Slipknot 157Knitting & Crochet Guild Established in 1978 for Education, Innovation and Preservation
A blanket for Max Bath Branch knit up a surprise for their Branch Coordinator
It’s a small world Denise Cripps shares her love of the miniature
New Patron Louisa Harding tells her story and shares her plans
Stressed out? Knitting as the tonic for a modern age
... and more!
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A Blanket for Max by Claire Griffel – see p.29 ‘Zephine’ by Louisa Harding – see p.20
A Little Strand of History by Sue Hermiston – see p.24 A Little Strand of History by Sue Hermiston – see p.24
It’s a Small World by Denise Cripps – see p.28 Oxford Regional Day, Inspiration for design – see p.15
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CONTENTS Features A blanket for Max 29 A life on the ocean waves 36 A little strand of history 24 A textile visit to Leicester 7 Bedfordshire Regional Day 4 May 2019 33 Book reviews 16 Challenge and achievement – running a machine knitting club 19 Crocheted seagulls exhibition at Wonderwool Wales 2019 23 Did you know? 9, 27, 35 It’s a small world 28 Louisa Harding, our new Patron 20 Machine Knitting – knit-weave 34 Oxford Regional Day 18 May 2019 14 Oxford Regional Day – inspiration for design 15 Stressed out? Knitting as the tonic for a modern age (Part 1) 26 Wool @ J13 13 What’s on – Autumn 2019 32
The Guild 200 Club 39 Branch reports 30 Contributions to Slipknot 39 Directors and post-holders 4 From the Editor 3 Heritage Lottery funds for KCG 37 Message from the Board 5 New branches 38 Official opening of the KCG Collection 8 Snapshots of the Convention weekend 10 Tributes to two hard-working Board members 22 The Guild on the Net 6
... From the Editor Welcome to our third Slipknot of 2019. So much has happened this year already, as you will have seen from our first two issues. Here, there is more on Britannia Mills, the wonderful new home of the Guild’s archive, and you can ‘meet’ our new Patron, Louisa Harding on page 20. And on page 15 you can read about Debbie Abrahams’ excellent workshop in Oxford in May. Debbie has been a Patron since 2006 and we are so lucky to have such enthusiastic designers supporting the Guild.
Also, there have been big changes to our Board. You can read more about these in the report on the AGM and Convention held in July, and we pay tribute on page 22 to Tricia Basham and Maureen Wheeler who have done so much for the Guild.
As I write this, I’m getting more excited about my forthcoming trip to Shetland Wool Week later this month. There is a few of us going from the Guild, so you can expect stories and pictures in the next issue. To whet your appetite, do read the fascinating article by Sue Hermiston on page 24.
Now, I just have to finish knitting my SWW hat…
... Elspeth Download a full-colour pdf of this issue from the members’ area of the website.
The views and opinions expressed by contributors to Slipknot may not necessarily reflect or represent those of the Knitting & Crochet Guild.
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Julie Hulme Finance & Admin: Convention 2020 – convention2020@kcguild.org.uk Barbara Kolator Company Secretary – secretary@kcguild.org.uk Fiona Mannifield Membership Secretary: renewals – membership@kcguild.org.uk Susannah Matthews Admin Consultant – london@kcguild.org.uk Gillian Oliver Legal – legal@kcguild.org.uk Alison Peck Vice Chair – chair@kcguild.org.uk Jacqui Taylor No specific role
Directors and post-holders The Board The Board is elected by Guild members both as directors of the company and of the charity. The whole board is responsible for the strategic direction, governance and management of the Guild.
Director roles as at 13th July 2019 (after the AGM).
Tricia Basham Internal Audit – audit@kcguild.org.uk Social Media (temporarily!) – socialmedia@kcguild.org.uk Elspeth May and Denise Cripps Slipknot Editors – slipknot@kcguild.org.uk Fiona Laden General Enquiries – enquiries@kcguild.org.uk
Barbara Smith Publications Curator – collections@kcguild.org.uk Angharad Thomas Textile Archivist – collections@kcguild.org.uk Maureen Wheeler Collections Team – collections@kcguild.org.uk
Post-holders These are not directors/trustees. They are appointed by, and work with, the Board.
Slipknot team Elspeth May & Denise Cripps Slipknot Editors – slipknot@kcguild.org.uk Lesley O’Connell Edwards Did you know? – GaladrielNOF@yahoo.com Anne Scahill Branch Reports – annescahill@aol.com
Liz Smedley Machine Knitting Editor – knit.machine@smedley.f9.co.uk Rita Taylor Book Reviews – k2togp1@btinternet.com Lindy Zubairy Designer – skdesign@kcguild.org.uk
Slipknot 165: Copy date 30/09/19
Slipknot is published by the Knitting & Crochet Guild and printed by Dearneside Press, Huddersfield.
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About 100 delegates met at the Radcliffe Conference Centre at Warwick University for our annual convention in July. Those present enjoyed the stimulating programme, comfortable venue and copious amounts of food. Loraine McClean got everything off to a fantastic start with a workshop about design which managed to be challenging and safe in equal measure. Loraine is such an inspirational teacher and she set the bar very high indeed. Fortunately Nathan Taylor, Sue Blacker and our own Angharad Thomas were equally knowledgeable, entertaining and informative. The four keynote speakers generated much positive discussion long after their presentations had finished.
During the Convention, 18 workshops were on offer covering a vast range of subjects. Even with time to prepare, ‘teaching’ your peers can be very daunting. Specific thanks, therefore, have to go to Wendy Irving who stepped in at the Convention to teach how to ‘Get to grips with textured crochet’ when Helen Jordon was too unwell to attend. I have total respect, and admiration, for Wendy. We wish Helen a speedy recovery.
For the first time the AGM was screened live and recorded on Facebook. Susannah Matthews was a whiz with the technology. Sadly, your new chair was nowhere near as
efficient. As Eric Morecambe might have joked, ‘I played all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order’. I admit I have a lot to learn and I hope you will see an improvement next year.
The accounts are in good order and the reports are all positive. As a charity our priority is to meet our aims, not to accrue money for its own sake, however, it is reassuring that we have the money to meet those aims and be confident about our future as a Guild.
And, after months of hard work, our Collection has a wonderful new home. We were fascinated to see how it was moved and settled into Britannia Mill. Profound thanks to all concerned and you can read about the official opening on page 8.
Directors are allowed to stay on the Board for six years and, accordingly, both Tricia Basham and Maureen Wheeler stepped down at the AGM. We are extremely grateful for all their hard work and commitment to the Guild. Fortunately, both of them are staying on as post- holders and we look forward to working with them in the future. Tempted by the possibility of being a post-holder without responsibilities on the Board, Fiona Laden also stepped down as a director. We are pleased to say Fiona will continue to
Message from
the Board
continued overleaf
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Did you know? By Lesley O’Connell Edwards Bobby buddies are small crocheted or knitted teddies carried in police vehicles and given to children in distress to help the police reassure and comfort them.
They are made by volunteers and are used by several police forces including Suffolk, Cumbria and Dorset. There is a pattern for them here: www.dorset. police.uk/media/55972/bobby-buddies- knitting-pattern.pdf. Check with your local police to see if they use them and where to send the completed buddies.
answer general enquiries on behalf of the Guild.
We welcomed new members from the former Guild of Machine Knitters, as well as Alison Peck onto the Board as Vice Chair. We also welcomed a new director, Clare Griffel. Details of the Board members and their roles are listed on page 4. Reports and minutes from the AGM are now available in the members’ area at www.kcguild.org.uk.
Your Guild is an organisation run entirely by volunteers for volunteers. Opportunities to support it are many and various. Encouraging future members and retaining existing members is perhaps something we might all attempt. You might also want to volunteer to represent the Guild at one of the many yarn shows we attend. Please do not be shy about offering skills and knowledge that you have gained from your current or past employment.
Next year’s Convention will be held at The Queen’s Hotel in Leeds on 10th – 12th July. We look forward to seeing you there.
Janet Collins (Chair) On behalf of the Board
( C O N T I N U E D )
Knitting & Crochet Guild Part First Floor, Britannia Mill, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, HD7 5HE Company No. 05457452. Registered charity no. 1113468.
