The handcrafts section of The Royal Highland Show has been hopping around locations for the last couple of years, but the latest move into the shopping mall has the stamp of approval from the ladies of the SWI.
Increased footfall, better facilities for those stewarding the exhibit and a buzzier atmosphere is what the handcrafts competition has needed for several years.
Numbers in the competition have held steady this year, with just a slight dip in the crooks and sticks competition – but that is no reflection on the level of quality, it never fails to impress with the amount of work that is invested in the exhibits.
Channeling 100 hours of work into her championship-winning fine lace knitted shawl was Kathleen Anderson, of Shetland.
You know you are a handcrafts legend when you can’t remember how many times you have won the overall championship at The Royal Highland Show.
Kathleen won for the first time back in 1990. After some discussion, we’ve settled on this being her fifth time winning.
“I never thought I would see another win because I’ve been looking at the standard of entries over the last couple of years. You are never looking to win it, so I was shocked. I don’t knit for the show specifically, I just knit all the time.
“This shawl took me a longer than normal. I used finer needles and yarn. It was so fine that if I dropped a stitch it would unravel before my eyes.”
The reserve overall ticket went to Jane Currie of Stirling, with an incredibly detailed stumpwork box. Jane, a member of Gargunnock SWI, has won the overall prize in 2019, and this year her embroidery depicted the theme of ‘How does your garden grow’ with a surprise garden inside when you open the lid.
“I am delighted to have this award. I don’t do it to win, I love the challenge of creating something intricate. I really love the process. The fiddlier the better. You can see in the box the little wisteria in the corner, that’s the level of detail that I love. Anything I start to embroider evolves. I start with an idea in mind, and it grows as it develops.
“I’ve already got ideas for next year’s entry. I’ve exhibited for years at The Highland Show and the standards are just increasing year on year.”
Stumpwork or raised work, is a style of embroidery in which the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to form a 3-dimensional effect.
A tip of the hat should go to the ladies of the SWI Organising Committee whose Highland Show starts a week before the gates open. The team arrives the Friday before to sort the entries, to lay everything out for judging, the judging takes place and then they have to pack the whole roadshow back up and move it into the exhibit space.
Then they have four days of stewarding and facilitating the craft workshops at the stand. What looks like an effortless display takes weeks of organisation and I mention this with the greatest of respect that most of the ladies are of a certain age, and they do it all with great professionalism. Well done, it’s always a pleasure to pop in and see the exhibits the competition attracts.
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