with Gerard Allt

Open spaces

I Knit London attracts lots of new knitters. I love that fact. I love telling people, too, as the affirmation that more and more people are taking up the art of knitting is a strong driver.

Late in October a young woman browsing in the shop soon told me that she was a new knitter. I was thrilled as usual. I am always keen to persuade people to move on from scarves. She was also keen to move on from scarves and her eyes twinkled when she told me that one day she would knit a pair of socks. The twinkle disappeared when she went on to tell me that she wouldn't be able to do socks just yet, 'They are much too advanced for me, I have only been knitting for a year.' My eyes were as wide as my smile as I told her that socks are not that difficult and they will always be advanced if you don't have a go. 'Really?' Yes, dive in, that's how you learn. We talked about learning styles and her excitement grew as the dawn of sock knitting grew closer and closer.

Minutes later she had chosen some sock yarn and was asking about needles and books. Who needs a book when there are free patterns? We talked about the internet resources and I gave her a free pattern and off she went on the next phase of her knitting journey, beaming with delight and just a little nervousness.

As soon as the door closed and I wondered if I had been too pushy, was I forcing my confidence, a gung-ho attitude, on other people? 'Shut up', said Sue. 'You have just enabled someone to knit socks.' My delight was restored.

The I Knit brief is simple; promote hand knitting. Not having the opportunity to knit as much as I would like encourages me to continue to enable and promote. We prefer to see ourselves as facilitators. The events that we organise are often public events, such as the fortnightly knitting meeting in the pub. This meeting was the main focus of I Knit London for a while and it has a special place in our hearts. We started as a way to meet knitters and make new friends and from it we have gained so much, not least the energy to continue.

We choose a different pub each time (although we have revisited several times), as the newness is a great equaliser. The original idea was that a kind of pub-crawl on a grand scale would help us see more of London. In the group Craig and I do not have a title, we do not dictate and we are not in charge; at most we are hosts. There are rules but the rules are not documented, stated or recorded. Everyone who has ever been to an I Knit London meeting has adhered to the rules of social situations. There is respect and acceptance, encouragement and curiosity, generosity and excitement. Everyone is welcome.

The UK Stitch 'n Bitch Day in November was an extension of the knitting club. We had a brilliant time and we were thrilled to see so many knitters enjoying themselves.

The preparation for the event was immense but we loved every minute of it. We were glad to be asked to put a little something together around the launch of the latest book in the SnB series. We had lots of brilliant feedback and if I may reply here - you are welcome, it was worth it and we can't wait for the next one!

While visiting family and friends a little while ago I had to tell all the tales about Eggheads, Alan Titchmarch, Debbie Stoller and the shop. People are amazed. Sometimes it does feel like there is no point in going out unless you are on the telly! Just this week a film crew (full 5 person film crew) came to see us in the pub all the way from Belgium. I dread knitting being fashionable but if people ask, who am I to refuse? I'm mostly amazed that people watch the shows! One of my oldest friends, Lucy, told me that she was proud of us. Lucy is proud not because Alan Titchmarsh decided to award I Knit London a National treasure award but because we are more that just a shop, we've created an alternative space, an open space in which people can knit.

There is much more to come from I Knit London. Our ambitions are as vivid as Debbie Stoller's bright red cardigan. In the foyer, just outside the action of the UK Stitch 'n Bitch Day, under cover of the aforementioned cardigan, Debbie Stoller was on the telephone being interviewed by BBC Radio 2 presenter Stuart Marconi. Debbie was marvellous during the interview and made me smile twice - the first time was when she encouraged all listeners to come down to the event and join in. The smile masked the worry as we only had 10 minutes before we switched the music off! The second was toward the end of the conversation. By the reply I knew what the question was, the reply being, virtually word for word, something that I say quite often in response to the question/statement from someone who doesn't knit.

'So, you are making knitting cool again?'

'No! Knitting has always been cool, you just didn't know because you don't knit yet.'