Meetings have resumed

Please join us on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at Canterbury Gardens Retirement Residence from 7pm to 9pm. The entrance is on Glenforest Boulevard.  From Sherbrooke Street turn onto Glenforest Blvd then left into the parking lot. The entrance is at the ground level. 

October 12th and 26th, 2023

November 9th and 23th, 2023

December 14th 2023 only

January 11th and 25th, 2024

In person meetings at Canterbury Gardens on Saturday Mornings at 10 a.m. to noon

We are delighted to be able to return to Canterbury Gardens for in person meetings.

We will be required to be masked throughout the meeting (unless eating or drinking) and complete a Covid declaration tick sheet that you are healthy.

We will meet in the Training Room on the lower level, with the entry from Glenforest Blvd, leaving our winter boots at the door. If no one is there to let you in you will have to use the buzzer to ask the receptionist to let you in. This way we do not pass through the areas where the residents are, keeping them safe from infections.

Change of venue and dates for meetings

As a new year begins, we await direction from Canterbury Gardens; they are confident we will return but unsure when that will be. 

In the meantime, it has been said that the majority would prefer to meet in the daytime this winter.  A couple of Saturday morning meetings at the library have been successful therefore we will continue to meet at the downtown library on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month at 10am.  You will find us up the ramp to the left, seated at tables near the window.


The dates for the next few months are:

January 14th and 28th

February 11th and 25th

March 11th and 25th

We've been busy during Covid

The theme we chose for the year/years was Knitting Socks

We were surprised to find that we had never had tackled that topic - in spite of a large number of our members producing  socks year over year.

It seems there was lot to learn, starting with choosing the most suitable yarns.  We read up in “The Knitters Book of Socks : the Yarn Lover’s Ultimate Guide to Creating Socks that Fit well, Feel great and Last a lifetime” Clara Parkes’ articles on why some  fibre is more suitable than others.

  • We learn that the number of plys the yarn has makes a difference, 3 ply and 4 ply yarns generally being best.

  • We learn that the amount of twist the yarn has and how tightly the yarn is twisted can make a difference to the sock made from it.

One member went all in and produced a basket full of  what she called "Happy Socks" explaining that bright cheerful colours was what her soul cried out for in the dark days of the unknown disease rampaging around her.

Seven pairs of brightly coloured socks

One knitter decided to try some of Cat Bordhi's socks.

Cat Bordhi discovered that the increases (if you are working toe towards calf) or decreases (if you are working top down) do not need to be in the tradition triangular placement at the heel.

This discovery has lead to many creative and beautiful socks, by many designers. Take a look at Knitty Magazine to see some of them..

Sample 1: side view

This sample sock shows that there is no decreasing in a triangular shape at the heel

Sample 1: Front view

Instead, the increasing and decreasing is hidden in the spiral

Sample 2: Side view

This sock, also, has no traditional triangle at the side but rather the increases and decreases are made in a upside-down V shape

Sample 2: Front view

Here the shaping is done in the "inverted “V”.

Here is an example of the design in Sample 1: Cat Bordhi’s “Pussy Willow Stockings from the book ”Sock Knitting master Class” in the process of being knitted .

XXX has had a stroke since we last saw her in the group. She found complicated socks, like she used to make, were beyond her in her "new" brain, but kudos to her, she now makes beautiful socks using multicoloured yarn which satisfies her yearning for  both colour and knitting socks.

 

As usual some members worked on their own projects.

  • One member loved the Ranunculus round yoke sweater by Midori Hirose so much that she knitted two of them..

  • Another popular pattern, the Love Note by Tin Can Knits was beautifully made by another member.

Love Note Sweater by Tin Can Knits made by a member.

A crochet enthusiast in the group was given some half-done crochet squares by an elderly friend who could not finish the project. This member asked a mutual friend what her favourite colours are, and  completed the blanket in those colours and gave it to her  in remembrance of their elderly friend.

What a beautiful way to be remembered.

 

Twelve Hitchhiker shawls  by Martina Behm were knitted by a member.

We may have been in lock down but we certainly haven't been out of action.

 

Our numbers dwindled during the pandemic but we still managed to contribute a pile of hats to the “Coats for Kids and Adults, Too” organisation who give winter clothing to those in need in the community.