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Knitting & Stitching Show

Knitting & Stitching Show

Monday 28 October 2013

when it came to sewing, I didn't get off to a great start. I grew up looking at my mother's black and gold electric Singer sewing machine – it was a treasured piece of 'high tech' equipment and carried warnings to be extremely careful about threading bobbins and breaking needles. Basically, I was never going to be the Coco Chanel.


That apart, my biggest association with sewing was being hauled up to the front of third class by a very bad-tempered nun because my sewing sample wasn't up to scratch. Nowadays, you would say this woman had a problem for she ruled this sewing class of eight-year-olds with a leather strap. Her face thunderous as I stood on the rostrum, she took out the strap and whacked me hard three times, leaving my little hand red and sore.

So, whilst an interest in sewing was not for me, I could cook, paint, embroider or knit like a trouper. I loved doing Aran sweaters because there was an almost instant reward in seeing each pattern section grow and be completed. For many years, there has been a fall-off in the popularity of knitting but it is tremendous now to see the growth and interest in this and other skills. Indeed, a surprising number

of celebrities have their needles out, too. Mad Men star Christina Hendricks brings her knitting bag on set because it fills in time. Actress Daryl Hannah says, "there's something very meditative about the repetitive quality of knitting". I can see where she is coming from, it is very therapeutic and calming. Hannah also wrote the introduction to Celebrity Scarves 2: Hollywood Knits for Breast Cancer Research. Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman is another knitter as is Pretty Woman Julia Roberts.

What is wonderful, too, is that people no longer knit or stitch alone. Crafts have become the focus of getting people together who have a common interest. There are also classes all over the country in crafts from felting to embroidery, crochet to tapestry. There are even sewing retreats to which people can turn to get away from the stresses of life.

Apple Tree Crafts (www.appletreecrafts.ie), for example, in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, is a veritable Mecca for those who love quilting. The shop was opened in July 2012 by Marie O'Mahoney, and her two daughters, Sinead and Trina, who love to welcome visitors for a cup of tea and a chat. Overflowing with wonderful patchwork fabrics, the shop has all sorts of festive patterns to enable you to create a wonderful gift for your family that will go down the generations.

The highlight of all of this interest in knitting, sewing and other such crafts is the Knitting & Stitching Show, which takes place from this coming Thursday, October 31, until Sunday, November 3, at the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin. Be you a novice or an expert, you will be absolutely inspired. A record 25,000 visitors are expected to join the spin and get stitched at what is Ireland's largest textile and craft event. More than 400 companies will be selling specialist materials and supplies, some of which can't be found in shops in Ireland. There will also be 16 inspirational galleries at the show, along with 200 workshops where people can learn about hairpin crochet, quilting, braid making and many other skills.

One of the feature exhibitions this year is 'Messages', with creations from renowned American quilter, political activist and AIDS campaigner, Mary Fisher, who contracted the HIV virus and who has helped fight the AIDS stereotype around the world. She founded the non-profit organisation CARE (Clinical AIDS Research and Education Fund) in 1996 and uses jewellery, painting, weaving, photography and quilting to express herself and send memorable messages.

Helen Marriott, of the Knitting & Stitching Show, said "there is a huge interest in knitting and hand crafts, a lot of it sparked by the recession. People are going back to basics and are passionate about craft. We have seen a huge surge of interest in this year's show and we expect this to be the biggest in its 22-year history. We are also noticing the interest in knitting and stitching amongst the young, the desire for individualism, dressmaking and home interiors. The show will be a celebration of knitting, stitching and textiles in every conceivable form – bringing together knitters, embroiderers, cross stitches, felt makers, jewellery artists and quilters."

Also exhibiting their spectacular work will be students from the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) who have defied austerity by making something beautiful from nothing. The NCAD students were given the task to make something special from waste and recycled materials.

Student Ellen Elliot said: "To counter austerity, we used bright colours and wove, dyed, and knotted our creations from recycled materials including wool, ropes we found on a beach and scrap material. We tried to convey movement and fluidity seen in cultural ceremonial rituals. Throughout second year, we learnt a wide range of skills, including weaving, print, embroidery, fabric consolidation and manipulation."

The Hospice Foundation of Ireland asked people attending the 'end of life' conference it is hosting today to create a 'tribute wall' to people who are significant in their lives by decorating a small rectangle of hessian cloth with the initials of someone significant in stitching, sewing, painting, sequins, applique or dried flowers.

The hospice will put together a special mini-exhibition of the hessian pieces at the Knitting & Stitching Show and will also be selling its stunning new book, The Gathering – Reflections on Ireland, at its stand.

The show is also launching a National Fashion Competition for Schools aimed at young people aged 16 to 19 years old. Selected entries will be exhibited at the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show in Olympia, London from the March 13 to 16, 2014.

So make this autumn the time you are going to develop your skills and have something beautiful – be it a quirky tea cosy or a posh pashmina that you have handcrafted as well. Sew, get stitching!

www.theknittingandstitchingshow.com/dublin

On a foodie note, that great proponent of meat and all Tipperary food, butcher Pat Whelan, has just launched his second book called The Irish Beef Book in conjunction with Katy McGuinness.

The book is a veritable encyclopaedia of bovine treats, and you don't have to be Desperate Dan the Cowpie Man to enjoy and learn from it as Whelan explains and illustrates the less expensive cuts and steaks which we have been seeing more of in restaurants of late and how best to utilise them.

www.gillmacmillanbooks.ie

And on another foodie matter, but this time related to restaurant service, which is all-important in my book. We were in Kerry recently and we 'managed' to get a table at 6pm in a well-known restaurant for ourselves and two American journalist guests who were here covering Ireland through Tourism Ireland.

We had a nice evening, nice enough food – not cheap – nice girl waiting on us, but at 7.50pm our bill was plonked down, unasked for, on the table by a flint-faced woman. The restaurant wasn't full, the waitress had, in fact, asked us if we would like coffee.

We were well aware that we had to vacate the table to which we had been ushered on arrival by 8pm. Moving down immediately to the empty bar area at the front of the restaurant, where there was a row of vacant high stools, my better half suggested that we have a drink whilst we waited for our taxi.

Brendan asked the nice young girl if we could have a drink there (more quick money for them). She told him that they generally like to keep that area for people coming into the restaurant! The same unsmiling woman in charge, who had just pocketed almost €250 from us, eyes cast down, was 'busy' writing behind the counter.

Himself looked shocked as he said, "we'd better go, it seems like we're not welcome here".

I said to her in disbelief, "can we have a drink here whilst we wait for our taxi?" to which she sharply replied, "you can if you want."

We were really shocked by the experience as we stood waiting instead in the wind on a nearby bridge for 20 minutes. However, it felt warmer outside than in that establishment. What sort of Irish welcome is that for anyone, never mind for visitors?

Cool welcome, freezing exit! Not so nice!

First Published in the Sunday Independent