The Guild on the Net The Knitting & Crochet Guild on Facebook at www. facebook.com. @kcguild on Instagram at www.instagram.com. KCGuild (friend) and KCG (group) on Ravelry at www. ravelry.com. Follow the Collection and other Guild matters on @ KCGCollection on Twitter at www.twitter.com. Also check the Guild’s own website at www.kcguild.org.uk.
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A textile visit to Leicester Lynda Fiendley and Pat Banyard Smith have a grand day out in Leicester. Yeoman Yarns (www.yeoman-yarns.co.uk) had an open day on Friday, 7 June which, although not widely publicised, attracted us as machine knitters since they are an excellent source of machine knitting yarn (as well as hand knitting yarn). They do have shop facilities, but, on this open day, they had more yarn on show, and some bargain end-of-range cones, some of which we (reluctantly! Do we need more yarn?) bought.
Then it was on to much more interesting things. Stoll GB (www.stollgb.com) also has their premises in this back street of Leicester, and they, too, had opened their doors. They make garments, but their main function is as a design and training company. We were shown their finishing room, where garments are linked, checked for errors, and steamed. Then it was on to visit the machine room, where they have several enormous computerised industrial knitting machines, with gauges varying from 1.5 to 16, if I remember rightly, which corresponds to very bulky knitting down to ultra-fine. The finest machine had 32 feeder cones in different colours so was capable of producing amazing patterns.
We were shown how computerisation enables the users to make garments
with integral button bands, shoe uppers ready-shaped on the machine, and fabric with integral ‘stuffing’, as well as many other technical uses. Machine knitters will understand plated fabric, which involves two different yarns knitted together back to back. These machines are also able to alternate the yarns mid-row.
We went on to another textile company that produces knitted fabric, Montreux Fabrics (www.montreuxfabrics.co.uk). They have shop facilities for fabrics of all kinds, as well as designing and producing clothing in small orders, but for me, the real interest is that all their fabric is British made, and their jersey fabrics are made by them. The real star is their micro modal jersey, which is made with wood pulp in an environmentally friendly process and is wonderfully soft.
All in all, we had a busy but very inspiring day out.
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Official opening of the
KCG Collection The Collections team tells us about its showcase weekend.
The official opening of the Collection’s new home at Britannia Mill, Slaithwaite (near Huddersfield) took place on Saturday 8th June. Despite a very wet day, over 30 members travelled from all parts of the country for the opening.
Volunteers in the Collections team led conducted tours throughout the day, enabling members to see the storage facilities for books, publications, textiles, shade cards and tools and gadgets. We had put up the displays from the Guild’s
stands at shows in previous years and had compiled a new display about our Patrons.
Janet Collins (the Chair) welcomed everyone to the official opening at 2pm in the new light and airy office. She introduced our new Patron, Louisa Harding, who officiated by cutting the ribbon and proposing a toast to our new home. She said how pleased she was to become a Patron and how much she looks forward to working with the Guild.
Janet thanked all those who had been involved with the move: members for their financial support by their subscriptions, the Board members who had located the new premises and organised the refurbishment, and the volunteers and their families for their time and effort to move the entire Collection in such a short time.
The following day, the volunteers were back at Britannia Mill for the first Open Day for members of the public. This had been arranged in conjunction with Wild About Wool, a yarn market held twice a year in Slaithwaite. Both events were part of Woven, a celebration of textiles across Kirklees, the metropolitan area that includes Slaithwaite.
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Tours of the Collection were arranged from the Guild’s stand at Wild about Wool. Nearly 40 visitors signed in during the day, including many local residents and business proprietors. It proved a very successful event, not only for showcasing
the Collection but also for establishing contacts within the Slaithwaite community and as a basis for recruiting new volunteers.
‘A tiring, but wonderful weekend’, as one volunteer remarked.
Members can visit the Collection by prior arrangement. It is hoped to hold further open days in the future to make the Collection more accessible.
Did you know? By Lesley O’Connell Edwards
Knitting magazine will reach its 200th issue this autumn. Issues 198 and/or 199 should be available in September. It seems a long time ago that it launched itself as a bi-monthly on a UK market which had no home-published knitting magazines.
One of the more unusual charity knitting and crocheting appeals this year was one for knitted and crocheted nests! This came from an American wildlife charity that receives orphaned baby birds. The nests needed to be very small to hold the very young hatchling birds that needed to stay warm until their feathers grew. They also needed to be very tightly stitched so legs could not poke though. See bevscountrycottage. com/nest for more details.
Angharad Thomas, the Guild’s Textile Archivist, has had an article on the history of colour-patterned gloves published in the Fall 2019 issue of Piecework. The issue also includes a companion project designed by Angharad for a pair of colour- patterned gloves using elements from traditional patterns.
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of the
Convention Snapshots
weekend To supplement Janet’s report on Convention in her ‘Message from the Board’, we have a different kind of summary of the weekend from the single report of previous years. This time, various members have contributed both words and pictures to delight you. Firstly, Barbara Smith has shared with us her photos from the weekend. She attended Debbie Abraham’s workshop on finishing techniques and Ellie Reed’s on vintage patterns in the Collection.
Sue Beard’s featured cardigan was the one she posed in during Loraine’s talk.
Below are some further glimpses of the fun. It looks like everyone had a great time!
Crocheting a rose garden, image by Lindy Zubairy
Susannah Matthews and Julie Hulme relaxing between events, image by
Lindy Zubairy
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Next, here are some gorgeous pictures of the garments Patricia Scott brought along to illustrate Jane Harrison’s machine knitting talk on the Sunday morning. What a talented lady!
Photos by Patricia
Scott
Here, Karen Smith describes what it felt like to come to her first Convention:
I booked for this year’s Convention after hearing such positive things about the Convention in 2018. Although I knew people from the Birmingham branch were going, it was still quite a big thing to arrive as a ‘newbie’.
I need not have worried: people were so friendly and it was interesting to hear where people had travelled from and if their passion was for knitting, crochet, machine knitting or a combination of the three. The weekend flew by with talking to so many people, doing workshops and listening to presentations from some inspirational people. The show and tell was wonderful and it made you want to start so many things, if only there were more hours in the day.
I have really enjoyed my first convention and hope to make the one in 2020.
Pattie Jarvis of our Birmingham branch tells us what it feels like to run a workshop at Convention:
This was my first workshop (Lace Knitting) and I was very apprehensive about running it, but I really enjoyed it. There was a group of very interesting women that attended. I used the notes and patterns from one of our members, Helen Downing, who had run the workshop previously for us. We had patterns to make various corsages.
Debbie Newman
image by Lindy Zubairy
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We talked together about how varied our members are, and the interesting and different pieces of work shown at the ‘show and tell’ the night before. As we discussed this, we came up with an idea to do a ‘navy garter stitch scarf’, for display next year. The idea came from Nathan Taylor’s talk, but, as suggested by others, navy garter stitch would/
could be the starting point for all sorts of creations.
Having never done a workshop at Convention before I found it quite challenging but very satisfying. Some of the group had already done lace knitting and some were new to it, but everyone got on well and seemed to have a good time.
Lastly, thanks go to Susannah Matthews for sending in the results of the attendees’ responses to a couple of questions that were posed. You can see the full details below. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main reason members attend the weekend each year is to socialise with like-minded knitters and crocheters.
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Wool @ J13 Denise Cripps reports on down- on-the-farm yarn festival fun. Now in its third year, Wool @ J13 on a farm near Penkridge, Staffordshire and close to the M6, is a lovely early summer event.
On a fine Sunday in mid-May I parked in a field, leapt onto a tractor-driven trailer, and happily bumped off to the main showground
where I was greeted by a punk ukulele band, Not Quite Dead Yet, singing ‘Teenage Kicks’. With spirits lifted (‘Oh, wool, I wanna hold you, wanna hold you tight’) – and a smile on my face – this set the tone for the rest of my day.
