Unfortunately, this will be my last post as the coordinator for the Bath branch of the Knitting & Crochet Guild, as I’m stepping down at the end of the year. It’s been great fun setting up and running the branch with many memorable sessions, wonderful people, and a few challenges along the way too.
We started at the Fashion Museum in June 2015 on World Wide Knit in Public (WWKIP) Day and have met monthly since with only a couple of cancellations, moving to online Zoom meetings during the pandemic, later finding a new home at the Salvation Army Citadel and hosting our first Regional Day in June this year. That’s approximately 90 monthly newsletters and branch sessions since we started!
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Our WWKIP Day and branch anniversary celebrations have been a particular highlight; especially the craft pub quiz, competitions for the fastest knitter, crocheter and untangler, raffle and the generous prizes donated.
At the time of writing, we are still looking for a new coordinator to take over, although Anna, Armelle and Clare will keep the branch running in the interim. They have been a great help to me and I’m sure the new coordinator will receive the same support.
The branch meets at the Salvation Army Citadel in Bath on the second Saturday of the month, 10am-midday, with a programme of varied topics and speakers. The best way to keep in touch is to subscribe to our newsletter at https://bit.ly/31sCq8m or email BathKCG@gmail.com with any queries.
A version of this post also appeared in the December 2022 issue of Slipknot, the journal of the Knitting & Crochet Guild.
We interact differently now. We do almost everything differently now. This includes how we make and for what purpose.
We’ve been in lockdown, or a variation of it, in the UK since March and for many makers this has presented an opportunity to use up their stash (of fabric, yarn, other materials) and finish forgotten projects. For others the opportunity has been in stocking up, showing support for local or independent retailers who are still trading online. The mental and emotional benefits of making are becoming more important for many makers, rather than the product or process focus they may have had before.
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The knitting and crochet group I run usually meet in person on the first Saturday of the month. During the coronavirus pandemic we’ve been meeting online via Zoom instead and this has been a learning curve for everyone involved. Once you get past the initial hurdles of setting up the call, sharing the details and participants successfully joining, you still need to figure out how to interact with each other. This is a group of people who know each other, who are quite happy talking about anything from craft to corruption and yet we need to re-learn how to communicate. Making while on the call presents further challenges, as you’re not necessarily watching for the visual cues of when to speak. The first part of the call is a bit awkward as we all settle in, although soon, without realising, we’re chatting and making like we usually do in person. Any new attendees are also participating like they’ve always been part of the group. It’s comfortable. Reassuring.
Instead of our tutorial style sessions, it’s intentionally kept informal and chatty. The topics of conversation are different now. We still cover the usual craft topics, raising queries we’d like help with, sharing recent finished items, asking where someone got this or that. We talk about how we’ve been filling our days, sharing favourite podcasts, new TV shows we’ve discovered (or those to avoid), the wildlife that is becoming more abundant in our urban spaces. Then the topics become more serious. I’m worried about my parents. I feel anxious going to the shop. What do you do when people don’t adhere to the social distancing guidelines when you’re in public? The discussion covers things people are struggling with, future worries they’re concerned about and acts of kindness. Using our hands to make and having something to focus on while we’re talking gives us a different focal point, not having to look people in the eye as we share our concerns and offer advice and consolation.
An advantage of meeting like this is that it is inclusive. Everyone who wants to can join. During this time we’ve had attendees who are pregnant, recovering from major surgery, living alone, shielding for health reasons or age. People who are isolated in their own homes can enjoy a social connection with like-minded makers, bringing something of their ‘before-coronavirus’ lifestyle with them, joining in with something the old-style of craft group, in some cases, wouldn’t have allowed.
A version of this article has also appeared in the Textile Society publication News, in the Knitting & Crochet Guild journal Slipknot, and on the seam textile collective blog.
It’s back for another year! #SeptTextileLove is the Instagram challenge for those who love textiles and it starts a week from tomorrow.
The full list of prompts will be shared on the seam blog on 31 August, ready for people to respond to from 1 September. If you like to plan ahead, you can see the prompts a week early by subscribing to the seam newsletter. The full list of prompts is shared with seam newsletter subscribers as an exclusive preview so they can get a bit of a head start (and there’s a #SeptTextileLove planner for subscribers to download too).
Who’s it for?
Anyone who creates or loves textiles can be part of #SeptTextileLove. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just started experimenting with textiles in lockdown, whether that’s as a hobby you’ve always been curious about, as an antidote to boredom or for your own wellbeing, or if you are a textile professional, it doesn’t even matter where in the world you are based; everyone is welcome to take part in the conversation.
How does it work?
For each of the 30 days of September there is a different textile-related prompt for you to interpret on your Instagram feed. You can respond to as many of the prompts as you wish, this could be only a few or it may be all of them. The only requirement is that you include the hashtag #SeptTextileLove so seam, and everyone else involved, can find, like, comment on and share your posts!
What next?
Follow the seam blog to ensure you receive the prompts on 31 August, ready to start in September.
If you’d like to start thinking about the prompts ahead of the challenge and prepare a few responses, subscribe to the seam newsletter and you’ll receive the full list of prompts one week before they’re publicly released. You’ll also receive the link to download the prompt planner too.
During the challenge, follow the hashtag #SeptTextileLove to find and be inspired by posts from the other participants.
isla design 