Dorothy, Jayne and Kate have all made good points about the last posting. Dorothy – I think there ought to be a solemn (!) initiation rite involving knitting socks with five needles while eating scone, cream and jam. If they don’t have one already I’ll suggest it to Terry who runs the Tea Shop Knitters! Jayne – what do you do when new members join your Starbucks circle?

Jayne’s point about the skein competition brings up the thorny question of the idiosyncracies of Guilds when it comes to judging work. Now I know we all think our work is wonderful (at least secretly) and we get just the tiniest bit peeved when others don’t see it that way but, when you get judges and knowledgeable bystanders disagreeing dramatically you have to ask why. I wonder what happened in that skein competition? Was there one single judge? Was she well known and respected or not?

I heard of a similar experience recently. A friend had woven a beautiful length of huck lace in natural, slubby cotton and wondered what to do with it . She turned it into a beautful tailored jacket with hand made buttons – fully lined and finished to the highest standard. It was absolutely stunning and I  (and many others)would have been so proud to have made anything half as good. It was the sort of jacket you would wear over a flowery summer dress to a wedding – formal, not  something you would slip on to go out to the shops.

It was entered recently for a small competition and was rejected with a comment that the fabric was not hard wearing and therefore was unsuitable for a jacket. To say I was stunned was an understatement. I was not the only one. It’s not as if you were going to shift goat dung in it or fly helicopters! The cotton was washable and about as robust as flannalette sheeting I would guess from the feel. Criticise something else by all means but this was just inexplicable!

I have no idea who the judge was but I know I would have trouble taking her opinions seriously after that kind of comment. It’s yet another example of the vaguaries of some Guilds. Not all I’m sure but certainly some.

I had a phonecall yesterday from a 15yr old boy who was, by all accounts a very accomplished long draw spinner and an excellent  knitter. He was after some Bowmont fleece since he loves trying new fibre and had heard about it.  We got talking and, while were we enthusing about fibre and textiles generally I was thinking what on earth the Guilds as a collective body could offer this lad. In the end I directed him towards IKNIT in London where Graig Carruthers and Gerard Allt have “men only” evenings for blokes who knit and like to watch football while having a few beers as well! At 15 he’s too young for the beer but it’s the sense of acceptance and commonality which is important particularly at that sort of age. Guilds have enough trouble providing support and welcome for young women so most would not have a clue how to welcome a teenage boy.

I really do think we need to address this issue but I’m not certain the formal Guild structure is the way to do it. Things in these large groupings change so very slowly. Small informal groups have to be the way forward but that requires willing spirits and time. Volunteers anyone?