FAQ

  1. What do I get for my $35.00?
  2. Who are these speakers?
  3. What kind of seminars?
  4. How big is the Guild?
  5. What if I want to come, but have no one to bring me as a guest?
  6. Can someone there teach me how to knit?
  7. Do I have to be a good knitter to join?
  8. I can only knit and purl, not do fancy stitches.
  9. I can crochet, but not knit. Can I join anyway?
  10. How long do the meetings last?
  11. Why don’t you meet in the summer?
  12. I can’t drive. How can I get there?
  13. I’m too old and set in my knitting ways. Why would I want to join?
  14. I’m a teenager. Am I too young to join?
  15. After I pay my dues, are there any other costs?
  16. How long has the Guild been active?
  17. Can I pay by credit/debit card?
  18. Is it all grandmothers?
  19. I use a knitting machine. Can I join?
  20. Can I bring my baby and toddler to the meetings?
  21. I have a service dog. Is that a problem?
  22. I’m a guy. Will I feel out of place?
  23. What is the Knitters’ Fair?
  24. Who runs the Knitters’ Fair?
  25. Are there any other activities run by the Guild?
  26. What is National Knit in the Park Day?
  27. I want to look up something in a previous newsletter.
What do I get for my $35.00? Back to top
  • Members come to 9 monthly meetings per year. Each meeting has announcements of interest to knitters, a show-and-tell by members, and a speaker who is brought in on knitting or knitting related topics.
  • A monthly newsletter.
  • Each year, a weekend of seminars is set up with an outside teacher. These are extra activities and carry a cost. The seminars are held in the winter or spring.
  • Every other year, the Guild produces an adjudicated show. Members submit items that they have knitted in the previous 2 years for judging. An adjudicator is invited from outside the Guild (to prevent bias), and awards are presented after a fashion show of all the submitted items.
  • Various yarn related stores in the area give discounts to the members.
  • Members bring yarn they want to sell at good prices.
  • Each meeting, we have a raffle with lots of great prizes.
  • Access to an extensive lending library.
Who are these speakers? Back to top
Some speakers from the past years are:

What kind of seminars? Back to top
We have had:

And moreĀ…

How big is the Guild? Back to top
The Guild has over 200 members. Knitting is becoming more and more popular. Although interest swings up and down over about a 10 year period, we are noticing a great upswing now. Popular actresses are knitting and boosting its appeal. In our busy and hectic lives, we are finding that knitting calms and centres us. Some call knitting “the new Yoga”.
What if I want to come, but have no one to bring me as a guest? Back to top
Come along anyway. Tell the person at the membership desk that you are visiting but have no sponsor, and she will find one for you. Everyone is welcome, and sponsorship is not a requirement.
Can someone there teach me how to knit? Back to top
Although the Guild has no specific teachers, Conestoga College and the City of Kitchener through the recreation centres sometimes have classes. Some members may teach out of their homes and you can get that information at the Guild.
Do I have to be a good knitter to join? Back to top
Not at all. We have members at all skill levels, from beginners to professionals. The Guild is a co-operative group, and we can always learn and progress with help from each other.
I can only knit and purl, not do fancy stitches. Back to top
Everyone starts at the same place, and all knitting is based on the knit and purl stitches.
I can crochet, but not knit. Can I join anyway? Back to top
Certainly you can join. There are many knitters who also crochet and we see their work in ‘Show and Tell’, but we are primarily a knitter’s group. If you want to set up a parallel Crochet Guild, there are many members who would join you.
How long do the meetings last? Back to top
Meetings start promptly at 7:30 p.m. and, after a break, conclude at approximately 9:00 to 9:30 p.m.
Why don’t you meet in the summer? Back to top
Some people find it too hot to knit in the summer, plus the fact that many have less time with the kids out of school. It’s nice to take a break.
In August, we try to do something for National Knit in the Park Day, when knitters all across Canada gather in the park and knit.

Our “Knit and Chat” sessions continue all year.

