At the October Guild meeting the need for people to fill leadership positions was discussed.  Without volunteers for these position it is likely the Guild will fold at the end of 2019.  

The Open Positions are:

• President:  Serve as leader at all guild meetings and Board meetings; responsible for the overall management of the guild.  This position was vacant in 2019.  
• Treasurer:   Rosemary P will meet with the new treasurer to hand over all the key information and explain her duties
• Webmaster:  Develop and maintain the guild’s website which includes
  o Weekly tasks (PayPal reports)
  o Monthly tasks (Uploading newsletter, calendar, photos, events, etc.)
  o Yearly tasks (Update board information, registration forms) as well as “as needed” tasks
  - Time Requirement: 5 hours per month and attend board meetings.  The website has been moved to a new webhost (Weebly) in 2019 and is easy to maintain.  Laura O. has documented the new  website and is happy to provide a hand-off for the transition.   
• Newsletter Editor:  Rebekah would be happy to meet with the new editor to explain the whole process. She currently creates the newsletter using Adobe InDesign, but you can use any program you have access to and are comfortable with and should feel free to make it your own. Previous editors have used Microsoft Publisher, Word, and other programs.
• Monthly Program Coordinator
  - Coordinate the programs for monthly meetings
  - Survey members to gather topics of interest and volunteers to present the program
  - Time Requirement: 2 to 5 hours per month and attend board meetings
• Weekend Workshop Coordinator:   Coordinate weekend workshops
  - Lead the committee to plan and run workshops
  - Time Requirement: 1 to 4 hours per month preparing minutes and attend board meeting

Contact us for additional information and/or to be put in touch with the current board members.  

Knitting for groups in need will be the focus of our October meeting.

Please bring items you have been working on this year to donate to the groups we are supporting in 2019. We will make sure they get to the appropriate charities.

A few of the groups that we support (but not all) include:

• Cancer Wellness Center (chemo hats)
• The Snuggles Project (blankets for shelter dogs and cats)
• The Seaman’s Church Institute (warm garments such as scarves, hats, slippers)
• Mount Sinai Hospital (washable hats for babies)
• Wool-Aid (warm woolen items for children in cold climates around the world)

In addition to knitting for these groups, we also received a special request from Sung K at our September meeting. Sung has taught a group from the 11th District CAPS meetings to knit, and now they are working on knitting baby hats for at-risk moms at Mount Sinai Hospital. Sung’s group will deliver the hats towards the end of November, so she will need any donations by the November meeting. These hats must be made with easy care yarn, such as cotton/bamboo/acrylic. 

Several our our board members have decided not to continue on the board in 2020. We are announcing this now so that you can begin thinking about the future of our guild and how you can contribute. Without board members, the guild will not be able to continue in its present form.

The following positions will be open at our November elections:

• President
• Treasurer
• Webmaster
• Newsletter Editor
• Monthly Program Coordinator
• Weekend Workshop Coordinator

​See the September newsletter for more information regarding these positions.  

At our September meeting we will explore a technique for knitting stripes in the round which does not include carrying yarn up the side of your work. Helical knitting is a fun way to incorporate yarns from your stash.

Homework is involved for the meeting. Below are the supplies you will need and the prep for the meeting.

Supplies Needed: 
• knitting needles (circular or double points) in US 6 and US 8 
• yarn from stash in worsted weight - a main color for knitting the brim of a hat and contrasting yarn (minimum of 2 colors) for knitting stripes.

Homework: 
• Cast-on 88 stitches and join to knit in the round 
• Knit a 1 x 1 rib, or 2 x 2 rib for desired length (1.5 to 3 inches in length) 
• Switch to larger needles and knit 1 row

At the meeting we will continue the hat pattern. If you have small amounts of worsted yarn in your stash and you would like to share with fellow knitters - please bring to the meeting.

​Meeting Details:
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 from 6:45 to 8:45 pm
Meeting Location:
Welles Park 
2333 W Sunnyside Ave, Chicago

August Meeting Ice Cream Social and Charity Yarn Giveaway
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 6:45 – 8:45 pm
Welles Park: 2333 W Sunnyside Ave 

In addition to having ice cream - come and pick up some yarn for charity knitting.  

A few months ago the guild received an email from Traci D, who inherited her mother’s stash a few years ago and was looking for somewhere to donate the yarn for use in charity projects. She and her husband will be bringing it to our August meeting. 

We hope you can make it to the meeting to pick up some yarn. You can bring your finished charity knitting projects to our October meeting.

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

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.