The exhibitors and classes were grouped around the stage area, together with food and drink stalls, an assortment of woolly animals, and the Staffordshire WI’s Knitted Tea Room. The live performances really added to the atmosphere – the Stafford Steppers danced exuberantly and Bath-based exhibitor Marina Skua, indie dyer and tech editor for Making Stories, was bopping to a song from her wedding, whilst explaining about her locally sourced and naturally
dyed yarns. First- time exhibitor and Oxfordshire Guild member, Sarah O’ Neill of Hook it and Weave, was showing crochet flowers made into very pretty brooches and wreaths and thoroughly enjoying herself. There was lots of time for talk and it was good to chat to Sue Horn of Hawkshaw Sheep about her business.
Fellow KCG member, Katie Mansfield, camped on the farm over the weekend. She did the Sockmatician’s advanced double knitting workshop and made Dorset buttons, as well as trying out peg-loom weaving. She declared it the ‘best yarn festival ever’! The show wasn’t too crowded and felt very relaxed, a nice contrast to other shows where the sales aspect can dominate. The great atmosphere should, nonetheless, have produced good results for the excellent range of exhibitors.
Creative Director Ingrid Wagner and farmer Val James have created a very compelling mix. Next year’s show (16 and
17 May 2020) should definitely be on your calendar.
Hook it and Weave wreath
The Stafford Steppers
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Oxford Regional Day 18 May 2019
Several of us had already taken a short walk to the Oxford Yarn Store, where owner Karen Draisey had generously offered a 10% discount to attendees, before the first Oxford Regional Day commenced over a cup of coffee at St Anne’s College, Oxford. There was an opportunity to meet, greet and catch up before gathering to hear Debbie Abrahams, our keynote speaker and KCG Patron, talk us through the background, inspiration and design process of her mystery blanket – Casa Batll. You could have heard a bead drop.
Following a delicious buffet lunch and several more forays to the OYS, Linde Merrick hosted a mini trunk show, presenting a varied snapshot of some items from the Collection, along with a knowledgeable commentary.
Shortly afterwards, although it was a shame to dismantle the impressive array of donated raffle prizes, several expertly crafted, Janet, our Chair, gracious as ever, announced the winning tickets.
Then on to the workshops: Knitting with Beads, Adventures with I-Cord, Broomstick Crochet, Knitted Entrelac and Mini Latvian Mitts. As the person responsible for
allocating workshop spaces I know that we all wished for a timepiece like Hermione Granger’s, enabling us to be in two places at once! I joined the Mini Latvian Mitts group and was chuffed to have learned three new techniques and finished a mini mitt in just under the two hours, before, over a final cup of tea and individual show and tells, we said our goodbyes.
Many thanks go to Jane Barton, Linde Merrick and their band of helpers for organising and facilitating an event which enabled us to learn something new and keep connected. St Anne’s, a bright, modern and airy venue, was easily accessible by train and a short walk, or park and ride. Thank you also to the instructors: Debbie Abrahams, Sue Winn, Jacky Ridgill, James from Oxford Yarn Store and Angharad Thomas who shared their time and knowledge so generously, and to our sponsor, Oxford Yarn Store.
It is hoped to repeat the event a little later next year and publicity will appear in Slipknot and the website from January 2020.
Susan Shapland relives the fun at this regional Guild event.
This page: Mini Latvian Mitts. Image by Susan Shapland
Opposite: Debbie Abraham’s 2020 Mystery Blanket. Image c/o Debbie Abrahams
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Inspiration for design Maggie Mockeridge describes Debbie Abrahams’ design inspirations.
Debbie Abrahams’ ‘Inspiration for designing Mystery Blankets’ was the subject of her keynote talk. At the front of the room was a selection of her blankets from over the last 11 years. These have become increasingly popular, with 80 people joining the first Mystery Blanket Club in 2008 rising to 380 taking part the following year when the inspiration was Arabian Nights. 500 people joined for the next blanket, Beneath the Sea, and now an average of 700 people from all over the world take part each year. Describing creating the blankets as being like working on a huge sampler, Debbie also runs a Mystery Cushion Club for those seeking a smaller project and, this year, she is introducing a Baby Blanket Club.
Taking her latest blanket as an example, Debbie showed a series of slides of how she had used aspects of Gaudí’s Casa Batll to inspire her. Although the main focus for this design has been knitting, there are also embroidery stitches enhancing some of the squares and emphasising texture. Gaudi based his designs on form, movement and nature and Debbie took his mosaics made from broken pottery, balconies from the front of the house, and room and window shapes as inspiration.
Starting the process with a series of
simple square sketches taken from her photographs, Debbie took us through her method of colouring in, adding different colour schemes and laying out the design. She emphasised that her representations are the essence of the photographs rather than accurate copies. With the Casa Batll blanket Debbie explained how she used short rows, cables and beads to give the impression of movement. As with all her blankets the Casa Batll blanket has two options so that Debbie’s designs are accessible to everyone, with challenging, fancy squares having a simplified version for less confident knitters.
After all the work of knitting 49 squares, the finishing is obviously important and Debbie explained that she blocked each square as she completed it using a damp blocking method and pinning it out face down until dry. The squares are then sewn together and the edges picked up for a border. Again, there are two options for the border, a challenging version and a more straightforward one, both with mitred corners.
Debbie’s talk was both interesting and inspirational and there will probably be an increased number of KCG members from the Oxford area taking part in the Mystery Blanket Club this year.
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BOOK REVIEWS Edited by Rita Taylor
Art Deco Knits: creating a hand-knit wardrobe inspired by the 1920s–1930s, Jemima Bicknell. The Crowood Press 2019. Hardback, 176 pages, £25. ISBN 9781785005497
This is an elegant book, with good quality illustrations. It contains three sections connected with history and knitting in the 1920s and 1930s and ways to interpret the style today, techniques useful for styles of this period and nine patterns. The book’s stated aim is ‘…to encourage [the] joy and self-expression….’ of the period and to provide an opportunity to make items for a vintage wardrobe.
Although the text regarding the styles of the 20s and 30s is informative, the black and white photographs are disappointing and not up to the standard of the colour photos in that they largely fail to illustrate the features of the clothing being described. A few tips are provided for creating and wearing knitwear from the era but one could just as well access patterns from the KCG archive to this end.
After the basic techniques are covered, the book goes on to describe embellishments, creating Art Deco fabrics, edging and hems, and finishing techniques. There is
a large and useful section on embroidery onto knitting and one on how to incorporate beads. The long Creating Art Deco Fabrics chapter contains stitch patterns deemed applicable for garments of the era. The last chapter of this section reviews methods of finishing a piece of knitting.
All the patterns are worked on fine needles. There are three sweaters, a shawl, a cardigan, a cowl, a beret, a pair of gloves and some fingerless mittens.
The shawl is worked in 2-ply lace weight yarn, the remainder of the patterns are in 4-ply/fingering-weight yarns. The needle sizes are between 2.25 and 3.25mm.
Finally, there is a list of abbreviations, a section of further reading and a list of suppliers for the yarns used in the patterns.
This book is especially worth a look if you want to begin knitting patterns from the 1920s and 30s because the background history and technical and design advice not only support the patterns provided but also provide inspiration for the vintage devotee to investigate further.
Rita Taylor
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Lace Knitting, Helen James. The Crowood Press 2019. Hardback, 160 pages, £25. ISBN 978178500571
This book allows the reader to share Helen James’ lifelong passion and fascination with lace knitting and is a well-illustrated guide to the projects that can be created using basic skills and stitches. The History chapter provides a good introduction to the origins of this form of lace, with detailed information about Shetland, Orenburg and Estonian styles in particular. The distinction is also made between lace knitting – with plain knit or purl stitches on alternate rows – and knitted lace which has patterning on every row and tends to create lace with more holes and an airy fabric.
The information about tools, suitable yarns and how to read and make use of charts is adequately covered and the diagrams of the necessary techniques are clear, with easy to understand instructions in Chapters 2 and 3. An excellent chapter (8) covers the all-important finishing techniques.
Helen’s Stitchionary contains a good selection of the many lace patterns available, with clear charts, written instructions and images of the lace motifs, edgings, insertions and border stitches. A further chapter on Edgings and Embellishments highlights the fact that lace is knitted on a background of garter stitch or stocking stitch and that some lace
has a right and a wrong side. Shetland and Orenburg laces are traditionally knitted with garter stitch, thereby making it easier and quicker to knit the patterns.
