How it all began....

A few years ago, some of the members of our local(ish) knitting group, Bolton Knitting Noras, decided it would be a jolly good idea to take our skills on the road and teach the world to knit and crochet. So we got ourselves a little gazebo and off we went. We visited festivals and green fairs, meeting lots of new friends and picking up a few new skills ourselves.

Thanks to Lisa, Bev, Eadaoin, Jen, Lesley, Caroline, Ani, everyone who has ever knitted/crocheted with us and, most of all, one of our knitting group founders Sarah, for a fantastic few years of mud, stitches and lots of fun.

We recently graduated to a proper canvas traders tent and so I, Jacky (Wigan Pixie), have decided to blog about our adventures on the road.

We do not charge for workshops and often give away needles, hooks and yarn, relying on donations of supplies and expenses, frequent visits to the charity shop and selling whatever we can, to keep the show on the road. If you would like to donate, or even offer occasional help, please get in touch.

Friday 30 December 2011

Exhibition for The Knitting Tent

We we first started out with our knitting and crochet workshops, one of our members was involved in a community project which evolved into The Knitted Garden. Many people contributed and it was proudly displayed everywhere we went.



Now the garden has moved away with one of the knitters, I think that it's time for a new exhibit. After spending several weeks wondering what to do, I came across The Hyperbolic Coral Reef and loved it so much that I decided to do something along those lines.

This is too big of a job for Ani and me to do on our own, especially as we would like to have something on show in 2012, so we would love it if everyone would contribute something, even if it's just a small shell. It can be knitted, crocheted, felted, paper mache (which is ideal if kids want to get involved too) or any other medium you like, the only limit is your imagination. I intend to photograph each piece to put in a book, so if you do get involved please attach a label with your name and any other information you want to go public (ie your business details, if you're a crafter) and this will also be in the tent for people to peruse at their leisure.

So if you fancy making something from under the sea, please feel free to do so and then contact me for the deliver address.  I've been so carried away by this idea, that I've finished two corals in one day.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Green Peaks Eco Festival 2011

We were recently very lucky to be invited to take part in the first Green Peaks Eco Festival in Derbyshire. It is a beautiful site and you can find more about it here http://www.knockerdown-inn.co.uk/

We were situated in the Earth Field, amongst spinners, masseurs, willow weavers, upcyclers and, best of all, the cake and coffee tent.


After a slow start, we got our first pupils. Sadly we had to concede that crochet certainly wasn't for one of them but the other was naturally gifted.

Here are a couple more photos of some of our new knitting friends, all of whom helped to make the weekend very special indeed.



 Despite having some very talented pupils, special mention has to go to our two star pupils.


The young man on the left of the photo had even spun his own fleece, with the help of the lovely ladies from Chorlton Craft Workshops, who then sent him over to us to learn to knit it up.

Despite Ani and I working very hard, with Ryland and Welshy helping out behind the scenes, we still had time to have a good mooch around the site and even have a bit of fun dancing our collective arses off to Dub Pistols on Saturday night. If you ever get the chance to see these guys I recommend that you do, you will not be disappointed. We even took part in the making of a video by our lovely Transition Town neighbours.

Here are a few more random photos (taken by Welshy) of the rest of the fezzie.











 All in all it was a brilliant little festival, thanks to the organisational skills of Tez, Aimee and Maria, and I recommend that everyone should try to get there next year. If you do, don't forget to call in and say hello to us in The Knitting Tent.