I’ve just caught my breath after a lovely weekend away with the Richmond Knitters.
It began with lunch as our meet-up point on Friday, and from there we slid into a very relaxing, do nothing but knit (or quilt) and eat kind of a weekend.
It was a weekend of Two’s.
Two cakes
Two kinds of wine. Mulled and Yarn Bombing themed.
Two quilts
Two spinning wheels
There was lots of food and lots of laughs
And a bit of knitting
It was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to do it again!
Well you’ve come to the right place… but before I blow the trumpet of the Richmond Knitters I thought I should talk about the great things about joining any Knitting Group.
1. You can make friends. You like people don’t you? You love knitting? Voila! Knitting friends.
2. Attending a Knitting group makes knitting so much more interesting. 50 yards of stocking stitch gets boring fast, but a distraction… and completing rows and rows of knitting is time well spent.
3. A place to be yourself and share your passion. No one will judge the size of your stash or your number of WIPs at a knitting group, we’re all in the same boat (well most of us are). What’s more is that at a knitting group, Knitters speak your language without their eyes glazing over.
4. Inspiration. Through sharing WIPs, FO’s and new purchases, there is much inspiration as well as envy. No idea what to knit next? At a knit night you’ll get plenty of inspiration and advice.
5. Something to look forward to. Getting away from your family one night a week, or one afternoon a month can be good for you (and probably for them). Doing something you enjoy in the company of others. Rough day at work? Monday night knitting is a good cure for Monday-itis, just saying.
Now the hard part: Showing up to your first knit night.
Firstly, and this is something seasoned knitting group attendees seem to forget (I know I do). EVERYONE is a little nervous about attending their first knitting group meet. It’s only natural to be a little freaked out about it, oh how we forget. For one thing, if you’re coming in cold YOU. DON’T. KNOW. ANYONE. THERE. That’s a pretty scary thing, particularly when it’s likely everyone else knows each other, thoughts of high school start creeping in and that’s it, you’re not going.
Can I just say: everyone goes through this thought process, but you have to be brave! Most knitting groups I’ve ever attended have been scary for the first five seconds. They’ve all been welcoming and fun and people you don’t know will want to talk to you. It’s something Knitters have in common, we all want to talk about our knitting and we are all friendly, that’s why we joined a knitting group.
Tip 1: Bring something you’re enjoying to knit to your first meet. But nothing too interesting unless you’re some kind of brainiac and can follow a lace chart whilst participating in 2 conversations AT. THE. SAME. TIME. It’s been done, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s ok to bring multiple projects, the ‘difficult’ one could be for show and tell. Most evening meets have dim lighting, so knitting something ‘light’ in colour is the go, also plain knitting is winning!
Tip 2: Bring some Show and Tell if you want. A book, magazine or your latest yarn purchase, if you want to make people swoon. Sometimes show and tell can be a finished object, I fully endorse milking that.
Tip 3: Don’t be afraid to ask other people questions about themselves. Just because you’re the newbie doesn’t mean other Knitters don’t want to chat. It also takes the pressure off you when someone is telling you about themselves.
Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to ask questions about knitting. The skill levels of any knitting group varies quite a lot. Just because you attend a knitting group, doesn’t mean you have to know everything about knitting, no one expects you to (if you can cast-on and knit, you’re in). People are open to offering help and knowledge, it makes them feel good to help another knitter out so don’t be shy about asking.
The Richmond Knitters have been going strong for 8 years. It’s my favourite way to spend my Monday nights, amongst smart people and fun knitters (men and women). With knitters arriving around 6pm and onwards, we eat, chat and knit. And there’s always stories and laughter. We are always looking for new members who are passionate about knitting/crocheting and or hand-spinning.
If you’ve read this far, you should just come along and see what it’s like, I’m pretty sure you won’t regret it.
Richmond Knitters
Every Monday night from 6pm
The Spread Eagle Hotel
372 Bridge Rd, Richmond, Victoria, Australia 3121
I don’t make New Years resolutions around personal goals and achievements anymore, but I do aspire to ‘Knit better’ each year.
Knit more (is always at the top of my list), learn a new technique, knit from stash, knit from old stash and stash down. Well actually that last one is a lie. I don’t really try to stash down; but I try to do a stash cleanse now and again. Just ask the knitting group!
Last year I completed a couple of ‘Use It Or Lose It’ projects from ‘deep stash’. It resulted in 2 complete garments which I have been wearing and I’m very happy with. One project ended up on the ‘lose it’ pile. It’s been fun and I’ve just begun my next UIOLI project from some Jo Sharp cotton.
I’ve cast on for ‘Bloom’ by Georgie Hallam. It’s going to be a gorgeous little tunic/top for one of my nieces. The yarn was originally bought to make a cardigan for me (maybe 8 years ago, maybe longer), but I wasn’t feeling the love anymore. So when I thought about making this project for M; I thought it might be a good match. I’m not even worried about using the left-overs for some washcloths. Oh how I love using hand knitted wash cloths?! Most of mine have been given to me as gifts, so I need a few more.
My other Knit resolution is to learn Brioche stitch and to do some colour work that requires Steeking, eek! I’ve been inspired by Stephen West’s latest patterns which involve Brioche Stitch, I think the Askews Me Hat could be a good entry project into the Brioche world.
What are your Knit Resolutions?
Richmond Knitters 