Advice on how to design your own patterns by swatching and charting stitches is combined with examples of ways to include lace within garments or accessories in an informative chapter entitled Pattern Combining and Materials. The Inspiration chapter expands on the idea that many lace motifs are named for things, especially things in nature, that people saw around them everyday and that even man-made objects can be a source of design inspiration.
The projects at the end of this book are beautifully crafted examples of lace knitting, highlighting many of the themes presented so well by the author.
Linde Merrick
...BOOK REVIEWS (CONTINUED)
Fashion Knitwear Design, edited by Amy Twigger Holyroyd and Helen Hill. The Crowood Press 2019. Hardback, 160 pages, £25. ISBN 9781785005695
This book has been written by the design specialists from the undergraduate, postgraduate and MA fashion courses at Nottingham Trent University. It is clearly laid out and beautifully illustrated in eight informative chapters showing how knitwear combines the skills of the fashion and textile designer.
The History chapter provides an overview of the development of knitting from medieval hand knits through early modern frame knitting to the industrial age and highlights the recent resurgence in hand knitting. The chapter on Yarns explores the differences between natural, synthetic and regenerated fibres and their properties within knitwear, thereby allowing the designer to select the appropriate yarn by considering aesthetic, technological and practical implications.
These aspects are further amplified within the Technology and Structures chapter, as a good understanding of the highly technical nature of knitted structures is essential for good design. The information in Pattern Cutting and Silhouette gives guidance on the different approaches that can be used to create a pattern for a
knitted garment, whereas the Construction and Manufacturing chapter outlines the key principles necessary to produce a garment that is fit for purpose, making use of the specialist skills and machinery needed at every stage.
Two informative chapters covering Research, and Design and Communication provide authoritative advice on design briefs, trend analysis, how to develop original design ideas, fabric and garments and many other aspects of presenting a knitwear collection in an appropriate manner.
The final chapter covers the varied and diverse employment opportunities within fashion knitwear design, with short case studies on a range of different designers. Overall this book is a must-read reference for anyone interested in either studying fashion knitwear design or wishing to pursue a career within the industry, since it covers the whole design process.
Linde Merrick
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CHALLENGE AND ACHIEVEMENT
Running a Machine Knitting Club Lynda Fiendley takes on a tricky task. Long Buckby Machine Knitters was set up in 2002 from the amalgamation of three ailing clubs: I joined about ten years ago, first as a hesitant new member, but soon as deputy chair of the committee.
We have since moved premises, as the old church room we used was dark, cold and unwelcoming. We now meet in Long Buckby community centre. This is much better, as, in addition to a lighter, warmer atmosphere, we also rent a cupboard, which houses machines and equipment. Previously, meetings involved our stronger members in hefting heavy machines in and out. Our website was set up at the same time, and has attracted a lot of interest, as has our Facebook page.
Our meetings are a mixture of demonstrations, sometimes on video, sometimes with visiting speakers (perhaps three times a year), and more open meetings, where there are sales and chat. We have begun to have a general craft session in July, where members and others, with their own interests, demonstrate in a market-like environment. We now have
around 24 members, and guests and new members are always welcome.
We meet monthly on the second Monday and we have tried to add in workshops, especially for beginners, at other times. Sadly, these have not been well attended, so we are currently reviewing them. We feel there is a need, and we also help individuals, but we need more feedback if we are to continue the workshops.
Likewise, we are trying to expand our range of visiting speakers. There are few active demonstrators of machine knitting, and we have struggled at times, but our regulars (Erica Thomson and Sue Booth) are wonderfully informative. This April we welcomed Anne Lavene, an inspiring knitwear designer, and we look forward to more meetings like this, especially since it was attended by many visitors.
Running a club is hard work and involves the whole committee of seven in a multitude of tasks, but we are still a viable and vibrant club, which makes it worthwhile.
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O ur
N ew
P at
ro n
Louisa Harding Elspeth May talks to Louisa about her work and hopes for the Guild.
While still a student, Louisa had two of her early designs published in Rowan Magazine Six; however, it was in the iconic ‘Swallows and Amazons’ Issue (Rowan Magazine Ten published in 1991), now a collectors’ item featuring the very youthful Kate Moss, that Louisa’s third design for Rowan appeared. Modelled by Kate herself and called Fickle*, it is a gorgeously cabled sweater with a contrasting two- colour border. It is a design that could easily fit into a 2019 pattern collection and yet is quite different to the designs Louisa publishes today, for her own company, Yarntelier. Delicate lace and a luxurious feel are the hallmarks of her garments now.
It is an honour that this much-loved and enduring designer is now a Patron of the Knitting & Crochet Guild and I was delighted to meet Louisa at the opening of Britannia Mill in June. Thankfully, we had a chance to talk later, for Slipknot, about her business and her hopes for the Guild, though I am sure her work is familiar to many of us.
Louisa lives in Yorkshire and it is the
county’s expertise and heritage that have led her to base her business there. Originally from London, she studied a four-year Fashion for Textiles degree in Brighton. Her course leader, the renowned Sandy Black, arranged a three-month placement for her at Rowan and Louisa was immediately drawn to the relaxed atmosphere of the company and its ethos. So, after a brief spell in Montreal, she ended up staying there for 11 years. It was during this time that she visited several mills and dye houses in Yorkshire and came to understand woollen and worsted yarns, along with how they were produced. This early passion for yarn would later have a significant influence on the future direction of her business.
Like other yarn companies, Rowan struggled to cope with the loss of demand for knitting yarns in the 1990s and succumbed to receivership in 1995, eventually being taken under the wing of Coats Crafts. Louisa continued to work with the Rowan team, ultimately becoming designer and Brand Co-ordinator for Jaeger Handknits. After leaving Rowan in 2001
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and freelancing for several years, in 2005 Louisa set up her eponymous range of yarns, marketed by Knitting Fever in the US and Designer Yarns in Europe. Her yarns and designs proved hugely popular but, eventually, as the hand knitting industry evolved, with online companies such as Ravelry publishing independent designers’ work, the need for yarn companies to commission pattern support declined. This decline led Louisa to go her own way once again. Unable to trade under her own name since Knitting Fever owned that ‘brand’ title, she created Yarntelier.
What makes her company so distinctive is that she has chosen to specialise in a single fibre and it is not one with which Yorkshire is most typically associated. However, Louisa chose cashmere rather than wool as the basis for Yarntelier due to the presence, near her home, of an internationally renowned spinner of fine fibres. She approached this company with some trepidation since their usual clients included the fashion houses of Europe and
beyond. While they were a bit shocked to be asked, they nevertheless agreed to source and spin the finest cashmere for her hand knitting yarn. As Louisa said,
‘You don’t know if you can do something until you ask the question’.
Given the huge changes in the yarn industry in recent years, Yarntelier yarns are sold mainly online and via shows, however, there are a few UK stockists, including Louisa’s own shop in Huddersfield’s attractive Byram Arcade. This is, happily for KCG, just a few miles from Britannia Mills. However, Louisa first came across the Guild when she was living a few minutes’ walk away from Lee Mills. After attending an open day there, she got to know Barbara Smith who arranged a personal visit for her. She was greatly impressed by the Collection and all the hard work of the team who look after it. One of Louisa’s aims as Patron is gaining a wider audience for this archive.
Louisa is enthusiastic about being a Patron and is passionate about more people hearing about the Guild and how they can get involved. There is no doubt that her commercial experience will be a big asset to KCG and it is clear she is full of ideas for how it can grow. She emphasised that the Guild should keep moving forward and the Collection must not stand still. With that in mind, we need examples of 21st century items to include in it and she’ll be discussing with the team how best to do this. We also need to attract younger members. I can’t help but feel that having Louisa as our Patron will help enormously with that. * Fickle is now available at www.ravelry.com/patterns/ sources/rowan-40-years-40-iconic-hand-knit-designs
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Tributes to two hard-working Board members Tricia Basham By Elspeth May. Ever since she became a member, Tricia has been actively engaged in KCG. I first met her in 2013 when she and I had become new members of the Board. She bravely took on two responsibilities then, acting as both Treasurer and Membership Secretary for the Guild. This was at a time when the membership was rather lower than it is today and it became one of Tricia’s main aims to see our numbers increase.
