Workshops at Gather

Some late Autumn workshops will be held at Gather in Napier.  To register or for any enquiries,  email us at the shop. 

Shop Gloves

A fresh batch of hand-dyed fingerless gloves from Pene Durston have arrived in the shop,  all the way from Melbourne.  Knitted in an Angora/Wool blend, each one is unique so get in here quick before your favourite colour disappears.

Wooli Stockists

Just sent some nice big shipments of Wooli to Koskela in Sydney and Est in Melbourne, for those looking for local stockists.

The Shop's 1st Birthday

The Gather Shop has just had its first birthday last week, and I'd quite forgotten to celebrate, until I received flowers and messages from friends and customers congratulating me on my first year of trading.  This prompted a little celebration, and some reflection.  Small town culture takes quite some acclimatising; Seriously, some people still peep through the windows and either run away when I see them, or come in with great trepidation; or actually tip-toe in!.  Then there are other moments, that with gratitude I soak up; such as the elated customer (to have found such an awesome knitting shop in the middle of nowhere), engaging conversation, a fleeting meeting of minds, a kinship of spirit, some culture from other places.  While there's plenty of provincial and uncharitable commentary, believe me!, all these other moments actually make up for it.  Yesterday was Earth Day, I'm celebrating that this week, because I'm so glad to be part of a bigger world.

CHUNKY Knitting

I've created some Chunky Knitting projects for the shop.  Massive 35mm knitting needles made from recycled pine, and 100% Wool slivers with a pattern for a Chunky Cable Rug.  Apart from being able to whip this up in no time; this is the way to use wool; raw, snuggly, chunked and cosy. You can buy the needles and the Chunky Wool on our Gather Online Store.

Knitting Symposium at AUT

Auckland University's Knitting Symposium was a whole day of presentations on Research in Knitting, held at the new Auckland City Art Gallery. Even for non-knit nerds, it was fascinating!!!: Professor Sandy Black from the London University of Arts spoke on the development of knitting from its origins to present day, and still asserts that "handknitting skills continues to inform the development of new knitting technology."  Ben Schaffer from Nike skype presented from Milan, and told us all about the product development process of the new Nike Flyknit Shoe.  The shoes are on the market now - a pair was passed around to have a look at.  A point was raised that the Nike logo was printed on the shoe, and not knitted in!!  I think they need some knitwear designers on their product development team.  Dr Jenny Underwood from RMIT, spoke about her research project, involving a Copenhagen Bio-Chemistry team for the development of a knitted structure for architecture, and she's certain that one day we will be able to knit a building.  I spoke about the development of the Construction Knitting Pattern product, and the process of creating a product that's designed to reflect our current culture as opposed to nostalgic craft.  A knitting pattern being the object of design ephemera can reposition the notion of knitting and improve it's social value.

 

Handspun Silk, Natural Dyes

I have a range of beautiful handspun tussah silk in the shop, hand dyed by myself with a selection of our natural dyes.  The silk is from a wild-silk farm, a family run business in Indonesia, and it has been handspun for us especially by Han from 'HanMade Yarns' in Wellington.