
In 1985, Dream Weaver, a local knit shop,
asked for interested knitters to join for a get-together.
Five enthusiastic people surfaced and enjoyed the experience
so much that they decided to meet again in other yarn shops
in the city each month. When the originator needed to drop
out, Whit Robbins took over this endeavor. She soon found
her phone ringing off the hook with people calling eager to
join, so she worked on pulling these interested knitters together
into an organized group. She found a "free" place to meet
(the library) and a consistent day and time every month, and
put notices into each neighborhood paper in the city. On February
6, 1985, the first official meeting of the Atlanta Knitting
Guild was held, and to everyone's amazement, 52 people showed
up.
From here, everything just snowballed! The group found it had a wealth of talent and knowledge in its midst, and these members became its first speakers. Two nationally known published knitters, Maggie Righetti, Author of "Knitting in Plain English" was most generous in sharing her books and teaching as was Therese Gaffey, writer for various knitting publications.
In the years since it began, the guild has steadily
grown to include knitters from the surrounding Atlanta Suburbs
and all of North Georgia. We even have members from out of
state. Our membership has grown to more than 300; each monthly
meeting averages about 100 members in attendance.
The Atlanta Knitting Guild started out strong, and has maintained its strength as it has grown over the years because its members have maintained the original vision of Whit Robbins when the guild was started: we are constantly helping each other and reaching out to other knitters. It is really that simple. We are coming up on a special anniversary, so help us celebrate
For more information, including meeting locations and a membership form, click the links at the left.