Knit-In 2023 update

After much discussion the board has made the difficult decision not to host a Knit-In this year. There were a variety of reasons that led us to make this decision that we would like to share with our members. 

Alliant Energy Center is really struggling right now with staffing shortages, and they have not responded to any of our inquiries. Recently the Art Glass and Bead Show was forced to cancel classes less than a week before their event due to issues with that venue. Taking both into account, we are not comfortable pursuing that as a venue option.

We aren’t able to return to the Marriott because it costs significantly more than the Alliant. To host the event there on an on-going basis would require us to either significantly downsize the event or to double or even triple the fees we charge for classes and activities. Any other Madison area venue with the space we need for a traditional Knit-In would be on par with the cost of the Marriott.

Finally, we have not seen the end of Covid. We had less than half our members attend the most recent event and had a total turn out of about a third of what we had in 2019. With the majority of people indicating that the reason they chose not to attend was because Covid concerns, we feel that pursuing another event the size and scope of the Knit-In is not in the best interest of our members until we are no longer seeing incidence of high Covid community spread.

Instead, we would like to take this time to assess whether the current format of the Knit-In is still meeting the wants and needs of our members or if there is something that may suit us better. If you have any ideas or suggestions for new things you would like to see at a future event or if there is something that you loved from a past event that you would like to see return, let us know! Additionally, we are looking for volunteers for the Knit-In planning committee to begin work in the spring. If you are interested in being part of the committee, make sure you have either checked a volunteer interest in Knit -In on your membership page or email us. All Knit-In correspondence should be sent to Courtney Gradel at knitin@madisonknittersguild.com.