After Jennifer Short stepped down as Chair of the Board in 2014, the post of Chair remained vacant. If it hadn’t been for Tricia, the Guild would have lost any sense of direction or strategy and, until Janet Collins took on the Chair role this year, she has, for all intents and purposes, led the Guild. During that time, membership has increased, the website has been transformed, there is a consistency about KCG’s ‘branding’ and the Collection is making much more of a positive impact on the Guild as a whole than it did previously.
Tricia revitalised the Board and led the plans for the 40th anniversary, while also playing a major role in shaping each year’s
Convention and still being Membership Secretary and Treasurer. Tricia organised the Guild’s stands at shows such as the Knitting & Stitching Show and Edinburgh Yarn Festival, initiated various new activities and even found time to design items for the Knitter’s Journey project.
As members, we owe Tricia a huge debt of gratitude for all she has done in the last few years. While she stepped down from the Board this summer, I feel sure Tricia will continue to support the Guild in many ways. She is an inspiration to us all.
Maureen Wheeler By Tricia Basham. I met Maureen at my first board meeting back in January 2014. Her energy and organisational skills were immediately apparent, updating the risk register, health and safety policies, evacuation procedures and other vital tasks, unsurprisingly as I now know that she is a former primary teacher.
Her interest in social and family history in the Holme and Colne valleys initially brought her to volunteer at the Collection. Maureen was instrumental in dealing with the Boxing Day flood at Lee Mills in 2010 and has worked incredibly hard,
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along with the team, to rationalise, sort and organise the disparate elements of our unique Collection and bring it to the attention of the wider crafting community. Her efforts in organising the Collection’s move to Britannia Mill and participation in the successful Heritage Fund bid show her continuing dedication to the Guild.
As well as beavering away behind the scenes, she is a welcome presence at yarn shows – Knitting & Stitching shows at Harrogate, Yarndale and now Spring into Wool – as well as helping to arrange displays and trunk shows for overseas visitors and local museums and organisations.
Whist Maureen stepped down from the Board at the AGM in July, I know that her work for the Guild will continue. Huge thanks from us all.
Crocheted seagulls exhibition at Wonderwool Wales 2019
A long table at Wonderwool Wales 2019 was given over to a display of crocheted seagulls, and accompanying props, created last year by Bristol-based Crafting the City. The project was stimulated by the knowledge that many of our British gulls are red- or amber-listed. The seagulls were created to raise awareness of the problem and were initially installed around the harbour in Bristol. Virtually all of them looked like herring gulls, which are red- listed, but each one was different, being personalised by their maker. The webpage www.craftingthecity.org/a-beautiful-flock- of-woolly-seagulls gives more details about how the project was carried out.
Maureen Wheeler (left) and Tricia Basham (right)
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A little strand of history A vivid portrait of an extraordinary Shetland knitter by Sue Hermiston. My grandmother was not especially remarkable, or only remarkable in the way beloved relatives are, yet her story perhaps epitomises the lives of Shetland knitters in the 20th century.
Ursilla Mainland, known to her family as Celia, was born in December 1901, the fourth of eight children. They lived on a croft at Brew, not far from Sumburgh. As was typical of a crofting family, they were smallholders, fishermen and knitters, all necessary to the family economy. The girls learned to knit at the age of two, making garments for themselves. By seven, they were knitting for the commercial market. I have struggled to believe this, looking at two-year olds I have known, but other Shetlanders corroborate what she told me.
She attended the local school, where she learned very attractive handwriting and began recording Fair Isle patterns in an exercise book. My mother, now in her late eighties, says she also drew patterns in it. Some commercially produced patterns, printed in red and green, were added at some point. Blank pages were used over the years to record the measurements of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This little book is now archived in the KCG Collection. Not a remarkable item, but one that holds a small strand of history.
The exercise book is quite well travelled.
In common with many Shetlanders in the early 20th century, Ursilla and most of her brothers and sisters left Shetland when they reached adulthood. Her eldest brother, George, went to New Zealand. Maggie, Katie and Johnny went to Edinburgh. Jessie, the youngest, and my grandmother, lived in South London, but Nana’s journey there was far from direct.
She went into service as a nanny, working for a number of families. One, the Voluntines, was American. With them, she travelled to New York in 1929. Members of that family stayed in touch with her until her death. Another family holidayed in Dinard: nanny went too. One of her charges, Lesley Cairns Murray, was the last woman pilot to die in the Second World War. Her logbook recently came up for sale, creating quite a lot of media interest. My grandmother always spoke of these children with affection, and knitted garments for Lesley’s sister Kathleen Murray’s children in the same way she knitted for us.
Ursilla was employed by a family in Bromley, south London. They were having some building work done. A young carpenter cut his hand and she bandaged it for him. On her day off, she would often ride round the Circle Line (I think this might be described as ‘making your own entertainment’). That week when she did
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this, she recognised her bandage on the hand of a fellow passenger, so she spoke to the young man. This was possibly a little forward in those times, but he was very good looking. They married in October 1929.
As a young wife, she went back to knitting for money. My uncle recalls boxes of yarn arriving and packages of finished hats and gloves being dispatched to a shop in Edinburgh. This evidently continued for some time after the end of the war. I can remember the Hunter’s cartons arriving when I was a child but I don’t know if she was still knitting commercially.
She knitted for the family too. Every autumn, packages would arrive containing jumpers or twinsets for me and my sisters, plus hats, gloves and mittens for all of us. Similar parcels went to my uncle’s family. The jumpers were usually moorit [the natural brownish shade of Shetland fleeces: Editor] with colourful Fair Isle bands above the lower rib.
My outstanding memory of her knitting is the speed and economy of movement. The wool passed round the tip of the needle with the tiniest flick of her finger. This style of knitting was not unique to her: when her sisters visited, they would sit in a row on the settee, all knitting like this while talking nineteen to the dozen in Shetland dialect. (My uncle observed that it was impossible to beat her at Scrabble as she
used Shetland words, which no one could challenge if they didn’t speak it.) Once she had confirmed I would like a shawl for the baby I was expecting, it took only a few days for it to arrive plus another smaller one ‘to put round your shoulders when you are nursing at night’. It is, I think, 2-ply and a fairly complicated lacy design. The other first-born great-grandchildren also received shawls, now being lovingly kept for the great- great-grandchildren. Mine has already swaddled my grandson: it has been returned looking a lot more worn, but it was made for using.
Nana made me gloves for the rest of her life. Lots of gloves, as I too often put them in my lap when I was driving, then got out of the car, forgetting they were there. When it finally occurred to me she might not be immortal, I decided not to use any more of these gloves. It was timely as the latest ones she sent me were the last she made for me.
When she died in 1997, my choice of item to remember her by was the final cardigan she knitted for herself. I occasionally wear it, but I am always worried some harm might befall it. My mother has since given me her needles and a knitting belt. Many of the needles are too fine for anything I might knit and I have not been successful in using the knitting belt, but I am not going to get rid of them. When I knit, be it with her needles or my own, I cannot help but feel close to this remarkable, unremarkable woman.
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Stressed out? Knitting as the tonic for a modern age (Part 1)
Elspeth May starts the consideration of this topical subject.
An article in The Times by Phil Robinson (pub. 28 May 2019) reminded Judy Jones about how knitting can help ease tension and aid relaxation in everyday life. She suggested to me that it might make an interesting subject for Slipknot. By coincidence, Jen Hodgson had had a similar thought, so we collaborated on a two-part article, the second of which, by Jen, will appear in the December issue. (Full marks for delegation, Judy!)
Back in 2014, at the Guild’s Convention that year in Derby, we had a presentation by Betsan Corkhill about the therapeutic benefits of knitting based on her work at Stitchlinks and with Cardiff University. Since then, many of you will have read her book Knit for Health & Wellness; how to knit a flexible mind and more and her later Crochet Therapy published in 2016 (reviewed in Slipknot 152, page 12). These publications help to provide a scientific underpinning to the idea that knitting and crochet can be good for your mental health.
In the five years since Betsan’s presentation, we find ourselves surrounded ever more with technology.
