Goodbye to Bridport

The last day of the Blooming Marvellous exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre on Bank Holiday Monday 29 August saw a stalwart group of knitters brave the windy afternoon to make a few last pieces for the Bridport Knitted Picnic.

The fabulous picnic will now become part of the exhibition - many thanks to everyone who contributed.

We've loved having the garden at Bridport Arts Centre and hope it continues to delight audiences around the country. A big thank you to Pauline and to all the volunteers who helped install and take down the exhibition.

All the best
from Bridport Arts Centre

An update from our knitted garden at the Bridport Arts Centre:

Since the exhibition opened we have had a blooming marvellous number of visitors: 1,973 to be precise!

A very popular feature of the exhibition is the ‘Knitting Story Tree’ where we encourage people to write their memories of knitting, with both witty and touching results.

Our knitted picnic is coming along nicely, to which we are encouraging the public to contribute, and so far includes some very appropriate summer bbq kebabs, an impressive artichoke, and a brilliant banana complete with zip! We even had one lady down on holiday who got involved in our Saturday knitting sessions, then sent her finished piece all the way from Bolton!

News from Bridport Art Centre

Just a few more pics from Bridport.

They are getting lots of visitors and the knitting workshops are busy and going well. 300 visitors last saturday!

They are knitting a picnic which now have a crochet tea cup, saucer and milk jug, several sandwiches, some egg & chips and some cup cakes.

They are holding a knit-a-thon on Bank Holiday Monday, 29th August and all are invited.

Knitted Garden is now at Bridport Art Centre

Exhibition dates:
30 July - 29 August
Open Tuesdays - Saturdays
10am - 4pm

Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR

www.bridport-arts.com

Open Knit: Every Saturday, 12-2pm. All welcome

Knit-a-thon: Bank Holiday Monday 29 August, 12-2pm



We have invited Bridport to knit a picnic with lots of yummy food and a knitted checked tablecloth with 6 inch red and white squares.
Please deliver all knitted picnic items to Bridport Art Centre.
They have wool, patterns and needles.
Please make work to scale and be aware that lots of small children visit the exhibition so please think a bit about health and safety issues - beads and pins etc.





































We have added a knitting circle and children's play area which we hope people we use on a daily basis.

Open Knit: Every Saturday, 12-2pm. All welcome. with the Bridport Bag ladies who are well known for their knitting with carrier bags.
















































The grapevine has gone up in a new form - trellis loaned by Groves Garden Centre in Bridport and beautifully installed by Suzanne and Stuart.

Big thanks to Bridport for inviting us. We had such a great time installing the knitted garden - everyone was so friendly and helpful it made it very easy work.
Many thanks to Polly Gifford the Art Centre Manager for inviting us and to her team.
We had 4 amazing volunteers helping us install -so BIG thanks to Kate, Viv, Hannah and Suzanne.









































More photos to follow next week.

I am looking for a CD of birdsong as think it would be great to have it playing in the gallery - anyone in Bridport got one we can borrow?

There is a great 3 page article in August's The Dorset Magazine, price 2.75 from Smiths

Garden comes to Bridport Arts Centre

Exhibition dates:
30 July - 29 August
Open Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10am - 4pm

Preview: Friday 29 July, 6-8pm

Open Knit: Every Saturday, 12-2pm. All welcome

Knit-a-thon: Bank Holiday Monday 29 August, 12-2pm


There's a lot of excitement at Bridport Arts Centre about the knitted garden arriving here next week. The Blooming Marvellous exhibition is going to take over the building - filling the Allsop Gallery, the foyer gallery and the cafe! Lots of people are talking about it around the town, including the Bridport Bag Ladies who contributed to the garden and who will be one of the groups helping to show people how to knit and crochet in the gallery on Saturdays. Drop in any time between 12-2pm, there will be a range of patterns available and somebody there to help you.

On the last day of the exhibition - Bank Holiday Monday 29 August, 12-2pm - bring your needles and join in the fun as we attempt to fill the forecourt with as may knitters as possible. Wool will be available, and some spare needles if you don't have any.

We hope to see you over the summer.

Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR
www.bridport-arts.com

A Suggestion from Pauline

It would be good if we can develop a good size knitted picnic area while the garden is at Bridport so we would need knitted food (cakes, sandwiches, sausage rolls etc.) plates, cups, bottles of drink, BBQ, a large knitted picnic blanket. I have ordered a couple of books with knitted food patterns for everyone to use which will be left at Bridport Art Centre and patterns can be photocopied.

Summer of Love - our lion for the Pride in Bournemouth

Quick note - Blooming Marvellous exhibtion is in Lighthouse, Poole brochure and their website on
http://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/page/3022/Blooming+Marvellous/1118


We had lots of single flowers left over from the knitted garden which we had put to one side to decorate our lion for Bournemouth's Pride of Lions.

http://www.prideinbournemouth.com/

















Here is is finished and looking rather magnificent!

He looks like a hippy so with colourful dreadlocks so we called him Summer of Love after the 1967 summer of love.






















Inge, Lynne and Karen busy working out the design.
Assisted by Pauline Stanley and Khari Samuels aged 11.

































We didn't have a plan when we started him but once the mane was in place he definitely took on a very hippy quality.

















We gave him 3 base coats of green.

We have moved to Kinson Library

Just got the visitor numbers to the exhibition - 30,300 people have seen the knitted garden at Bournemouth Library!!!

Very sadly we took the work down from Bournemouth Library and it is now installed at Kinson Hub in their two beautiful exhibition windows. The Kinson Hub library is too small for us to do a major installation of it there so some of the garden is in other libraries in the borough.

It will be on show from June 9th to July 2nd.
Kinson Hub
Wimborne Rd
Bournemouth
BH11 9AW
Tel 01202 452788

Mon - 10 - 7
Tues, Thurs, Fri 9.30 - 7
Wed 9.30 -5
Sat 10 - 4

Disabled access and parking


And a little more publicity...
http://bhbeat.com/14744/blooming-marvellous-turned-bournemouth-library-into-a-knitted-garden