A big welcome to our new SKG Knit News Chairperson: Marion Scichilone! For this the second installment of the introductory series, where we meet each of the people working hard both behind the scenes and out in front of the cameras, so to speak, we’ll be meeting our newest chairperson, Marion Scichilone!
Firstly, let’s cover what the Knit News is, and what the chairperson of Knit News is responsible for.
Knit News is almost exactly as it sounds; a bit of news from the wider world of crafting around us. I say “almost”, because it isn’t, just as our guild isn’t, strictly knitting. The news may be about crochet, or a new breed of sheep. It could be trends, designers, or what other guilds around the country are up to. You can even email your own suggestions of what you’d like to know more about, or send any other newsworthy tips to her official email here: [email protected]
So what does the Knit News chairperson do, exactly? They're our very own world news reporter, of sorts. They dig around and see what’s happening out there, and then they share it with us. After researching what’s happening, they pull it all together into a convenient little package and submit it to the guild’s website and newsletter for us to read, and they report “live”, too, during a five-minute segment at guild meetings.
The Knit News chairperson is an invaluable member of our team, and now let’s introduce to you just who she is!
Firstly, let’s cover what the Knit News is, and what the chairperson of Knit News is responsible for.
Knit News is almost exactly as it sounds; a bit of news from the wider world of crafting around us. I say “almost”, because it isn’t, just as our guild isn’t, strictly knitting. The news may be about crochet, or a new breed of sheep. It could be trends, designers, or what other guilds around the country are up to. You can even email your own suggestions of what you’d like to know more about, or send any other newsworthy tips to her official email here: [email protected]
So what does the Knit News chairperson do, exactly? They're our very own world news reporter, of sorts. They dig around and see what’s happening out there, and then they share it with us. After researching what’s happening, they pull it all together into a convenient little package and submit it to the guild’s website and newsletter for us to read, and they report “live”, too, during a five-minute segment at guild meetings.
The Knit News chairperson is an invaluable member of our team, and now let’s introduce to you just who she is!
Marion, as a department manager at the Central Library in downtown Seattle (how fun does that sound?), is pretty uniquely qualified for the task at hand. She’s interested in working with natural and locally produced yarn, and has shared with us a link to her list of Knitting/Yarn with natural fibers related books in the Seattle Public Library catalog.
As I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Marion, I feel confident in my impression that she’s just, in general, awesome. A ball of energy and inquiry, and a whole lot of talent, too! She started crocheting in her early teens when a friend taught her, and she used that new knowledge to create a lovely shawl for her grandmother, and later about a half-dozen crocheted pillows for a lucky college boyfriend. In 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island, she took knitting lessons, which she and her kitten enjoyed thoroughly (aww!). She moved to Southern California, where she knit sporadically for the next thirteen years, before moving to Washington with her husband, Jim, in 2005. She, understandably excited by the new climate and excuse to knit, promptly started working on two woolen sweaters. I hope the experience has improved since, but she tells me one of the last times she’s cried was while trying to learn how to work a drop spindle. I know so many of us can sympathize!
The patterns she reaches for more often slant to solid colored with interesting details, and she gets immense joy from crafting small gifts for friends and family. Ravelry has become a favorite thing, too, and you can find her there as TromboneCat. Her love of football is evident (go 'Hawks!), and watching both football games as well as Masterpiece Theater-type shows with her husband while knitting is a favorite activity.
When I asked what some of her goals are, she said stranded knitting, socks, weaving, and completing a TKGA class may be in her future. Currently, though, she’s challenging herself with a difficult pattern each year, and also challenging herself to use yarn from her stash (which is so tricky with all those yummy yarn shops so close by!).
Working within the library system may give you a clue that this smart cookie loves books, and you’d be right. She enjoys reading biographies, those chronicling strong women in history in particular, and is currently reading about Eleanor Roosevelt, who she tells me was known to knit. As an eight-year breast cancer survivor, and the wife of a stroke and seizure survivor, she's also an advocate for access to quality healthcare for all. Just one of the many reasons I think she's quite the strong woman herself!
Marion tries to sit at different tables each meeting, since there are so many amazing people to meet and she’d really love to meet and learn from each of us. Luckily enough for me, as this is precisely how I met her the first time, and I’m very glad of it! Her hopes for the future of the guild are hopes that we can really all agree on; to continue to welcome knitters and crocheters with warmth, get to know one another, and keep asking ourselves and our fellow members what we can do to really be involved.
There’s really so much more to Marion, and I could fill several blog entries on the fascinating life she continues to lead, and the journeys she’s made, both physical and metaphorical. But truly, the best way to get to know such an open, caring person as she is is to meet her yourself. Next month, find a table you haven’t sat at before, and plonk yourself down. You’ll be amazed at the wondrous people you’ll meet, and maybe Marion will be one of them. If not, don’t fret; you’ll have now met several new friends, and there’s always November!
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