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Our other major change is our name. We did a poll of members one evening and only three came from Woodley. All the others came from different towns and villages in Berkshire, so we decided to change our name to Berkshire Machine Knitting Club. The major benefit of the change of name is to try to make it more inclusive to other areas of Berkshire. We thought this was the way to go, since we are now the only machine knitting club in the county.

The change of name will also help us get free advertising in surrounding towns’ publications, to help increase the awareness of machine knitting and hopefully get ourselves known to new and existing machine knitters. Best wishes from Valerie Thorn

I have a list you published some time ago of the techniques and their Duo equivalents and the Electronic pattern book is available here: http://machineknittingetc.com/passap/knitting-machines.html

Tech 256 corresponds with the Duo setting: BX<-/BX. Pushers on back bed in rest position to start. Deco on 4. Knit 2 rows with yarn, 2 rows without to drop stitches on front bed. The back bed needles knit for 2 rows, slip for 2 rows. To start with all stitches have to be transferred to back bed as stated in the pattern. From comparing the Electronic patterns with the patterns in the Deco book, I have found that:-
Pattern 1008 = Card 39
1010 = 119
1011 = 68
1012 = 140
1014 = 130
1017 = 259
1018 = 160
There is not a Deco equivalent for Pattern 1028 as it is a 16 stitch repeat. Other possible patterns for the Duomatic are those marked F in the punchcard book as the technique used is a variation of this setting. I also found that the garment shown in the magazine is Pattern 1012, not 1010. I hope this information might be useful for other Duomatic users. Your line-up for the coming months sounds really interesting and is something for us all to look forward to. Kind regards, Sue Pritchard

The Knitting and Crochet Guild Archive is an amazing resource with knitted and crocheted samples going back to the 1830s, as well as a huge collection of pattern leaflets and every kind of knitting needle and crochet hook you can imagine. Yarn Stories believe this is an historic collection (arguably larger than the Victoria and Albert Museum) and one that should be treasured. So they’ve come up with a very special design competition for knitters and crocheters from all around the world to enter.

They’ve gathered together a selection of inspirational images of items in the archive on Pinterest. They’d like you to design a 15 cm blanket square in DK yarn, inspired by the archive, which can be created in either knit or crochet.

The competition is now open and closes on 5th June. A judging panel including Debbie Abrahams, Jane Crowfoot and Angharad Thomas from the KCG archive, as well as members of the Yarn Stories team, will choose 10 finalists by the middle of June. Then Yarn Stories will throw open the judging to knitters and crocheters all over the world to vote for their favourite square during July and August. The overall winner, announced on 4th September, will receive £100 of Yarn Stories yarn and each finalist will receive two balls of the Yarn Stories yarn of their choice.

All the finalists’ squares will be put together into a blanket pattern that will be available on the Yarn Stories website, with 50% of the revenue going towards the continued protection and support of the archive. The finished blanket will be at The Knitting & Stitching show in October for you to see. You don’t have to be a guild member to take part, but it’s an organisation Yarn Stories highly recommends you join.

Amanda Crawford, Head Designer at Yarn Stories says: “I have been lucky enough to visit the Knitting & Crochet Guild Archive and it is such an amazing collection. We wanted to do something to support this vital piece of history for knitters and crocheters everywhere. Our competition is a fantastic project and we are very proud to be able to help the archive.”

Entries for the Yarn Stories competition should be sent by email to information@yarnstories.com or posted to:-

Yarn Stories/KCG competition
Spa Mill
New Street
Slaithwaite
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire HD7 5BB
”

The free craft day will run from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm and will be held in the museum chapel. Patterns will be available for experienced knitters, whilst the museum’s hand-knitting machines will enable everyone else to easily create stunning woollen flowers. Felt activities will also be available for smaller children and for those who would like to make two pieces, they can take one home. Refreshments will be available to buy in the chapel and normal admission charges apply if you wish to visit the rest of the museum.

Paul Baker, museum manager, said “When we were invited to get involved with the National Woollen Woods project we jumped at the chance. We can’t wait to see Rushcliffe Park decorated with knitted and crocheted flora and fauna and love the fact that many will have been made by our visitors”.

Woollen Woods is a national initiative organised by Voluntary Arts Week. The aim is to bring outdoor spaces alive with woodland-themed textile artwork in support of the Campaign for Wool. When Eden Arts originally created the concept in 2013 it was just displayed in Cumbrian National Trust Properties. However it has now grown to cover five sites across the UK including Rushcliffe Country Park Nottinghamshire. The outdoor exhibition will be on display from 15th to 24th May 2015. For more information on the project visit www.voluntaryartsweek.org/woollen-woods and for more information on the Campaign for Wool visit www.campaignforwool.org.

The Framework Knitters Museum is the ideal place to create items for this project. Situated in a historic knitters yard it is the only working textile museum in the county. The museum re-launched last year after a £100 000 redevelopment and holds regular special events throughout the year. For information on the museum including admission prices and opening times visit www.frameworkknittersmuseum.org.uk.

It will be held on Wednesday 18th March between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm at the City Gate Hotel in Exeter. I hope it will be an opportunity for people to meet each other and the hotel is in Iron Bridge, Lower North Street, Exeter EX4 3RB (for those with a SAT NAV). The Mary Arches and Guild Hall car parks are quite close by and there’s a ‘Park & Ride’ service in operation at the M5 Junction 29 (Honiton Road). There’s another at Junction 30 (Sowton) as well as one at Junction 31 (Matford). If any readers would like further information, please call me on 01626-859552 and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Thanks Anne and best wishes, Penny Clennel-White

We’ve some talented club members who are very generous with their help and support, but we all agree that input from new people does help to inspire us, stimulate our productivity and increase our range of skills. We’ve asked a neighbouring club and they seem to have the same problem. Do you or any of your readers have a list of speakers and/or demonstrators that we can access? Keynsham MKC meets on the second Monday of the month at Stirling Way Community Centre in Keynsham. For more details, please contact Margaret Marsh (Chair) on 0117-986 5559 or Pat Hames (Sec) on 01454-322553.
Many thanks, Pat Hames
Perhaps it’s time for us all to stir things up a bit, Pat. If you’re able to give a talk or demonstration to a knitting club, please get in touch for a free listing in the magazine.

We were very sad to close our doors, but it was always the same faces who attended every time and there simply were not enough members to pay the costs to hire the hall. I have to ask you to take us off your list of clubs in North Wales. I buy every issue of the magazine and enjoy it, so please continue the good work; we don’t want the same thing to happen to you. Many thanks and best wishes, Ria Bell