What the Knitting & Crochet Guild means to me
I FIRST came across the Knitting & Crochet Guild at a yarn show, and joined because I wanted to learn more about knitting and connect with other knitters. Since then, the Guild has become a big part of my life.
What I value most about my membership is making new friends. That began at the first convention I attended, knowing no one. Now, I look forward to seeing members at the annual convention, yarn shows and at other times. Many are not well known, but a few are: I had tea with Emma Vining and Jo Allport at this year’s Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and caught up with Hazel Tindall. I’ve met them through the Guild, and I love the fact that these, and many other renowned designers, are members.
The Guild gives you the chance to use skills you’ve gained in other areas, and in my case that included being on the board for a time, and also head of marketing. To help me in these roles, I visited the Guild’s Collection at Lee Mills in Yorkshire where Angharad Thomas and Barbara Smith, who lead the Collections team, showed me round. Since then, I’ve visited several times, and delight in being given a peek into some of the many boxes of knitted treasures. When I was last there, Edina Ronay’s name on a box caught my eye and, as a fan of her work in the 1990s, I asked to see inside. Cue many ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ for the gorgeous colourful sweaters!
I’ve long had a love of knitting traditions in Scotland, and delight in seeing some of the items in the Collection that relate to my interest. I’ve been researching the history of knitting in the Outer Hebrides, and was able to use the Guild’s library to help with this; to contact other members who had some relevant knowledge; and to use a visit to the museum in Stornoway as the basis for an article in the Guild’s journal,
Slipknot. While I continue to write articles for our journal, I am also one of the joint editors. Everything in it is written by members, and I love reading what they submit.
The Guild is open to anyone with an interest in knitting and crochet, and its aims are ‘education, preservation and inspiration’. It has achieved all these aims as far as I’m concerned. I’ve learned new skills, I understand a lot more about knitting history and traditions, I’ve met many wonderful people, and I’ve seen such exceptional examples of our craft in the Collection. I’ve surprised myself too. For example, I’ve learned (a tiny bit!) about how websites are created through helping with the site revamp.
The Guild is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, a remarkable achievement for an organisation that is funded and run solely by its members. We may be small, but we punch way above our weight. It means a lot to me to be involved.