A close-knit group would be nice!
May 5, 2011 4:50 AM Subscribe
How can I find a knitting group in Oxford, England?
I'm a beginning knitter who will be moving to Oxford in a few weeks. I am part of a knitting group at my university now, and I really love how it keeps me motivated. Plus, it's just fun! I know a few people in Oxford already, but none of them are knitters, so I can't ask them. What are your ideas on how to find a group? I'm sure there are several, but I didn't see any signs, etc. in the knitting shop I went to. Should I ask on Ravelry? There's already an Oxfordshire group on there, but it looks like it doesn't meet as regularly as I'd like.
Thank you!
I'm a beginning knitter who will be moving to Oxford in a few weeks. I am part of a knitting group at my university now, and I really love how it keeps me motivated. Plus, it's just fun! I know a few people in Oxford already, but none of them are knitters, so I can't ask them. What are your ideas on how to find a group? I'm sure there are several, but I didn't see any signs, etc. in the knitting shop I went to. Should I ask on Ravelry? There's already an Oxfordshire group on there, but it looks like it doesn't meet as regularly as I'd like.
Thank you!
The Oxford Bluestockings are a very active group, too. They're also on Ravelry. (You need to be a Ravelry member and logged in to see the Ravelry link).
posted by Wylla at 5:40 AM on May 5, 2011
posted by Wylla at 5:40 AM on May 5, 2011
Ravelry is probably your best bet. If you ever have any questions about UK/US knitting culture differences, please feel free to MefiMail me. I ran into a lot of little cross-cultural quirks during my time editing a UK-based knitmag...and I probably would have gone crazy if some fellow Americans-living-in-the-UK who noticed what was going on (lots of American-editor-bashing in the Rav forums dedicated to our magazine for a while) hadn't explained a few things to me! I really recommend getting a copy of this book. Good luck!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:19 AM on May 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:19 AM on May 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks. I'll look around Ravelry. Bitter-girl, I am American, but actually learned to knit over here. I am also an oddity and knit continental (my German mum tried to teach me when I was younger, but I wasn't patient enough to learn then). But now I'm curious about those quirks!
posted by bibliophibianj at 7:29 AM on May 5, 2011
posted by bibliophibianj at 7:29 AM on May 5, 2011
I'm thinking more socio-cultural than (to use a crochet example) the terminology being completely different. There seems to be a really odd dividing line as to what people want to knit over there. I ran into it a lot as an editor and had to ask my UK coworkers how the heck to interpret the emails I was getting complaining about how boring our magazine was because there were no "knitted cakes."
Me: "So, let me get this straight: they are complaining because we're not publishing patterns for crap like handknit cupcakes?"
Mag owner: "Yes. All the other UK magazines are filled with stuff like that. That's why we started this magazine, for knitters who DIDN'T want to knit that kind of stuff."
Me: [headdesk]
So if you're accustomed to Interweave/VK-type mags, I can recommend The Knitter and KNIT (formerly known as Yarn Forward, the mag I used to edit). They'll have articles from time to time on various knitting groups, too, which might help you find a "home." :)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:28 AM on May 5, 2011
Me: "So, let me get this straight: they are complaining because we're not publishing patterns for crap like handknit cupcakes?"
Mag owner: "Yes. All the other UK magazines are filled with stuff like that. That's why we started this magazine, for knitters who DIDN'T want to knit that kind of stuff."
Me: [headdesk]
So if you're accustomed to Interweave/VK-type mags, I can recommend The Knitter and KNIT (formerly known as Yarn Forward, the mag I used to edit). They'll have articles from time to time on various knitting groups, too, which might help you find a "home." :)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:28 AM on May 5, 2011
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posted by MuffinMan at 5:20 AM on May 5, 2011