'Quick' guide to the Knitting & Crochet Guild:
The Collection
The Guild's Collection of knitting and crochet tools, yarns, ephemera and memorabilia was started in 1991 with a very generous donation of items from her own collection by Audrie Stratford, a Norfolk knitter and author of books on knitting.
Since then, other individual members have generously donated items from their own or their relatives' collections, or items they have come across at car boot sales, jumble sales and charity shops.
The Collection contains well over 10,000 items and, properly packed in boxes, now fills the equivalent of two rooms of a Victorian house.
>> Collection News: fire at Lee Mills
The Library
The Guild Library comprises a collection of:
- Books
- Periodicals
- Pattern Books
- Patterns
The library is a continually growing collection, thanks mostly to members' generous donations which are always welcome. Funds are allocated by the Committee for the purchase of older and scarce books.
The books from the Guild Library were moved up to Lee Mills in 2006. There are "working days" at the Mill and members are more than welcome to come and help tidy and/or sort boxes of donations. Many hands make light work
In the Guild Library prior to a 'Hands On' Guild Open Day talk at Lee Mills in 2009, (Left to right):
Liz Gillett, Knitting & Crochet Guild board member and Collection Co-ordinator,
Prudence Mapstone – www.knotjustknitting.com, international freeform knitting and crochet designer/teacher/author
Mary Hawkins, Knitting & Crochet Guild member and tireless textile teacher and activist
[Photo by Peter Buck]
Pattern Search Service
A limited service is being provided by Rita Taylor. Charges are £1 for members and £2 for non-members and funds raised go towards the costs of rehousing the Library.
The Centre for Knitting & Crochet
Increasingly over the last few years the Guild has been struggling to find somewhere to house its continuously burgeoning Collection and Library and to face up to the need to the general challenges which are presented to anyone concerned about the future of the crafts of knitting and crochet in the twenty-first century. We are presently engaged in a project to fund and acquire premises which will be at the heart of our strategy to all these pressures
Education
The Guild is continually striving to advance the crafts of knitting and crochet. We are developing resources to help teach young children but are also committed to helping our members improve their own skills.
Resources will be readily available to members wishing to further the educational aims of the guild. One of the main methods used to encourage these crafts amongst the young is the Young Yarn Users.
Study Packs
Another series of resources, which began as an idea in 1989, is our Study Packs. These consist of samples of stitches, photos, patterns and anything else relevant and cover subjects such as openwork stitches, surface decoration, colour work, aran, etc.
Study Days
More recently we have arranged events where members have made themselves available to teach a range of classes in order to attract non-members as well as other members and to spread information, skills and enthusiasm for our crafts.
We aim to join our skills with communities overseas and ethnic groups in the UK so we can share our skills and mutual interests.
We are also looking towards making the resources appropriate to the needs of people with disabilities, mental health problems and elderly people in an effort to ensure that the therapeutic benefits of craft working can be shared by all.
SlipKnot
The Guild's quarterly journal, SlipKnot, is full of information, ideas, tips and techniques you won't find elsewhere. It is produced by and for members who receive it as part of their membership.
'Young Yarn User' Newsletter
Any rumour of its demise was unfounded! A re-vamped 'Young Yarn User', the Knitting & Crochet Guild's Newsletter for the young and young at heart, has hit the streets with a new image, new masthead and a cute new mascot …
… whose name is "Woolliam"!
The twice-yearly Newsletter contains ideas, information, tips and patterns for both knittters and crocheters. Here's a peep inside issue 12 – Autumn/Winter 2004:
- Book reviews
- Letter from the Chair
- Competition
- Not such Knits!
- Crochet jewellery
- Snowflakes
- Hot Water Bottle Cover
- Snowman Scarf
- Information
- Tips & Techniques
- Introduction
- To make a cord in Chinese Weaving
- Jokes
- Knitted Heart
To subscribe (£5pa) or enquire about back numbers (5 x 2nd class stamps each), please contact:
Membership Secretary
Knitting & Crochet Guild
37 Knox Green, Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 4NZ
Email: membership@knitting-and-crochet-guild.org.uk
Publications
The guild also publishes booklets for sale to members and to the public.
