We left John O’Groats on July 9th on a sunny but blustery day, which turned to a full scale gale by the afternoon and, literally, blew Tom off his bike. From then on we knew this was going to be a real challenge – and so it turned out to be.

Our route took us down the far north-east coast of Scotland as far as Inverness when we turned inland and down the Caledonian Canal to Fort William. From there it was up and over spectacular Glen Coe and Rannoch Moor and then down Loch Lomond, the scene of our next disaster where Guy hit a dead fox in the road and ended up in hospital. Undeterred, and with Guy with a bandaged wrist, we continued through Glasgow, cycling over the Erskine Bridge in torrential rain and a head wind (and with Matt’s chain breaking in the afternoon) and the next day to Drumlanrig Castle, where we met up with the Factor and ex-Pirates Colts rugby captain Harvey Thomas before continuing to the border at Gretna.

From Gretna we headed down the Penines and into the Yorkshire Dales to Sedbergh followed by possibly the most gruelling day of all when we crossed The Forest of Bowland in pouring rain and howling wind. From there to Chepstow was relatively plain sailing apart from 7 punctures in 72 hours thanks to glass bottles being thrown out of car windows. Julia had to do an emergency run into Halfords in Kidderminster for 7 new inner tubes and new tyres!

We crossed the Severn Bridge in glorious sunshine, which made a pleasant change, and then continued to Tiverton before skirting around Dartmoor the next day and into Cornwall. The crossing of the Tamar brought the worst weather of the entire trip (and that’s saying something!) with our first thunder and lightening and rain coming down in stair-rods. The sides of the road turned to rivers with branches and rocks being swept along – all very treacherous on a bike.

From Lostwithiel it was a good day’s run to Marazion and then home to Land’s End where we were greeted by about 70 friends, one of whom had kindly brought a bottle of champagne!

The full daily blog (an entertaining read) can be found by going to www.knitwitspenzance.co.uk and clicking on “Julia’s Blog”. We are currently half way to reaching our goal of £5,000 for Help For Heroes so if anyone would like to make a donation they can at: www.justgiving.com/TheHopsons or put it in the box in Knit Wits Shop in Causewayhead.

As we have said throughout the trip, just because lots of people do the JOG-LE challenge doesn’t mean it’s easy and it really is a tough challenge and for Guy and Tom to complete it at just 17 and 15 respectively is an extraordinary achievement.

Julia’s challenge (apart from driving the back-up campervan and trying not to get lost) was to knit the first ever “End to End Sweater” which she cast on at John O’Groats and completed on the final morning. It was a close run thing and she was up until midnight on the final night, sewing it up, but she did it just in time and was wearing it at Land’s End.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Help For Heroes can donate at: www.justgiving.com/TheHopsons.

Back in 1980 Matt was injured whilst training in the Army.  After an operation he was sent to RAF Chessington Rehabilitation Centre where he found himself amongst men from the Parachute Regiment injured in the Warrenpoint bombing.  It's an experience he has never forgotten and, to this day, he wonders what happened to these men (and many others like them) and what support they received.  RAF Chessington did a fantastic job and Matt was back in training within months and later found himself serving in Northern Ireland. 

Thirty years later, with men and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with horrific injuries, Matt and Julia's sons – Guy (17) (a keen cyclist, rugby player and cross-country runner) and Tom (15)  (a boxer, rugby player and triple jumper) – asked if they could spend a fortnight of their summer holiday cycling from John O'Groats to Land's End in aid of Help for Heroes (www.helpforheroes.org.uk).   Matt thought it was such a fantastic idea he had better cycle with them. As part of his preparations Matt has lost 2 stone during his cycling training and hopes to lose more on the way down.  The plan is for the entire family to leave Penzance for John O'Groats on July 9th and then leave John O'Groats for Land's End on July 11th.

Julia (www.knitwitspenzance.co.uk) will be driving the backup campervan and the boys were concerned that she would get terribly bored waiting for them.  And so the idea of the "End to End Sweater" was born.  Designed by Cornish designer 'Tina Barrett', and using Cornish Organic Wool the sweater will be cast on by Julia at John O'Groats and, all being well, she will be wearing it at Land's End 13 days later.

Julia says she's never knitted a sweater in such a short space of time and isn't a particularly fast knitter so she can see herself knitting late into the night with the exhausted cyclists snoring around her. So far as we know, this challenge has never been done before and she thinks that getting the Guinness Record for the Largest Knitting Needles was a doddle compared to this challenge!