We live in an age where adults can spend over a third of their day online, where smartphone users unlock their phones on average 85 times a day, and where ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) has become a source of social anxiety. Yet the stress and anxiety resulting from our uses of technology is also bringing about tangible, positive change in the knitting industry. In a boon for organisations such as the Guild and businesses alike, ever-increasing numbers of women and men are turning to needlecrafts. Latest research from Mintel reports that a fifth of women under 45 are interested in taking up needlecrafts, whilst 17% of men aged 16 to 24 are keen to try it too.
Of course, the therapeutic benefits of knitting have been known for decades, maybe even longer. The first leisure knitters of the 19th century understood the therapeutic benefits of knitting and there are several references to it in early literature. In an interview with The Sun in 1902, J. Cathcart Wason (MP for Orkney and Shetland) noted, ‘Only those who have tried [knitting] can realise how completely it steadies the mind and induces logical thought. Knitting has a soothing, calming
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effect upon reason and nerves.’ Slightly more than a decade later, knitting and other crafts were used as diversions for soldiers injured or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder during WWI. Soldiers literally knitted away their troubles.
I was intrigued that a man had written The Times piece and that he had no previous knitting experience. He had been willing to give it a go, however, and had not been discouraged by his first attempt. He said, ‘Even though it’s as dense as Kevlar and looks ravaged by moths, it feels more triumph than disaster’. Well done, Phil! I rather doubt, however, that the intricate cable and lace knitting on his needles in the accompanying photo was all his own work, but perhaps he will be inspired to knit more complex pieces in future?
Discussing mental health issues and the consequences of a stressful lifestyle is no longer the taboo subject it used to be, helped in no small measure by the profile given to these subjects by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex. Perhaps we can take some small pride in knowing that, as knitters and crocheters, we have long appreciated the benefits of our craft, though we may not have been particularly open and confident in talking about them? The Times’ article is a reminder that we have a part to play in helping others learn to knit and crochet so that they too can gain such benefits.
My own take on all this is to try and have a break, each day, to sit with a cuppa and knit. I used to feel slightly guilty about ‘taking time off’ in this way, but I now recognise that it’s good for me. If you would like ideas for simple projects to knit in a meditative way, you may like to look at Knit Yourself Calm; a creative path to managing stress, by Lynne Rowe and Betsan Corkhill (2017, Search Press). Now, time to put the kettle on.
Did you know? By Lesley O’Connell Edwards Scarves knitted and crocheted with each row worked by using a colour reflecting daily temperature have been around for a while. Joan Sheldon from Georgia has gone one step further and crocheted a scarf with temperature data from 1600 onwards, with each year being represented by a row of crochet. Normal temperatures were purple, cooler ones blue and warmer ones red. Not surprisingly, most of the first two-thirds of the scarf were purple, with odd bits of blue and reds; but the last purple row is in the 1970s, and the end of the scarf is strong red!
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It’s a small world Denise Cripps looks at the intriguing world of miniaturisation. Whenever I come across anything miniature, I ooh and aah like everyone else: whether it’s viewing Nicholas Hilliard’s beautiful intimate portraits of members of Elizabeth I’s court in the National Portrait Gallery or looking at doll’s houses or model train layouts lovingly recreated to scale, I am, without fail, utterly fascinated.
As a child, I loved Mary Norton’s The Borrowers and the whole idea of a world of tiny people living in hidden places behind the mantelpiece and using postage stamps as paintings, foraging for humans’ discarded items and repurposing them. I often made acorn-cup tea sets for the fairies I imagined lived in our garden, and knitted clothes for my dolls. I now follow ‘The Daily Miniature’ (@dailymini) on Instagram, along with 169,000 others, for a regular look inside ‘the big world of tiny things’ and have become increasingly aware of the work of knitters who specialise in miniature items.
Althea Crome, a designer from Bloomington, Indiana, well known for her knitted garments for Coraline, Neil Gaiman’s eponymous heroine of the 2009 stop-motion film, has long made the most incredible tiny items. Althea describes how, in 2000, after giving birth to triplets, she began to build a doll’s house for her children but discovered that it was not
‘the structure that intrigued, but rather the potential to create an alternate universe within a small space’. Her reason for turning to miniature knitting hints at one of the reasons for its attraction, aside from the creative challenge: that making a perfectible world that is orderly, neat and tidy – perhaps especially at times of great change in life – is very satisfying and soothing. There is an element of taking back control in all of this too, which reminds me of Roszika Parker’s The Subversive Stitch (first published by The Women’s Press, 1984; republished 2010, by I B Tauris).
Althea knits at a scale of 1/12th and uses piano wire for needles with very fine silk sewing thread, often achieving 80 stitches per inch. Her Pop Art Andy Warhol cardigan is extraordinary. She describes the piece as being built around the Heinz soup tin on the pockets and evolving from there with Warhol’s iconic image of Marilyn Monroe on the back. The complexity and technical challenge of working and designing at such a small scale is almost unimaginable, though clearly part of the fascination of these miniature pieces.
We hope to explore Guild members’ expertise in the world of miniature knitting and crochet further in future issues of Slipknot – do get in touch to share your work via slipknot@kcguild.org.uk.
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A blanket for Max A tale of subterfuge by Claire Griffel. When the members of the Bath branch of KCG learned that our lovely branch organiser, Desiree, was expecting a baby, of course our first thought was ‘We must make something for the new arrival!’ But what to make? Some of us are knitters, some crochet, some do both, and levels of skill vary, yet we wanted everyone to be involved.
In the end we decided on a blanket, to be made up of four-inch squares. Everyone could contribute one or more squares, either knitted or crocheted, and the task wouldn’t be too onerous.
We decided on a few ground rules: pastel colours and machine-washable natural fibres (we didn’t insist on wool, since many crocheters prefer to work with cotton). It was difficult getting the information round the group without alerting Desiree, as she sends out the monthly newsletters and was always at the meetings, so there was a good deal of muttering in corners, and hasty messages whispered while Desiree was at the other side of the room…
Fortunately, by the time the squares were ready, Desiree had started her
maternity leave, so we could lay out all the lovely offerings at a meeting and admire them before Sue, who had nobly volunteered for the task, took them home to crochet together.
The photo shows what a beautiful job Sue made of the finished blanket, despite the fact that, as she pointed out, not all of our squares measured four inches, and some of them weren’t actually square! But despite the challenge, the work was completed on time for the arrival of Max, and was duly presented to Desiree, who was delighted. Max hasn’t registered his opinion, but we hope he’s enjoying using his blanket – and perhaps it will encourage him to grow up to be a craftsperson like his mum!
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Branch Reports Compiled by Anne Scahill. Central London
At our May meeting, Lindy Zubairy showed us how to make her beautiful beach shawl, which she designed for issue 31 of Crochet Now magazine. We were introduced
to the versatile technique of broomstick crochet. This entailed some gymnastics, as we had to hold a broomstick (or similar) upright between our knees. The resultant squares and triangles are attractive additions to our crochet skills.
Many members were looking forward to attending the Convention in July.
Dianne Chan
Lincoln The timing of Slipknot Issue 162 could not have been better, giving us the opportunity to have a go at Susannah Matthew’s bunny pattern at the April meeting. It was interesting to see how different they all looked from following a basic pattern.
We always ask our members to bring along show and tell items, and this month we
were all astounded by Toni’s knitted and crocheted wedding cake. It was created for a Women’s Institute textile competition with the theme ‘Celebration’. Incredibly, it didn’t win; the winning entry must have been truly amazing.
In May, a number of us had a go at Tunisian crochet. We covered the Tunisian simple stitch, knit, purl and some more adventurous combinations of stitches such as bobble, rib, basketweave and openwork. We were pleased with the effect the stitches gave, comparable to knitting rather than crochet.
Sadly the weather scuppered any World- Wide Knit in Public Day activities. The June meeting was a social and it was inspiring to see all the different projects underway. Shawls still seem to be popular, and we were able to admire a few in the show and tell.
Julie Hulme
North Norfolk The awful weather for our June meeting probably put off some of our more distant members, but eleven staunch knitters turned up and we actually had a few glimpses of sun through the village hall windows! The
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tea/coffee and biscuits added to the feeling of comfort. Everyone had something in progress; Rosemary abandoned the Elizabeth Zimmermann baby surprise jacket she was working on as she couldn’t understand how it worked and started a garter stitch cardi in navy and white stripes instead. Being garter stitch she wasn’t always sure which was the right side and so we explained that, if you are using a long tail cast on, the tail will be on the right-hand end when the work has the right side facing you. Perhaps one day we should have lessons on some different cast-ons?
