STITCHING UP THE KNITTED POEM.

If any of you are free tomorrow (Friday) Louise and I will be at the Poetry Society from 10.30am - 9pm, stitching lines of the Knitted Poem together and would love your company. We are really enjoying it, not only because of it's scale and beauty, but because everyone has written their names and favourite poems on the back of each piece.

GUITAR SOLO.

Uncle Kim has Rocked and Rolled all over the world, and he agreed he'd never heard a guitar solo quite like the one Louise played at closing time last night.

ZARA'S FIRST SPINNING.

We lost Zara to the spinning wheel this afternoon! It was a good first day's work, and we know as the weeks pass her yarn will get more and more relaxed.

Zara was taught by Uncle Kim, pictured here. Kim is a good pirate who lives in the West Indies and grows coco. He comes to visit a few times a year, gets drunk and tells amazing stories.

Kim taught me to spin too. He says you have to let the wool do it's own thing.

For a really good adventure, you can go and stay in his converted chicken shack with en-suite everything. I can put you in touch. He's got a toe missing where a shark got him but he can still build houses and catch your dinner.

Kim tells it as it is , sings the blues, and isn't really my Uncle but he likes it when I call him that.

LISA ANNE AUERBACH IN NOTTINGHAM.

For those of us who couldn't make it to Lisa Anne's show in Nottingham, here are some pictures she kindly sent me.

The first, her wonderful window display at Nottingham gallery.

The second, Lisa Anne by the big tree where all the rebels go.

“Stop making scarves, start making trouble,” she challenges..

Lisa Anne Auerbach is a rebel and a very good one at that.

We love her work, and all the ideas she has.

Read her blog Steal This Sweater.

Thanks for coming Lisa Anne! Here we are, as you saw us, waving hello and goodbye. X

POETRY CLUES!

Watch the worlds biggest and most beautiful poem emerge at the Poetry Society this weekend. There are a lot of letters to stitch together. The poem is still secret but clues are sure to come to those who lend fingers and company!

Here is picture of the lovely cafe, which will be on hand all day.

Here is Philosophy by Gwyneth Lewis

"Knitting is like everything," it's tempting to say.

No. Knitting's like knitting. sure, there's cosmology

in Norwegian sweaters with vertical stars,

but as science that doesn't get us far.

If space is made of superstrings

then God's a knitter and everything

is craft. perhaps we can darn

tears in space- time continuum

and travel down wormholes to begin

to purl in another dimension's skein.

But no. There are things you can't knit:

a spaceship. A husband, though the wish

might be strong and the softest thread

would be perfect for the hair on his head,

another, tougher, that washes well

for his pecs and abdominals. You can stitch a soul

daily and unpick mistakes,

perform some moral nip and tucks-

forgiveness. Look out. your Frankenstein

might turn and start knitting you again.

AKETSUN LOVEABLE COMING SOON.

Aketsun is our new friend from Japan, who has just announced she will jolly up Christmas at Prick Your Finger. An amazing show of stitched windows onto far off knitted lands where brightly dressed dolls love you, will surely be a wonderful experience. Aketsun we look forward to greeting you!

SPECIAL GUEST -LISA ANNE AUERBACH.

One of the perks of being a knitter with an internet connection is that you can get to know knitting cousins in far away places. I think I first became aware of Lisa Anne when we appeared in KnitKnit by Sabrina Gschwandtner and then I've followed her blog and worn her 'Saddlesore' badge ever since. Lisa Anne rocked up to the shop on Saturday. She had a sore butt because some idiot knocked her off her bike on the way to the airport.

We went for a Pint of London Pride. Lisa Anne is here for a solo show at Nottingham Art Gallery which has shut for re building, but they are showing artists in the window. Lisa Anne has made a series of green Nottingham Forest Sweaters for her show entitled "Take this Knitting machine and Shove it". She has knitted the city's rebel heritage into jumpers and mini skirts for merry feminists, and will be talking about her work tomorrow. I recommend it because there isn't anyone quite like her!

Find out more click here.

In the pub, Lisa was knitting a red square for a project on Saturday, where everyone is invited to submit a square with some text.
Lisa Anne's square is knitted with our favourite red Wensleydale Longwool. (She bought some more of it to knit a cardigan.) The idea of attaching text to squares came after experiencing knitting circles in LA where everyone discusses shows on television. Not having a television, she fancied discussing something a bit more in depth.
Then we found ourselves at the Derek Jarman Award ceremony, where there were lots of canopes. We weren't allowed to take our drinks into the cinema, we had to leave them on this table. Lisa Anne had the genius idea of identifying her beer with a bit of red wool. TOP TIP!
Lisa was wearing one of her jumpers. On the front it said

"Strangle the last king with the entrails of the last priest." and on the back it said,

"Mend the roads with the ruins of churches."

Both sayings that the English used to shout in pubs and at protests.

To see and hear more, get yourself to Nottingham tomorrow! Trains leave from St. Pancras and it takes a couple of hours, otherwise, check out Lisa's blog "Steal this Sweater" the link to which is just to the right on this blog!

Thanks for a lovely time Lisa Anne.