A five day international conference
Susan Crawford
Deidre Nelson
Annemor Sundbø
In response to the success of In the Loop held at Winchester School of Art in July 2008, and the continuing interest in knitting, this second interdisciplinary conference proposed an exploration of knitting from a broad range of practical and theoretical perspectives within the theme of tradition and renewal.
Preliminary conference programme (PDF version is available in useful downloads)
14.00 - 16.30 Registration
14.00 - 16.30 Knitting lounges open
Focus displays
Bookstall/Giftshop
Tour of Textile Gallery, 3pm
Coffee/tea
16.30 - 17.15 Dr Carol Christiansen
Pattern and lace: the knitwear collections at Shetland Museum
17.15 - 18.00 Linda Newington
Knitted together: the collections of Montse Stanley, Richard Rutt and Jane Waller, University of Southampton Library
18.00 - 20.00 Wine reception
Session 1: Tradition and renewal: Carol Christiansen
09.30 - 10.15 Key note speaker - Susan Crawford (abstract below)
Is tradition really such a bad thing?
10.15 - 10.35 Hazel Hughson
Anonymous and invisible Shetland knitters
10.35 - 10.55 Elizabeth Johnston
Fisherman's Dags
11.00 - 11.30 Coffee
11.30 - 11.50 Lisa Costa
The making of the Queen Susan Shawl: Shetland tradition explodes on the internet
11.50 - 12.10 Roxane Permar and Nayan Kulkarni
Mirrie Lace - fusing Shetland lace knitting with light
12.10 - 12.30 Questions to Panel
12.30 - 13.30 Lunch
13.30 - 14.15 Keynote speaker - Deidre Nelson (abstract below)
A quiet activism
14.15 - 14.35 Trevor Pitt
Soft Bench and Knitting Salon 2009
14.35 - 14.55 Rachel Matthews
Research into methods of working with an un-finished project
15.00 - 15.30 Tea
15.30 - 15.50 Françoise Dupré
Ouvrage and Exotic mk
15.50 - 16.10 Barbara Ridland and Jeanette Sendler
Woolgatherers
16.10 - 16.30 Questions to Panel
Free evening
Session 3: Knitting narratives: Carol Christiansen
09.30 - 10.15 Keynote speaker - Annemor Sundbø (abstract below)
Knitting in art
10.15 - 10.35 Susan Strawn
Perspectives on wartime hand knitters in America
10.35 - 10.55 Jess Payne
Shetland lace knitting in New Zealand: the voyage and transformation of tradition
11.00 - 11.30 Coffee
11.30 - 11.50 Hilary Seatter
Anything is possible
11.50 - 12.10 Ruth Gilbert
Material Witness: knitted artefacts as evidence for skill
12.10 - 12.30 Stella Lange
Miss Barker-Eames's knitting at the edges of the empire
12.30 - 12.50 Questions to Panel
12.50 - 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 14.20 Anne Sinclair
Fair Isle
14.20 - 14.40 Kathy Coull
Two stranded communities
14.40 - 15.00 Frankie Owens
A demonstration of traditional Peruvian knitting and a discussion of historical links to Portuguese knitting
15.00 - 15.30 Tea
15.30 - 15.50 Emma Bradbury
The impact knitted craft has upon small and remote communities
15:50 - 16.15 Questions to Panel
18.00 - 7.30 Bar open
19.30 - Conference dinner (optional)
Session 5: Knitting and the fashion industry: Carol Christiansen
10.00 - 10.20 Sandy Black
Knitting in 20th century advertising and popular culture
10.20 - 10.40 Josie Steed
Textile Lab
10.40 - 11.10 Coffee
11.30 - 11.50 Caroline Ness and Elaine Uttely
The Sarah Dallas Archive
11.50 - 12.10 Amy Twigger Holroyd
Stitch hacking and pattern blagging: a manifesto
12.10 - 12.30 Questions to Panel, Summary
An afternoon of optional choices : Knitting Lounges
Focus displays
Bookstall/Giftshop
Tour of Textiles Gallery
Visit to Shetland Textile Working Museum, Böd of Gremista, Lerwick (make own way there, 1.5 miles/3.2 km)
Studio visit, Barbara Ridland and Jeanette Sender, Lerwick
Workshop with Estonian knitters arranged by Shetland CollegeSunday 5th September
On Sunday 5th September 2010 there is an optional excursion to Unst from 08.15 to 18.30.
This is a collaborative event between Shetland Museum and Archives and the University of Southampton Library. The joint organisers are Dr. Carol Christiansen and Linda Newington.