Category: President’s Message

From Our President – May 2024

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Due to the trip, I did not make much progress on my unfinished items. However, I did take the blanket started for my niece with me on the trip. It is a simple garter stitch with hearts and I had a lot of downtime on the 12+ hour flights and some of the longer bullet train rides! Since getting back, I have started winding some hanks into cakes to start a couple projects!

Were you able to make it out to Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta in Seguin? Some gals from SoCK and I ventured out there to see what goodies begged to come home with us! 😉 I loved visiting with several of the yarn-supplying vendors like Bashful Armadillo, Chaos Fiber Co, and Nordic Star just to name a few. I look forward to starting some new projects with the lovely squishies I picked up! How about Local Yarn Store (LYS) Day this past weekend? From my LYS, I managed to snag a couple new project bags for the new yarn I acquired the day before. Now to get those needles and hooks moving, huh?

Coming up this month, your Executive Board will meet for the fourth quarterly meeting. Note that in our February board meeting (Q3), we discussed, voted, and approved that the membership fee would increase slightly for next year to $30. This is the first time in more than six years we have had a price change, but it was approved to keep it at the same cost regardless of payment method. This price change will be effective starting with the new KANG year (August 2024). Please note that the financials are available on the website under the Member-Only section for review anytime by current members. Please reach out to knitatnightguild@gmail.com should you have any questions!

Can you believe it is almost that time again? Our Nominating Committee will present the slate of candidates for the open Board positions for the coming year. Then, discussion and elections will happen at the chapter level in June, so be sure to visit your home chapter to cast your vote!


Until next time,

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

From the President — April 2024

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Were you able to attend the KANG Retreat last month? What fun we had! I appreciated getting away from the mundane to enjoy the classes, the puzzles, the food, and the fellowship we shared. I think there were five puzzles completed that weekend, ranging from 300-1000 pieces! I enjoyed learning the Japanese short-row stitch in our garment knitting class. Who knew it was such an easy stitch?! Our goody bag came with a Tunisian crochet hook, so we were able to cast-on, practice some different stitches, and then bind-off! I have a little swatch of Tunisian crochet to show for my efforts! Although the weather was finicky, we were able to have a couple of nights outside by the firepit! I cannot wait for next year’s Retreat!

My quest to complete already started projects continues. I am still working on a cable poncho I started over a year (maybe two) ago. It is pieced together with two long panels. One panel is complete, and I am about halfway done with the second panel! Meanwhile, I finished a request for a yellow blankie and pillow from my youngest nephew. He wanted to make sure his plush lamb was warm at night. 😊

While visiting my sister’s family in February, my eldest niece picked out a couple balls of pink and multicolored pastel yarn at Hobby Lobby and asked me, “Auntie Lolo, can you make me a blanket from this yarn?”. Who am I to turn down the request of my darling niece? So, this is the project I have decided to work on as the hubby and I venture off to Japan for some vacation and to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom! Surely there will be time on the trains to do some knitting, right?

Coming up this month, The Modern Skein will be having a launch party for the new “Manor Collection” yarn they will carry. The party starts at 1pm on April 5th, so I hope to see you there! Later in the month, Yarn Store Boutique will be showcasing Theodora’s Pearls Yarn for a trunk show happening April 26-27th. That is a busy weekend as Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta will be happening Friday and Saturday only in Seguin! All the while, Saturday, April 27th is Local Yarn Store Day! Be sure to keep an eye on their socials and get out there to visit all of our local yarn shops!


Until next time,

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

From the President – March 2024

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Green Dragon

The lovely February really flew by this year! Surprisingly, it was a very mild month in terms of weather, but as we start to feel those early spring temperatures, it’s time to start on some lighter projects! Which leads me to say I have mixed reviews about Finishing February. I did get a few shawls blocked and all the finishing touches completed! I even wore one of the shawls to the SoCK meeting for show-and-share! I completed a needle tatted cross for my niece’s baptism. That’s about it. Still lots of projects to work on!

Your Executive Board also met this past month and my how the Guild has grown, even since last year! With a fairly even spread across all five chapters, we have grown back to 146 members! Based on the reports from each Chapter President, each chapter is busy, engaging and hosting wonderful programs! Remember, your membership lets you check out any and all of the chapter meetings every month! Pop in as a guest if have the chance!

