knitting, stitching and pairings

In spite of the weather warnings, I braved the journey to Harrogate on Sunday to visit the Knitting and Stitching show, at the harrogate international centre. The journey there was smooth, but the snow came six hours earlier than forecast so of course the whole town came to stand still, and on the way back, what should have been a 2 hour journey turned into a six hour feat.


However, I was glad I made it. Never having been before, I was overwhelmed at the amount of yarn, stitch, crafts, beads and all sorts of other curiosities and wonderments associated with knitting ans stitching in one huge centre.

The textile gallery was of the most interest to me, and I particularly enjoyed the exhibition of my fellow students and staff at Manchester metropolitan University. It was to accompany the recently published Machine stitch perspectives by Alice Kettle and Jane McKeating. Both the book and the exhibition celebrate the beauty of the sewing machine and the vast amount of results it can produce.

The two are now working an an accompanying book, Hand Stitch Perspectives. Jane's chapters will include some of the communities in India, particularly Gujarat, working in hand embroidery, and some of the projects that are working alongside the artisans to help create sustainable markets for them.

Alice and Jane's work also featured in the MMU project Pairings which was exhibited in the university library from July to November this year. I was intrigued at the outcomes of the collaborative of artists from different disciplines and how two contrasting mediums worked alongside together.






The above work must have been influence by the envelope dowry bags distinctive to embroidering communities in India. Below is the back of one of these bags made by the Dhebaria Rabari community of Kachchh.