The boys' school has kindly agreed to lend them a laptop and Julia is hoping to update her blog daily so you can follow their progress (both cycling and knitting) at www.knitwitspenzance.co.uk and then click on "Julia's Blog".

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Help For Heroes can donate at: www.justgiving.com/TheHopsons.

Wendy Keith has just won 'Best Organic Textile Product' at  at the '2010 Natural and Organic Products Europe Show' using Cornish Organic Wool. 

She presented four small Colletions to be judged: 

The Caillagh Weave Collection, The Victorian Lace Collection, The Scottish Moorland Waistcoat, and more importantly the Glen Maree Collection. This Collection was created using organic wool from Home Farm, Highgrove in Gloucestershire, which is owned by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. 

This wool was recently acquired and organically spun by Cornish Organic Wool. This is the first Collection that has been hand-knitted using organic wool from the Prince's own flock of Lleyn Sheep.

Tina's lovely little cropped cardigan, knitted in Peruk shade "Rose" is featured on the front cover of the March 2009 Let's Knit magazine.  Tina assures it's very simple and a good introduction to lace knitting - perfect for those slightly chilly summer evenings.

Cornish Organic Wool teamed up with Tina Barrett in early 2008 to design some exclusive garments for their wool.  Tina also lives in Cornwall and had used Cornish Organic Wool in her Natural Knits Books for GMC Publications.  Tina was keen to show both the wonderful organic colours but to also incorporate cables and stitch detail which are highlighted so wonderfully in pure wool.  Her first designs were launched at Alexandra Palace on the Cornish Organic Wool stand and received a great reception.  Look out for more designs for Tina in the coming months!

Julia knitted with 50 strands of dyed Cornish Organic Wool at the Soil Association's Organic Festival (6th-7th September). 

Saturday was interrupted by frequent heavy downpours so the knitted piece wasn't as big as we'd hoped.  However, Sunday was dry and Julia (with help from some children and Ben from the Soil Association) managed to knit the whole of the balls of wool, making a giant "rug" nearly 2m long.

At the same time Sarah and Hazel from Spinning Weal in Clevedon demonstrated carding and spinning using an organic fleece.  Volunteers (including Sarah's husband, Dave) knitted the handspun wool into squares which, ultimately, will be sewn together into a baby's blanket.  Children, in particular, always find spinning fascinating and were eager to help pedal the wheels and give Sarah and Hazel a break!

More pics of event to follow 

Cornish Organic Wool, jointly with the Natural Fibre Company, presented a prize at the Royal Cornwall Show for the best organic fleece.

This was the first competition of its kind at Royal Cornwall and was judged by Mark Powell, from The Wool Marketing Board.Matt and Julia Hopson, from Cornish Organic Wool, were particularly delighted that Bob Scambler from Bosigran Farm, Zennor won ‘Best Organic Fleece’. Bob, who supplies all of his wool to Cornish Organic Wool also won ‘Best Overall Fleece’ in its class.This was an exceptional result as Bob’s organic fleece was competing with the best non-organic fleece.

Matt said, “Bob will be shearing the rest of his organic flock in the coming days and, if this wining quality fleece is anything to go by, this year’s shearing will make wonderful knitting yarn.The shearing will be spun this autumn and we’ll make sure that everyone knows it won first prize at Royal Cornwall”.

.

Mark Powell (Wool Marketing Board) Julia and Sue Blacker

Matt continued, “In the wider sense this is a great achievement for organic farming.There has been a belief that organic fleeces (because the sheep aren’t treated with any chemicals) cannot possibly be as good as non-organic fleeces.Bob has shown, emphatically, that this is not the case and we are hoping that more organic farmers will enter our competition next year and, once again, demonstrate that organic fleeces can win the day!”.

World Wide Knit In Public Day – June 14^th 2008

Julia Hopson from Knit Wits Penzance was invited by Annette Knight (Ravelry enthusiast) to knit with her Guinness World Record knitting needles at the WWKPD in Truro, Cornwall.

Julia knitted with 50 strands of Cornish Organic Wool and, as ever, the sight proved to be a crowd pleaser!  Several locals "had a go" including one game rugby player from St Ives Rugby Club who entered into the spirit of the day with gusto.

Julia knitted a huge rectangle in garter stitch which is currently being machine felted (with mixed results) to convert it into a rug.

After a mid-day shower the day stayed fine, knitters travelled from as far as Plymouth, plastic bags were knitted into bags (ultra eco-friendly) and one lady even brought her spinning wheel.

