A beautiful day for a tour from Norway

Velcommen was The word of Our week.
We were getting ready to greet a planned Textile tour from Norway passionate about yarns, spinning, knitting and craft .

Morning is here and Corporate Touring is negotiating Knitfields tree aligned avenue

Through the arched doorway to the mystery beyond! Edel greets the touring guests of Knitfield from 'Norges Linforening', the Linen association of Norway.

www.norges-linforening.no

Denver our on site ginger girl has a word with Chef and kitchen chief of the morning, Tess.

New at Knitfield is our 'This is us!' visual screen story by Maggy, after a little ancedotal background by Edel on her road to busy Textile decades in Irelands North West.

Stitch interest time and most popular again is Aran in all it's guises. Workshop one becomes a hive of ladies loving the honeycomb and learning the blackberry - back to front and upside down!

They say WE KNIT FUNNY !!! Well done for being such genuine sports and eager weavers.

Edel was challenged to 'cast on' Scandi style and managed a little with great tuition from Hanne. Intense conversation and skill swapping set the whole Townland on fire, like a recreation of some ancient 'meet-up' in this historically textile rich locality.

Johnny Shiels prepares for a well informed invasion in workshop two. His beautiful wheel was built by himself in a family tradition going back to his grandfather. Guests were invited to spin or card wool and Johnny brought his very special hand build loom with an opportunity for everyone to weave a part of Inishowen.

Inspirational Knitfield patterns designed and written in house by Edel MacBride are on the best seller list! We remarked how many beautiful and rich textures and tones the ladies were wearing, many wearing their own soft knitwear or weaving.

Edel tells the story of the yarn designed recently by herself exclusively for Knitfield.

Read more about this on our blog Slieve League here. A hush descended and orders were placed!

The pantry was a go to for refreshments in the form of delicious scones with cream and home made jam.

Produced and co-ordinated beautifully by Tess who brought an assortment of Nicolas Mosse pottery to the party in the form of jugs. Our Knitfield Moville pottery mugs were a little unmatched, yet the home made and real made feel of everything was magical.

Under a Donegal sky !

Norway we imagine is cold and beautiful. Perfect to wear our hand knitted hats and gloves in Donegal spun merino.

 

                                                
From left :Hanne Julie Gjendem  (Leder) of Norges Linforening, Edel MacBride, founder of Knitfield and Designer, Anne Holth Larsen (Norges linforening), Elaine McInaw (tour co- ordinator)

Ireland & Norway

Knitfield and Edel MacBride workshop with Norges Linforening organisation,

April 30, 2014 at the Knitfield Centre in Convoy, Donegal, Ireland

 

 

Farewell, Edel bids a personal good bye and spies some incredible knitting aboard the bus!

The horses made new friends too as they were hand fed clover.

 

Visit again soon !

Thank you to everyone involved. To the family who appeared like night owls to help with prep especially the younger members who brought lots of enthusiasm. To the visual display team on video, sound, merchandising and buttons !!!

Full credit to photographer Mary McDermott and kitchen hospitality Tess Corry (Edel's sisters).

 

A great word of gratitude to Norges Linforening for selecting our destination and bringing such a sense of new beginnings to our year.

 

all images 1987 -2014 (c)Edel MacBride ltd

Thank you to our friends at Marley Wools Ltd and Donegal yarns. 

more information: www.spinningwheels.ie

www.norges-linforening.no

www.edelmacbride.com

www.movillepottery.com 

www.nicholasmossepottery.com

 

 

Slieve League, a Knitfield exclusive

To paint one's own yarn is a dream. To paint a Donegal with multiple contrast neps or burrs is a technicolour dream.
To create Slieve League we mixed two base fleece tones of grey and green. The result being a grey flattering on skin tone and Donegal in character.
The neps represented the highlights of a Donegal landscape, the alternating skies, the heather, the rich dark autumn foliage and the strong mosses that grow on Slieve league's rocks.
The result is unique to us in all the world! A classic grey with originality in the fleck tones.

