Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dawne Smith-Sliming on December 9, 2010 at 4:11pm

Location, location, location! Once you get that covered the rest is up to promo. Even a few people gathered is enough and through word of mouth others will hear.

Also, be consistent in your meetings. Hosting something Wednesday of one week and Friday of another doesn't usually work well. When you have your day/time set publicize it. A poster in the library and supermarket is a great idea. Also any knitting shops that may be within a reasonable distance to your meeting place. Contact local knitting groups/guilds to invite them all. Be prepared to help newbie knitters and teach informally as people need it. A chance to learn to knit may draw many people in.

What I usually do in this sort of situation is host an informational/planning meeting. At the meeting everyone talks schedules: frequency (monthly, weekly etc..,) preferred days and time of day. If everyone is given a chance to chime in with what works for them, or to ask questions about the group they'll feel some ownership over it.

This first meeting would allow people to introduce themselves, talk about how they picked up knitting/crocheting, how many kids they have, where they work etc.., (sticker name tags SO helpful here) You can give a presentation about KAS. Keep it informal and focus on the solution as much or more than the problem. Leave people feeling empowered to put a dent in the problem. Have some food that is craft friendly and enjoy time getting to know each other.

Have a few of the resources handy so people can take them home - the ruler, business card and/or KAS on a page. Put your name on them so people can call you, or at least your email, to follow up. Get contact info. from the people so you can contact them when needed. Create a group here for socializing between meetings and consider creating a free email group via Yahoo Groups or some other facility to stay in touch about meeting times or other things that pop up when more than 4 people are in a group together.

Resources can be found here: http://www.knit-a-square.com/knit-a-square-resources.html

Please let us know how it goes.

Permalink Reply by kyla on December 10, 2010 at 5:29am

honestly, just start! once you get the ball rolling and keep at it, people will hear about it pick up on your enthusiasm and drive and you'll find that there are many people out there who are willing to join in. you need structure - pick a time and place and stick to it every week so your other members know what to expect, but really, just start something and keep adapting it until you've got something thats going to work.

and oh yeah - ive learned that if you include snacks, drinks, tea maybe, then people are much more willing. food is a great way to bring people together. maybe aim to host a group in a coffee shop so the snacks is taken care of? i think that many coffee shop places wont mind as its business for them.

Permalink Reply by Mary Lynch on December 10, 2010 at 8:48am

Thank you all for your input!

Permalink Reply by Pam Johnson on December 10, 2010 at 10:36am

just a thought Mary - who is going to post everything when it is knitted? I have had no problem finding ladies to knit but paying for the postage is another thing! Maybe a contribution which covers cost of tea/coffee etc but also goes towards postage would be a good idea. I now have about 50-60 ladies who knit - the postage costs are now over £500 GBP a year - I don't mean to sound at all discouraging but it is worth thinking about!

Permalink Reply by gayle DeGroot on December 10, 2010 at 12:52pm

Pam, I have seen you posting before....I have a little story to tell you...my daughter was just here, doing some christmas decorating and cleaning...she found the drawer where I keep ALL the squares people make for me...she said...Mom, what are these...I told her they needed to go to Africa...she said then where are your bags and the address, and I will bring them to the PO....my other daughter came up with 20 bucks, and I gave 20.00 and Shelly was getting them to the PO...you are so right,,,the postage is what really runs you up...50 or 60 ladies knitting...you are going to have to find a way to make some money for postage...I really think if they knew how much you were paying they would pitch in a little bit...

Permalink Reply by Mary Lynch on December 11, 2010 at 4:01am

Yes, I hear it can be very costly to send the squares. What is an average cost, and what would be the minimum of squares you would send? I nee to find all this out. Thks!

Permalink Reply by Rachel A. on December 11, 2010 at 6:11am

There is no minimum required for sending squares;  some people send one or two at a time in an envelope;  Sandy has encouraged us to send what we can without bankrupting ourselves =).  I send a giant box because it is more cost effective that way.  The Post Office flat rate boxes are NOT the best way to send things;  those boxes are good for heavy things, not so much for big, fluffy things.  My boxes end up costing about $1 per square, on average.  So, I know that if I have a box with 60 squares it's going to cost ABOUT $60. 

This year an organization in Florida volunteered to send our squares to South Africa for us (unfortunately, that ended in August), and they said that they had done a lot of research on postal costs from the different companies (UPS, FedEx, etc...) and that the post office, as expensive as it is, really was the cheapest way. 

Permalink Reply by Mary Lynch on December 12, 2010 at 12:33am

Wow...it is expensive so I can see why you would want to incorporate some kind of kiddy fund when gathering with a group. This would definitely cut down the cost. Do the women over in Africa put all the squares together and do they knit them also? I have plenty of spare knitting needles!

Permalink Reply by Cathy on December 12, 2010 at 12:46am

They do welcome needles as well as yarn if you want to send some along with your squares.  I normally try and put 1 ball of yarn in with each package I send.