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Come and join us

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Dear Readers

If you can travel to Nottingham, do please come along to the West Park Leisure Centre in Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton NG10 4AA. The centre is about a mile and a half from Junction 25 on the M1. When you come off the motorway, take the exit to Long Eaton onto Bostock’s Lane. After about half a mile, at the junction with Longmoor Road, turn right onto the B6002. The road bears left and becomes Petersham Road. Continue along the B6002 into Wilsthorpe Road and the Leisure Centre is along this road on the left.

This year our show is from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on Sunday 8th April and Guest Speakers are Clair Crowston at 11.00 am, Marianne Henio at 12.30 pm and Bill King at 2.00 pm. The lectures cost an extra £1 each and numbers have to be limited so it’s best to book in advance. If you can’t then don’t worry, as we usually have tickets to sell on the door. The talks are held upstairs, but there are stairs and a lift, so access is easy for everyone.

Clair Crowston is a popular designer, giving a talk and demonstration on different neckbands instead of rib. Marianne Henio is an up-and-coming designer with a large Internet following and she’ll talk about how her life started in machine knitting and the new directions her machine knitting is taking. Bill King is an incredible fabric designer and his talk is about hand transfer and producing amazing cable-type fabrics on a machine. Bill also takes masses of samples he’s produced for industry and he’s always a source of inspiration. Clair is classic style, Marianne is wacky and modern and Bill always leaves us speechless with knitting you’d never believe had come from a domestic machine.

We’ll have hot and cold snacks and drinks available and last year’s excellent caterers will look after us again. I look forward to seeing all those who can join us. We’ll have the usual lucky dip for free tickets and you could be one of our winners. Send an sae as soon as possible, marked Nottingham in the top left hand corner of both envelopes to Machine Knitting Monthly, PO Box 1479, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 8YX. We’ll pick out the winners before Easter and send out their free tickets at the same time. If you’d prefer to buy your ticket on the door but would like a map then just give me a call.

I’ve had some sad news from Brenda Gould, who publishes Knitting Machine Journal. For a number of personal reasons, she’s unable to continue editing KMJ and August will be her last edition. It means she’ll not have her usual stand at Nottingham this year, so we can’t say a personal goodbye. I know everyone will join me in thanking Brenda for all she’s done to support machine knitting and wish her well.

Finally, let’s all give ourselves a huge pat on the back. In March 1986, the first issue of Machine Knitting Monthly went on sale, so this month we celebrate our 32nd birthday. Some of you have been with me from the very first issue, so each one of us must share the satisfaction of knowing that we’ve played our part in keeping machine knitting alive. My very sincere thanks to everyone reading this magazine for the enduring support you’ve given and long may we all continue to fly the flag for machine knitting.

 

NEXT ISSUE

May 2018 Subscription copies sent out Thursday 5th April

On sale Thursday 12th April

Anne Croucher writes:-

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We had storm Emma come in last night and there is ice everywhere. It might all melt by tomorrow, but there are trees down, crashed and abandoned vehicles and it would be very dangerous for the exhibitors to travel today to set up in time for tomorrow – though some had set off early this morning to try to reach us. Apparently the Dunkirk spirit is still going strong. Please contact anyone you know might have been intending to travel to the show, just to be sure that the news is passed around asap.

Nottingham Knitting Show 2018

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If you can travel to Nottingham, do please come along to the West Park Leisure Centre in Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton NG10 4AA. The centre is about a mile and a half from Junction 25 on the M1. When you come off the motorway, take the exit to Long Eaton onto Bostock’s Lane. After about half a mile, at the junction with Longmoor Road, turn right onto the B6002. The road bears left and becomes Petersham Road. Continue along the B6002 into Wilsthorpe Road and the Leisure Centre is along this road on the left.

This year our show is on Sunday 8th April and Guest Speakers are Marianne Henio, Bill King and Clair Crowston. The lectures cost an extra £1 each and numbers have to be limited so it’s best to book in advance. If you can’t then don’t worry, as we usually have tickets to sell on the door. The talks are held upstairs, but there are stairs and a lift, so access is easy for everyone. We’ll have hot and cold snacks and drinks available and last year’s excellent caterers will look after us again.

