National Day

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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