Exciting Competition!

As you may know from several of my previous posts, I am extremely interested in and enthusiastic about the Knitting & Crochet Guild and the wonderful Collection of knit and crochet items that the Guild holds. A short while ago, I received very exciting news: the lovely yarn company that I design for, Yarn Stories, have teamed up with the K&C Guild Collection to announce a design competition open to everyone.

K&C Guild Collection

The aim of the competition is to promote the K&C Guild Collection and encourage more people to join the Guild. I have been a member for several years now and love being a part of this community. Sharing knowledge and information with other members has encouraged me to try new techniques and attending the Guild Trunk Show has meant I have seen some of the wonderful knit and crochet items in the collection up close.

The competition is all about using the K&C Guild Collection to inspire new designs. Yarn Stories have added inspirational images of items from the collection to a Pinterest board and would like you to design a 15cm knitted or crocheted square in DK yarn, inspired by any of these images. Full details of the competition, including the judging panel (Debbie Abrahams, Jane Crowfoot and Angharad Thomas from the K&C Guild Archive as well as the Yarn Stories design team), the prizes (lovely Yarn Stories yarn!) and the closing date (5th June 2015) are in the press release below.

Happy designing and knitting!

The Knitting and Crochet Guild Archive is an amazing resource with knitted and crocheted samples going back to the 1830s as well as a huge collection of pattern leaflets and every kind of knitting needle and crochet hook you can imagine. 
Yarn Stories believe this is an historic collection, arguably larger than the Victoria and Albert Museum and one that should be treasured. So we have come up with a very special design competition for knitters and crocheters from all around the world to enter. 
We have gathered together a selection of inspirational images of items in the archive on Pinterest - Knitting and Crochet Guild design competition https://uk.pinterest.com/YarnStories/knitting-and-crochet-guild-design-competition/ We would like you to design a 15 cm blanket square in DK yarn inspired by the archive, which can be created in either knit or crochet. 
The competition is now open and closes on 5th June. A judging panel including Debbie Abrahams, Jane Crowfoot and Angharad Thomas from the KCG archive as well as members of the Yarn Stories team will choose 10 finalists by the middle of June. Then Yarn Stories will throw open the judging to knitters and crocheters all over the world to vote for their favourite square during July and August. The overall winner, announced on 4th September, will receive £100 of Yarn Stories yarn and each finalist will receive two balls of the Yarn Stories yarn of their choice. 
But the excitement doesn’t end there. All the finalists’ squares will be put together into a blanket pattern that will be available on the Yarn Stories website with 50% of the revenue going towards the continued protection and support of the archive. The finished blanket will be at The Knitting and Stitching show in October for you to see. 
You don't have to be a guild member to take part, but it is an organisation we highly recommend you join. 
Amanda Crawford, Head Designer at Yarn Stories says: “I have been lucky enough to visit the Knitting and Crochet Guild Archive and it is such an amazing collection. We wanted to do something to support this vital piece of history for knitters and crocheters everywhere. Our competition is a fantastic project and we are very proud to be able to help the archive.” 
Entries for the Yarn Stories competition should be sent to 
Yarn Stories/KCG competition 
Spa Mill 
New Street 
Slaithwaite 
Huddersfield HD7 5BB 
Or by email to information@yarnstories.com