The Knitting & Stitching Show 2016

The Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace is such an inspiring event and I really look forward to going every year. This year's Show was on from Wednesday 5th to Sunday 9th October. For the the last few years I have been volunteering on the Knitting & Crochet Guild (KCG) Stand and I am very proud to represent the Guild at the Show. 

The entrance at Alexandra Palace

Our stand showcases items from the Guild's Collection and this year we had seasonal display boards with motifs made from stitch patterns. The stand featured the Autumn and Winter boards with their gorgeous colour palettes. We were also able to show visitors designs from the Spring and Summer boards plus all the amazing background work in an excellent display folder. 

KCG Autumn Display Board

KCG Winter Display Board

A selection of lovely sample knits were also displayed on the stand and we had some interesting discussions about stitch construction as visitors looked through them all.

KCG Collection Knitted Samples

Visitors also stopped to chat to us when they spotted us in our smart new aprons: what an excellent idea by Tricia! The aprons were in white cotton with the Guild logo at the top and had deep front pockets for our yarn and needles. It was great to be able to stand and knit while talking to visitors. I was delighted to find that lots of people were interested in my short row shaping sample. One visitor from Melbourne, Australia even came back to see me on Sunday for another demo!

Short Row Shaping sample

This year the Guild had a whole afternoon slot every day for "Crafters in Action". We were able to demonstrate all kinds of knitting and crochet techniques as our volunteers had brought along lots of exciting projects to share. The table was decorated with beautiful knit and crochet designs and we had many visitors stopping for a closer look. There were plenty of questions and comments about crochet techniques and we had some great discussions, especially about Tunisian crochet. There were several happy visitors leaving with a successful sample. 

The Guild's stand at the show relies on members volunteering their time and skills and this year we had lots of helping hands. This meant there was time for everyone to have a look around the show! I was able to attend two excellent Japanese design events. On Saturday afternoon Katie from Japan Crafts demonstrated how to put on the many layers of a kimono. Katie dressed a tailor's dummy to show us the stages involved. Kimono dressing is a much more physically demanding process that I could ever of imagined, designed to firstly turn the wearer into a cylinder shape with many layers and much padding, then to precicely fold and drape the kimono over these layers. Finally a stunning obi is arranged and folded to compete the dressing. Katie's descriptions and commentary were fascinating and the kimono and obi were very beautiful. 

Kimono and Obi
Japan Crafts

Detail from Obi
Japan Crafts

On Sunday morning, I attended Katie's Sashiko workshop in the Learning Centre. Sashiko is a traditional Japanese stitching technique and the beautiful designs are very inspiring. It was great to actually try some stitching. Katie is an excellent tutor and explained clearly how to tackle these complex patterns. I'll be looking out for more talks and workshops from Katie and Japan Crafts (although Katie is in such demand that she is fully booked through 2017!). I can't wait for next year's show already!

Sashimi Stitching Samples
Japan Crafts

The Forum: A New Norwich Wrap

From Saturday 1st until Saturday 15th October 2016, my hand knitted wrap, "The Forum: A New Norwich Wrap" will be on show to visitors at the Hostry, Norwich Cathedral. In "Norwich Shawls: Past Glory Future Inspiration", the Norwich Costume & Textile Association (C&TA) is taking a look back at the stunning shawls in the collection and then looking forward with interpretations and inspirations from the shawls. I am very proud and excited about my wrap being part of this exhibition! In this post, I would like to share some of my research and design development.

The Forum: A New Norwich Wrap
by Emma Vining

Norwich, Edinburgh and Paisley were all major British centres for Shawl production in the 19th Century and each centre had its own distinctive style. You can read more about Norwich Shawls in this Antiques Info article by Zita Thornton and more about British shawl production in Meg Andrews' article in Victoriana Magazine. A large number of original Norwich Shawls are held in the Costume & Textile Study Centre in Shirehall, Norwich. As part of my research for the Exhibition, I visited Shirehall for a Norwich Shawl Study Day. The chance to get up close to the wonderful shawls and to view the fascinating blue-prints of shawl designs from the Board of Trade Design register was not to be missed! I thoroughly enjoyed the day and appreciated all the fascinating insights shared by the curator. Sketching the delicate details on the shawls really helped me to understand the flow of the designs and patterns.

Detail from my sketchbook
Copyright Emma Vining

During my trip there was time to take a look around the beautiful city of Norwich and my visit to the Sir Michael Hopkins "Forum" building provided the present-day inspiration for my design. The seating in the public area in front of the building suggested a curved design with a smooth stepped surface to contrast with the delicate pine cone and leaf details that I had seen earlier in the day.

Seating outside the Forum Building, Norwich
Photo by Emma Vining

Further research took me to the V&A Museum's Clothworkers Centre where I spent a day surrounded by fabulous Norwich Shawls from the V&A's collection. The Clothworkers team were extremely patient with folding, unfolding and turning the shawls and I particularly appreciated being able to climb the ladder for an overview of the largest shawl! Reading books and publications in the National Art Library in the V&A Museum helped me understand how Norwich, Edinburgh and Paisley competed in the 19th Century for the market in printed and woven shawls. The wonderful books by Pamela Clabburn, The Norwich Shawl, and Helen Hoyte, The Story of the Norwich Shawl, were particularly insightful and helpful.

I spent considerable time thinking about all that I had learned and working on my own interpretations of the designs. Through drawing and sketching, then charting and knitting, I experimented with a wide range of designs. However, it was the combination of the elements of time and scale that became prominent. My final design, The Forum Wrap was inspired by details in a beautiful original 19th Century Shawl in the Shirehall Handling Collection, as well as the modern architecture of the Forum Building in the centre of the city of Norwich.

Detail from my sketchbook
Copyright Emma Vining 2016

My Forum Wrap is knitted in Rowan Silk Wool DK weight yarn that was perfect for this project. The yarn has excellent stitch definition and the elegant sheen of silk. This combination meant that the detailed twisted stitch sections stand out clearly and that the long curved lines inspired by the Forum building look smooth and ribbon-like. The wrap begins and ends with five individual knitted points. The pine cone and leaf twisted stitch design flows from these points and changes in scale as the wrap narrows. A gentle curve to enhance drape and fit around the shoulders is created by working more depth at one side of the wrap.

Detail of The Forum: A New Norwich Wrap
by Emma Vining

I hope that visitors to the Exhibition will enjoy viewing the beautiful Norwich Shawls as much as I have. There are several stunning examples displayed in their full glory in the Hostry and the new textile art that has been inspired by these stunning shawls is fascinating.

Exhibition Poster by the Norwich C&TA