Cornish Organic Wool is pleased to announce that they are now supplying Organic wool to the fashion industry for garments. The Company has the ability to provide certified dyed yarn to the designers' requirements. The designer can even pick the actual farm their wool comes from as every skein can be traced back to the farm and even the shearing date.

Cornish Organic Wool also has the ability to provide singles, which can be woven by an organically accredited spinning mill, and finished at an organically accredited finisher.

The fact that organic wool can now be dyed to any colour required by a designer has made a huge difference.

James Purdey and Sons have recently produced their own knitted accessories using Cornish Organic Wool that has been specifically dyed for them. They have had their accessories all hand knitted in the UK, keeping the eco footprint down to a minimum.

Cornish Organic Wool is keen to talk to designers to enable us to part of the chain providing top quality British certified organic products, with a tiny eco footprint.

NATURAL, ORGANIC AND SUSTAINABLE YARNS

Organic, certified organic, biodynamic, virgin wool, eco, eco-wool, sustainable, natural – all phrases bandied around the "green" message but what, exactly, do they mean and, more importantly, what do they mean for the hand knitter?  The textile industry is one of the top ten polluters in the world.  Can we, as hand knitters and crafters make a "green" difference?  The answer is: yes – we definitely can, but first we need to look at what it all means and what's available to us.

Organic and certified organic – is there a difference?  In a word: yes! 

Organic farming means that the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides are severely restricted.  Organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops; animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers and, in the case of sheep, organophosphate dips common in intensive livestock farming.  Genetically Modified (GM) products are not allowed and – as a last resort – only seven of the hundreds of pesticides available to farmers are permitted (The Soil Association only allows four).

Certified organic means that, in addition, detailed records of every stage of production must be kept and, crucially, all of the above is inspected annually by a third-party certifying agency (such as The Soil Association).

Biodynamic – a less well known certification which, in addition to the certification processes of organic farms, also takes into account the broad ecological perspective of the land and the cosmic influences and rhythms.  In addition at least 80% of livestock must be fed from the farm and soil health is improved by the addition of enlivened compost.

Virgin wool – an interesting term, probably invented by marketers, which, literally, means that the wool has never been processed, woven or refined into fabric.  It could be argued that this term describes all knitting wool!

Eco – another recently coined term which covers manufacturing using environmentally friendly processes under Free Trade conditions.  It can also cover recycled clothing and even eco-fleece made from recycled soda bottles! 

Eco wool – wool taken from free range roaming sheep (are there any others?!) which have not been dipped and the wool has not been treated with chemicals, dyes or bleaches.  Eco wool comes in the fleece's own natural colours.

Sustainable – the term "sustainable" is very subjective.  It covers clothing that reduces environmental impact, supports and nourishes the earth and the people involved in making it; it can cover reusing, recycling, organic, fair trade and animal welfare but it isn't necessary to have them all together. 

Natural – covers all fibres that grow in nature (cotton, wool, hemp, alpaca, silk etc).  The processing of these fibres is done with as few chemicals and harmful impact on the environment as possible.

So, where does this leave the hand knitter?  Let's look at yarns produced by animals first.

The "greenest" way to knit is, without doubt, to have your own sheep, shear them yourself, wash, card and hand spin the fleece on a spinning wheel.  Or, if you don't happen to have a couple of sheep roaming your back garden!, check out your local farmers' market – it's amazing to find how much local wool is available and how many enthusiasts are out there and it's always nice to meet the people who actually look after the sheep whose wool you are knitting.  The Guild of Spinners, Weavers of Dyers (www.wsd.org.uk) is a good source of local information.

The next greenest is certified organic wool.  Certification means that every stage in the wool's production – from the grass the sheep eat, the care the sheep receive, the washing, carding, spinning and dyeing of the fleece – is done under organic standards and has been independently inspected by a certified agency.  If the sheep need to be treated for fly strike (within the 3 months prior to shearing) their wool is not certified as "organic" and cannot be sold as such. 

In the UK there are two main producers of British organic wool: Cornish Organic Wool and Garthenor Organic Pure Wool, both certified by The Soil Association.  Cornish Organic Wool, as the name suggests, provides wool from sheep in Cornwall and the wool is spun and dyed in the county too. Their wool is cream and they were recently accredited for dyed wool and are currently launching their range of 8 new colours.  Garthenor is based in Wales, which is also where their wool is spun, and they take their wool from flocks of traditional and rare breed sheep and concentrate on the natural sheep colours.  Both these companies sell their wool on-line and through selected retailers.  There are other small producers around the country, most of whom also sell on-line.