We have most of our Nominating Committee gathering for a short stint. This is a group of volunteers representing each chapter who will help us come up with the slate of candidates for the next KANG cycle (2024-2025). Most of the Board members will be terming out, so if you are interested in any of the roles, or getting information about them, please feel free to reach out to me: knitatnightguild@gmail.com!


For those going on the Retreat, I will see you there! For all others, until next time!

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

 

From the President – February 2024

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Coming out of a cold and wet January, I am looking forward to the month often recognized for celebrating love and togetherness. I find myself crafting for others most of the time—gifts made with love for new littles on the way or handmade gifts to celebrate achievements, charitable items donated for those in need, etc. Occasionally, I will make a “me” project, but I love the joy I see expressed by the recipient when opening their present.

Now we have come back around to Finishing February. It’s that time of year where I have set some goals to complete projects that have already been started and either neglected or put in time-out. I still have my “Basics of Love” lace shawl to complete and that reverse cable knit “Rosewood Scarf” to work on.

Looking at the month ahead, I hope you are as excited as I am about this getaway for our Spring 2024 Retreat at Camp Lone Star in March! Registration opens today on the website to current KANG members! I hear there will be a St. Patrick’s Day competition…?! Your Executive Board will meet this month and we are seeking some volunteers for Guild input. Our next Charity Knit-Together is just a couple days away!! Keep an eye on the website and social media platforms for more events and news!!

With love,

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

From the President – January 2024

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2023 felt like it flew by us! This year certainly had its ups and downs, but I am proud to have achieved a few of my goals throughout the year! Do you recall? I wanted to continue growing my skills in lacework and so I have successfully completed my year-long lace project by KnitPurl Hunter! I had wanted to learn about Tunisian crochet and was thrilled to attend a SoCK program featuring this topic! I still need to actually practice what was taught, but it’s a start! Aside from these goals, I accomplished learning a new beading technique—Peyote—and have found tremendous joy in completing these little beaded projects! Rounding out the year, I participated in my first advent knit-along this past month hosted by Telly Bean Knits (designer) and Suburban Stitcher (dyer). The pattern was “Grand Opening” and the theme was I’m Dreaming of a Pink Christmas! It is a beautiful shawl with an interesting construction in various hues of pink yarn! ​

I hope 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?

2024 is already shaping up to have some exciting events! Yellow Rose on the Coast starts off the fiber events in the first weekend of February and Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta is back in Seguin in April! Our KANG Spring Retreat is scheduled for March and our Charity gals have some events coming up this month! Keep an eye on the socials and our website for more updates!

Whatever your ambitions, I wish you the BEST New Year yet!

Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com

From the President – December 2023

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Happy Holidays to All!! 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! Since last month, I have managed to complete all my planned holiday gift projects! (?) I am looking forward to the holiday parties at each of the chapter meetings this month! I hope to see you there as well!

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

  • The KANG Chapters have been hosting some outstanding programs each month! From experimenting with colors, learning Tunisian crochet, playing with silk, stash-busting, and working with our UFO projects… there is no shortage of fascinating topics!
  • The Spring 2024 Retreat is well in on its way for planning and programming! Again, save the date for 14-17 March 2024!
  • The Charity event in October was quite successful for Warm-up America. Additionally, shawls, fidget sleeves and hat donations have been made to LBJ and more scarves, hats, and gloves donations have been given to Eastern Star. Newborn and preemie hats have been delivered to the HeadStart program and Knitted Knockers have been donated! The charity yarn bin could use a bit more worsted weight yarn. There is an event being planned for January! Be on the lookout for more details coming soon!
  • Membership is growing in all chapters! We are back up to where it was at the end of the last KANG cycle! Please continue to advocate for KANG! Bring your friends, invite guests! We enjoy your presence!
  • We are working to get some more badge holders on order for our new members.
  • Call for the 2024 Nominating Committee. Although a little early, take note that each Chapter President will be talking to their members about choosing a representative to assist the Nominating Committee for next year’s board members. Selection to be made before the next Board Meeting!

