Thursday 10 November 2011

Sock Sisterrs! - Guy Knitters welcome

Woohoo!  I am starting a monthly sock knitting club.  By club I mean a get-together of like-minded people who like to sit and chat, knit socks, talk socks, compare socks and generally motivate each other - with any kind of DPN knitting.

Do you like knitting socks?  Do you live in London and would like to come along?

We could swap ideas about patterns, help each other with oddly worded instructions, show off our completed projects, talk sock yarns and compare notes about yarn shops or good online sites.

I thought of meeting up once month, perhaps on the first Monday of the month?  I will keep an open mind about that for now in case this weekday doesn't suit people.  I already had some feedback from some people about Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays not being very good, and seeing as Thursdays aren't brilliant for me I ended up with a Monday after this process of elimination.  But nothing is set in stone.

Shall I explain the name a little?  It had to have something to do with socks (well duh, obviously), Sisters goes nicely with that but just 'sock sisters' isn't all that unique.  No chance of trying to google that.  But stick an extra 'r' in there (a bit like in 'Grrls') and this is easily googlable! (go on, try it)

And please let me say that guy knitters are very welcome, the more the merrier!

I am thinking of posting information about this on various social media sites, like Google+ and Facebook, mention it on Twitter and also form a Ravelry group.  Right now the first meeting in December is posted to the 'London Knitting and Craft Meetup Group' on meetup.com.  So if you are a member of that meet-up group then please set your RSVP there!  If you are not, you are still very welcome, just let me know.  You can contact me any time for more information.

The venue will be in central London.  It is probably going to be the Royal Festival Hall unless we are a small group only - in that case it might be nicer to go to a coffee bar like Caffe Nero or Costa Coffee in the Piccadilly or Covent Garden areas.  I will confirm the weekend before.

The first meeting will be Monday 12th December 2011.  We can get a bit of Christmas knitting in! [Apologies, this is rescheduled from 5 December]

I will update this page once I put the Ravelry group together so that you can go there for all the ins and outs about the group, the meetings, the members.  We'll also be able to post pictures of our completed projects showing off our crafty cleverness!  Sock Sisterrs go!

There is just one thing I would like to mention. I will be very happy to advise you if you would like any pointers or help with a tricky bit, I am delighted to share what I know (and to learn from others) - exchanging tips and tricks is what these meetings are all about!  The only thing is that I will not be able to teach anyone how to knit.  I envisage this sock club as a social get-together with lots of knitting, chatting and eating cake but it is not a class or teaching event.  I am very happy to help, and I'm sure others don't mind having their brains picked either, but as I said it is not a workshop or course.  The meetings will be free of charge.  The only cost to you will be your coffee and cake, or civilised glass of wine if we're at the RFH!

I will also bring along a set of instructions for a pair of basic socks, so if you haven't knit socks for a while then this can serve as handy reference.  Please make sure you bring all the bits and pieces you need: a set of four or five double pointed needles (DPNs), your instructions and a suitable sock yarn.  The 4 ply yarns that have a bit of nylon in it are great for socks because it makes them more durable.

There are some great patterns out there.  Ravelry in particular is wonderful for free patterns (as well as those you need to pay a little for).  You can also check out how other people found knitting them, and look at their photos.

Let me know if you would like any other kind of information and I will update this page.

I am so excited and really, really looking forward to the 5th! Come along, indulge in knitting socks, sock, socks!

2 comments:

  1. Sure sounds like fun; enjoy! I have a friend in Calif who has a knitting group on Thurs nites. But when she starts her group, it would be past my bedtime...but I have considered joining her group via skype, as the knitting group at the store near me is not friendly by any definition of the word.

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  2. Hi Bella, thanks so much for your comment!
    What a shame that your local knitting group isn't welcoming - that's not what most knitters are like! Maybe you can found your own group one day.
    If you ever want to do a knit along via G+ then just let me know, I'm up for that. Or you may want to check out the Ravelry group, Ravelry is such a fantastic virtual community.

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