News & Events

Forthcoming events, meeting reports, updates and general knitting history news.

Visit to see knitted items in the Museum of London archive, December 5 2008. Please contact the Co-ordinator to attend.

The Co-ordinator for 2007-08 is Dr Vivienne Richmond.

Ruth Gilbert at NESAT
KHF member Ruth Gilbert will be giving a paper on the knitted fragments found during an archaeological dig at Lindisfarne Priory at the North European Symposium on Archaeological Textiles (NESAT), Copenhagen, May 2008. Ruth will provide a report for the KHF.

‘Hip Knits’ Exhibition, National Museum of Costume, Dumfries
"Hip Knits brings together a collection from Fair Isle sweaters to cutting-edge creations reflecting Scotland's international reputation for its beautifully designed knitwear. Explore the enduring popularity of luxury Scottish knitwear and check out some of the latest catwalk designs. See knitwear by Queene and Belle, Pringle of Scotland, Ingrid Tait (of Tait and Style) and other international fashion firms. Get a real feel for techniques and material! Learn about designer inspiration, find out about the versatility of wool, get to grips with yarn and try out some knitting techniques yourself!" Further information from the National Museum of Costume website.

Knitting Conference 2008
KHF will be making a poster presentation at "In The Loop: Knitting past, present and future," a three-day international interdisciplinary conference to be held at Winchester School of Art, July 15-17 2008. The Conference will be Enquiries about the Conference should be addressed directly to the Conference Administrator: J.A.Horgan@soton.ac.uk.

Membership
KHF membership forms are now available to download from the Yahoo group or by emailing ‘Membership form’ to the Co-ordinator. The form asks for your address and a short description of your areas of expertise/interest. The former will give us a better idea of where members are situated and enable us to better co-ordinate events and member location. The latter will enable us to give existing members and newcomers alike an idea of the breadth of knowledge within KHF.

The KHF presently has few fundraising opportunities and it was therefore agreed at the meeting of KHF at the Antique Textile Fair (see below) to institute an event fee of £5 per event. It is also expected that a membership fee - formerly agreed in principle, but not yet put into action - will be introduced at the next AGM.

2008 Pasold Conference, January 2008
The 2008 Pasold Conference, ‘Clothing Childhood, Fashioning Society: Children’s Clothing in Britatin in the 20th Century’, held at the Foundling Museum, January 17-18 2008 included many excellent knitting-related papers. A full report will be posted on the Yahoo group shortly.

KHF at the Antique Textile Fair, March 2008
The KHF stand at the Antique Textile Fair displayed an eye-catching range of items, including knitting patterns, tools, yarns and knitted pieces, loaned by Debbie Bamford, Ruth Gilbert and Kirstie Buckland. It looked fantastic and unsurprisingly, therefore, attracted a good deal of attention. Flyers and cards were distributed to visitors interested in joining the Yahoo group, and a list compiled of others unable to participate in the discussion group, but keen to join the Forum. As in the previous year, links were forged with other organisations which should prove mutually beneficial.

Many thanks to Debbie Bamford and Kirstie Buckland for setting up and helping to staff the stall. Thanks also to Kirstie’s husband and grandson who ‘held the fort’ while we had a KHF meeting. Notes of the meeting are available on the Yahoo group.