August 2022 Meeting Recap: Karel Chan presents Mindful Making and Member Tips

by Shela Perrin

Our meetings are now hybrid so all can join virtually or in person. The meeting site is Rose City  Park Presbyterian Church located at 1907 NE 45th Avenue, Portland, OR 97213. Doors open  at 6:00 pm for social knitting. Program begins at 7:00 pm, NO ENTRY AFTER 7:00pm. Covid  vaccination, booster proof and masks are required. 

Membership is available from the Membership Page. 2022 membership is  now half price. 
 
2022 service project is for North by Northeast Community Health Center. Any type of warm  item is welcome — hats, gloves, mittens, scarves and cowls. All color and sizes are welcome  and crochet or sewn works too. Contact outreach@puddletownknittersguild.com to arrange drop-off or to submit photos for challenges.

Final challenge of the year is making matched sets, ie. hats and mitts or cowl and hat. A pair  of mitts, mittens or gloves count as 1 item. For every 2 piece set you will earn 2 tickets for this  challenge’s raffle and 4 tickets in the year long raffle. For every 3 piece set you will earn 4  tickets for this challenge’s raffle and 8 for the year long raffle. Submit a photo or turn in items  by October 31st to be entered in the challenge project raffle. Items will be collected until the  November 10th meeting. Challenge Project Raffle Prizes: Two randomly selected people will  win one of the following: 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant or $25 gift card to  the yarn store of the winners choice. 
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Join Puddletown’s Virtual Knit Nights every Tuesday between 6 and 8pm find the Zoom link on Guild Events. 

Member Tip with Anna Lurton: More tips regarding provisional cast on and casting off. Many  of the items we make need to be stretchy in certain places and other places we do not want it  to be stretchy. Structures of knitted garments are important. Be sure to read the entire pattern  
before you begin. 

If you have a favorite tip please share your ideas! Send a note to  info@puddletownknittersguild.com. 

Guest Speaker Karel Chan presented Mindful Making. She is the owner and designer at KC  Knitting Company. She designs knitting patterns for mindful making, fostering the cultivation  of contentment, satisfaction and well-being. She discussed the process of mindfulness and  how to intentionally engage the mind in knitting to enhance mental health and well being. Her  philosophy encourages the knitter to learn about their own body and to engage with  techniques, methods and craft that align with each knitter, individually. Karel discussed how  you can train, expand and relax the mind though creativity and craft. It is important to have  self-compassion, be in the moment, be present and develop a curious awareness with focus  and an attention to the here and now. Be sure to remove distractions, notice the shape of the  item you are working on and at the same time being aware of all the parts. She stressed the  importance of being flexible and adaptable. She talks about the feelings of usefulness and  success when we complete a project. Be social and share it with others.

Contact information: 
Website: www.kcknittingCo.com 
Email: KCKnittingCo@gmail.com 
Instagram: @KCKnittingco 
Ravelry: KCKnittingCo 

Raffle Update: In person attendees will have 2 raffle prize choices. Winners must be present  at the end of the meeting to win. Virtual attendees will have 2 raffle prize choices. Winners will  be notified the next day. 

September Meeting: Sarah Keller presents Help! My Stash is Smothering Me! Sarah has been  the owner of Knot Another Hat in Hood River since 2005 and has been teaching knitting for  twenty years. She is also a designer of knitting patterns published through Knot Another Hat.