The BIG Knit BIG reveal

Gosh - over 75 knitters making nearly 400 squares, aiming to make a blanket in a day and we did it!!  

Cathie and Claire who did ALL the sewing up

More than that we have enough squares for 3 more blankets which the Basingstoke Knitterers and Natterers will be sewing up (well probably crocheting) in the next few weeks, with breaks to get on with our own knitting.  The blankets are for our local Hospice, St Michaels.   We collected money too but I can't tell you how mush as we haven't counted yet!

As we set up on Friday, transforming this neat but dull space

into something more knitterly and festive

with a banner,

bunting

wool chains

tubs of yarn

and needles

We were a little worried that we would not have enough people.  That was the least of our worries...

These ladies were busy planning and knitting by 10 O'clock.  And soon we were looking for more chairs!

We had a visit from the Mayor

and the Little Model

The atmosphere was lovely. Some people even met up with old friends or colleagues they had not seen for a while

Lots wore their favourite knitted items, 

I loved this scarf

Also spotted, flowery brooches and hair slides, cardigans and shrugs 

As the squares piled up

Cathie and Claire got out their crochet hooks

With all the coming and going, how did we keep count?  A book circulated for peoples contact details, we have 75 e-mail addresses. 

I-pad artist Sue Howe transformed photographs into beautiful portraits

We had requests to do this again and we will.  We are also thinking about other events that would bring our town's knitting community together.  So watch this space

And Facebook 

And Ravelry

If you belong to neither but would still like to be in the loop e mail me your contact details (my address is on the About Me page)

BIG thank you

Firstly to the knitters, obvious really but we couldn't do it without you.

Then Festival Place, for lending us the space and for all its lovely staff who helped us find tables and chairs, let us dress their penguin waste paper bins in scarves..

and were so hospitable on the day, checking we were all OK

We also had help from other people in the town. The manager at a nearby cafe (Ed's Easy Diner) very kindly lent us several chairs when we had people standing.    We were given coffees by Cafe Nero, Costa and Pure independent local bar.  And when the technical assistant (AKA my son Ed) had problems with the slide show of pictures by our artist in residence Sue Howe which we were showing on a big screen TV, the manager of our local Sony store came to the rescue.

Well, that's enough excitement for one month, I'm off to cast on a cardi

xx

c

mascots K1P1 and SSO,
hung around Festival Place with labels advertising the BBK