About Us & Meetings

We are a group of people with a passion for machine knitting, who meet once a month to share tips and techniques, showcase what we’ve made and generally talk about our hobby.

Where do we meet?

We meet at a community centre in Nottingham.

Killisick Community Centre
Killisick Road
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 8BY

When do we meet?

We meet on the first Monday of every month, unless that is a Bank Holiday. On those occasions, we normally move the meeting to the second Monday of the month, but please check the timetable below.

Meetings start at 6.45pm and we are finished for 9pm – and that includes a cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit. Most people get there a few minutes early so we can start promptly.

Even on a ‘natter’ evening (no planned speaker or demonstration), we share what we have been making, and the club machine is normally set up if you want to ask a question or are unsure how to do something.

We sell unwanted gadgets and yarn to each other during the meeting, and a good proportion of these are donated with the proceeds going to charity.

We are now on Facebook!

If you are on Facebook, you may be interested to join our new closed Facebook group.  Search for 'Machine Knitting Nottinghamshire' or ' Mapperley Knit & Natter' (Both will find us) and ask to join the group. 

Date	Topic
2 July 2018	Table crafts – yarn-related handiwork, including crochet edgings, tatting, bobbin lace and swiss darning.
6 August 2018	Ann Matthews demonstrating ‘Making-up’: techniques for putting a garment together.
3 September 2018	Machine techniques: machines available around the room with a different technique or accessory being shown on each (for example: knit-weave, magic cables, plating, tuck and slip stitch, charting device).
1 October 2018	Sue Booth is going to cover different ways of increasing and decreasing, which method is best to use in which circumstances, and the appearance on the finished item.
5 November 2018	We will be hosting our first guest speaker for some time. Erica Thomson: a long established crafter and friend to the machine knitting community, based in Nottinghamshire, will demonstrate “Sewing Machine Techniques for Machine Knitters”
3 December 2018	Fuddle - bring some food to share and a small gift/raffle prize for our annual Christmas event (we draw lots and everyone gets a gift).
7 January 2019	No meeting - our annual seasonal meal at The Plainsman, Mapperley.
4 February 2019	Alison Peck will be demonstrating 'Knitting with Beads' techniques for embellishing garments.
4 March 2019	Continuing the embellishment theme, Sue Booth will be demonstrating further garment embellishment techniques (excluding beads).
1 April 2019	AGM followed by knit & natter.
14 April 2019	Not a meeting, but a reminder that the Nottingham Machine Knitting Show is taking place at West Park Leisure Centre, Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton, NG10 5AA. We will be having a stand at the show, and hope to see you there.
13 May 2019	A ‘knit and natter’ evening, with a lot of news to share and the setup of our machine and ribber in its new cabinet.
3 June 2019	The club machine (standard gauge) will be available to demonstrate to anyone who is struggling to get to grips with their machine. A chunky punchcard machine is also being brought in and interested people can have a go. A knitleader (charting device) will be available for anyone who has questions about that.

Please note: topics for the meeting are subject to change.

Visitors are welcome to attend meetings while deciding whether to join - or just to see what it’s all about - but there is a charge of £3.00 to cover costs.

If you decide to join the club, the membership fee for 2019 is £9 for the April 2019 to March 2020 year, plus £1.50 to cover refreshments each meeting that you attend.

If you want to talk to someone before you come...

We know it's sometimes a little strange turning up when you don't know anyone, so one of our members has kindly offered to be an initial point of contact for anyone considering coming to a meeting.

Please send an email to mappknitnatter@gmail.com with any questions. If you would rather speak to someone on the phone, we can let you have a number to call.

Why the Mapperley Knit and Natter Club?

We were founded in 1986 by a group of enthusiastic machine knitters and used to meet in a community centre in Mapperley, which is a district of Nottingham in England. Although we now meet in Arnold (a nearby district of Nottingham), we decided not to change the name.