Knitting Guild Association
The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA) is the largest knitting association in the United States. It has 10,000 members in the United States and abroad, and is dedicated to promoting knitting and knitting education. Members are individual knitters, and there are also local guilds who belong to TKGA. To date there are 290 local knitting guilds affiliated with TKGA. Each receives an e-newsletter from TKGA and can access a member guild page on the Web site. The Knitting Guild Association's headquarters is in Zanesville, Ohio.
Each TKGA member receives CAST ON magazine from TKGA in the mail each quarter. Cast On is "The Educational Journal for Knitters" and is filled with valuable lessons and patterns for all levels of knitting. Members can take TKGA correspondence courses by mail. Members also have access to articles and free patterns in a members-only area of the TKGA Web site. Members gather at least once a year at The Knitting Guild Association's Annual Conference to share their knitting projects, increase their knitting skills, shop for supplies and gain inspiration from one another.
Members can enrolled in the Master Hand Knitting Program, an extensive three-level program.[1] Each level includes over 18 to 20 swatches to be knit, questions to answer, patterns to write, book and magazine reviews and papers to research and write.[2] The culminating tasks are the design and knitting of a hat and a sweater, of which one has to be Fair Isle and the other Aran. As of October 2012, there are less than 240 Master Knitters worldwide.[3]
Founded in 1984, TKGA held its first conference in 1985. The Knitting Guild Association celebrated its 25th anniversary at the 2010 conference, held July 9-10, 2010, at the Radisson Hotel/Center of New Hampshire, in Manchester, New Hampshire. The conference included classes, fashion shows, shopping opportunities and Silver Anniversary celebrative events for knitters.
References
- ↑ Masters Program, undated, Access date: 22 October 2012
- ↑ Suitable for Framing, "TKGA's Master Hand Knitting Program (3 Levels)", 2004, Access date: 22 October 2012
- ↑ Masters Program, undated, Access date: 22 October 2012