Home - Fort Vancouver Knitters Guild

MISSION

The Fort Vancouver Knitters Guild is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide education to guild members to further skills in knitting, broaden their understanding of the craft, and to serve the community through services and donations.

WELCOME

All are welcome regardless of age, skin color, nationality, religion, gender identity or disability. We dedicate ourselves to the goal of a diverse, inclusive and spirited knitting community free from inequality, racism and injustice.

Upcoming Events

September Monthly Meeting

The next monthly meeting will be:

September 4, 2025
6:30 pm until 8:30 pm
Doors open at 6:00.
Zoom invites will be sent before the meeting.
Log in beginning at 6:15 pm.

Location:
Barberton Grange (Map)
9400 NE 72nd Ave
Vancouver, WA 98665

Zoom:
Zoom Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82190239695?pwd=uce2cpoy9e0G30KMRwqzmTzPXIy9IF.1

Meeting ID: 821 9023 9695

Passcode: 491510

Do you need help joining the Zoom? Here are instructions! Click here!

Door Prizes on Zoom:

If you are going to be on the zoom call, please click on this link and choose a door prize.
https://forms.gle/QzBt2Y4YW3KwMwfH6

Your name will be added to the spinner for that door prize.

You must choose your door prize BEFORE 6 PM on Wednesday, Sept 3^rd.

Agenda:
Social Knitting - 6-6:30 pm

Program:
Survey summary and Speed Dating/Karen Stral
Yarn Fest
Introduction of New Officers

Guild Business | Show and Share |Door Prizes and Social Knitting | Clean up

OUR GUILD VALUES

COMMUNITY

GIVING THROUGH KNITTING

EDUCATION

Community

August

* Projects completed by our members *

Anne Harrison

Beverly Walker

Jasmine

Melinda Lefave

Debbie Cardiff

Knitting News

A Note from Karen Stavis, FVKG President

September is a new year for the Guild with our new officers and the renewal of our dues.

At the September meeting Karen Stral will be leading a short discussion to finalize our 2025 Member Survey.
Plus, she will lead us through a fun exercise to renew and expand acquaintances with our fellow Guild members
through the Knitting Dating Game. Be prepared for a fun night of learning more about your Guild friends.

And, it doesn’t look like fall is coming anytime soon...but I know we are all beginning to think about fall
projects. I spent the weekend listening to a 4-day Fearless Knitter Summit with The Yarnist. Lots of
interesting things to learn and consider for future projects. With that in mind, we are excited about our
meeting in September. As a way of keeping our tradition of learning and supporting our guild ...grab a pattern
that you’re thinking of making and definitely bring it with you to September‘s meeting. We will have good
quality yarn that has been curated by our members and placed in $5 -$10 and a few $20 bags for projects. It
will definitely be a shop fest!

~ Karen Stavis, FVKG Incoming President

White Oak Alpacas invites you to our Fleece & Fiber Sale
2025 Saturday September 6, 11am-4 pm.

We will have raw Alpaca fleeces, roving, Art batts and yarns for sale. All alpaca fiber is from our herd. Bring a comfy chair, snack or lunch, spend time chatting, knitting, shopping with fiber friends. Covered barn area will keep us dry, if sunny we can sit and enjoy all the colors of the ranch. Directions can be found at www.WhiteOakAlpacas.com in map form or written.
Please no dogs, not even pocket size permitted.

Hope to see you all at the ranch,
Karin Finch | 360-841-7276

Sacred Sheep Festival Update
Webpage

As a sponsor we will have a table in the Meet-up tent that we will need to staff on Saturday and Sunday (November 15-16) . We will need about 10 volunteers to cover 3 to 3.5 hour shifts, @ 2 persons per shift. The one-hour Meet and Greet event will be held on Sunday, November 16. The winner of the member vote is " Know Your Yarn" which received 40 votes (vs "Speed Knitting" with 16 votes). We may need 2-3 additional volunteers to assist with this activity.

When Ritual Dyes highlights the guild as a sponsor the focus will be on our Giving through Knitting program. Sacred Sheep promotional materials will indicate that we are currently collecting machine washable hats for the local food pantries and if attendees wish to contribute to our Giving through Knitting program we will be collecting hats for all ages at our Sacred Sheep meet up booth.

~ Vera Rasmussen, FVKG Outgoing President

A Note From Malinda

Since we’re getting close to Halloween, how about a cute color work cat and mouse hat? Free Ravelry download. Knit-A-Long, anyone?

~ Malinda Lefave, FVKG Member

FVKG Membership Renewal Is Now

Membership renewal notices will be sent out automatically to all FVKG members at the
beginning of August to remind us all to renew our memberships. The cost is $35 for the
2025-2026 year which begins on September 1st. There will be a total of 3 renewal notices
sent out.

Folks can pay by credit card on the website. Cash, ACH (authorized withdrawal from a
checking account), and checks are also accepted. Please contact me directly with renewal
questions at petersonmarla@att.net

Renewed dues payments are the income the Guild uses to pay for speakers, a meeting
place, website fees, business cards, and cookies at the Annual Picnic. Your prompt
attention to paying your renewal is appreciated for budgeting for next years costs.
The Board looks forward to seeing you all at regular meetings and special events.

~ Marla Peterson, Membership Chair

Knitterly Reads from Linda Frederiksen

To paraphrase Martha and the Vandellas, summer’s here, and the time is right for reading at the beach. Or the deck. Or the pool. Or the park. Or an air-conditioned room. What’s needed is something light and entertaining, a book that’s both pick-up-able and put-down-able, with a cast of interesting and clever characters, and an easy-to-follow plot. If it happens to be yarn-adjacent, even better.