Around town, our local yarns shops are gearing up for the holidays as well with an “Embroidery & Eggnog” evening on Dec. 2 from 5-7pm at The Social Knitwork, (please RSVP), their Annual Christmas Party & canned food drive on Dec. 9 at 1pm at Yarn Store Boutique and Merribee Needlearts celebrates 41 years of business this month! Keep an eye out for updates on social media for festivities and sales!

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

Lauren Levy

Executive Board Presidentknitatnightguild@gmail.com

From the President – Nov 2023

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What a whirlwind of events this October brought for me! The month flew by with birthday celebrations, moments of bereavement, wedding celebrations, and a charity knit-in gathering! I was pleased to see a dozen KANG members come out to the Warm-Up America charity event on the 22nd! It was a joy to gather and socialize and there were so many blocks completed and donated!

I was able to attend the SoCK chapter meeting, whose program focused on a personal KAL/CAL that will continue through June of next year. As you know, I enjoy starting projects because there is a technique or something new or different about a project to be learned. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I will finish that project once I understand and am confident in the learned topic. Therefore, for me, instead of selecting a specific project or technique to work on and complete, I have challenged myself to pull out those unfinished objects (UFOs) from my craft room and complete them. Let’s see how many I can accomplish by the end of this?!

As we sink into November, my gratitude for our members and all our volunteers within KANG cannot be expressed enough. This goes out to those who help with our charity events and those who are behind the scenes planning our 2024 Retreat, to those on the Board representing each of our chapters and the various chair positions. It’s during this month that we exercise our voting rights at the polls, and we gather with family and friends for Thanksgiving. Take a moment and pause with me to remember all of our blessings: both big and small.

Did you know that Lone Star College Tomball Library meets for a Sit and Stitch event every Thursday morning? Come check out this group of fiber artists meeting on the 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 30th this month! Meanwhile Savvy Stitchers is a group of crafters that meet every Thursday afternoon at the Katherine Tyra Branch Library (near Clay Rd). More details for both groups can be found on the Harris County Public Library and Lone Star College websites.

Other events going on this month include the first annual Texas Artisan Christmas Market which is a two-day event on the 4-5th in League City featuring all local creators. The East Texas Fiber Festival takes place on the 10-11th in Canton. Chicken Coop Dye Works will have a trunk show at Yarn Store Boutique on Saturday the 18th. Come out and support your local and small businesses! Wishing you a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving! Until next time~!

From the President – Oct 2023

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One of my favorite months is back—October!! 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 different pumpkins everywhere, and the joy of the trick-or-treaters!

Although I did not make it out to DFW Fiber Fest last month, I did attend a beginner’s sewing class to learn how to use my vintage Singer A221 featherweight machine! I felt like a little kid using scissors for the first time as I was learning how to cut fabric, and remembering the steps to thread the machine will still take some practice! But I did walk away with a completed little drawstring bag! A proud moment for me, indeed!

In an effort to reorganize my crafting space, I found a lost project that I worked on and wrote about a year ago—do you remember my lace shawl “Basics of Love” by Judit Horvath? I have picked it up again and it has become the keep-my-hands-busy-during-a-work-meeting project. Meanwhile, I caught up on my year-long lace project: knitting lace circles from August and nupps for September. Next up is constructing lace patterns on the front and back sides!

Coming up this month, there are several events at many of our local yarn shops! A gnome tapestry weaving class will be offered Sunday, October 8 at Yarn Store Boutique. Be sure to check out the trunk shows for Rancho Inca Alpaca and Chicken Coop Dye Works!

Who doesn’t enjoy a WestKnits mystery knitalong (MKAL)? The Modern Skein will host a pizza party on October 5 to kickoff this event and stay-tuned for October 20 & 21, when Knit Graffiti visits the shop for the Texas Rhineback Weekend!

I am looking forward to our first Charity Knit-In on Sunday, October 22 as we are focusing on Warm Up America! Closing out the month is the Texas Fleece and Fiber Festival out in Kerrville on October 27-29!

From the President – Sep 2023

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As we continue to see triple digit temperatures, I am longing for some rain and cooler, autumn weather. The stores are already prepping us with the emergence of oranges, reds, and other harvest colors. As well as spooky season goodies! This is my self-reminder to start on those holiday handmade gifts while there are still a few months to go…!

