The Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal is raising money to bring an MRI scanner to the Shetland islands. Over 600 patients from Shetland must travel south to have an MRI scan each year. MRI diagnostics are used to diagnose and monitor a wide variety of conditions and the number of patients who need them is steadily increasing.

Harriet Middleton designed Harriet’s Hat as part of the fundraising effort, and it has been a huge hit with knitters in Shetland and here in the US. Having had to travel from Shetland to the UK mainland every 3 months over 2 years for a scan, she knows first hand how beneficial the islands having their own scanner will be. That is what inspired her to use her knitting to draw the community together to support it. Not only is this a chance to support a great cause, it’s also a truly beautiful hat.

You can purchase just the pattern or kits in several colorways directly from MRI Maakers. There are also links on the site to purchase the kit from several US yarn shops.  

Pattern may be purchased here for £4.00 (via paypal)

Lynette Swanson, of Northbrook’s Three Bags Full, attended our May meeting along with her assistant. They gave us a brief overview of their shop and history, showed us some lovely knit objects, and brought in samples of Isager yarn for everyone to try out.

​Isager yarn is a Danish company that Lynette and her customers just love. It is comes in a variety of weights that are well suited to mixing together and combining in projects. Many of us were glad to learn more about this new yarn, while other members shared firsthand experience—like Hannah’s shawl in this month’s Show & Share. 

At our April meeting we all got a lesson mosaic knitting. Rosie P brought in her copy of Barbara Walker’s book on mosaic knitting along with printed charts and instructions. After a short discussion, guild members got out their yarn and needles to try it out. By the time our meeting was over, a few people had swatches that were pretty far along. We hope to see some finished projects at Show & Share over the next few months.  See the current newsletter for more information on mosaic knitting resources and patterns.  Current newsletters are available to WCKG members only.  Not a member?  Join today!

We also discussed charity knitting and topics for future meetings.

Sam will be able to teach her popular dyeing class at the Welles Park Clubhouse, so stay tuned for more information as we decide on the right month for a class

​Here are a few of the groups we are supporting in 2019:

• Cancer Wellness Center 
• The Snuggles Project 
• The Seaman’s Church Institute 
• Wool-Aid 

​Please save your donations and bring them to our October meeting (traditionally our Charity Month). We will then deliver the items to the charity programs towards the end of the year. As always, if you know of a charity that needs knitted items or one to which you have donated to in the past, please contact us!

Here are the events that are scheduled for the 2019  The "TBD" items will be revised as soon as topics are known.  This information is also always on the calendar.
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• January:  Stranded Knitted taught by Fiberfly Fiber Arts
• February:  Business Meeting
• March: Guest Speaker: Amalia Malos, Evanston Stitchworks
• April:  Mosaic Knitting
• May:  TBD
• June:  TBD
• July: Annual Stash Sale
• August: TBD
• September: Bring in your items knit for the various 2019 WCKG Charities.  
• October: TBD
• November: Annual Potluck
• December:  Annual Gift Exchange

The new website is live.  What do you think?!?  Please contact us if you find anything that is amiss or that you would like to see added.  

Thank you to Amalia Malos for coming to our March meeting.  Amalia told us about the history of Evanston Stitchworks, her philosophy and brough some lovely yarns and books to show & sell. There is a free (BYOB) drop-in stitch night at her shop the first and third Tuesdays of each month.   

Please join us for our upcoming meeting on March 12. Our guest speaker will be Amalia Malos from Evanston Stitchworks.

​We Need Your Help in Planning the Future of the Guild
We have a serious shortage of board members.  We need both a President and Monthly Meeting Coordinator.  Last year, Julie S, as WCKG President, assumed both roles.  

Without these positions being filled, we will need to break these responsibilities down or change the meeting structure. We have two options:

• Members can sign-up to be responsible for creating a monthly meeting topic. This could include a specific technique or knitting project. We would need six members to take on the role for one monthly session each. This could be either the member presenting the topic or being responsible for  finding an outside speaker to handle that portion of the meeting.   The guild would pay someone $100 for their presentation at the meeting. 
• Another alternative would be to change the meetings from a presentation format to a knit night along with Show & Share.

We need your feedback! We also need your commitment to the future of the guild. The March meeting will allow everyone a chance to weigh in on how you want the guild to proceed.

On April 21–22, a group of guild members enjoyed a trip to Galena, Illinois, stopping at several yarn shops along the way.

The first shop we visited was Knit One Purl Two in Rockford, Illinois. If you are ever in the Rockford area, this is a must-visit. In addition to a wide range of yarns, they shop features a nice warm fireplace and couches to sit and knit. They were having a sale on kits, which many guild members took advantage of.
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Next on our list was Wall of Yarn in Freeport, Illinois. A centerpiece of that shop was a rack of self-striping sock yarn by Biscotte, with a large banner showing how each colorway knits up. If there was a skein you missed, check out www.biscotteyarns.com. The two men who own the shop were so kind and helpful — they recommended a great local restaurant for lunch, and then ran over with some of our purchases.
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Over lunch at Wagner House in Freeport, we decided to add one more yarn shop to the schedule. Several shoppers we ran into on our trip mentioned Yarn Soup in Dubuque, Iowa, just twenty minutes past Galena. This was another great shop, which we kept busy until closing time.

We ended the day with a bit of shopping around Galena, but saved the last shop for Sunday morning. April 22 was FiberWild’s very last day of business, but there was still plenty of yarn left and great deals to be had. The sales are still going on at www.fiberwild.com.

Cars packed to the brim with yarn, we made our way back home on Sunday afternoon. I think only a few of us had the stamina for the last stop at Elgin Knit Works, so maybe another day trip in that direction is in order!