Some familiar faces from the world of wool have announced a new festival celebrating traditional Scottish knitting, craft and heritage.

Taking place at Bowhouse near St Monans on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th November, East Neuk Knits promises to be a real celebration of the crafting community and the historic links between knitting and the fishing heritage of this beautiful corner of Fife.

Visitors will be able to learn a new skill, squish yarn, snuggle an alpaca, eat cake and shop for handmade Christmas gifts from a selection of talented makers.

The team behind the event includes Di Gilpin, designer and judge on Channel 4’s hit Game of Wool alongside fellow judge Sheila Greenwell, plus researcher and designer Alison Mayne and Susan Anderson, publisher of the Journal of Scottish Yarns.

The Bowhouse hub will include a vendor marketplace, pop-up talks, mini exhibitions, a community-decorated boat and lots of fabulous food options to keep everyone happy.

A programme of workshops and talks will be held at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Kellie Castle and Di Gilpin’s Wool Hoose at Comielaw Farm.

The youngest yarn fans are included too, with children’s crafting sessions held at Kellie Castle.

Workshops will cover everything from Fair Isle knitting and intarsia to Tunisian Crochet, with Designer Insights talks from some of Scotland’s most notable knitters.

Explore the tradition of Gansey knitting, with workshops and talks looking at the craft’s historic links to East coast fishing communities. One workshop is still to be announced, with hints made that it will feature another face familiar to fans of Game of Wool, and Q&A sessions on both days will feature Di and Sheila.

Commenting on the festival, Di Gilpin says: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming everyone to what we hope will be a welcoming, inspiring and fun event. It’s traditionally a quiet time of year in this rural setting, so we’re excited to bring some colour and joy to brighten a November weekend.” Di adds: “It’s a great way to support farmers, makers and the local industries while learning from experts, browsing beautiful yarns from some fabulous suppliers and doing a spot of Christmas shopping from our specially-selected traders. We’ll also be announcing a very special guest event – details will be revealed soon, but it’s something that Game of Wool fans won’t want to miss!”

Charity first …

The event will raise funds for two Scottish charities …

• CHAS provides care for children who may die young, and their families.
• St Monans 1875 Memorial Garden opens later this month and commemorates local fishermen’s lives lost in a disaster 150 years ago.

Tickets …

Weekend, early doors, mid morning and afternoon passes available. There’s an accessible ticket and free carer ticket for those who need it, in addition to a Sunday 65+ ticket. Children are free – tickets must be booked to help us manage numbers.

Tickets are available now for general access to the full event as well as for individual workshops – and can be booked online via the EastNeukKnit Festival website on this link.

 

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