At least I finished my “Floatini” shawl by Cally Monster, although it still needs to be blocked! My lace project took the backseat this past month, so I will need to play catch up on that project! Meanwhile, some friends and I decided to jump down another rabbit hole, and we took a Peyote beading class at 1960 Beads. I am obsessed with it! Now that I understand the technique, I am thoroughly enjoying making bracelets and learning to make Christmassy bells!!

As you know, the Texas Yarn Trail has been ongoing with our local yarn shops. Have you made it out to all 10 shops? There are just a couple of days left to hit the trail! I managed to go to all the shops in the first weekend. It was a busy trip and wonderful to see the same trail-goers at each of the stores! Be sure to show and share at your next chapter meeting! I look forward to seeing what treasures you found or what projects you will be starting! For me, I managed to find some of the trendy assigned pooling yarn and a stitch marker advent calendar. Some new colorways from Bashful Armadillo and Chaos Fiber Co found their way into my stash and I picked up some kits for future knit-a-longs.

While we are finishing up our local yarn trail, will any of you be heading north to the Dallas/Ft Worth area later this month for the DFW Fiber Fest? This event runs September 14-17th (Thursday thru Sunday) with lots going on from classes and vendors with a focus on various topics: cables, steeking, Fair Isle, felting, brioche, inkle and pin loom weaving, Tunisian basics, stitch markers, and tapestry to name just a few! What will you learn?

Your Executive Board met for the quarterly meeting on Tuesday, August 15th. Even with the summer vacations, it appears things are going well around the guild. Membership numbers continue to increase (don’t forget to renew, if you haven’t already!) and each of the chapters reported they have many wonderful programs coming up this year! We talked about the much-anticipated topic of retreats and workshops! While details are still in progress, if you would like to help with planning or simply be involved, we are recruiting volunteers for the Retreats & Workshops Committee! Contact us at knitatnightguildRetreat@gmail.com!


Have a great Labor Day weekend. Until next time~!


Lauren Levy
Executive Board President

From the President – Aug 2023

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August is here, so Happy KANG New Year! To the members of all KANG chapters: thank-you for your votes in June and July. Your new Executive Board has been selected, and we had a wonderful in-person Handover Meeting at the end of July. A special thank you to our outgoing volunteers and again a welcome to our incoming peers! Personally, I am looking forward to serving as your KANG President another year, and more so, I am looking forward to meeting and visiting each chapter and its members! Reminder that the first quarterly Board meeting will be later this month.

A brief reminder to renew your membership if not already done! Grab a family member or some friends and check out the amazing programs or come sit and mingle with some amazing people around the Guild!

I feel like July came and went in a flash this year! Luckily, I am still up to date with my year-long “Building with Lace” project by Michelle Hunter. The “smocking stitch” was a unique technique and produced a framed diamond shape with little eyelets in the middle. For August, I will learn to knit lacy circles! Meanwhile, I have been also working on “Floatini” by Cally Monster. This has been both an interesting and trying project for me. I am successfully learning how to make German short rows, but I am alternating using a slub yarn and mohair. As someone who likes smooth or soft textures, it takes a tremendous amount of restraint to not pull the “bumps” out of the slub yarn! All in all, I am truly enjoying my colors and will post pictures when the project is complete!

This month, I would like to spotlight Nordic Star Yarns who will be having a trunk show all day, August 1 at Yarn Store Boutique. This local shop will celebrate 6 years with a cocktail party and music. Come out for fun and merriment! Looking for something to do on a Friday night? Check out Kani Kettu’s “Flicks & Strikke Nights” which features different genres such as comedy, action, horror, or drama. Bring a WIP project and enjoy these free meetups with light refreshments every Friday!

Don’t forget that the 5th annual Texas Yarn Trail is coming up at the end of this month! For two weeks, our wonderful Houston and Greater Houston local yarn shops will be open daily starting August 25 with a number of trunk shows and featured goodies! The nine stores from last year are returning with 1 new addition to the trail this year. Plus, you won’t want to miss the new Yarn Trail Mystery Knit Pattern! More details are on their website (https://www.texasyarntrail.com), so if you are able, shop local! I am excited to hear what you find on the trail!


Until next time~!


Lauren Levy
Executive Board President
knitatnightguild@gmail.com