Behold the UK S&B blanket!
We asked groups from around the country to contribute a square or two to our blanket to show the unity and unique nature of the many knitting groups around the UK. We got such a great response, so thank you to all who participated.
Here is some information on each of the groups and the square(s) they contributed:
Group: Unnamed
Where: London
Group leader: Sarah Macleod
They say: I’m not part of an official S&B group, although I have converted three friends to the knit, and we meet often to discuss the ways of the yarn!
Group: Chorley & South Ribble Knit n Natter
Where: Leyland
Sent by: Gael Finch and Pauline Lowther
They say: We meet once a month in Leyland and all the ladies (well, we have had one gentleman come along once) get involved so would be unfair to name names!
Knitting triumphs: World Cup Blanket for local Children’s Hospice.
Group: Woolie Mad
Where: Warwick & Wellesbourne
They say: We meet in Wellesbourne and Warwick on alternate Tuesdays. We travel for miles for our Knit & Natter, as we are all Woolie Mad. Only our second attempt at crochet. Hope it fits the bill!
Group: KnitWits
Where: Bradfield College, Bradfield, Reading
Sent by: Bev Eldridge
They say: We meet every Monday in Bradfield. Our group is made up of sixth formers, and is a mixture of complete beginners and more experienced knitters. We are currently knitting a blanket for charity and hope to move onto other charity knits when this is finished.
Group: Meantime Knitters
Where: Greenwich, London
Group Leader: Helena Russell
They say: We meet the first Sunday of each month at the top floor bar of the Greenwich Picturehouse Cinema from 5pm.And every third Sunday of each month at the Royal Albert pub on New Cross Road from 5pm.
Knitting triumphs: Knit at the Movies Champagne Bar (with S&B London) at Ally Pally 2007Greenwich Maritime Museum Stitch and Bitch
Group: Sheffield Forum
Knitted by: Lisa H, Wheezy, Barui and Mara
They say: Sheffield Forum is an online community with about 50,000 members! In March 2006 the Special Interest Groups sections were set up with the Knitting Group being the first.We have an active online knitting group which has had over 12,000 posts in the time it has been running. We discuss all things knitting and crochet, and will help each other through difficulties! We have run several knitalongs – mostly successful – and it’s great to see the variations which are produced on a theme. The Knitting group now meets monthly on the last Wednesday of the month at our fabulous LYS ‘The Wool Baa’. We have also been having intermittent meets. It’s a great group to be involved with – we have about 25 regular contributors with varying ability (and lots of other less regulars), and are attracting new members all the time!
Group: Belfast SnB ‘Wait Till I Finish My Row!’
Where: Belfast
Knitted by: Nicky Lynn, Nikki McCrudden, Ceive O’Donoghue, Caroline Fletcher, Inga Hamilton, Lasariona Curran, and Debi Schaibly
They say: We meet on Wednesdays in Café Vaudeville from 4:30 – 8:00ish.The White Patch has a famous landmark, the Harland and Wolff crane at the docks where Titanic was built. The other shows fish and coral as Northern Ireland/Ireland is surrounded by water.
Group: Fiddlesticks Devon Knitters
Where: Honiton, Devon
Knitted by: Two beginners, Sally and Jenny
They say: We knit our squares to represent the beautiful countryside and coastline of Devon.
Group: K1 Sip1
Where: Sutton Benger near Chippenham, Wiltshire
Knitted by: Edwina Kelly
Sent by: Nicola
They say: We meet fortnightly at the Wellesley ArmsK1 Sip1 started in July our members are Edwina, Nicola, Peter, Avril, Lorraine, Fiona and Laurinda, but we hoping to have recruited a few more. At the moment we are all madly knitting xmas presents including socks and bags.
Knitting triumphs: Hats for Innocent smoothies & future charity knits
Group: Stitch and Bitch Glasgow
Group Leader: Georgia Reid (co-founder of S&B London)
Knitted by: Margaret Parkinson
They say: Our patches are a Scottish thistle and tartan. We meet once a week in different pubs and cafés around Glasgow. Although we are a small group, we are great friends, and have a brilliant time stitching together! There is often a lot more drinking than stitching.
