2019 – 2024 Guild Vice President – Sydnie Wauson
Sydnie Wauson joined the Guild about 10 years ago. She’s in her third stint as Vice President and has chaired the Holiday Luncheon for 3 years.
Although her mother Beryl had been knitting for decades, she was left-handed and Sydnie was not. She “taught” herself to tie shoelaces by watching what her mother did – upside down and backwards – the results were predictably disastrous, and Sydnie didn’t want to learn knitting the same way. Finally, about 20 years ago, she took up the needles. She doesn’t recall how she learned about the Guild but joined to meet other knitters and learn from the monthly programs and workshops.
Sydnie is a book learner, so Knitting for Dummies was her first stop on her knitting journey. KnittingHelp.com was another early favorite. Searching online for kilt hose patterns lead her down the Ravelry rabbit hole. One of her first Guild workshops introduced her to the magic of applying beads to knitting and she found her creative passion.
Sydnie’s entire family belonged to the Long Beach MG Club in the late 60s, early 70s. She helped her father keep their fleet of up to six British sports cars on the road. She continued to perform her own minor automotive repairs for many years. For professional reasons, she held several automotive repair specialist certifications.
Sydnie and her husband, Bob Werner, initially met through the Long Beach MG Club circa 1968. They first dated when Sydnie was 17, but then they went on to live separate lives. Fast forward 34 years, when Bob emailed the MG Club President and asked if any of the Wauson sisters were still in the club. Reunited, she and Bob celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary last fall.
Sydnie attended San Jose State University and earned a degree in Journalism. Midway through her college years, the Watergate scandal introduced “investigative journalism” to a generation of college students, and by the time she graduated there wasn’t a newspaper job to be found. By sheer luck, she was hired as a technical writer at a small automotive publishing company. Taking advantage of her love of cars, Sydnie built a career as a writer, editor, manager, and trainer in automotive service and sales. She retired in mid-2022 having worked freelance in the industry for 30 years.
Sydnie is also active in her local Scottish Clan association which holds an annual dinner dance. She has made several kilts for Bob to wear at association events and at the Highland Games they enjoy attending. Her initial motivation to knit was to make him knee-high hose to wear with his kilts. After a few pairs of kilt hose (which take FOREVER and are really boring), Sydnie decided he would do just as well wearing commercially available products while she devoted the majority of her time to beaded lace shawls. Every female family member is knit-worthy. She also donates one shawl each year to support the scholarship-fundraising raffle at the Scottish Clan dinner.
Sydnie is a proud 4th-generation California native (her sister Jan, who you’ve seen at Guild Holiday Luncheons, has 7th-generation native grandkids). She grew up in Sunset Beach and, aside from those few years in the San Jose area, has lived her entire life in Southern California. She and Bob now enjoy their little piece of paradise in an “active seniors” community in Oceanside.
— Tania Marshall, Guild Co-President, News Coordinator and Guild Photographer
