Dear Readers

Dear Readers

I recently attended a great day spent with members of the Guild of Machine Knitters, at their National Day. The event moves around the country, to give everyone the chance to attend and this year it was held in Westbury, Wiltshire. Entry is free for Guild members and non-members are welcome if they pay £5 on the door. It’s a really good day out for any machine knitter, so you might want to make a Diary Date for next June. Nick Traylen brought lots of Uppingham Yarns to tempt us and Elaine Cater was there with her latest designs and new books, which you can read about in Newsline. Marianne Henio showed us some of her current collection and Jan Truman gave an amazing and inspiring talk as Guest Speaker. There were lots of demonstrations, including Jane Harrisson’s sock machine ‘purring’ gently in the background.

Many of us had stayed in a hotel the night before and it was far too hot for food to survive the searing heat overnight. We confidently walked to a local supermarket to grab some lunch, only to discover their fridges and freezers had broken down. It was getting hotter by the minute, so we were hugely grateful to Elaine’s husband for driving into town guided by a member of Westbury Woollies. They returned with a welcome selection of chilled salads and sandwiches.

The Guild has a number of knitting clubs as members and local club Westbury Woollies supplied refreshments for the event. Members meet monthly on the second Tuesday from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm at the Heywood & Hawkeridge Village Hall, 5a Church Road, Heywood, Westbury BA13 4LP. They were a lovely group, who looked after us so well throughout the day. Pat Brain is the contact so, if you live in the area, do call her on 01747-833672 and join in the fun.

Marianne Henio gave a talk in the morning and the masterplan was for her to present the closing fashion show. However, we’d all wilted in the heat by then, so she improvised by holding up many of her designs, telling us about them and you’ll find all her details on Page 46.  I’m now off on holiday and we’re staying with my great friend Susan Guagliumi. It’s a while since I’ve been to the States and I can’t wait to see her again. No doubt there will be a mention or two of machine knitting and I’ll tell you all about it next time!

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I returned recently from a trip to visit family in the North. We drove out of Scotland with gale force winds blowing, as well as sleet and hailstones pounding down on the car. As I write, the sky is a cloudless Mediterranean blue and it’s a balmy 17 degrees in the South East. It’s a good reminder of how easy it is to knit something quickly on our machines. We may need light and lacy if Spring arrives sooner than we anticipate, or warm and woolly to keep out the chill for a few more weeks. For a truly quick chunky top, there’s nothing faster than to adapt the design on Page 22 of the May 2017 issue. If you need speed, forget the side vents and make two rectangles for the back and front. Add another rectangle for each sleeve and put it all together in a jiffy. Worn over a comfy top, you’ll have an extra layer of added warmth and reduce your stash a little!

Suzette Williams tells us that in association with The Guild of Machine Knitters, Timberdine Machine Knitting Club and Malvern Enthusiastic Machine Knitters will present a Knit ‘n’ Natter in Sacred Heart Church Hall, 208 Worcester Road, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 8AZ. The date for your diary is Saturday 15th July 2017 from 10.30 am to 4.00 pm and there’s a large car park at the rear of the church. The Guest Speaker is Melissa Warren. They’re planning workshops and will have a few trade stands, as well as yarn and a premature baby charity table. Tickets will cost £6 in advance, which includes tea and coffee. Tickets will be available from Suzette and all are welcome so email her at sue@incoming-email.co.uk for details.

You may not know that the Guild of Machine Knitters has a new-look A4 Newsletter. There are 24 pages in full colour including two or three patterns and it’s all dedicated to machine knitting. If you’d like a couple of free issues just drop me a line. There’s no obligation and if you’re a machine knitter, I’m sure you’ll be interested. Come rain or shine, happy knitting!

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I spoke to Joan Fielding-Browne recently and she’s a fabulous offer for you, running right up to Christmas week. I’m not sure all of you know that she has masses of stock in her shop at Galashiels, as well as online. It includes machine cones from King Cole, Woolcraft and Robin, as well as knitting and sewing machines, tables, cabinets and accessories. She has gift packs, knitting patterns and everything for tapestry, crochet and embroidery. Her special promotions cover all crafts and change each week up to Christmas. Visit www.littleknittingfairy.co.uk or, if you’d like to talk to Joan personally, give her a call on 01896-850734.

Reader offers are coming in thick and fast right now, including price reductions on cones for MKM readers and Club Leaders from The Wool Cabin until the January issue goes on sale in December. You can call the order hotline on 07854-121067 or email singlemalt48@hotmail.com but make sure you put The Wool Cabin in the subject box. Personal shoppers are always welcome and you’ll find full details on Page 28.

The Knitting Fairy will look after all your crafting and gift needs, The Wool Cabin has yarn bargains and Anne Baker has the perfect Karabee pattern for a mermaid snuggly. It’s quickly knitted with Card 1 on chunky machines. Anne has made one for my little grand-daughter to snuggle up in and it’s gorgeous. There have been hand-knitting versions around for a while, but this is the only one I’ve seen for machine knitting. The pattern has been so popular that Anne has had to add teen and adult sizes. As Sally-Ann would say, it’s ‘bang on trend’ and everything I’ve mentioned is available by post. Order now and all that remains is to settle down to some festive knitting!

