News

From the President – Nov 2023

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

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~!

Charity Knitting – Nov 2023 Update

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

From your Charity Coordinators, shout out to those who were able to join us for our first fall charity knit-in event on October 22nd! We had a dozen KANG members gathered and a couple bins of charity yarn sifted through for more projects. We dropped off 60 of the 7×9 rectangles to the Warm-Up America offices! THANK YOU to all who were present and/or donated to this cause!

 

Introducing you to our next charity knit along: fidget sleeves! This one is more creative than the blocks for Warm Up America (please feel free to keep knitting/crocheting those blocks and we’ll collect at the next charity event), so get those creative juices flowing!

The pattern is a free Ravelry download (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fidget-sleeve).

This fidget sleeve is for those with dementia as they like fiddling with their hands. It uses small quantities of different colors of worsted or aran-weight yarn. You can embroider French knots, and add beads, buttons, ribbons or pom-poms. Feel free to use your imagination!

The charity we are going to bless with these sleeves is LBJ Hospital Alzheimer’s and Geriatric Care. The date and time are still to be determined, but we are looking at January for the event.

Deanne & Julie

Questions: email us knitatnightguildcharity@gmail.com

November 2023 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Display Window Ideas & More
KIND – All About SILK!
KNIT – Experimenting with Color
KNOW – Stashbusting!
SoCK – Tunisian Crochet Basics

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.

Charity Knitting – Oct 2023 Update

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

Hello charity crafters!

The Knit at Night Guild is pleased to announce the next charity knitting/crochet event to be held on Sunday, October 22nd from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Windwood Presbyterian Church. It is located at 10555 Spring Cypress, just east of Highway 249.

For this gathering we are focusing on Warm Up America!, making 7” x 9” blanket sections made in worsted acrylic yarn. The charity expressed the need for blankets, and they have joiners who will put together the knitted and crocheted sections we provide.

There are links to some patterns for the blanket sections listed on the guild website as well as the charity site below. As long as the sections are the appropriate size and made with same type of yarn, some variation in the patterns is allowed.

Patterns & Yarns

To find out more about the charity, please click on the link below:

Home

We thought it would be nice to have everyone bring a snack to share. Finger foods are the best as you can snack and knit at the same time. It’s always fun when you add food to an event!

Please bring any completed blanket sections with you to the upcoming event so we can get these to Warm Up America!

For those interested, you can reach out to Julie Weaver before October 22nd for access to the yarn stash charity currently has stored as her home. Please feel free to text her at 847-624-8432.

Questions: email us knitatnightguildcharity@gmail.com

From the President – Oct 2023

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

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!

October 2023 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Brioche Knitting
KIND – Open Knitting & Sharing
KNIT – Make Your Own Buttons
KNOW – Sock KAL & Kitchener Stitch
SoCK – KAL/CAL Kickoff

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 – Sep 2023

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

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

September 2023 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Program Planning & Open Knitting
KIND – Guest Speaker: Carol Moseley
KNIT – Knit/Crochet Book Exchange
KNOW – Sock KAL
SoCK – Intro to Cables

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.

August 2023 Programs

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

KIK – Yarn Cozy/Bowl
KIND – 10 Stitch Technique
KNIT – Program Planning
KNOW – Round Table
SoCK – Make a Row Counter

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 – Aug 2023

Posted on by KANGWebmaster

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