Knitting the Clapton Mile - Part 1

So the Clapton Festival happened last weekend, and so did our Knitting Event.  The idea - from the lovely Emily Hallgarten, was to 'Knit the Clapton Mile' - a craft project to create a knitted/crochet/woven/sewn artwork which would embrace the community from the Square to the Pond in a great big textile hug!  Embedded within the project was the motivation to provide a soft and textured counterpoint to the old thoughts of this part of Hackney as the 'Murder Mile'.


 So...
     in typical style...
              we began our crafty endeavour....
                                                                                              in the pub!

 For a few weeks we spent every Thursday evening in the Elderfield (How awful! I hear you cry!) with an ever-changing group of knitters and crocheters making and creating in wool donated by the knitters, the Craft Council, the Salvation Army and husband of a dedicated knitter who had recently passed away.  And to add to the synchronicity of the event - it was also happening on Worldwide Knit in Public Day and International Yarnbombing Day!

Emily, Natacha and Eleanor in the Elderfield

 We were even filmed by an intrepid local production company making a film about the festival!

 So Saturday itself dawned and after a showery start the skys cleared, the sun came out and the Festival began!

A marquee was set up in Clapton Square and bands played all day....

...to the delight of the crowds who gathered - including Thing 1, Thing 2 and Romy

And so Saturday was deemed a great success by one and all - especially Lu and Miss Lu, who had enormous fun all day long and are looking forward to next year when we will have our own stall, we hope!

So, what about Sunday and the Knitted Mile? I hear you shout
Well you'll have to wait until the next post to hear about that one!
Toodle pip!