Look out for Andee Knits, Arnold Bennett – the button man, Sue Booth, Clair Crowston, B Hague & Co, Bill King, David and Jason Hampson from The Wool Cabin, Elaine Cater, the Framework Knitters Museum, the Guild of Machine Knitters, Knits ‘n’ Bits from Wendy Piper, Machine Knitting Monthly also with Anjo Designs, Mapperley Knit & Natter Club with demonstrations and displays, Marianne Henio, Nina Miklin, Nottinghamshire Spinners, Weavers & Dyers, Rob Fountain, Erica Thomson and Uppingham Yarns.

New Knit & Natter Sessions

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Squire’s Garden Centres are launching new Knit & Natter sessions every Wednesday from 9.30 to 10.30 am in their Cafe Bars at selected centres. These free drop-in sessions are a great place to meet other knitting enthusiasts, swap skills and ideas, or just relax with a drink while you knit and natter!
Event: Knit & Natter
When: Every Wednesday 9.30 to 10.30 am (term time only)
Where: Squire’s Garden Centres – in the Café Bar
Locations: Badshot Lea, Milford, Shepperton & Twickenham

Warm & Cosy

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As winter draws in, it’s time to start thinking about making our homes as warm and toasty as possible. Statistics reveal that draughts are responsible for 10% of heat loss in the average home and up to 25% in some households. That’s a lot of heat to lose, especially in the coldest weeks of the year. By draught-proofing, households can save between £25 and £55 per person on the annual energy bill. What’s more, draught proofing can be a cheap and painless (even fun!) activity. If you’re a machine knitter, you’ll have a cosy strip made in next-to-no time, but if you’d like a bit of inspiration First Utility has put together an illustrated guide. It details the steps of making your own caterpillar draught excluder. Share this handy idea with your hand-knitting friends, so they can knit their own colourful caterpillar to keep the family warm throughout the winter. It’s a simple guide – perfect for both beginners and seasoned knitters who want to try something a bit different. Follow the link: https://www.first-utility.com/the-blog/make-your-own-caterpillar-draught-excluder

Bramwell 2000 wanted

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Hi
I’m looking for one or perhaps two cones of Bramwell 2000 in red/gold. I’ve tried everywhere with no luck, except for an eBay site and I don’t have an eBay account. Has anyone got a cone going spare and obviously I’m willing to pay. Thanks in advance for any help.

New England

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Dear Readers

We’ve recently returned from a fabulous week’s holiday in the States, spent with Susan Guagliumi and her husband at their home in Connecticut. This gorgeous green and pleasant corner of the USA isn’t called ‘New England’ by accident. The only notable difference between here and there was something called ‘sunshine’, which bathed us in warmth. Susan and I have been friends since the 1980s and it was so good to catch up again.

Susan set up a meeting for me to visit the Stoll Fashion & Technology Centre in New York. Stoll covers the huge American knitting industry market and supplies it with all the necessary services and supports. At the New York showroom they work with a wide range of highly skilled specialists, to develop the shapes and patterns used by famous major American retail companies and knitwear designers. They inspire develop, produce, source and train both people and companies.

As Bill King says this month: “A knitting machine is a very versatile piece of kit” and I was able to take a close look at some newly released fancy swatches. I also handled the prototype fabrics and structures of the knitted Nike trainers I’d spotted on one or two pairs of feet on the subway. Stoll combines the abilities of smart and highly-productive flat bed knitting machine technology of today, with the innovative textile functions of tomorrow. Bill King would have loved it and moved in immediately. If the product of your dreams could be knitted, Stoll will source the materials and find a way to do it. The 21st century machinery was there, sitting very comfortably alongside a room of well-used domestic Knitmaster machines. I saw knitting which I’d never believed was possible, so we should never doubt what our machines can do, or put down our craft.

Susan is making progress with her fourth machine knitting book, which she’s tentatively titled Hand-Manipulated Stitches: Exploring Open Spaces. Susan has let me have some samples to show you, which she was busy knitting on her LK-150. Don’t miss next month’s magazine for an update from her and a sneak preview. I’m sure the swatches will whet your appetite for more Open Space designs and techniques and finally dispel the myth that this simple mid-gauge plastic bed model isn’t a ‘proper’ knitting machine. In the meantime, you’ll find free downloads on her website at www.guagliumi.com. There are currently three Open Space designs – Swirling Eyelets (first seen here in MKM), 3D Nops & Eyelets and the newest one, Slit Topper. There are also some how-to videos on her blog at www.susanguagliumi.com so, until next month, happy knitting!

 

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October 2017

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Thursday 7th September

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Thursday 14th September

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