Maggie is now racing away with her own designs after being full of trepidation at the start. The lovely jumper she was wearing fitted perfectly but she wasn’t happy with the tight armholes. I explained that she just needed to cast off loosely, and this she plans to do. She is working the same shape in another yarn and we look forward to seeing if it turns out as well as the first one. Other members are working on sparkly socks, gloves, shawls, various Rowan patterns and Helen is knitting a delicate lace cardigan. She arrived with her beautiful book Lace Knitting, which is reviewed on page 17.
Rita Taylor
Huddersfield We started 2019 with our usual January quiz, with questions (on knitting, crochet and related topics, of course) set by Marie Wright and Sarah Alderson, and prizes for
the winning team. In February we embarked on a virtual tour of Britain and Ireland, the theme for many of our 2019 meetings. At the February meeting, I talked about the history of Aran knits, with a trunk show of Arans from the Guild collection, ‘traditional’ and otherwise. As a follow-up, in March, Rebecca Mosley led a workshop on Aran crochet – a form of overlay crochet popularised in the 1960s and 1970s that imitates the cables of knitted Arans.
The April meeting was not at our usual venue in the Town Hall, but in Louisa Harding’s studio in the Byram Arcade in central Huddersfield. Louisa told us about her career to date, from her degree in Textiles for Fashion, through designing for Rowan, Patons and Jaeger, to the launch of her Yarntelier brand of cashmere, made in Yorkshire. It was a fascinating talk, and we were very grateful to Louisa (who is now a Patron of the Guild) for hosting us. In May, Ann Kingstone talked about Yorkshire Dales knitting, and particularly the patterned gloves, similar to those made in Sanquhar, that were made in Dent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Continuing our virtual tour, in June, Tricia Basham presented the collection of mini ganseys that were made by KCG members to show patterns from around the coast.
It has been an inspiring series of meetings, and we have all learnt a lot about our craft heritage.
Barbara Smith
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WHAT’S ON Autumn 2019 There are brief details below for those without Internet access, however full details of all these events are on our website at www.kcguild.org.uk/events. If no phone details are listed, it means contact is only online.
Llandovery Sheep Festival – 21st & 22nd September, Camarthenshire.
Yarndale – 28th & 29th September, Skipton Auction Mart, Gargrave Rd, Skipton, BD23 1UD. Contact 01756 770323.
Shetland Wool Week – 28th September to 6th October. Write to Shetland Wool Week, Shetland Museum & Archives, Hay’s Dock, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0WP.
Bournemouth Machine Knitting Show – 5th October, Bournemouth School for Girls, Castle Gate Close, Bournemouth BH8 9UJ. Contact 01628 783080.
Masham Sheep Fair – 5th & 6th October, Masham, N Yorkshire HG4 4DZ.
Three Bags Full Wool Market – 5th October, The Public Hall, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 6BW. Contact 01579 349148.
West Wales Wool Show – 5th October, The Queen’s Hall and Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, DE45 1AH, Wales.
Knitting & Stitching Show – 11th to 14th October, Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY. Contact 0844 581 1319.
Bakewell Wool Gathering – 12th & 13th October, Bakewell Agricultural Centre, Agricultural Way, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1AH.
Loch Ness Knit Fest – 16th to 20th October, Inverness Leisure Centre, Inverness, IV3 5SR. Write to Loch Ness Knit Fest Ltd, 8 High St, Invergordon, Scotland IV18 0ET.
Kendal Wool Gathering – 26th & 27th October, Kendal Leisure Centre, Burton Rd, Kendal, LA9 7HX. Contact 07970 288168.
St Abbs Wool Festival – 2nd November, Eyemouth Community Centre, Albert Rd, Eyemouth TD14 5DE. Contact 018907 71154.
Stitch Fest – 2nd & 3rd November, Civic Hall, High St, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5SF & The Grove School, The Grove, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5ED. Contact 01803 731077.
Hitchin Festiwool – 9th November, The Priory School, Bedford Rd, Hitchin, SG5 2UR.
Nottingham Yarn Expo – 17th November, Nottingham Conference Centre at Nottingham Trent University, Goldsmith St entrance, Nottingham NG1 4BU.
Knitting & Stitching Show – 28th November to 1st December – Harrogate Convention Centre, King’s Rd, Harrogate HG1 5LA. Contact 0844 209 7325.
Winter Woollies – 2nd December, Home Farm, Nanpantan, Leicestershire LE11 3YG. Contact 07903 288115.
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Bedfordshire Regional Day 4 May 2019 Helen Nulty reports on a workshop-packed day.
Our popular Regional Day was attended by 45 delegates this year, no doubt drawn to attend by the range of workshops available. We could choose between:
Drop spindle – learning the skill of spinning to create fabulous yarns in 100% merino
No-chain crochet/provisional cast on – giving the cast on edge and the last row the same appearance
Dorset cross-wheel buttons – producing attractive matching/contrasting buttons or decorative additions
Double-sided knitting (or jacquard) – producing a warm, luscious, and completely reversible double-layered fabric
Virus shawl /blanket – pleasurable crochet pattern, looking very different and more complex than the crochet patterns I am used to
Needle felting – a chance to try this skill and take home a useful item.
Freya Jones, from Freya Jones Spinning and Fibrecraft in Stoke Mandeville, was our keynote speaker. Despite being attacked and badly bitten by a dog only days before and wearing a large bandage on her neck, Freya gave an informative talk entitled
‘Fantastic Fibres’. The in-depth details of the history of each type of fibre and their production journeys had us enthralled. Not everyone would know that fibres could be made from soya beans, milk and nettles.
Samples of many of these fibres were handed round, allowing delegates to see and feel them, including cashmere, alpaca, silk, hemp, rayon, viscose and bamboo.
Cashmere comes from the undercoat of cashmere and pashmina goats and is apparently the only luxury fibre for which demand outweighs supply. This pushes up the prices of similar fibres such as those of yak. A cheaper alternative is cashgora, which combines fibres from cashmere and Angora goats.
Freya’s in-depth knowledge was inspiring and some delegates caught the bug to have a go at spinning and needle felting.
Pop-up shops were provided by The Spotted Sheep, Leighton Buzzard and by Freya Jones Spinning and Fibrecraft.
A raffle was held with prizes donated by the delegates. The absence of a stash- buster this year enabled us to have more time for the workshops, show and tell and, of course, shopping!! Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and the feedback was very positive.
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MACHINE KNITTING
knit-weave I would like to welcome all the recent new members to the Knitting & Crochet Guild, who are now encompassed into a wider community of fibre artists. I write in particular to the machine knitters, who continue to have a ‘voice’ in the creative arts through KCG and I hope they will find an ongoing link, together with the hand knit, crochet and the ancillary fibre art community to further their interests. I continue to explore all these crafts, together with spinning my own yarns and continuously experimenting with combining these crafts.
Recently I have been making structured fabrics on my knitting machine with a little used technique – knit-weave. With the patterning device and punch card activated, a lovely fabric can be made quite easily. The tension dial is set to T10 and a fine smooth yarn, a 2-ply or two strands of 2/30s yarn, is used as the main (background) knitting. The weaving yarn of a slightly thicker gauge, up to triple knit (equivalent) is laid across the selected needles and the carriage taken across. You can, of course, thread the ‘weaving yarn’ through the tension mast. I prefer to lay the yarn in, with the yarn cone/ball on the floor at my feet, slightly weighted with a peg or bulldog clip, so it’s easy to
introduce other colours across the row in the carriage direction, when the needles are selected, in intarsia fashion. Choosing a punch-card to use, with combinations of punched holes/blanks in sets of three or fewer across a row, say diamonds, diagonal stripes and ‘wavy’ patterns, it is possible to weave within a pattern selection with different colours along the row. Bring up the next colour along the row and take it in the direction that the carriage is to move to the point of change, then take the next colour yarn up behind the last colour used, to the point of your next colour change, or to the end.
