Join or renew your Puddletown Knitters Guild Membership for 2023

Puddletown membership lasts from January 1 to December 31 of 2023. It's $35 to renew for the year. Don't forget to renew here and participate in the fun events we have planned this year!

In order to make our guild more accessible to all, Puddletown Knitters Guild has a membership scholarship program. Please donate any amount towards a membership for a fellow knitter. To do so, speak with our treasurer at guild meetings. To receive a scholarship, it's as easy as emailing us.

2023 Membership for INDIVIDUALS

2023 Membership for BUSINESSES

OUR GUILD MEETINGS
ARE NOW HYBRID

CLICK HERE to read our COVID-19 policies for the in person meeting

Watch from home via zoom or join us in person!

Rose City Park Presbyterian Church
1907 NE 45th Ave, Portland, OR 97213

CAPACITY WILL BE RESTRICTED. Please RSVP to reserve your seat. If we haven't already checked your vaccine card, you may also email proof of vaccination to limit check in time.

Doors open at 6pm for social knitting.
Program begins at 7pm.
NO ENTRY AFTER 7pm.

Covid vaccination & booster proof and masks are required.

Thursday, March 9th, 2023
HYBRID Program starts at 7 p.m.

Michele Lee Bernstein designs and teaches from her home in Portland, Oregon. She loves using interesting techniques to make small objects from one or two skeins of very special yarn. Michele will talk about her history with brioche knitting and share samples from her new book: Brioche Knit Love. In her book she teaches a new technique with every pattern. Bring your US 15 needles and super bulky yarn (or worsted weight and US size 6 needles). Her presentation will include a starter one-color brioche project! Michele will be bringing a limited supply of her book for purchase as well.

CLICK HERE to join the meeting via ZOOM

CLICK HERE to RSVP for the in person meeting

Member Tip with Emme Von

Emme will chat about the pros and cons of test knitting!

Share your tips and tricks! Send a note to info@puddletownknittersguild.com.

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at Member Tips?
Now is your chance. We have a couple of spots available if you would like to share your favorite tips!

February Tips Recap!

At our February meeting, member Margaret Weddell shared a few of her favorite online resources for knitting entertainment, tutorials, and inspiration. Here is her condensed list:

Entertaining

Fruitty Knitting (YouTube): a bit of knitting, a bit of classical music, a bit of travelogue, and long form interview with a designer or yarn producer.
Sit and Knit with Carlos and Arne (YouTube): You sit and knit. Carlos and Arne talk about their life together in rural Norway, their garden, their cooking, and of course, their knit and crochet designs.
The Yarniacs (Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts): Gayle and Sharlene host a delightful Knit Night you can join any time.

Tutorials

Suzanne Bryan (YouTube): Suzanne has so many tutorials from basics to the most advanced methods. Her tutorials are long, detailed, and thorough.
Willie Smith (IG and YouTube): 90 second tutorials, that are so good, and encouraging.
Very Pink (YouTube): Short, but thorough tutorials, professionally produced in her home studio.

Inspiring

Toni Lipsey TL Yarn Craft Designs (YouTube): Primarily a crochet designer, Toni's crochet designs may inspire you to give crochet a try.
Fiberchat (YouTube): Irina Shaar interviews fiber artists from around the world. She is an inspired interviewer. Highly recommended is her 3 part series "How To Become a Better Knitter" which features mini-interviews with 30 international fiber stars.
Skeins of Dreams (YouTube): Megha Jampani moved from India to Buffalo, New York, to attend school Listening to this podcast is like reading a novel of a young woman with a foot in each of two cultures, using knitting as an analogy of her coming to terms with her place in both cultures. The episodes are simple, moving, and a bit poetic.

Can you help set out chairs? Greet other members? Help monitor Zoom chat? Click here to sign up!

Show and Tell

In person show and tell, bring your FOs and have your pattern name and yarn details ready.We know you have much to show off, but please limit your items to one per meeting.

Virtual attendees, submit your photos! Please include your pattern name, yarn details and anything special about the project. Email your photos to showandtell@puddletownknittersguild.com before you go to bed on Tuesday, March 7.

Mark Your Calendar

Guild Events

Join Puddletown's Virtual Knit Nights

Every Monday
Drop-in anytime between 6 and 8 p.m.

Visit the Guild Events page for the current link.

APRIL MEETING:

Reclaiming Yarn From Knit Garments

With the perspective of an engineer and a garment designer, Amanda Lane has unlocked the secret to reclaiming yarn from thrift shop garments. Amanda will talk about how to reclaim yarn from thrifted sweaters, including how to over-dye the yarn. She is obsessed with all things fiber and understanding how things work. She loves learning new skills and sharing her knowledge with others. Amanda spends most of her free time knitting, spinning, sewing, and weaving.

2023 Service Projects

The Guild's official service project for 2023 is knitting for foster children and families. Our partners are Boxes of Love and With Love.