Local Groups/Regional Co-ordinators
We have groups in many parts of the country that give members chance to meet others with similar interests and exchange ideas, share skills and air their views.
A Regional Co-ordinator scheme helps those unable to get to local meetings to keep in touch.
K&CG Members' Yahoo Group
Want to have more contact with K&CG members? Want to have a say in how your Guild develops? Well you can by joining the K&CG online Yahoo Group – just email Yvonne Davies for details, quoting your name, membership number and annual subscription renewal date.
'200' Club
The Guild's '200' Club is a fun way of fund-raising which gives its members a chance of winning a cash prize! The money the club raises is used to benefit all Guild members. For instance, it has paid for shelving and box-files for the Library and header cards and files for displaying the Study Packs.
The Guild on Show
The Guild goes 'on Show' in two ways:
• By making available parts of the Collection and/or Library for display in museums or exhibitions mounted locally by members. See SlipKnot for how to obtain a Catalogue and apply for items for display.
• By having a stand at major exhibitions, such as 'The Knitting & Stitching Show' in Tatton Park, London, Dublin and Harrogate. This is possible only if there are enough members to set up and staff the stand.
Annual Convention and AGM
The highlight of the Guild year (usually in early July), is the annual Convention and AGM.
2009 AGM – 4 July
• More info
2010 AGM: Will be in the Tyne and Wear area. Details to follow in due course.
>> For more general information about this event
Who can join?
Membership of the Knitting & Crochet Guild is open to everyone interested in knitting (by hand or machine) or crochet.
Don't think you have to be an expert to be a member - most of us are simply people who are hooked on knitting and crochet. Some of us enjoy collecting memorabilia and are interested in the historical side; some, indeed, are professionals, authors, teachers, or designers. Many are keen to improve their technique and like to attend classes and workshops; but most of us simply enjoy doing our knitting or crochet and meeting others who share our interests.
What does it cost?
Annual Subscriptions
- single adult – £18
- junior/under 18 – £9
- family – £27
- corporate – £54
Overseas members add:
- £5 to cover exchange rates, plus for airmail:
- £2.50 for Europe
- £4.75 for the rest of the world
BFPO rates are the same as for the UK
How do you join?
Please print out, complete and mail the Membership Application with your sterling cheque/PO or credit card details to:
Membership Secretary
Knitting & Crochet Guild
37 Knox Green, Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 4NZ
Email: membership@knitting-and-crochet-guild.org.uk
Payment by other methods:
Some members in other parts of the world obtain sterling cash and, using Registered Mail, send it direct to the Membership Secretary in the UK. This is usually much less expensive and carries only a small risk of loss. Otherwise, to reduce the transaction costs of cheques and/or as a hedge against possible inflation, it may be worth considering paying up to a maximum of three years subscriptions at once
Covenanting your Subscription
As the Guild is a registered charity any UK member who pays tax may covenant the subscription, which enables the Guild to recover tax from the Inland Revenue at the rate of one third of the current subscription
Gift Subscriptions
Members of their families may buy gift subscriptions for friends or relatives. This can be a good way of resolving Christmas gift problems.
Send the subscription as described above with details of who the subscription is for and telling them who sent the gift. Generous husbands have been known to give more than one year's gift subscription at a time …
Donations
The Guild is always happy to accept donations, for the Guild Library and Archives of:
• Books (new or old), leaflets, patterns, postcards and photographs
and, for the Guild Collection, of:
• Pieces of knitting and crochet (finished or unfinished), garments, knitted and crocheted, samplers, needles, hooks, yarn, samples, spinners' shade cards and sample books, knitting machines or sock machines
Please contact the Collection's Group Co-ordinator if you need help with delivery.
Please send money (cheques or cash) in the traditional way to:
Linde Merrick,
Treasurer
Knitting & Crochet Guild Ltd
Unit 4, Lee Mills, Scholes, Holmfirth, HD9 1RJ
If you wish, you may specify how you want your cash donation to be used, for instance, to buy items for the Library, to expand the Guild Collection, for the Centre Project, towards publication costs, etc.