Can you believe it? Seven months' silence! the main reason for my abismal lack of updates on the Helvetic kntting community is that we've sort of moved here:
stitchnbitchgeneva and we now meet, regular as clockwork, at the Starbucks cafe (near hotel des bergues) every Wednesday from about 6.30 ish. That site is regularly updated with members and messages and provdies most up-to-date info on the meets. But now autumn is drawing near, I feel the need to gather up my sticks again and a desire to share news of all the knitting and stitching related events that are coming up in the area.

Coming up next month is the annual Creations and Savoir Faire event held in Lyon and Paris. Its the 10th anniversary this year, so should be a good one.

Fans of the fabulously inspiring Marie Claire Idées magazine will be thrilled to know they're holding their first ever creative 'salon' in Paris, held in October.

Also in October (14 - 21st) the UK is holding National Knitting Week with events and workshops around the country.

Now I've got myself back on track with knitting news, I promise to try and most more regularly on here!

Events and Paris Show

I usually post information relating to craft shows and activities in the UK, but for once I have update on stuff happening slightly closer to home.

The Fete de L'aiguille is a celebration of all things needle-y, from knitting to emboridery to patchwork. The fair runs from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th March just outside Paris, in the Parc Floral, Vincennes.

Check out the official website for more about the show.

Also, the excellent Marie Claire Idées magazine runs regular creative 'ateliers' in Paris, where for a couple of hours in a café you can learn brooch making, how to sew bags, kids stuff, etc. Good to know for those in Paris for a long weekend and would like to spend time doing something creative. Find out more about the workshops and get programme details.

'Stitch 'n Bitch' Under Fire

The name 'Stitch and Bitch' is under attack as cease and desist orders have been issued by New York company, Sew Fast Sew Easy Inc. The company is claiming rights to the wording 'Stitch and Bitch' as company creator, Elissa Meyrich claims she owns the rights to the phrase and wants knitting circles to stop using it. As a result, knitting groups are being forced to change their names, replacing Stitch and Bitch with SNB or other alternatives.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that "Meyrich says she coined the name in 1997 and that groups are infringing the trademark she secured for Stitch'N'Bitch café©".

The article continues: "...many knitters are furious and refuse to comply, saying the phrase dates from the Second World War and Miss Meyrich has no rights."

However, knitting communities may still win on a technicality. A post on knitting blog lissa kay.com suggests that Debbie Stoller, founder of the worldwide Stitch n Bitch movement may own the rights to 'Stitch 'n Bitch' (with an 'n') and that Meyrich has 'Stitch and Bitch'...

• Read The Telegraph article in full



• Check out Sew Fast Sew Easy to see what they have to say.



• Read about what's being said about the issue on knitting blogs.

Time just flew...

Omigod, I've had no time to update this blog. many apologies. To make up for it, here's a peek into a particularly inspirational Parisian universe - a site dedicated to individual artists and all the fabulous things they make. Not just reserved for knitters, also many inspiring artefacts for those who sew and generally just love making things, especially the funky things for kids. Knitting updates to come soon.

New Year, New Knits

Just to let you know that, yes, we're back - we still meet each Wednesday from 6.30 / 7 ish in the Recyclables café. We slacked off a bit over the holidays, but now we're back as usual. Hope to see you there soon.

Record Wool Sales Reports UK Department Store

Yesterday the BBC announced that John Lewis, one the UK's biggest department store chains has reported record sales of wool. Much of the interest is attributed to celebrity endorsement of knitting as a funky past-time. Read the BBC's article.

PS. We're still trying to give a more balanced view of knitting news in Europe, especially Switzerland. Unfortunately there is no Swiss national knitting association, although the friendly people at strickmeisterschaften, organisers of the Swiss speed-knitting championships, said they may be setting one up next year. Watch this space.

More About...Swiss Speed-Knitting Championships

For those of you interested in the Swiss Knitting Championships that took place a couple of weeks ago, I translated the articles available in the Swiss press. Links to the organiser are below, and they also have news of a similar competition in 2006.

"A woman has won the first Swiss knitting championships which were held in Kirchberg, Switzerland on November 20th, 2005. The competition was organised by the Swiss knitting championship association, Strickmeisterschaften.

In just one hour, Mrs. Helen Rehmann managed to knit the front of a jumper. In the men’s group, however, the fastest male knitter knitted a piece the size of a large handkerchief.

Having knit 5904 stitches in 60 minutes (equal to more than one and a half stitches per second) Helen Rehmann took home the title of fastest Swiss Champion. Hans-Rudolf Wahl, winner in the men’s group, managed 3777 stitches in the same time.

The aim of the competition was to cast on 40 stitches and knit as many rows as possible in 60 minutes. Needles were clicking away at a "hair-raising speed", commented the organizers.

Seventy-three people, of which seven were men, participated in the final. In the run up to the championship, 16 qualifying regional competitions had attracted interested from over 500 fans."

For more information about the competition, visit strickmeisterscaften.ch

Mmm…Monday morning is not quite as difficult when you’ve had a wonderful wool-themed weekend like mine! Yes it had all the right ingredients – stumbling across a sale in a wool shop (Bergere de France) - granted, its not for not for wool purists, as most of their products are wool mix, but who cares at 2 euros a ball? Secondly, my non-driver status meant I could happily knit away in the car whilst being safely driven to and fro my destination…a bit like the queen. And then, whilst sifting through the daily round of knitting news this morning, I stumbled across knitcases, a UK-based company who take luxury knitting to another level with their kits of gorgeous Italian wools, mother-of-pearl buttons and bamboo needles.