In the beginning ..Nora's wall we call this

 The choice is infinite, so it's all about the edit and a bit like mixing perfume!

It starts with play and a focus on what you're after.

 It's lovely how Slieve League integrates with

 it's birth environment !

 and how it reflects

an Irish sky even on a sky less day! Yes there is a sky behind the yarn in the image.

our first studio ready- to -wear design is underway in Slieve League. It's called the Bricin cardi and named after a saint from the region (c. 590-650). The inspiration came from a locally written poem (below). Bricin also means a small fish in gaelige.

A small and limited edition amount of Slieve League (100% Donegal spun wool) is available to pre-order online at edelmacbride.com

A little about the inspiration........Sliabh Liag (Irish for the grey mountains)

thanks to www.focuspocus.com for this image

Slieve League has been inspiring a local population since the Celts and before with it's majestic cliffs sheltering this Donegal peninula from the wild atlantic. Now a highlight for visitors on the 'Wild Atlantic Way' route, from Donegal to Kerry 

The Donegal heather and fern frame the stark cliffs that at 601 metres (1972 ft) are the highest in europe! Locally the area is know as Bunglas.

Our exclusive yarn colour in 100% spun in Donegal wool was inspired by a visit (or many!) to this Donegal wonder…

Slieve League

Voluptuous Mountain

At the foot of God

Laid out like a Gaelic Queen

In a trousseau of whimsical mist,

Glimpses of ultramarine,

Grated on by gentle sheep.

Snapped at by the sea,

By grappling arms of little farms ensnared,

Slieve League,

Colmcille’s highway

Dropping holy wells,

That lie with doleful eyes,

Hear the footprints of another saint,

Bricín now patronized,

Today as on that ancient scene,

Tomorrow you will ever be,

A noble part of nature’s chart defined

Slieve League.

The poet was inspired by Slieve League and prefers to stay anonymous!

© 2014 Edel MacBride

We hope you join us on the journey of knitting and crocheting a little of our Slieve league wool. Maybe even take a walk on this wild side of Donegal, in your creation!

Edel @knitfield 2014

Knit Feis at Derry Craft Village July 2013

The police road test our bull-horned knit bombed bike

  Visitors to Derry Craft Village were awed and involved in an ‘extreme knitting' display by designer Edel MacBride and the Knitfield knitters, crocheters, artists & design students. Exhibits included arm knitting which grew in a Rapunzel like fashion in the end attracting two tall dark strangers who rolled it across the entire craft village. They hadn't arrived on white horses but on police push bikes.
A Knitfield rocking horse covered in knitting stood quietly by.

Edel knit material on 5ft long knitting needles, while Jill a foundation art student from North West College twirled massive crochet loops.
 Maggy McCartney walked a tour highlighting the historic connections between Celtic history & Aran knit stitches, like the trinity stitch. No knit - fantastic event would be complete without a spinning wheel. Enter in Ruth McCartney of Inishowen who spun yarn on a drop spindle and generously taught others the skill. Knitters from Donegal & Derry joined in and ‘what are you doing?’ was the most popular question of the day. The audience offering suggestions as to what things would become – hammocks and houses even! A large bicycle covered in knit with bull horns on the front became the main photo op for visitors from Texas to Burnfoot.

Extreme knitting was an unlikely pastime for an afternoon during a heat wave, but it all added to the high spirits and novelty of taking the work outside.

Maggy McCartney crosses the Derry Craft Village square with the Knitfield knitted rocking horse

William McCartney, Costello & Joseph Gillespie all sing for their supper at the Knitfield Knit Feis in Derry Craft Village 2013 (also Kevin not pictured who looked amazing in Aran knitwear)

Arm Knitted fisher mans net being playfully investigated.

Spinning a yarn or two, Ruth McCartney demonstrates

Knitfield would love to hold the Knit Feis this July again at the Craft Village so please contact us if you are interested in being involved! email: knitfield1@gmail.com or any way you can reach us!