Seminar Aftermath

The seminar is over.  I've hauled all my stuff home.  We helped the Deike's get their stuff home - she brought four machines! - and we went to dinner with them.  Mexican food and debriefing.  I collapsed at home, slept a long night, went to church, had another nap, and I'm a new woman today.

Money:  We raised enough at the seminar with a couple of walk-in registrations and the sale of donated items to cover our donation for the use of the rooms.  Crystal Lake Baptist Church let us use the rooms without any expectation of rent, and the club members were so appreciative.  The church staff and volunteers were lovely to us.  Because our teachers were volunteers (it was our first seminar, and we cautiously kept all costs down) we were able to put the pre-paid registrations into our treasury so that we can get a jump on future activities for our club.

More Generosity:  I sold two of Penny's machines - she donated them to sell for charity - to Mary in San Angelo, who is going to teach two young women to knit.  I threw in a couple of beginner courses.  What's so awesome about that is, in addition to the machines going to such a worthy cause (I understand these young ladies come from a very difficult situation), the money will also go to a local charity and help additional people. 

The charity machines were a bit of a project for me.  I hunted down manuals, inventoried, cleaned and oiled them, repllaced some parts and sponge bars, and generally got to be part of that process.

Membership:  We had several fairly new people who are new to our area, or new to knitting, and thoroughly enjoyed meeting them.  I am so looking forward to having these new members.

Teamwork:  Knit Natters rocks!  Everyone pitched in with food, cleanup, door prizes (we had 60 door prizes, fantastic ones!), organizing, cashiering, and all the myriad necessaries for a seminar.  My friend Sylvia guest-blogged yesterday.  Didn't you like her style?  Lots of photos, less chatter.  Go Sylvia!  Having four teachers was great fun, and one of the highlights of my day yesterday was the group seaming workshop.  We had a whole batch of teachers - in fact, some people taught their neighbors one seaming technique and then learned another one!  Ironically, one of our best Kitchener stitchers, Joe, visited with Margaret's friend Mary.  Joe's obviously a man's man (I didn't look outside for a Harley) but he cheerfully sat down and demonstrated great talent with a yarn needle.

Greta brought a bunch of samples, including ribbing for practicing "smiles and frowns," and a bunch of people mastered that stitch quickly.



Big Hair Fairy



Pat's Glitten



Souvenirs:  I cleaned up in the memories-to-keep category with a couple of hand knit items from Pat's donations, some cones of yarn to knit, and my very cute little Texas Belle fairly.  She's going on my Christmas tree this year.



Pat's Dishcloth & Scrubbie



Future Challenges:  As we outgrow Barbara's house, we're brainstorming possible solutions to our meeting needs.  This isn't a bad problem to have.  It's an opportunity, and it's evidence that out club thrives. 

All wet:  After months of drought, it rained and poured.