Author: KANGWebmaster

January 2023 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Open Knitting & Charity
KIND – Mosaic Knitting (Colorwork Pt. 1)
KNIT – Patty Lyons’ Knitting Tips
KNOW – Amigurumi
SoCK – Intro to Weaving

For more information regarding the latest chapter programs, please visit our CALENDAR page! Here you will find exact dates for upcoming guild chapter meetings, including full program descriptions for each meeting.

On the Calendar page you will also find various guild-wide events (charity knit-ins, affiliate sales and the like) and up-coming events in the yarn community / Houston area (FiberFests, conventions, etc.).

Please visit the KANG Chapters page to find your nearest chapter. 

From the President – Jan 2023

Posted on by KANGWebmaster
It’s here!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 
In the blink of an eye, 2022 has come and gone, and now we look ahead to another fresh start for many. What is something you have been happy about or proud of in 2022?
​
This year was an odd year for me, but I am beyond thankful for everything that came my way. Among the many things that happened, I still feel exceptionally proud of our redesigned KANG website that went live last New Year’s Day, and that I have had the opportunity to serve as your KANG President these last few months. Now, being someone who enjoys starting projects for the learned techniques, and not always finishing them, I am proud that I completed: 3 commissioned baby blankets with matching hats and mitts, 2 tatted crosses, 4 facial spa gift sets for Christmas, my Ice Cream Social shawl, and my Vector Field shawl! I had the pleasure of hosting 2 SoCK chapter programs (May Flowers & Yarn Dyeing with Kool-Aid) and I also completed my largest Diamond Dotz painting with over 85,800 dotz! Whew!
​
I hope that this coming year allows you to continue working on things you are proud of and work towards goals you may have pushed to the side. What are some of your ambitions for the new year?
 
For me in 2023: I want to continue growing my skills in lacework and double knitting. I am interested in making tatted jewelry and designing a tatted shawl. Tunisian crochet is such a fascinating topic that I would like to learn about! And with the addition of a floor loom to my craft room, I would like to learn how to weave unique designs using a 4-shaft loom!
 
So, 2023 is already shaping up to have some exciting events! Yellow Rose on the Coast starts off the fiber events at the end of January. Our KANG Spring Retreat is scheduled for March and the Texas Yarn Lovers Event returns to Fayetteville in April. Probably most excitingly, the Houston Fiber Fest (HFF) is expected to return to the Berry Center in June, and this is where KANG has gained fantastic exposure and membership! I am looking for volunteers who can liaise with HFF and KANG or help with staffing the KANG table during the hours that HFF is open. If you are interested in helping, please email me at: knitatnightguild@gmail.com.
 
Aside from the events, there are lots of classes and trunk shows coming up at our various local yarn shops! The Modern Skein will be hosting Yarneacous Fibers on January 14th and is offering beginner crochet on January 21st. Ready to try making socks? There’s a class for that too, starting January 28th.
 
Whatever your ambitions, I wish you the BEST New Year yet!
 
 
Lauren Levy
KANG President
 

Crafting Change for Ukraine

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

Deadline: 17th January 2023

for submissions to Crafting Change’s HQ — see details below for opportunities from our Charity Coordinators!

Project: Ukraine | Crafting Change

Greetings KANG guests and members!!
 
As you know, we had already set aside items intended for Ukraine. We have been presented with a new opportunity to help and support the efforts in Ukraine through this Crafting Change organization; however, there is a rapidly approaching deadline. 
 
If our community would like to create/donate more items:
1. Read the website carefully!!  
  • They do NOT take scarves, or shawls, but will take cowls. 
  • They will NOT take baby hats, but do take mittens and gloves. 
  • The request washable wool!  Do not send lightweight acrylic items. Recommended yarns found here. 
2. The website provides their preferred patterns for Ukraine which can be found here (includes knit, crochet, and sewn pattern options). 
 
3. To support this effort, KANG will be at Karbach Brewing Co on Saturday, January 7th from 12p – 1p to collect items.  
Address: 2032 Karbach St, Houston, TX 77092 
 
4. If you are not adding the size tags yourself, please ensure that your items are clearly separated by size when donating (this will save Sarah and Marie some work!). All items sent to Ukraine MUST have a tag, and Crafting Change is happy to tag items for us.
 