As the ‘knit’ side faces away from you, the ‘purl’, or weaving side is the ‘face’ and is towards you so it is easy to follow pattern flow on selected needles. This technique works well for using hand-spun and textured yarns, and also small amounts of leftover yarn, randomly. The background yarn shows through and if good contrasts are made between this and the weaving yarn, it can produce exciting results and you have the option of changing your background yarn too. I like to use these fabrics to make cushions, throws and scarves and I will experiment further to make sideways knit jackets and gilets. Wool works well for the weaving yarn, as
How to make structured fabrics is explained by Liz Smedley.
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washing (i.e. fulling the finished cloth) felts it a little. The fabric can then be cut and stitched. An overlocker (if you have one) is a useful tool here. Specific instructions for making knit-weave stitch can be found in your machine knitting manual.
The pictures show examples made with a fine 100% wool background yarn and the patterned knit-weave is a mixture of commercial and hand-spun wool yarns, in a variety of colours and plies. The punch- card patterns are also a random mix from basic packs, with some of them the author’s own design.
Images c/o Liz Smedley
Did you know? By Lesley O’Connell Edwards
Bellish is developing fully customisable knitting patterns, with digital tools built in. Users can choose their own size, length and embellishments. The first one, for sweaters, was due to be available in July. It was free to the first 500 users, but details of cost to others were not available at the time of writing (June 2019). For more information, see www.bellish.co.
Wrist rulers are an interesting development. These are wristbands with inches and centimetres marked on them, and they can be undone and used as rulers for measuring one’s work: useful for those who need to measure on the go. Most are made of leather, but there is at least one vegan-friendly silicone version available, which is waterproof. The rulers come in various colours and usually a choice of three lengths – 15, 16 or 17 inches (38, 40.5 or 53 centimetres). The idea is that they wrap twice round one’s wrist. Several UK suppliers seem to have them for £20.
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A life on the ocean waves A Baltic cruise was just what Janet Collins needed. I have always wanted to visit the Norwegian fjords so a P&O Cruise with knitting and crochet on board organised by Marian Dye was too good an opportunity to be missed. There was, as you might expect, a flurry of messages on the Guild’s Facebook page, where experienced sailors gave advice and encouragement to cruise virgins. Some of us were travelling alone, others with friends and/or partners. We all had needles, hooks and enough yarn to sink a small boat, but fortunately not a large one.
Marian greeted the dozen or so Guild members on board with a smile, a handcrafted flower and information about our welcome meeting. Despite it being a large ship we crafters quickly learned to find each other. Guild members were joined by other crafters who were pleased to find kindred spirits and learn together. Even the Captain, Andy Willard, joined in on the last day.
Life onboard ship soon settled into a regular pattern. On days at sea we met together to teach each other skills such as beginner crochet, reading crochet charts, knitting and crocheting with beads, double knitting and basic brioche. On other days we met during the afternoon tea slot to share purchases, experiences and, obviously, information about yarn shops we had visited ashore.
Thanks to Marian’s forward planning we enjoyed a great visit to Ann’s wonderful yarn store Magiske Masker Garn & Sann in Stavanger. The shop was a short walk from the ship and was a veritable Aladdin’s cave of fantastic yarn, patterns and much inspiration. Ann provided coffee and homemade cake as well as giving us a brief history of Norwegian patterns and styles of knitwear. We were worse than kids in a sweetshop and particularly delighted with the free project bags provided with every purchase. Marian’s gift of two personally designed and knitted cushions was very well received and looked so at home on the comfortable sofa in the shop. It was
enough to make one proud of being a member of the Guild.
Having spent most of the day and all of my Norwegian
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kroner in the yarn shop, the rest of the shore days were spent sightseeing.
The journey up a cliff face on the Skylift in Olden was without doubt a real highlight. Standing in brilliant sunshine looking at the fjords from such a height was breathtaking and the photographs do not really do justice to the view. The snow was shoulder high on either side of the path. Amazing! We also travelled to the top of a mountain by bus in Ålesund and by funicular railway in Bergen. We cannot recommend Norway enough.
The cruise ended with a talk by Marian and me, which attracted a lot of attention from crafters learning about the Guild for the first time. The only question now is, where next? Well, actually, several Guild members are off to Shetland for Wool Week in September. Watch this space!
Heritage Lottery funds for KCG Here’s a reminder of this wonderful lottery grant. May 2019 marked the start of an exciting project funded by a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to our Collection. Made possible thanks to National Lottery players, the grant of £10,000 will enable the Collection to become known to bigger audiences, especially those who are not able to visit the Collection in person.
The project, officially titled ‘Digitisation of the Knitting & Crochet Guild Collection highlights and the creation of a digital resource’, will show a selection of the Collection online so that it can be accessed anywhere, anytime, through electronic media. This resource will be of interest to a wide range of people, including knitters and crocheters, fashion students and designers, as well as the members of the KCG, of course.
In the process of this, the team of volunteers who care for the Collection will receive training about the Collection, its value and how best to care for it, to enhance the skills they already have. In doing this, the ‘100 best’ items will be identified and selected for digitisation, itself a task similar to that of isolating the tip of an iceberg! The project has become ‘The KCG Collection in 100 objects’ and will reflect the composition of the Collection.
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NEW BRANCHES Nottinghamshire – Arnold, Notts A warm welcome to the Mapperley Knit and Natter Club, the first of the Guild of Machine Knitters clubs to sign up to become a Guild Branch. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (except for Bank holidays when the meeting generally moves to the second Monday of the month, but do check) between 6.45pm and 9.00pm in the Killisick Community Centre, Killisick Road, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 8DB. The club has a knitting machine for demonstrations and folk bring hand knitting, crochet or making up to do as well as items for a show and tell session. Cost £3 per meeting or an annual subscription which runs from April each year.
Contact Ann for details by phone on 01159 279 365
or email Alison alison-MappKN@virginmedia.com
and two more hot on Mapperley’s heels:
Hampshire - Fleet Knitting Club Established over 40 years ago and now a fully-fledged Guild branch, meetings are held generally the first Tuesday of the month (but moves to 2nd or 5th Tuesday to fit around school closures) at Court Moor School, Spring Woods, Fleet,
GU52 7RY from 8pm till 10pm. Hand and machine knitting, and crochet, cost £3 per meeting or £15 per year (for 10 meetings).
Contact Sally for further details by phone on 07961 038910 or email sally.kentfield@gmail.com
Northamptonshire – Long Buckby Meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at Long Buckby Community Centre, 41 Station Road, Long Buckby, NN6 7QB from 2pm till 4pm. The meeting room is on the first floor but there is a lift and is wheelchair accessible. The club has machines so no need to bring your own. Sessions £2.50 for club members which includes tea and coffee.
Contact Pat Banyard Smith by phone on 01788 822091 or email chairman@longbuckbymk.com
After all that good news we have to report that Wendy Poole has decided to close the St Austell branch due to lack of support but will still be running St Austell Yak and Yarn for informal sessions.
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Slipknot 165: Copy date 30/9/19
Contributions to Slipknot Slipknot is your magazine, and contributions from all members of the Guild are very welcome. Items can be sent in at any time. A page is approximately 360 words; the maximum limit for an article is 720 words. Please send text files as a Word document and illustrations as a separate file; if this is not practical, then contact the editor to arrange an alternative.
Wool @ J13 by Denise Cripps – see p. 13
Winners The winners of the June draw were Fran Jolly, Penny Ryan, Janet Devonport, Margaret Neale, Helen Wilcock, Debra Arthur, Sheena Cartledge, Judy Henderson, who each win £20. At the Convention, the winners of the annual draw were Fiona Laden £50, Lesley Robinson and Laura Miller £20 each.
All members are eligible to join. If you are interested, please contact Judy Jones, Canalside Farm, off Hobb Lane, Moore, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 5QT. Tel: 01925 740386; email: judy.alan@btinternet.com. Each share costs £10 a year.
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Snapshots of the Convention – see p. 10
Marion Dye’s gift to the yarn shop in Stavanger – see p. 36
Sue Beard in her jacket. Image by Barbara
Smith
A life on the ocean waves by Janet Collins – see p.36
Issue 164 September 2019
Machine Knitting, Knitweave by Liz Smedley – see p.34