CRAFT NIGHT, LADIES! Every Thursday

I was in love. It was February in the very early 1980’s. I was sitting on a Greyhound bus on my way to Vermont to visit my man. I was excited to see him, but I was even more excited about what I was going to give him! I sat those many enjoyable hours on the bus- finishing his Icelandic Sweater- my very first.



While this sweater was under design and development, the ladies where I worked marveled at what I was doing. I was constantly being asked if I would make a sweater for them or their man.

Pretty soon the list was far too long! I told them to buy the wool and needles, then, I would show them how to knit- the birth of Craft Night. In the early days of Craft Night there were so many women I hosted two evenings a week. As the years went by and life got busier I switched it to one night- Thursday night. For the better part of 30 years I have had Craft Night every Thursday night.  Now, even if no one is able to come, I pull out my knitting. Every stitch brings back found memories.


There is something so grounding and ancient about sitting around with women, talking, sharing, creating. We bonded, we laughed, we cried- we spun Yarn and tales. We changed the world with our opinions. We shared patterns and techniques. Each night wove the fabric of our lives closer together.


Almost all the Craft Nights were held at my house. I served up tea- the very best in town I was told. (The secret is in the tea pot.) At Christmas we would gather for Cookie Exchanges. We taught each other various techniques and argued over various techniques. Deep friendships, life time friendships were formed. We are unlimited women. We Simply Lived.

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. Anais Nin

*************Love and All Good Things, The Peaceful Matriarch

 Setting up a Craft Night is easy and inexpensive. It is an excellent way to welcome new people to the community you live in or for you to meet new people. We had women who brought a variety of work to do.


Simply:


1. Designate a day of the week, a time to meet and where you will meet.


2. Tea, coffee, water is all you need to serve. Well, we did share baked goods but we would have to make sure we washed our hands after!


3. If you are just starting, go to rummage sales or garage sales to find needles, patterns.


4. There are many free knitting and craft patterns on line.


5. I told everyone it was every Thursday night unless I called to cancel. This was far easier than calling everyone each week to see if they could come.


6. Keep the tv off and if you put music on, keep it to instrumental music.


HERE IS A VIDEO THAT YOU WILL FIND INTERESTING:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

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