Our History

The meager beginnings of the
Camellia City Stockin'ettes
-beginning with a handful of members and
through the end of 2006 with 142 members-

On October 16, 1989, a group of knitters met at Nancie Knits, 3214 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento CA, to create a Sacramento Guild chapter of The Knitting Guild Association.

They discussed goals, programs, meeting locations, dates, times and officers. And they decided to support a community project, knitting preemie caps for the tiny patients at the UCD Medical Center.

They met again on Monday, November 13, and decided to call themselves the Camellia City Stockin'ettes, after dismissing such other possibilities as River City Knitting Bags, Camellia City Yarn Benders, and The Dropped Stitches. They elected a board of directors, which they (affectionately) named the Knitting Bags. Dues were established at $12 a year plus $18 membership in the Knitting Guild Association.

First President: Doris Keller
Vice President: Nancie Wiseman
Program Committee:
Virginia Riley, Lillie Williams, Marilyn Turner
Secretary/Membership: Susan Dileanis
Treasurer: Kathie Birmingham
Newsletter Co-Editors: Ferris Yayesaki, Marcia Watrabe
Cookie Bag: Marcia Watrabe

Founding members included: Doris Keller, Nancie Wiseman, Virginia Riley, Lillie Williams, Marilyn Turner, Susan Dileanis, Kathie Birmingham, Ferris Yayesaki, Marcia Watrabe, Susan Ross, Norma Westwick, Margaret Deterding, Kazue Tanaka, Jane Leadmon, Helen Grandstaff, Lyle Grimes, Margo Scandella, Walda Dambacher, Dorothy Pierson, Beverly Lindgren, ? Sato, Dee Curtis, Jo d'Alessandro, Constance Battle, and Roberta Zind.

Highlights from first year

More decisions finalized included sending a newsletter to yarn shops introducing themselves, creating membership cards, making name tags, and having a raffle at each meeting. Raffle tickets were $.25 a ticket or five for $1.00. The winner must bring a raffle item to the next meeting. A library would be started. They would begin meeting on the 2d Wednesday 7pm at the Southgate Community Library, 6132 66 th Ave, S Sacramento.

Other decisions included:
  • Purchasing the Vogue Knitting book for the library.
  • Hanging posters describing the guild in yarn shops by the end of the month.
  • Finalizing plans for a workshop with Ginger Luters, a successful local author/designer and instructor at Stitches and elsewhere, in September

First Program: Video from the Elizabeth Zimmerman Knitting Workshop series

First Raffle items Two Patricia Roberts knitting books donated by Rumpelstiltskin.

First New member Barbara M. Cooley
25 members by March 1990
41 membersy by October 1990
131 members at the end of 2007

Other Programs through the First Year:
  • Rumpelstiltskin presented a fashion show at Fox & Goose.
  • Knitting preemie hats on circular needles for community service
  • Nancie Wiseman presented a slide show of her trip to the Hayfield Yarn Mill in England.
  • Pat Morse taught bead knitting
  • Pat Wakefield gave a history of beaded baby hats
  • Elizabeth Zimmerman tapes
  • Knitted Christmas ornaments
  • Show-and-tell from Ginger Luters workshop, highlights from the Oregon conference, yarn swap
  • Buttonhole workshop with Roberta Zind
  • Christmas ornament exchange
  • New member Diane Peterson (a familiar name still in 2008)
The Board reviewed the by-laws provided by the National Guild (TKGA) and made revisions and amendments for distribution to members before the July meeting. Revisions/amendments would be reviewed at the July and August meetings and voted on at the September meeting.

Stella Kotyluk of Stella's Unique Knits retired and donated four boxes of books and patterns to the library.

The president's monthly newsletter column was titled The Slipped Stitch. Advertisers included Crystal's Yarn Ball, Rumpelstiltskin, LeAnn's Needlework Boutique, Yarn & Eye, Yarn Tree, and Nancie Knits.

New member Elizabeth Walczak (now Gloor) (a familiar face still in 2008)

New Board elected.
New officers installed.

And there you have the first year of a new guild in Sacramento CA