Archive News & Events
Old News 2008

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

Kirstie Buckland
Kirstie stepped down as Co-ordinator at the AGM in November 2007. It was agreed at the KHF’s inaugural meeting that the role of Co-ordinator would rotate every year, and Kirstie had already done the job for two years. Due to her energy, enthusiasm and commitment the Forum is flourishing and we send her our sincere thanks. Furthermore, Kirstie continues to be fully involved in the KHF. She helped set up and staff the stall at the ATF in Manchester (see below) and represented the Forum at the Fabric of Time event, Parham House, Sussex, April 26-27 2008, and at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 8-11 2008.

Dr. Negley Harte
We congratulate Dr. Negley Harte, who has chaired our two AGMs, on being awarded an Honorary Fellowship by University College London.

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.

Deborah Pulliam
We are sorry to report the death of Deborah Pulliam at her home in Maine, USA on 22nd May. A writer and textile historian, she regularly attended meetings of the original Early Knitting History Group and continued to keep in touch with the Knitting History Forum. An obituary is available here (link to external site no longer available).