Eco wool comes between organic and non-organic wool in that the wool is un-dyed and only natural products have been used in the processing.  As there is no legal definition of "eco" it is hard to know which products have actually been used and there is no traceability to find out exactly where wool labelled "eco" may have come from.  Sirdar, giants in the hand-knitting industry, have recently launched their Eco Wool which is made from 100% un-dyed Virgin Wool and is made for them in Germany.  It is being introduced through Sirdar stockists this year.

Going slightly down the scale is non-organic wool.  If you can manage to find locally sourced hand-spun wool, which is not certified organic, it will, in all probability, be very "green".  However, commercially produced "Pure Wool" or "Virgin Wool" or even "Lambswool" may not be as "green" as you'd like to think.  It all goes back to the sheep in the field and, going through all the stages, your wool may have some or all of the following in it: chemicals ingested into the sheep from the grass it eats, poured onto the sheep to avoid fly-strike, bleach to remove any marks and get the wool a uniform colour, detergents to wash the wool, oils to make the spinning easier, chemicals used in the dyeing, shrink-proofing (to make your wool machine washable) and, finally, moth-proofing so it doesn't get eaten in a warehouse somewhere!  That's quite a cocktail.  Many people who think they're allergic to wool may, in fact, be allergic to the chemicals in the wool.

And then there's mulesing.  As the aim of this article is to give you, the consumer, an informed decision the subject of mulesing cannot really be avoided.

Sheep are prone to fly-strike – basically, the flies will land on the smelly, dirty part of the sheep (usually their bottoms) and lay their eggs.  When the larvae hatch they burrow into the sheep's warm flesh.  They will then, literally, eat the sheep alive.  Sheep dips were developed in order to prevent the flies landing but, as history has revealed, the environmental damage caused by these dips and the reported nerve damage to human operators was appalling and, although Synthetic Pyrethroid Sheep Dip is currently banned in the UK, organophosphate dips are still in use. 

Mulesing is an alternative method of avoiding fly strike, which was developed in Australia in the 1930's.  Basically, it is the surgical removal of strips of wool-bearing wrinkle skin around the tail of the sheep.  The Australian wool trade describes this practice as a vital part of sheep husbandry and that it would be exceptionally cruel not to mules sheep.  Animal rights campaigners say it is barbaric and increased resources into alternative anti-flystrike methods would result in equivalent or better welfare than today.  It is worth noting that large retailers, notably Marks & Spencer, have called for mulesing to be abolished and their new range of organic knits come from non-mulesed flocks.  Mulesing has already been phased out in New Zealand.

It is, at the moment, impossible to know if the merino wool you buy for hand knitting comes from mulesed flocks or not.  If the wool comes from Australia, there is an 80% chance that it does.

Moving onto different fibres, the three others most readily available in the UK are alpaca, silk and cashmere.

There are currently no organic standards for camelids but The Soil Association has recently taken the decision to write up their standards so organically certified alpaca should be available in the UK within a couple of years or so.  In the meantime, there are some excellent sources of local and international alpaca.  A quick search on the internet will bring up any number of dedicated alpaca owners who are spinning their own yarn and selling it.  On a slightly bigger scale UK Alpaca buys fibre from British alpacas and has it all processed and spun in Britain and it's available both on-line and from a selection of good wool shops in both natural shades and a handful of dyed colours. Many companies – including Designer Yarns' Mirasol collection – have alpaca ethically produced in Peru and other South American countries but you then have the air miles to take into account!

Silk is an interesting fibre as it is generally compared with cotton (or equivalents) but is, of course, produced by silk worms.  Animal welfare groups have expressed concern about silk production for some time as, once the silkworm has constructed its cocoon, it is killed by immersion into boiling water so the continuous piece of silk it has woven isn't broken when it emerges from its cocoon.  To make one pound of the finest silk, 2,600 silkworms must die. 

Peace silk, otherwise known as vegetarian silk, is made from silk where the moths are allowed to make their way out of the cocoon naturally.  As this results in the continuous thread of silk being broken, the fibre is spun rather than being reeled onto a spool in one continuous strand.  Yarn incorporating peace silk is available to hand knitters but you need to hunt for it!   There is currently no organic silk as standards have yet to be finalised.

Labour rights and Fair Trade organisations are also concerned about the exploitation and low wages often paid to silk textile workers as most silk production now takes place in China.