 
If you miss the 7 Jan deadline, you can send items separate from the bundle KANG will send (see website). They must arrive at their facility by 17th January 2023.
 
 
Thanks y’all!
 
Marie & Sarah
Charity Coordinators

From the President – Dec 2022

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

Happy Holidays!! Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, or another holiday you celebrate, the joy and festivities in December can be felt and seen almost everywhere! Plus, it’s beginning to feel a bit like winter in Houston! I am impressed that we have had cooler temperatures this year before the end of the year! With my fireplace roaring, hot cocoa beside me, and my kitty in my lap, I am furiously clicking away on my needles to finish up holiday gifts on time! I know I mentioned needing to get this started back in September…hmmm, maybe next year?

In November, your Executive Board met for its quarterly meeting. Here is a brief recap from that meeting:

  • I would like to extend a “Thank-You!” all the members who completed the Retreats Committee survey! Participation included over half the current membership! It was discussed and passed that we will proceed with a Retreat in Spring 2023! 
  • The Charity events in October and November were quite successful with approximately 500 donated items being tagged and many items already distributed to various organizations! There is still a call for Peyton Hearts and squares for the Warm-Up America! Foundation.
  • Also discussed at the Executive Board meeting was that our membership has grown tremendously since the last Board meeting—from 74 up to 117! So again, I say: welcome and welcome back to all our KANG Members!! Please continue to invite your friends and family, attend our various programs across all chapters, and join in the charity events—whatever your calling may be, let’s continue to grow KANG!

Around town, our local yarns shops are gearing up for the holidays as well with a Christmas Pajama Party (Yarn Store Boutique), a Christmas Sew-In & Christmas Stitch-In event (Park Avenue Yarns), and canned food drive & donations are still being collected until Dec. 21st (The Social Knitwork)! Shout-out to Merribee Needlearts who celebrates 40 years of business this month! All are invited to their anniversary party for a day of fun, prizes, and bargains on December 10th!! Keep an eye out for updates on social media and the website!!

With the holidays upon us, I have the privilege of taking time off work. I am looking forward to attending an anime convention, playing the new Pokémon game, celebrating a milestone 5YR anniversary this month with my husband, and going Christmas light looking! In between all the local festivities and other events, I am hoping to take some time to work on projects that have been sitting idle.

 

With that, wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.co

Charity Knitting – December 2022 Update

Posted on by KANGWebmaster
What a great autumn we have had in charity knits!! We have collected so much over the summer months and almost all of it has been dropped with various charitable organizations.
 
Dr. Riha, who came by our October event has incorporated the items he collected into gift baskets for the VA outreach program.
 
We dropped off 4 full bags of items with a battered women’s shelter in early November.
 
After November’s knit-together event, we have 3 full bags of items to drop to Children’s Safe Harbours just in time for Christmas.
 
We had a smaller group of knitters (and crocheters) at our November event at Buffalo Bayou but we still had every chapter represented! Two lucky crafters won yarn bouquets at our door prize drawing. Lauren (our current president) and Dolores (previous charity organizer) happened to hit the jackpot on that one.
 
Even though we won’t hold a charity knit-together in December, keep crafting! Depending on weather we will plan an event for January, so keep an eye out on our website, social media, and December’s newsletter.
 
Don’t know what to make for charity? Here are some suggestions:
  • Child and baby sized hats (these are fast to make and the easiest to give away)
  • Baby sweaters, (faster to make than you think, especially premie sizes)
  • Blankets (lap blankets, full size, baby sized)
  • Shawls
  • Stuffed toys
  • Wash cloths (cotton)
  • Peyton Hearts (links to patterns on this page)
  • 7″x9″ or 9″x7″ squares made of acrylic yarn, any pattern, any color(s), knit or crochet for the WarmUpAmerica project
Suggested patterns can be found on our website under the charity section… Or make any pattern you prefer.
 

December 2022 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Scrappy Cowl KAL & Holiday Party
KIND – Holiday Party
KNIT – Holiday Potluck
KNOW – Holiday Party
SoCK – Holiday Party

For more information regarding the latest chapter programs, please visit our CALENDAR page! Here you will find exact dates for upcoming guild chapter meetings, including full program descriptions for each meeting.

