Next Up: Knitting and Stitching Show at RDS in Dublin

This week I've got a suitcase full of wool, knitting needles and crochet hooks (yes, literally!) and I'm flying to Dublin on Wednesday to teach some workshops and have a bit of a Irish jig! We've selected four Irish designer makers who will be exhibiting and selling their items at the show and I'm very excited to introduce them to you now.


Carla Johnson is an Irish textile designer from Dublin. Her work involves hand painting, screen printing, photographic imagery, digitally enhanced design, devore and foiling. According to her website she finds inspiration in "marine shapes and forms, from iridescent fish scales to the vibrant array of coral and diverse and often outlandish and somewhat absurd creatures found below the ocean surface.When designing interiors for her own home, this attraction to marine imagery found a natural home in the furnishings she began to create. Her designs are made up of an assemlage of drawn and photographic images, printed on silk mixed with reptilian patent leatherette." www.designsbycarla.co.uk
















Kate Ramsey makes the most amazing felted items including sculptural felted scarves and I'm immensely excited to see on her blog, she has now started hatmaking. In her own words: "My creations focus on sturdiness and colour. I emphasize the quality of felt, and its long lasting features. Therefore I create dense, sometimes thick (slippers) sometimes thin fabrics that in both cases are meant to last." www.fabulousfelt.blogspot.com















Laura Hogan has a connection to the Knitting and Stitching show - it was here that she learnt how to spin wool. (It's a slippery slope, you have been warned!) As she told Craft Guerrilla: "My background is in Printed Textiles but my love in Textiles has flourished in Knitting. I am passionate about colour, different fibres, creating different textures and knitting. Such interests motivated me to learn how to spin wool. When I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in the RDS, Dublin I was able to meet people in Ireland who were able to teach me how to spin and who shared a common interest. Knitting led to spinning and spinning led to dyeing and it all inspired my small business. I sell hand dyed yarn, hand dyed rovings, spinning batts and hand spun yarn. My unique colour palette is my forte. " www.etsy.com/shop/LHogan















Sorcha Gillet work as a fashion based textile designer and creates really unusual sewn and hand-embellished images incorporating "vintage fabrics and materials, leather, stitch, beading and painting, with a slight fashion edge. I generally work on canvas and card." Follow this link to watch a video from her blog to see her making one of her one-off art pieces. www.sorchagillett.com
















There will also be a Swishing Salon (see this post from the London blog entry for all the details about how to swap, what to bring etc) with a small fee being charged to swap with all proceeds going to support the Innocent Big Knit and Age Action Ireland. We will also have various 'cusomisation stations' where you can learn different techniques to upcycle, recycle, embellish, accessorise and generally breathe new life into your wardrobe.

We are still looking for Dublin based designers and other crafty minded people who might like to help out either in the swishing salon as an extra pair of hands or if you have a great idea to help people recycle/upcycle or customise their clothes and have an hour or two to spare on one of the days of the show then please let us know by emailing craftguerrilla@gmail.com by Thursday 28th October. Please pass this request on to anyone you know who might be interested in helping out. Thanks!

Hope to see you at the RDS in Dublin from 28th to 31st October!

Lisa Margreet
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