Two new books that tick all those boxes are by a best-selling German author, Leonie Swann. The concept in both is to skewer the murder mystery genre by taking an animal’s point of view. In Three Bags Full (translated from German by Anthea Bell, Soho Crime Press, 2025), a flock of sheep in Glennkill, western Ireland, find their shepherd, George, quite dead. The behavior of the local humans is incomprehensible to the sheep, which include Miss Maple, a very clever sheep, Sir Ritchfield, the aging lead ram, Othello, a Hebridean ram with a mysterious past, and Mopple the Whale, a merino with a good memory. It soon falls to the sheep to solve the mystery of George’s death.

In Big Bad Wool (translated from German by Amy Bojang, Soho Crime Press, 2025), the sheep find themselves transported to a chateau in France, under the care of their new shepherdess, Rebecca. All is not as it seems with high jinx and mischief around every corner. With the help of some neighboring goats, the flock use sheep logic, courage, and the willpower of wool-power to save the day. Both books are available in print from the Fort Vancouver Regional Library.

—Linda Frederiksen

Giving Through Knitting

Screenshot_2025-03-28_at_10.20.32_AM.png

"And, don’t forget the hat machine!"

Here’s a picture of a few of the hats I produced on our Guild hat machine last year, both for the Guild
project and for a gift exchange I was going to. The ombre and self-striping yarns produce such a pretty
product, and in short order!

—Sarah Kerridge

A Note From Sue and Geri

Thank you, once again, for your generosity of time and yarn for items you have donated to our various charities. You are much appreciated!!!

Our current projects continue to be:
-Hats for the food bank. These will be collected in time to deliver them to the food bank just before Thanksgiving.

-Grey, brown, or black fingerless mitts for the nuns for Christmas. We will collect these at the December guild meeting.

And finally we have had communication with our volunteer coordinator at the Veterans Hospital:

YAY! They love the shawls we have already sent ... and we can send more!
-Shawls need to be washable and without a deep V in the back and size Large.
-They are also appreciative of fingerless mitts, beanie hats, and scarves.
-For now, items made for the Vets will be accepted at any time.

All donated items can be given to Geri or Sue at guild meetings or you can contact either one of us to pick up items by giving us a call.
Geri at (703) 599-9626 or Sue at ((503) 968-9740.

Thank you again and Happy Knitting!
~ Sue and Geri

Education

Hook and Needle
June Class Schedule

Hello, Knitters!

We have lots of classes coming up. Here’s our August lineup:
✦ Beginner Knitting - August 2
✦ Beginner Crochet - August 3
✦ Crochet Granny Square - August 17
✦ Cuff Down Sock Class with Makenzie Alvarez - August 30
✦ Beginner Knitting - September 6
✦ Spooky Trio Needle Felting - September 20
✦ Juno Viel Mini Shawl Workshop with Becka - September 21
✦ Brioche Pastiche with Michele Bernstein - September 27
✦ Flower Power Interlac Cowl or Scarf with Michele Bernstein - October 11
✦ Log Cabin Love Steeked Coasters with Michele Bernstein - November 1
Register now at: https://www.hookandneedlefiber.com/shop/

Submitted by Julie Patterson

Used with permission and with thanks to KnitPicks

Volunteers

If interested, please contact president@ftvancouverknittersguild.org.

We need you!!

Fall Knitting Retreat is Coming, and We are Already Dreaming of Pumpkin Pie Spice, Coffee and Freshly Handknit Sweaters!

Can’t get enough of knitterly togetherness with your warm, wooly besties? Craving homemade, freshly

prepared meals and a seemingly endless sharable treat table? How about some yarn swapping or some gorgeous, green out-of-doors time, taking a stroll with friends or gazing up at the fall leaves at sunset? Then make it happen!

Join us at the joint Tigard-Fort Vancouver guild knitting retreat from October 2-5, 2025! This year’s Fall retreat still includes 1-day commuter options, a 2-overnight weekend option (Fri-Sun), but it’s also been

expanded to include a 3-overnight stay option (Thurs-Sun) for maximum knitting and relaxation.

Members can head over to the Tigard Knitting Guild website, click the calendar tab, then click ahead to

October. There you will find more details, along with links where you can choose your weekend stay

options.

Not a member? If you’ve been thinking about joining, now is the time so you don’t miss out on the fun!

Vancouver knitters can check out membership on the Fort Vancouver Knitter’s Guild website and

Portland area knitters can head over to the Tigard Knitting Guild website. Wherever you live, become a

member now, and join us for the October retreat!

**All FVKG members, new and old: Be sure to use Tigard’s website to join the retreat**

~ Janelle Serio, FVKG Retreat/Education Coordinator

Help Wanted - Programs

We are looking for volunteers who love to plan ahead. These persons would be responsible for assisting with planning membership meetings, engaging speakers, introducing programs at monthly meetings and presenters at workshops as well as recruiting other members to assist with annual activities such as the picnic, the Holiday party, etc. as needed. Ideally, several members will volunteer to serve on the Program Committee with one serving as the Chair and VP of Programs.

If interested, please contact:
president@ftvancouverknittersguild.org

Help Wanted - Fundraising

Be part of the first-ever FVKG fundraising committee! No experience necessary! Help us keep guild membership costs low while continuing to provide a high-quality guild experience! We are looking for a handful of volunteers to dream up a few fun, creative ways to generate a little income. If you’ve been thinking of donating a little time to the guild, but weren’t sure how to do it, this is
your opportunity!

Contact Laurel Prager at
treasurer@ftvancouverknittersguild.org for details.

Webmistress: Patricia Freedman
Email: webmistress@ftvancouverknittersguild.org
Last Updated 09/04/25