The Long Island Knitting & Crochet Guild
Merrick, NY 11566
In 2007, The Long Island Knitting & Crochet Guild celebrated its 25th Anniversary!

We have over 100 members, and average approximately 50-60 members attend each meeting. We formerly met at the Westbury Public Library, but in 2008, found a new home at the Merrick Club House in Merrick, NY.

This guild is an affiliated guild of The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA).
Here’s a sample of what we do throughout the year:

• All knitters and crocheters welcome!. . .from novice to experienced.
• We bring our own projects to knit/crochet, we share patterns, assist others with problems.
• We have excellent guest speakers from the industry who offer a presentation or demonstration on knitting and/or crocheting techniques. Our recent guest speakers have included Carla Scott, executive editor of Vogue Knitting, Knit Simple, and Knit.1 magazines; Jack Blumenthal, Vice President of Lionbrand Yarn Company, designer Lily Chin, to name a few. . .

• SHOW-N-TELL is a fun part of the meeting, where members show-off their work, what type of yarn they used, share patterns, and tell stories.

• REFRESHMENTS. Volunteered members provide light snacks and beverages at each meeting.

• CHARITY!! Most importantly, we knit and crochet for different charities. Members create different items like, hats for children and adults, preemie hats, scarves, lap robes, shawls, baby blankets and afghans, helmetliners and socks for our servicemen in the military throughout the year. Some of our charities to which we contribute: "Warm Up America" - afghans for the needy, "Caps for Kids" – washable hats for kids to adults in shelters, "Precious Pearls"- preemie caps, sweaters and small blankets, "Seaman's Institute" – scarves and hats to merchant seaman, "Ships Project" – hats, socks, slippers to American troops, "We Care Blankets" – for children being treated with chemotherapy.

• WORKSHOPS. We have Member-to-Member Workshops. Our advanced knitters and crocheters conduct workshops teaching a special technique, a new way to use patterns and yarns, etc.

• ANNUAL DINNER. We have a Pot Luck Dinner every year where members display their culinary talents with entrees and desserts.

• ANNUAL CHARITY DINNER. We host an annual Charity Dinner at a local restaurant, for our August guild meeting. To qualify for a door prize, members and guests are required to donate a charity item they’ve created.
  

• DAY OF LEARNING. We host an annual Day of Learning event in the Fall each year, where we have instructors come and teach us something new. This is an all day Saturday event. A class in the morning, a break for lunch, and a class in the afternoon. This year’s event was held on Saturday, October 4th, 2008, at the Marriott Residence Inn, in Plainview. The instructors were Barbara Kerr, Tatyana Mirer, Judy Pascale, and Barbara Hillary Van Elsen. The classes are beaded knitting (an all day class), lace knitting, crochet techniques: color and texture, mistakes and how to fix them, and reversible knitting. This event is open to the public. Of course, guild members receive a discounted price for this event.

• OTHER EVENTS: When we get information about other knitting and crocheting events in the area, we share them with our members and attend events together or just meet up. Some of the yearly events, to name a few: NY’s 2nd Annual Stitch N Pitch which was held in September, NY Knit-Out’s held in Union Square, Big Apple Knitting Guild Retreats, Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival, Square of the Month Club at Infinite Yarns in Farmingdale, Panera’s in Carle Place.

• VISITORS: Prospective members are always welcome to come for one visit and bring a friend. We hope you will decide to join us. NOTE: Please keep in mind that a few events may be restricted to members only.

• MEMBERSHIP – Annual dues (from January-December) are only $25. We start collecting membership dues for the upcoming year in October. As a member of the LIKCG you are entitled to:

1) Our monthly "Knit Knotes" newsletter sent out to our members every month to inform members of present and future events, the program for the upcoming meeting, free patterns for our charities, knitting/crocheting tips, yarn sales, etc.

2) LIKCG membership card - some of the local yarn shops give discounted prices to our members.
3) LIBRARY – access to the guild’s books, magazines, and patterns that are in our library.
4) DISCOUNTED PRICES – not only to our events but to some of the other NY guild events, as well.

Membership paid during the year will be as follows:

IF YOU JOIN BETWEEN: DUES ARE:
January – April, $25.00
May – September, $15.00
October – December, $25.00 (Membership will extend into
the next year)

• WHERE AND WHEN DO WE MEET? We meet the 2nd Thursday of every month at the Merrick Golf Club House, in Merrick from 7-9PM, right off the Merrick Road exit of the Meadowbrook Parkway.

For further information or questions about the Long Island Knitting and Crochet Guild, contact:

Anjanette Cooper, LIKCG Membership
Email: LIKNITCROCHETGUILD@GMAIL.COM with LIKCG in the RE/SUBJECT Line or Phone: 516-564-8730

NOTE: Just in case we are too far away from you, check your local libraries in your area for information regarding local knitting groups. Also, refer to The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA) website at www.tkga.com. They have a list of guilds affiliated with them nationwide.