On the Calendar page you will also find various guild-wide events (charity knit-ins, affiliate sales and the like) and up-coming events in the yarn community / Houston area (FiberFests, conventions, etc.).

Please visit the KANG Chapters page to find your nearest chapter. 

November 2022 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Open Knitting & Holiday Planning
KIND – Stranded Knitting
KNIT – KAL “Simply Scrappy CowL”
KNOW – Upcycling
SoCK – Amigurumi

For more information regarding the latest chapter programs, please visit our CALENDAR page! Here you will find exact dates for upcoming guild chapter meetings, including full program descriptions for each meeting.

On the Calendar page you will also find various guild-wide events (charity knit-ins, affiliate sales and the like) and up-coming events in the yarn community / Houston area (FiberFests, conventions, etc.).

Please visit the KANG Chapters page to find your nearest chapter. 

From the President – Nov 2022

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

Figure 1: “Mayflower Mice” by Alan Dart (ravelry)

My, how quickly the year has gone by as we slip into November. It’s during this month that many of us remember to pause and reflect on the things for which we are thankful and the many blessings we take for granted. We often express appreciation for our families and friends, our beloved pets, our mentors, our health, a roof overhead, military personnel and emergency responders for keeping us safe, and enough food to keep our bellies full, just to name a few.

It’s also the time of year when we flock to the polls to exercise our right to vote. As one of my degrees is in Political Science, I encourage every able citizen to exercise this privilege during early voting or on Election Day (11/8). Stand proud and confident in your own decisions, beliefs, and values.

For me this year, I am especially thankful to the medical teams who have been there for my family members, including myself. From broken bones and hospital stays to removal of organs and open-heart surgery, I cannot express enough gratitude for their expertise, precision, and care getting us back on the road to a healthy recovery.

Although I was out for about a week in October recovering, I kept my needles busy…naturally on a newly casted-on project. Just for fun, I started a pom-pom baby blanket since the pattern is 2 stitches between each pom and garter stitch every row. Unfortunately, I slacked on my “Basics of Love” lace shawl but did manage to complete another couple repeats (8 of 25) of the pattern!! Still have a ways to go on this one.

I also attended this pumpkin making class at Yarn Store Boutique using an Addi Express knitting machine. What a joyous time I had! I LOVED the class, and I may have gotten myself another toy…! I am excited to let my niece and nephews dig through my yarn stash and then show them how to make pumpkins in their favorite colors during the Thanksgiving holiday!

If you follow our social media platforms, you have probably seen mentioned the numerous events coming up at our many local yarn shops. From The Social Knitwork hosting a “Uneek Harvest Poncho” knit along starting the 5th to Park Avenue Yarns who is celebrating their 12th birthday all weekend long, Nov. 3-6!! There is a “November Fling” vendor fair happening at Yarn Store Boutique on the 11th & 12th and the “CyFair Nutcracker Market” at the Berry Center on the 19th!

On a final note, I would like to give a shout-out to all those who have contributed to and/or were able to attend the Charity Knit-Together Event at Karbach Brewing Co. last month. The generosity of time and effort given warms my heart and I was astounded by how many amazing pieces we have collected! THANK YOU! It was wonderful to see so many KANG members present and kudos to our guests present too! Also, I’ve heard a rumor that the next Charity event has few exquisite prizes… Any guesses?

 

With that, wish you all a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

Charity Knitting – November 2022 Update

Posted on by KANGWebmaster
Thank you all who came out for our Charity Knit-together at Karbach in October. It was wonderful to see so many faces knitting and crocheting.
 
Sarah, Yogi, Lotti and Marie spent the entire 3 hours tagging items we had collected over the summer; we must have tagged about 500 items!!
 
We had an internal medicine intern who volunteers his time with the VA outreach program join us. Dr. Riha collected blankets, baby hats, and slippers for postpartum women in need. He received about a dozen blankets and nearly 100 hats for the cause.
 
