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Author: Web Admin

About Web Admin

This account is for the Web Administrator of The Circular Sock Knitting Machine Society. This Administrator is currently a Member-At-Large on the CSKMS Board.

Website

Website Updates

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March 2023:

Membership expiration dates. There has been some general confusion about membership expirations. When CSKMS moved to a new Membership plugin in 2021, it reset the membership Order History date to 2021. This caused members to think their membership had expired early. If you look at Membership Level History – it does show the correct purchase, renewal, and expiration dates. Sorry for the confusion there.

Additionally, the site was configured to that when a member renewed their membership, it would reset the expiration date 1 or 3 years from the date of purchase, versus adding 1 or 3 years to the length of the membership. Working with the membership plugin vendor, we have adjusted these settings to add time instead of resetting the expiration date. Hopefully, this will alleviate confusion.

February 2023:

Updated Member Directory – More secure. Allows for user avatars. Has an interactive map, not working fully with search.

All forms updated.

December 2022:

To better manage our email communications and provide timely replies (and avoid the dreaded SPAM folder), we have created a Contact Us form. This form allows people to contact the CSKMS, and an alert will go to three current board members who will route the message to the appropriate resource or address directly. We removed many of the direct email links on the site and replaced them with the new Contact Us form.

April 2021:

We are slowly updating our forms on the website. The new forms will have stronger SPAM protection and be reviewed to ensure correct information is captured. This update will also modernize the look and feel of our forms and ensure they work on desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

January 2021:

We updated our system for membership signup and renewal. This will impact how you sign on to the site. If you experience issues signing onto the site please email Membership or Web. Future benefits of this update coming soon.

November 2020:

Added Printer Content Icon to pages. Miss the PDF version of the site? Not you can click on this Printer ICON in the top right of most pages and the website will reformat to provide you a printer-friendly version of the page’s content. Power users can make a PDF from there.

Updated Website links from Red to Blue. They were red, and so were our section headers.  To make it easier to understand what a link is, we are now following standard website conventions.

Improved Navigation Menu. Shorter dropdown menus and better categorizations. The menu bar also sticks to the top as you scroll.

Updated website hosting plan. This should provide better website performance (faster!).

News

CSKMS Certification Program Update

Our 2020 beginner class (March 15 – September 15) has about a month to go. We currently have 6 participants (out of 15) who have finished their knitted samples and their essay questions, have submitted their work, and have endured having three judges evaluate their submissions.  They all passed!  

Despite a fair amount of nervous anticipation (judging from the posts in the private Facebook group!), they rose to the challenge with skillfully cranked cast-on bonnets, “test-tube” gauge swatches, scarves or cowls, and three pairs of socks (plain hem top,  mock-ribbed and striped).  Cranking wasn’t everything though… they had to explain in detail such topics as the various parts and the mechanical operation of the sock machine, the determination of tension and stitch/row gauge, managing yarn flow, and the origin and technique of Kitchener stitch.

Here are the accomplished and certified crankers from this class so far.

Dorinda Balanecki (Michigan)
Kathleen Ducharme (Michigan)
Kim Kieffer (Indiana)
Annie Rieck (Illinois)
Kerry Sheldon (Connecticut)
Jane Stewart (Ohio) 

Congratulations, ladies!!  You put a lot of study and effort into this work to achieve success, and you’ve proven your high level of competence in basic cranking skills and CSM knowledge.

As I write this, we also have several other participants who have completed their work and are in the process of being judged.  No doubt, we’ll be able to report their success in our next update.

Even though we planned to end this class mid-September, we are prepared to be generous with time extensions given how the Covid-19 pandemic has upended so many lives over the last few months.  So far, only one class member has requested some extra time, and several others think they will be able to finish up within the next few weeks.  

I want to thank our current group of judges who have given careful attention to details, provided thoughtful feedback and comments, and shipped packages promptly.  They have been so reliable and so willing to serve our members in this way!  They are Jenny Deters, Rosalyn Keys, Hope Martin, Jamie Mayfield, Sue Vunesky, and Judy Weller. 

We’re hoping to have the group all done by the end of October, just in time to start another beginner class in early 2021.  If you’re interested in being in that certification group, email Kathy Roletter (pastpresident@cskms.org), and she’ll let you know when applications open.

And yes, we’re working on the next level, intermediate, which will focus on different types of heels and ribbing skills.  More on that to come!

~ Kathy Roletter

Read more about the Certification Program

Event

Live Zoom meeting

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Thursday’s Live CSKMS Stream.

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Topic Thursday Open Topic
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Please note many of these live streams are recorded and shared is CSKMS ZOOM ARCHIVE. Participation implies acceptance and grants usage for the purpose of sharing at a later time via this CSKMS website and social media channels.

Previously recorded Live Streams can be found on our Zoom Archive Page.