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A couple of weeks ago I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from Susan Guagliumi. As you’ll read on Page 6, she’s back in print with Hand Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters. It’s one of the best source books of all times for machine knitting and I have one of the original hardback editions. It seems that Bond USA had the reprint rights for the book back in 2001 and it came to Susan’s attention two or three years ago that it was out of print. Bond USA was acquired by a very big outfit, but they only bought the assets. The original film was lost, so Susan spent months re-assembling photos and drawings and putting the book back together again. It was a huge amount of work and she’s republished through Book Surge, an arm of Amazon.com. She’s also had the video switched over to DVD. If you didn’t buy the book the first time round, then it really is one not to be missed. My hardback version is 210 x 260 mm and has 250 pages crammed with masses of ideas. This is the only book you’ll ever need on a desert island with your machine and a stash of yarn, I promise! I spent many happy hours with Susan when lots of us visited the States in the heyday years of machine knitting. It was around the time of the Bramwell Expos and I also joined in the fun with Susan and lots of American knitters and tutors at Camp Tuckanitslip. Her e-mails have brought back many happy memories for me and I hope we can meet up again.

I’m finishing this issue a little earlier than usual, because I’m having a few days off to go back up North. One of the reasons is to check out an alternative venue for Machine Knitting LIVE! in Bury. For a few years now, parking has been difficult and there’s been no room available for us to have talks. Things are looking very promising and I’ll let you know how I get on next time. When you read this, Machine Knitting LIVE! at Croydon will be just round the corner, so do come and join us for a lovely day out.

I’ve been to Italy before, but never to Florence and I very much looked forward to my week away. It’s a glorious time of year, but unfortunately the sun had shone from clear blue skies the week before. It drizzled when we arrived, poured down all week and I threw my umbrella in the bin at the airport as it collapsed for the last time. In the anticipated sight-seeing trek to visit the museums and churches, I spotted something amazing. The windows of almost every fashion shop in the city centre were filled with knitwear. If it hadn’t been so wet I could have jotted down hundreds of ideas, all of which had been machine-knitted in the first place. There was layer upon layer of fine knitting teamed with chunky tops and knitted scarves were everywhere. It was truly a machine knitter’s paradise.

When I got back, I looked at a number of boutiques selling knitwear on the Internet and was frankly staggered at the prices some folk are prepared to pay. It made me realise even more the huge potential our machines have to offer. I don’t think I’ve spent so long looking at women’s knitted fashion since I was at college and it might not have attracted my attention so much if the weather had been kinder. Taking shelter from the rain became essential and, after all, there’s a limit to the number of frescos and paintings of the Madonna and Child any one person can take in! All of us stick to the well-trodden path of patterns and styles we know, because they’re familiar old friends that won’t let us down. Nevertheless, it costs nothing to go window shopping and we don’t need to go as far afield as Italy because our own High Streets are filled with knitting. Perhaps the exercise to walk off the seasonal excess may also fill us with lots of fresh ideas for some inspirational knitting?

We probably need to avoid the January sales but, when the windows fill with the new season’s knitting, we can glean lots of ideas. Sally-Ann sets us on the right path each month with her up-to-date trends and colours, so we’ve no excuse. Let the New Year be filled with resolutions that we’ll all make a list of ‘must knits’ for 2013 : and knit them! Now all that remains is to send my very best wishes and sincere hopes for a happy and peaceful New Year, filled with good health and good fortune for us all.

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Now I must pay tribute to three friends of machine knitting who have passed away. Many of you will remember Doris Coutts as a founder member of the Sandown Club on the Isle of Wight and a regular contributor to both To & Fro and MKM. Her knowledge of machine knitting was immense. A founder member of Perth Knitting Club has also died. Peggy Rourke was an Area Representative for the Scottish Machine Knitters and she will be hugely missed. Finally, we remember Eileen Langford, Treasurer of the Guild of Machine Knitters, who has also died. Eileen played an important role in the Guild and, together with Peggy and Doris, they will all be greatly missed. We send our sincere condolences to members of their families, as well as their many friends.

Tony Bennett is coming over to the UK later this year and he’ll stop off at Metropolitan to open this year’s Dream Week on 2nd September. He’ll then return a couple of weeks later on 16th September for a week of hand’s-on tuition. Last year Tony was awarded WA Wool Designer of the Year and he’s lectured to fashion and textile design students at Perth’s Western Australian Central Institute of Technology. He’s run Dormani Designs for almost 20 years and gives talks about machine knitting as well as fashion trends. He also runs workshops for machine knitters. He’s travelled extensively in Australia and across to New Zealand, sharing his creativity, flair and expertise with many machine knitters. He fits in regular Down Under reports for us and it will be a pleasure to meet him in September.
Inevitably places are limited, so please book as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.

My other news is that Carol Hocknell and I have made a diary date to repeat our very successful At Home at Metropolitan. The date is 6th October 2013 from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm and again places are strictly limited. As last time, we’ll arrange demonstrations throughout the day, provide a Ploughman’s Lunch and Cream Tea and we’ll print further details as they develop. Having accepted the kind invitation to teach at Dream Week in September, help to run our At Home in October and keep the flag flying for Alan Hunt’s Nottingham Show on 14th April, my year is filling up fast. Until next month, happy knitting!

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