News & Events

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

Confirmed speakers include Dr Philip Sykas: "Silk Yarns for Knitting and Their Use in Britain"; Debbie Bamford: "The Art of Dyeing Silke"; Susan North: "Knitting Backwards? Deciphering the Patterns of Historical Knitting" and Dr. Carol Christiansen: "Knitwear of the Gunnister Man Find". In addition to the short AGM meeting, there will be time for discussion. A complete conference programme will be available in due course and further details are available at the Yahoo Group.

Non-members are welcome at this conference. Please confirm attendance or send apologies for absence to the Co-ordinator. Please also submit your nominations for the Co-ordinator for 2010-2011 and any other business or relevant news.

Knitting Conference 2008
KHF member Lesley O'Connell Edwards was among the speakers at the 2008 University of Southampton/Winchester School of Art 'In the Loop' Conference. Her report on the Conference, detailing the papers presented, can be found here and Kirstie Buckland's report on the accompanying exhibition can be found here.

International Congress on Medieval Studies
Our previous Co-ordinator, Kirstie Buckland, was one of the 2000+ speakers at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan in May 2008. Self-defined as 'the largest professional meeting in the field', you can read Kirstie's report on this marathon event here.

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.