New to Zoom? How to use and Tips.

For the best experience, we recommend using the Zoom App (not your browser).
Download and set up the application prior to joining the meeting. Download the application here:
https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting

Note: You can use it without the App, but many features are unavailable in a web browser.

Additional tips

  • Your audio will be muted. You need to raise your hand – to have the host unmute you.
  • You can chat with others via chat client – chats can be public or private.
  • Gallery View lets you see other participants.
  • The Focused Video is the primary presentation.
  • You can click on MORE for options, like updating your name.

Additional Zoom resources and tutorials:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-

News

CSKMS Skills Certification Program, Beginner Level.

We are excited to announce the opening of the first Beginner Level class of the CSKMS Skills Certification Program. The class will be limited to 15 candidates and will be open to any CSKMS members who wish to test their basic cranking skills against an established standard of excellence. Whether you are a newbie cranker looking for a curriculum of progressive skill-building or an accomplished cranker who would enjoy having confirmation of your skills mastery, we welcome you to join us!

Here’s how the program will work:

• Registration for the 2021 spring session of the Beginner Certification opens on January 15, 2021.

• Members may apply for the program by completing and returning the application form published in the newsletter. The form will also be available here on the website at that time.

• There will be a $75 fee to cover postal costs and to compensate the judges for their time in assessing each candidate’s submissions.

The actual cost of about $100 will cover $60 to pay judges (3 judging sessions at $20 each) and approximately $40 to cover postage to mail submissions from a judge to judge and back to the candidate. The CSKMS board has agreed to pick up the difference of about $25 for each candidate to keep the fee affordable.

• Once the application form and fee are received, the candidate will be sent detailed instructions for producing six knitted samples and answering eight essay questions.

• Candidates will have up to 6 months to submit their knitted samples and written answers. Judging by 3 consecutive judges may take up to 6 weeks after submission. Once all judging is accomplished, the candidate will be sent copies of the judges’ conclusions. All the candidates’ work will be returned to them after the last judging session.

• If all samples and answers are judged to be acceptable or outstanding, candidates will receive a Certificate of Achievement (suitable for framing!) when their work is returned to them.

• If any samples or answers are considered not acceptable, the candidate will be given the opportunity to re-submit only the part of the work that needs re-doing. Specific feedback and suggestions will be provided to help to ensure success on the second try.

• Fees will not be refundable once submissions are sent to the first judge. The 6-month timeline will not be extended except in special circumstances on a case-by-case basis. It is expected that members will join the class only if they have every intention of following through on the program.

Detailed descriptions of the requirements along with example photos can be found here.

Due to the number of judges available, the first class will be strictly limited to 15 candidates. If you’d like to test your beginner cranking skills against the CSKMS standards of excellence, don’t delay . . . sign up soon!

For questions, please contact Annie or Kathy at certification@cskms.org.

News

Join the CSM Directory

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This international database is maintained by Juanita Reynard as a free service to the CSM community.  When you join, your name, contact information, and CSMs are included in the list.  The directory is only available to those who are listed on it, and you must agree not to misuse the information or share it with anyone not listed.  This is a great tool for anyone who wishes to locate another cranker or who wants to see all the CSMs out there in the world! 

Click here to sign up.

Many thanks to Juanita for providing this valuable service to us all!

News

Become A Member

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Join CSKMS now. . . we’d love to have you as a member!

Members receive a quarterly newsletter, may apply for crank-in grants, list themselves in the instructor/mentor database, have exclusive access to CSM YouTube videos, and may request free ads for their CSM-related merchandise in the newsletter and on the website.

Steven Be's Socktober Crankin 2019
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 005
CSKMS 2015 Conference 265
CSKMS 2015 Conference 291
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CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 029
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 030
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 025
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 022
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 011
CSKMS tote bag 007
CSKMS window decal 002
WWI knitting
Steven Be's Socktober Crankin 2019
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 005
CSKMS 2015 Conference 265
CSKMS 2015 Conference 234
CSKMS 2015 Conference 291
Capture
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 029
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 030
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 025
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 022
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 011
CSKMS tote bag 007
CSKMS window decal 002
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WWI knitting
Steven Be's Socktober Crankin 2019
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 005
CSKMS 2015 Conference 265
CSKMS 2015 Conference 234
CSKMS 2015 Conference 291
Capture
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 029
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 030
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 025
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 022
CSKMS 2015 Conference, Denver, CO 011
CSKMS tote bag 007
CSKMS window decal 002
previous arrow
next arrow

Become part of a CSM community of users to share knowledge about these fascinating machines, from how best to make your machine knit well, to the history of machines from early days to today, as well as both legacy and new pattern ideas for making the most of your CSM hobby or business.

Read All About CSKMS HERE

Click HERE for a membership application