Newsletter: Prez Sez

And just like that, Spring has come.

Your board has been busy, reviewing “how the board works” – this was started by our newest board members who brought questions after reviewing minutes, processes, and bylaws. A Committee was formed to review and recommend changes where needed. We have also made changes to our membership process – which caused a brief hiccup but has been resolved and will make the entire process so much easier.

One of the things we plan to work on is more active member participation. We would like to see more committees vs single board members taking on jobs. There is so much fun energy out in the CSM community, and so much creativity. Please consider sharing. Some ideas :

• Communications Committee
• Membership Committee
• Annual Meeting Committee
• Certification Program Committee

If you have some expertise in any area that you would like to share, please contact me.

So, as you can see, spring is time to review and renew.

Speaking of renewing. Lately it seems I have been seeing quite a few posts involving reviving worn socks. For us CSMers, it is pretty easy to toss a pair of socks and just crank a new one. Well, some of us grew up having learned to darn and repair our worn items.

I have seen examples of crankers literally cutting away entire parts of a sock, heel forward, just below the leg, just up from the toe….cut away, get to a row of live stitches and hang them on their CSM to add new parts and life to a pair of socks. I have on occasion rehung a sock – usually due to a mistake on my part and too far into it to just frog – but kudos to you out there who have decided to truly Frankenstein an old or worn pair.

The other repair I have seen is a variety of darning techniques – which is what I learned to do when I was young. I actually own my grandmother’s darning egg and was taught to create sort of a weaving type of patch. Recently I have seen the Speed Weave tool used as well. It works like a small loom and also creates a woven fabric. I have also seen knitted patches and duplicate stitches/Swiss darning.

Lots of options – which can even be decorative vs just a utilitarian patch. I watched a podcast featuring a designer making “visible” repairs. Very fun, colorful patches on knitted garments. Why not on socks? We like our Frankensocks, mismatched socks, contrasting heels and toes – why not a colorful patch?

Even though I have a vast yarn stash and could easily replace sock, my inclination is to save a pair.

Happy cranking all!

Judy