to create different effects through different choices. Beautiful work!

We can anticipate some interesting Sneaky Sheep ideas when she and Kim launch the 2017 version  in January.

If any of you have gone to the The Yarn Stop in Clawson, you probably met Sam. He is going to be our guest speaker at the January meeting.

My Holiday gift to you is an article from The New York Times about knitting. We know what they say is true!

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/25/the-health-benefits-of-knitting/

Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting!

November Guild Meeting

November Black Sheep Guild Meeting

 by Kathy Stasys

November is always an important month for the Guild members as it is the time that we vote for the new vice-president. And we did!

Unlike many previous years, this election had three women who put their names forward. Luckily, our process is far less contentious than the national election of 2016.  Thanks to Diane D., Vangie A., and Kate P. for their willingness to take on the VP position.

And no, you can't find out now who won. That big announcement comes at the December meeting.

THE DECEMBER MEETING IS ON THE 6th

November is also the month you find out who your friends are in the guild. Someone is likely to steal a great item right from under your nose. The Brown Bag Swap also proves that old adage about judging a book (or bag) by its cover. Many members brought in a knitting related item packaged in a brown bag to swap by a time honored lottery system. Of course, many members also stole someone else's bag if the contents appealed to them. That's when you learn who your friends are.


THE DECEMBER MEETING IS ON THE 6th

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Don't forget that that just the December meeting has been moved to the first Tuesday of the month.

Black Sheep in the Autumn

Wouldn't these colors make a beautiful scarf?

First, apologies for the delayed and deferred blog postings. Computer problems: operator and machine.

In September the Black Sheep welcomed Alex and his mother, Nicole. He is a 4th grade student who is a most remarkable young man. He saw a need in the Oxford and Lake Orion School Districts and enlisted his mother's help. Alex recognized that many students did not have enough to keep them warm in the winter; it was his idea to provide knit scarves for 17 schools. He asked his mother to knit if he could find the yarn. (She learned how to knit to help him out!)

The Black Sheep Guild members were more than happy to spend some of their summer knitting for his great cause.

BSKG knit a variety of scarves for Alex

Black Sheep in the Summer

Kathy Stasys

Judith enjoyed the June Knit in Public Day with food in one hand and knitting in the other.









Guild members spent the summer knitting scarves for our Charity Project which will be presented in September.

Mimi, Erika, and Chris enjoy our second August Summer Camp Ice Cream Social. Everyone else was in line for seconds.









In spite of August heat and tornado threats, many Black Sheep members attended the Allegan Fiber Fest. Notice the food and knitting again?

Hope to see you at the September 12th meeting. Crazy Beavers are not invited.

Summertime! Summertime!

Summer Camp

First Session: Tuesday, June 14th at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church

Judith will introduce a special charity project you may have read about in the Free Press. A young man named Alex VanHaren (10 years old) started collecting yarn so his mother could make scarves for fellow students in the Oxford School system who needed the warmth. She could not knit it all because the donations were so overwhelming. We can help! Yarn will be provided. 

Camp will continue on the second Tuesday in July and August. 

World Wide Knit in Public Day

June 18th

Have You Any Wool is offering workshops, but even better, a chance to sit and knit at Patrick J's Irish Pub from 1:00 to 3:00. 

Or you could head to Leon and Lulu's in Clawson to knit. A $10 fee goes to benefit Mittens for Detroit.

Michigan Fiber Fest

August 20-21

Organizers of the annual Festival are asking Michigan guilds to help with the Fiber Fest Demonstrations. Since three of our members are some of the "worker bees" (Pat, Ernestine, and Shirley) it would be great if our other guild members could volunteer for two hour shifts between 10:00 am and 4:00 that Saturday or Sunday. 

May 2016

May 2016

by Kathy Stasys

Bargain One

Bargain Two

May is a great month to be a part of the Black Sheep Knitting Guild!

During this May's guild meeting, members sold items from their stash...and bought others' stash. It was a win-win situation for everyone. Sometimes sales were already completed, or at least contemplated, before the meeting formally began. And, of course, there was a lot of window shopping, bargaining, and admiring purchases. 



May is also the annual retreat at the Higgins Lake MacMullan Conference Center. The 2016 Retreat was one of the best. We had great weather for walks in the woods; Donna met a tree branch before crossing an icy stream (barefoot) with Denise and Kathy. Sara and Kelly sat by the lake to knit in the sunshine. Erika brought her new marshmallow stick to Friday night's campfire. Two Mini Coopers caravanned on a hunting expedition for yarn on Saturday. The blue bags are proof of many purchases. Those who stayed back lined up for massages. Ernestine and Karen chose to spin as well as knit. 

2016 Swag

Thanks to Donna's husband for his annual contribution of chocolate. Yum. Thanks, too, to Tanya and Heritage for donating some extra knitting goodies. 

Next year's retreat dates are already set for the third weekend in May. 

We'll be back!

by Kathy Stasys

Guild members enjoyed a full agenda at the April's BSKG meeting.

We welcomed several guests and potential members as well enjoyed two guest speakers.

The regular business included reminders about the May Retreat which promises to be as much fun as ever. The committee procured some fantastic yarns for door prizes. The MacMullen Center also promised great weather again. (Next committee meeting is May 3rd at Panera's.) Anyone interested in attending the Tiger game on June 5th should contact Harriet about tickets. Don't forget your charity knitting; Judith will bring more kits soon.

Participants in the Sneaky Sheep exchange received and presented beautiful "Spring Into Summer" themed items. These are only two of the creative Sneaky Sheep projects.

Our two guest speakers are friends and business partners. Tanya Thomann and Carla Kohoyda-Inglis explained the start to finish process in the creation of their gorgeous yarns. While it is often laborious and time consuming, it obviously a labor of love that produces Welcome Home. Among Carla's tips for working creatively were to collect ideas in a journal or note cards. Follow Pin Interest or snap pictures on your cell phone.

If you missed April's meeting or want more information, go to CraftSanity.com for an audio broadcast or search YouTube for their video interview.

Sign up for Carla's mailing list at cjkoho.com or in her Facebook group. Tanya's mailing list is in her Facebook group or as a pop up on her website MayBeaCrafted.com

The next guild meeting is May 10th and it is also the annual member to member sale of yarn. Good time to do a little spring cleaning with your stash....and to put it into someone else's closet. Because we are having the swap in May, there will be no free table and no raffle.

Point of Clarification: There is no rule about the number of items one may exhibit in Show and Share.