Group: Knit & Chat
Where: Stocksbridge, Sheffield
They say: We came together for the first time on the 12th of May 2007 and from that date on, we’ve seen each other at least every two weeks. Our meeting place is upstairs in the Stocksbridge Library where the staff showed us their continual hospitality. Joining the group is free and everyone is welcome. If you would like to learn to knit or crochet, just come along with needles or a crochet hook and some yarn. As a rule we’ve said we would come together every 2nd and 4th Saturday, from 10am to 12am.
Group: Shaldon Knitting Group
Where: Shaldon, Devon
Sent by: Alison
They say: Inspiration for the square came from the seaside in summer: deckchairs, beach huts, the regatta in August. Our group meets on the first Tuesday of every month (although sometimes more!). We are currently seven, and our names are: Colin, Chris, Aly, Karen, Barbara, Denise and Alison. We meet at my house, but are hoping to relocate to a pub very soon!
Group: ‘Cast Off Knitting Club for Boys and Girls’
Website: www.castoff.info
Group leader: Rachael Matthews
They say: Our square hosts a knitted Penis in Cable from my knitting kit ‘Penis in Cable’ made while the Clinton trial was on (but not because of Clinton I promise). I made it for a fashion porn mag called Pure. The original penis from the kit was stolen by Ricki Lake, who stuffed it down her cleavage on telly and never returned it. We formed in 2000 on the Circle Line, and have never knitted in the same place twice. We have knitted in London, around UK, Paris, Dublin, New York, and Lithuania. We are knitting activists, and our meetings are ‘events’ or ‘performances’ held in galleries and other public spaces.
Shop: ‘Prick Your Finger’
260 Globe RdLondon
E2 0JD
Tel: 0208 981 2560
We are a Punk Haberdashery Gallery. We sell ribbons, buttons, embroidery patterns, but specialize in organic and hand-spun and hand-dyed knitting yarns from the UK. We write books and knitting patterns, and show work by artists who use textiles, and hold classes, and talks.
Group: The London Crochet Meetup
Where: London
Group leader: Helda Panagary
They say: We meet in London venues and all meetup details are given by email. Our group is a place for crocheters and knitters (we don’t discriminate) to meet share patterns, books, ideas, and purchases. There isn’t much we can’t do or solve. Members range from the newbies to those who can’t remember a moment without a hook/knitting needles. You learn so much more with others. We also eat loads of cakes and drink loads of tea and coffee.
Members can join through this http://knitting.meetup.com/1271/?a=mu_rbld3tviii or email heldap@hotmail.co.uk
Group: Stitch n Bitch Liverpool
Group founder: Angie Dalton
They say:The group started in February 2005 with just two knitters and has gradually grown over time and now has around 30 – 40 knitters who attend semi-regularly. There are usually 10 – 20 knitters at each weekly meeting. We meet at the White Room on Smithdown Rd in Liverpool every Tuesday evening. We are knitters of all ages and experience from teenagers to octagenarians and very beginners to respected designers.
Knitting triumphs:Two knitting at the cinemas events. Knitted a black and red stripy sweater for our coffee shop waiter as a gift for when he started Uni. We all knitted a bit of the sweater, a sleeve, a back, etc…. Knitted a secret baby shower for Jo, our first SnB mum-to-be (very soon). She’ll have the best dressed baby in Merseyside.
Group: Stitch and Bitch London
Where: Central London
Website: www.stitchandbitchlondon.co.uk
Group Leaders: Lauren O’Farrell, Laura Parkinson, Joelle Finck, Candice Lamb, and Laura Delaat (collectively The Stitchettes)
Group motto: SUBMIT TO THE KNIT
We say: S&B London are a feisty but friendly radioactive Godzilla of a knitting group. We meet every single week in different venues, on different nights around central London.
Anyone and everyone is welcome (crochet too!).
We teach beginners and more advanced skills for free (always have and always will).
Our patch represents the variety of our group members from all ages and all walks of life.
Knitting triumphs:
The London Lion Scarf – Over 160 knitted metres and £3000 for Cancer Research
Won Biggest UK Knitting Group 2007
The London Knit Crawl – Knitting in public at four major London tourist sites
Knit at the Movies Champagne Bar (with Meantime Knitters) Ally Pally 2007
Over 1500 members and growing
