Don’t Get Kicked Out of the Meeting Place for Your Knitting Group!

Does your knitting group meet in a public place? If so, keep everyone happy with these tips

Once, I read an article about a knitting group that was kicked out of the library they had been meeting in. You can read that article here.

Yes, you read that correctly: a library actually kicked out a group of knitters!

Now, it seems that the reasons for the group getting the boot aren’t completely clear.

A member of the group said they had been given multiple explanations. One: the library kicked them out because they were making too much noise.

Two: that the pointy sticks could be “dangerous.” And three: the library, which had recently moved to a new venue, was too small to properly accommodate the group.

I think the first and last reasons seem the most likely. And as for reason number 2, my pointy sticks just might become dangerous if someone tried to take them from me!

But the fact remains that a longtime, thriving knitting group had to find another place in which to meet. If it could happen to them, it could happen to any of us in a knitting group.

So let’s consider how to avoid your knitting group meeting place kicking you out!

How Not to Get Kicked out of a Knitting Group Meeting Place

1. Before you start meeting at your chosen venue, make sure the manager approves.

Have you already started meeting there, and no one is certain if anyone ever asked permission? It’s never too late to ask. The old saying “better to ask forgiveness than permission” definitely doesn’t apply here!

2. Once you have received the green light, ask if there are any rules you need to follow.

Is there a certain part of the venue you need to remain in? Do you need to worry about noise level? Do they allow or prohibit any refreshments? Try to cover as much ground as possible.

3. If your venue of choice sells anything – for instance, if you meet at a restaurant or café, or even a local yarn shop – try to patronize their wares as much as possible.

Remember that your host is doing you a favor by allowing you to use their place of business for your group, and try to do what you can to promote their business’ health.

4. Be sure to leave your venue as clean as, if not cleaner than, it was when you arrived.

This holds true no matter where you are meeting! Throw away trash, sweep up crumbs, return tables and chairs to their proper places, and please take care of those little snips of yarn one might tend to leave if one is knitting a multi-yarn project.

(Not that I know anything about those. Ahem.)

5. If you happen to hear (or overhear) any complaints, reconsider your meeting spot.

Sure, the manager of the venue may be fine with your meeting there. But you certainly don’t want to risk driving away his or her customers. Nor do you want to make his or her employees unhappy.

Most of us already know how to behave when we meet in a public place for a knitting group. But it never hurts to remind ourselves of these unspoken rules. Let’s make every knitting group a more harmonious place for everyone involved!