Why Two Organizations?
Working with two organizations will let us serve a more diverse group of foster kids. This means we knitters and crocheters will have more choice in what we create — if you love knitting toddler sweaters, then knit toddler sweaters. And if crocheting toys is your jam, get that hook out and get your amigurumi on! Boxes of Love is especially interested in toddler sweaters and hats for babies through teens, while With Love is hoping to share dolls with diverse skin tones with their clients. Both organizations would love to wrap their kids in some warm baby blankets. Watch for challenges throughout the year that will focus on these items, but don’t feel limited. If it is warm and soft and a child can wear it or cuddle it, we can find a home for it between these two groups. The only requirement is that you use MACHINE-WASHABLE and SOFT yarns.

Details here about the Spring Challenge!

What: Toddler sweaters. Infant and child sweaters accepted, but we are targeting sizes 2T-3T. Washable, soft yarn only!
When: Last sweaters accepted at the April meeting (may be delivered at the April meeting or you can email us with a photo of the finished garment on or before April 13)
Prize drawings: Every challenge item earns the knitter an entry in a random drawing for a challenge prize as well as a bonus entry in the annual prize drawing
Prizes: First place - $25 gift card to guild business member shop of knitter’s choice; Second place - a lovely yarn surprise
Drop off: At the Service Knitting table at in-person meetings or email outreach@puddletownknittersguild.com to arrange a drop-off
Reminder: All year long we have a baby blanket challenge going. So knit a little sweater as a palette cleanser and then keep knitting those blankets!

The Boxes of Love Project is a grassroots effort to provide babies and children entering foster care from local hospitals with a large box of new clothing, pajamas, shoes, and other comfort items to call their own…A Box of Love. It is their mission to let these babies and children know that they are valued and loved. Having their own clothes and comfort items help the children feel secure during what can be very frightening times.

At With Love, the mission is to help foster families change the lives of children ages 0 – 6 by providing resources that nurture dignity, hope, and community. Like Boxes of Love, With Love is also a grassroots organization. They answer specific requests from foster families within a few days of a new child entering the home. Families are also able to continue to make requests for goods every 90 days while a child is in their care. They provide everything from clothing and toys to baby gear and diapers.

Community Events

PDXKnitterati Michele Lee Bernstein and Margaret Weddell have teamed up to support the Knit for Food Knit-a-thon 2023. This takes place on Sunday, March 26, 2023 to raise funds and awareness for food insecurity. The money raised will be equally divided between Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

We will be knitting and raising funds Sunday, March 26, 2023, from 12-5 at the Fremont United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Come by, chat and knit with us a bit. We'll be streaming Laura Nelkin's zoom meeting featuring music, speakers, breakout knitting rooms, yoga, stretching, knitting ergonomics, and more. We’ll hear from each of the four organizations that we’re fundraising for to learn more about the work they’re doing.

There are several ways to support Knit for Food.
1. Join Knit for Food at https://givebutter.com/knitforfood23 and commit to raising $100, OR
2. Donate any amount through one of our links: Knit for Food Knit-a-thon 2023 (Michele's) Knit for Food Knit-a-thon 2023 (Margaret's)
3. Join us March 26 to celebrate the knitting community as it supports Knit for Food. If you’ve already signed up to Knit for Food, we especially welcome you to join us!

Masks are not required, but are welcomed. Vaccination cards are not required, but we hope you are all keeping safe, and we trust that if you have any symptoms you will stay home and feel better. We will not be serving snacks, but please feel free to bring your coffee, tea, water and snacks.

Fremont United Methodist Church is located at 2620 NE Fremont, Portland.

Spring Updates from Knitted Wit & Craft Emporium

March Open Studio: Potato Chip Day

Saturday, March 11, 10-4
Celebrate all things potato chip (meaning both the actual delicious chip AND the kind of making we refer to as potato chip crafting). We'll be showcasing our favorite potato chip projects in all of our favorite crafts!

INTRO TO EMBROIDERY

Sat, 3/18/23, 9-3

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Embroidery is a fabulous craft, so different from knitting and crochet, but just as portable and creative. There is the opportunity to play with texture, stitches, and color, and the sampler we use for class is the bees knees. We'll spend the day talking about different stitches and Shannon will share tips and tricks.

April Open Studio: Patchwork Party

Saturday, April 1, 10-4

INTRO TO RIGID HEDDLE WEAVING

Sat, 4/8/23, 9-3
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Learn how to weave on rigid heddle loom in this popular day-long workshop!

Class is $400 with loom ($170 if you have your own Schacht rigid heddle loom), and includes a full day at the studio and everything you need to start your rigid heddle weaving journey.

Volunteers Needed

We are always looking for volunteers to help sustain the guild. At this time, we are especially in need of volunteers to help make the in person meetings happen.

For more information visit the About Us page, talk to one of the Board members at a meeting, fill out this interest form, or email info@puddletownknittersguild.com.

PKG Gear: Available on CafePress

We've opened a shop at CafePress, so now you can show your love for Puddletown Knitters Guild! With so many items—t-shirts, bags, stickers, and more—to choose from, you're bound to find something you like.

Shop Puddletown Gear

Our mission is to promote a diverse community of knitters of all abilities, to support local fiber providers and artists from farm to needles, to model respect for the local fiber community by actively valuing their time and expertise.