A Work In Progress. [:

This is what my living room looks like at the moment!
Love, Kimxo

Hello! I'm Jackie...

...and I am the lady person that decided she wanted to set up a knitting club. I'm going to set this out as a Q&A style session with myself as both questioner and answerer (I think I just made up 2 words there, haha), and if there is still something you want to know, just pop the question in the comments section and I'll answer them in another post! Right, you ready? Here goes...

How long have I been knitting for?

On and off for several years but properly for, I'd say, the last 2. I'm a very visual learner and couldn't pick up things easily unless I watched another person do them so it took me a while but once I understood the basics the more complicated stitches have been easier to understand and get to grips with.

Why did I start knitting?

I've seen my mum knit for years (she's the one who taught me over and over again until I finally caught on) and decided that I wanted to do it. I think I picked up on knitting just as it was re-surging in popularity and so bought lots of books at the bookshop I was working at.

Why do I knit?

Right now, I knit for pleasure. I find it very relaxing and it's a great way to take my mind off anything that's bugging me or that I want to forget about for a while. Christmas is another matter though, and I've been recently making all my family's gifts! Haha, yes I'm behind...a couple of people will be getting IOU's (Whoops! Hehe) Knitting is not something I'm using to make money from right now, but hopefully in the future I'll be able to sell patterns/garments that I make...I'm just starting to design/create my own knitting patterns and am finding it very rewarding when the pattern works! Haha.

Why did I set up a knitting club?

It's something that, since I became serious about knitting, I've wanted to do. I went to a couple of other knitting groups/clubs around London but didn't really feel like I was able to chat to many people - too noisy, too many people, too many formed groups of knitters who knew each other. I know this sounds weird, and the people that I did talk to were very welcoming but like any community you get little cliques or just feel like you don't really belong or are getting out of the situation what you expected to. So I decided to set up my own - firstly The Last Wednesday Knitting Club in Notting Hill, which has been a success in my eyes, i.e. people actually turning up each month, and from January 12th Wednesday Knit² will be taking place in East London. I've made new friends and have a great time each month just getting to chinwag with a group of like-minded women (men haven't come along yet, but they are very welcome!) and knit!

Do I have any tips for wannabe knitters?

Yes. Don't give up! It is really frustrating to begin with when you can't remember what you're doing or meant to do and when all these holes turn up in your scarf and it gets thinner and fatter at certain points. But don't throw down the knitting needles just yet! Knitting gets easier the more you do it, like everything! And I've still got the first piece of sample/practice knitting I ever did and look back at it fondly and think, "Yeah, I've got skills now!". I have taught knitting and crochet and watching someone get past the knitting wall of frustration is very rewarding for both me as the teacher and them as the student.

What else do I do other than knit and run knitting clubs?

I am literally a Jackie-of-all-trades! I am a teaching assistant, bookshop worker, casual shop assistant, admin assistant, blogger, wannabe illustrator/writer/artist.......I do lots of things and enjoy them all. Hopefully 2011 proves a little calmer in terms of my employment but at this stage in my life I guess I can just chalk it all up as life experience that I will look back on fondly and tell tales of when I'm old and greyer! Haha.

For those who are eagle-eyed you may have noticed that I'm crocheting in one picture. This blog won't purely be for knitting - any crochet that takes my or Kim's fancy will end up on here for your viewing. We love all yarn crafts and welcome knitters, stitchers and hookers alike! Hehe.

So I hope you have enjoyed this wee introduction. Kim's is up next and I hope you enjoy reading hers and stick around to check up on what we blog about and find interesting in this little woolly world.

xx Knitter Love xx

A Little Backstory

So, I guess I should let you know how Wednesday Knit came about...

In late February or early March of 2010 (I can't remember which is was now) I had an idea that I wanted to set up a knitting club in a small bookshop I was working in (and still do occasionally). My manager, Saara, was very supportive of this and gave me the go-ahead and use of the bookshop whenever I decided to set the meetings for. I got the idea for the name from a book I'd read, called The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and I wanted a name that sounded as catchy as it did. I knew that I only wanted to run the knitting club once a month to start off with and had decided on the last Wednesday of the month as the day it would be held on. So, The Last Wednesday Knitting Club was born.

A little bit of advertising on my blog, other people doing some for me (both online and at other knitting clubs) and a few posters around the Notting Hill area later, the first meeting of The Last Wednesday Knitting Club took place on 31st March at The Travel Bookshop. I think 5 people came to the first meeting and I was gobsmacked that anybody turned up at all! Each month since then The Last Wednesday Knitting Club has developed regulars and people that just want to drop in whenever they are able to. Our biggest turn out so far has been around 10/12 people and to be honest I'm not disappointed by that number at all!

When I started the knitting group, it wasn't about attracting large numbers of people who wanted to knit or crochet or sew socially or learn how to do any of these nor was it to make money (I do not charge for entry or membership and I haven't made any money either by selling things like merchandise, etc). It was about wanting to make new friends and to do something I wanted to do with other like-minded people. If you were a beginner, great! We would have someone to teach you. If you already had the skills, great! You could pass your skills onto another or just enjoy your evening with your knitting. I wanted a relaxed environment where you could just do as you please.

9 months down the line and my metaphorical baby has grown into something bigger. I decided at the end of October that I wanted to start another knitting club in East London, closer to where I currently live. Wednesday Knit² was the outcome of that brainwave and will officially launch on 12th January 2011 at The Victoria Pub on Grove Road. The response to Wednesday Knit² so far has been great too and I can't wait for the first meeting and seeing new faces and old!

I'll be adding more to this blog and telling you more as the week goes on about me and my lovely new contributor, Kim from Art Equals Happy! I'm so glad Kim's on board as she's one of the most creative and cool people I know!

But for now...

xx Knitter Love xx