I can’t drive. How can I get there? Back to top
Check with Grand River Transit to find how to get to the meetings. Once you have arrived at a meeting, you can say where you live, and we will try to find someone in the same area with whom you can make an arrangement.
I’m too old and set in my knitting ways. Why would I want to join? Back to top
Come see us and find out where knitting is going today. Also, the Guild is not just about knitting; it’s also about friendship, companionship and the joy of sharing something you like with others who do.
I’m a teenager. Am I too young to join? Back to top
No, you’re not too young. But if you are under 16, we have concerns about how you are getting there and getting home. If you would like to join, come with a parent or guardian so that we can meet them and reassure them of your safety.
After I pay my dues, are there any other costs? Back to top
The annual seminars in January do have a fee. This is set each year to defray the cost of bringing the teacher, and is not a fundraiser for the Guild. We do not raise or collect money on behalf of any charity. Whenever we are approached by a charity, we announce it to the membership and let them take it or leave it. Most people who approach us are asking for knitted items and not money, and these are the only kind we announce.
How long has the Guild been active? Back to top
The Guild was started in 1986 and has been active since then.
Can I pay by credit/debit card? Back to top
The Guild is not set up to accept credit/debit cards or to accept payment over the internet. Application can be made by downloading the membership form from the Web site, and payment can be made by mail or in cash or by cheque at the meetings. Our year runs from September to May and new members may join at any time.
Is it all grandmothers? Back to top
We have all ages represented in the Guild. And just think this way: if you had a daughter at 18 and she had a child at 18, that would make you a grandmother at 36!
I use a knitting machine. Can I join? Back to top
Certainly. We have machine knitting members. Perhaps, you would like to also get together with them as a group.
Can I bring my baby and toddler to the meetings? Back to top
This is always a hard question to answer. The Knitters’ Guild has always been nursing mother friendly, but toddlers and young children get bored and tend to fidget. With our membership growing so large, we have to say no to any children not nursing. For some mothers, this is their only night away from their own children, and the only sounds they want to hear are the guest speaker and the clicking of needles.
I have a service dog. Is that a problem? Back to top
We already have two blind knitters. Their service dogs are quiet and do not interrupt the meetings. On the other hand, we accept their position as working dogs and do not pet or feed them until their harnesses are removed during break.
I’m a guy. Will I feel out of place? Back to top
You shouldn’t because you won’t be the only one there. Also, one of our past presidents is a guy. We look at people as knitters and not by gender.
What is the Knitters’ Fair? Back to top
On the second Saturday in September, the Guild holds the Knitters’ Fair at Bingemans in Kitchener. Vendors from all over Ontario assemble to sell yarn, patterns, notions and related knitting items. It’s a chance to see what’s hot and what’s new, and to touch and fondle yarns that we may not be able to get in town. It is also a chance to meet Guild members and sign up for Guild membership as well as for the Canadian Guild of Knitters.
Who runs the Knitters’ Fair? Back to top
The Fair is set up and run completely by volunteers of the K-W Knitters’ Guild.
Are there any other activities run by the Knitters’ Guild? Back to top
On the fourth Tuesday evening of each month, there is a Knit and Chat and knitters gather to share their projects and company and knit together. Some knitters go every Tuesday night, so it is a good place to learn about the Guild if you are thinking of becoming a member. Membership in the Guild is not a requirement.
What is National Knit in the Park Day? Back to top
We asked Paulette Lane of the West Coast Knitters Guild in Vancouver about this and here is what she told us:

The West Coast Knitters’ Guild has been Knitting in Stanley Park for 8 years, as of 2006. In 2004, I learned that the Gilli-Hook Heritage Knitters Guild in Calgary was knitting in the park in Calgary on the same day. I could not let this co-incidence pass. I had all the guild contact e-mails for the newsletter exchange so I invited all the guilds, and knitters without guilds, to knit in the park in their community and Knitting in the Park across Canada was born. The Nelson Knitters formed a “guild” as a result of the event in 2004.
The Americans have the national Knit Out, Crochet Too every year in September sponsored by the Crafts Yarn Council of America with lots of events and exhibitors. It always bugged me that Canadians did not have a national day for knitting so I seized the opportunity to see what would happen. I did not want all the hoopla and need for organization, just knitting in the park or some other public place in your community on a summer afternoon. How much better can that get?
Each year, some who have participated in the event, send a short report and sometimes a picture for the West Coast Knitters’ News September issue to share their experience with the knitters across Canada.
Keep Canada Knitting
Paulette

The K-W Knitters’ Guild is continuing this tradition. Check the calendar for this year’s date.

I want to look up something in a previous newsletter. Back to top
Each month, the current newsletter will be posted to the Web site approximately one week to ten days before the meeting. When the new newsletter is posted, in will be found under the “Current Issue” link in the Newsletters page. We currently have digital copies of the newsletters on the website from 2006 to present. Hard copies of older issues will be available to read in the Library.