Our friendly chapter-to-chapter competition winners was the SoCK chapter with 9 members in attendance (not counting Marie and Sarah); but it was amazing to see that every chapter was represented. The SoCK chapter received a bag of Halloween & Día de los Muertos stitch markers to distribute to chapter members. Rumor had it that Debbie Smith (SoCK) shared stitch markers with everyone in attendance and there is still plenty to distribute to the SoCK chapter.
 
You want to make items for charity too, but don’t know what to make? Here are some suggestions:
  • Child and baby sized hats (these are fast to make and the easiest to give away)
  • Baby sweaters, (faster to make than you think, especially premie sizes)
  • Blankets (lap blankets, full size, baby sized)
  • Shawls
  • Stuffed toys
  • Wash cloths (cotton)
  • Peyton Hearts (links to patterns on this page)
  • 7″x9″ or 9″x7″ squares made of acrylic yarn, any pattern, any color(s), knit or crochet for the WarmUpAmerica project
Finished charity items can be brought to your chapter where your chapter president will make sure they find their way to the charity coordinators for distribution. Finished items can also be brought to charity knit-together events to be dropped directly to the coordinators.
 
Along with our donation to the VA through Dr. Riha, we also dropped off 2 dozen hats and 2 dozen scarves to the Robin Hood Project of Houston distributing clothing, food and supplies to Houston homeless.
 
Another full bag of items was collected for Chidren’s Safe Harbor in Conroe and will be dropped off in early December!
Two more full bags of hats, blankets, scarves, and shawls will be dropped at an undisclosed battered women’s shelter in downtown Houston in early November.
 
OUR NEXT KNIT-TOGETHER EVENT
  • Where: Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company.  2101 Summer St, Houston, TX 77007
  • When: November 20  Noon – 3 PM
  • There will be a drawing for 3 lucky winners at 2 PM
** Watch the Knit at Night Guild website social media platforms for cancellations due to rain.
 
As always, if there are any questions about charity, reach out to us at: knitatnightguildcharity@gmail.com

From the President – Oct 2022

Posted on by KANGWebmaster
Figure 1: "Crochet Halloween Decor" by Natalia Ruzanova

Ah, October…One of my favorite months!! To me, this month signals the start of all the holidays and festivities coming up. Now, I am certainly biased about October because it’s also my birthday month, RenFaire starts back up, and of course Halloween. I love all the birthday perks that last all month long, the decorations that start to appear, ALL the pumpkins everywhere, and the joy of the trick-or-treaters!

As I write this month’s article, I am cruising at an altitude of ~35,000 feet as I return from a week-long work conference in Denver (many thanks to our Newsletter Chair for her patience with my tardiness!!). Be assured that I have my needles in my lap and a neck light that is hopefully not bothering my neighbor too badly! Lately I have been steadily working on a for-me shawl called “Basics of Love” by Judit Horvath. I am using the recommended yarn: a pastel rainbow cake of cotton yarn that has 4 plies to it*. There is a panel of lace carried up one side and it slowly grows with a staggered eyelet lace on the other side. I still have a long way to go as I have only completed 6 of 25 repeats of a 12-row repeat section! I am thoroughly enjoying this project and will update you on my progress next month!

*Fun tip: For yarns with loose plies, place a bead on the working yarn to keep the plies from splitting as you work your pattern!


Reflecting on September, although I didn’t find myself at another fiber festival, I had the pleasure of attending and meeting some members of the chapters aside from my home chapter. Let me just say, the talents reflected in your projects and the passion you have for charity items warms my heart and is incredibly inspiring! Thanks to the presentation by Dolores in SoCK, I have so many ideas now for Christmas gifts (now to just get started). If you missed this, check out the program handouts on the website as it includes knit and crochet options!! Also, who knew that the KNIT chapter was just a short 20-min drive from my work office!? I took my notes on joining new yarns and will need to practice some of these techniques several more times before I have them mastered! KIND also welcomed me as I dropped in at the Bayland Community Center. Gloria’s program on color was quite insightful! It’s astounding how different—or the same—some colors appear when you consider them in a monotone comparison! Can’t wait to keep meeting each our KANG members and guests in all the chapters—if not at your chapter, perhaps at the Charity knit-it later this month!!

 

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com