Finally, the other natural "wool" readily available is cashmere but, sadly, unless you can find locally produced Scottish cashmere this really is the most un-environmentally friendly yarn of them all.  Most cashmere is now produced in Mongolia and, having traditionally been produced by nomadic farmers, is now produced in vast flocks, to supply the massive western market.  There are now over 25 million cashmere goats in Mongolia (10 times the sustainable number) and 2,600 cashmere processing factories in China.  The Mongolian Alashan Plateau is rapidly turning into a desert and dust bowl and the environmental damage caused by China's massive industrial revolution is well documented.  So, even if your pure cashmere for knitting seems incredibly expensive, the damage to the world's environment is far, far higher.

Moving onto yarns produced from plants the most obvious is cotton.  Starting with the "greenest", we're looking at organic cotton. 

Organic cotton farmers have found that there is no need to rely on the dangerous chemicals used in "conventional" cotton farming.  Pests are kept under control by natural methods – black ants, natural soap, chilli and extracts from local trees are amongst the methods used.  Organic farmers also tend to grow on a smaller scale and do not use expensive harvesting machines, as a result many are reporting higher incomes.

Two organic cotton yarns are readily available for the summer 2008 season.  Rowan Purelife and Sublime Organic cotton dk.  Both yarns are fully accredited by international standards - bioReâ and SKAL respectively.  Rowan's Purelife is grown in India and naturally dyed, using organic dyes, in Italy and comes in eight shades.  Sublime Organic cotton dk is also grown in India and dyed, using environmentally friendly products, in Germany and also comes in eight shades.  Both will be available from good wool shops throughout 2008.

Hemp is the, as yet, un-sung hero of the "green" market.  Hemp is easy to grow organically and the processes used to turn the fibre into fabric are done without damaging individuals or the environment.  Sadly, modern methods are being developed which rely on chemical rather than mechanical processing methods because they are faster, less labour-intensive and, therefore, less expensive.  However, most hemp manufacturers in Eastern Europe – notably Romania and Hungary – still use the traditional mechanical processes.  A quick trawl of the internet should find the enthusiast some hemp for knitting – notably from The House of Hemp in Cornwall – www.houseofhemp.co.uk - which guarantees that their hemp crop is grown without pesticides or herbicides and the finishing and spinning is completed using natural potato starch.

Bamboo and Soy Silk are being bandied around as the latest "eco" yarns but, looking into their production in further detail, the manufacturing processes they go through raise environmental and health concerns because of the strong chemicals used.

Bamboo is, undoubtedly, an environmentally friendly plant but the chemical solvents used to "cook" the plant into a viscose solution that is then reconstructed into cellulose fibre do raise concerns.  There is a small amount of bamboo fibre on the market which is prepared using enzymes, however most bamboo fibre is chemically regenerated and these processes require sodium hydroxide, carbon disulfide and, from the little information one is able to gather, other chemicals including sulphuric acid.  Many textile experts say that bamboo is nothing more than rayon made using bamboo as the source of cellulose.  The only advantage is the growing of the bamboo.

Soya is very similar but it is difficult to ascertain exactly how the fabric is made – most web sites extol the virtues of the fabric but fail to explain exactly what goes into its production.  It is likely, though, that very similar processes are applied to soy production as are applied to bamboo.  Again, the growing of the soya plant is, undoubtedly, good as it adds nutrients to soil and does not require pesticides but what happens after that may be questionable.

Once again, most bamboo and soy fibre is produced in China so there is concern about the potential exploitation of low paid workers.

Finally, we move on to non-organic cotton, which has been used by hand knitters for many years and is produced by most well-known yarn companies.  Sadly, cotton is at the bottom of the scale when it comes to "green"; in fact, it could be said that cotton is way off the bottom of the scale.  Approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the world's pesticides are used in the world's cotton production.  Furthermore, it takes at least 8,000 chemicals to turn the raw material into clothes – which we then put next to our skin.  In addition, the cocktail of chemicals is causing poisoning to thousands of workers who work on cotton production, often resulting in their death.  In short, non-organic cotton is not good!

So, with all the information to hand – what is the hand knitter to do? 

It is possible, with a bit of research, for hand knitters to only knit with organic or locally sourced yarns and this is the best option ethically and environmentally.  If that seems unrealistic, it would make a real difference if every hand knitter in the UK (or, better, the world!) committed themselves to knitting one (or, better, two) garments a year out of either locally sourced or organic yarn.

Initially we have introduced the colour range in standard DK weight as this is the most popular yarn. We are currently hand dyeing wool from Bosigran Farm in Zennor. All this process takes place in Cornwall so we continue to keep our eco foot print down to a minimum.

Our range of colours will be officially launched into the retail sector at the Craft Hobby and Stitch International Show at the NEC in Birmingham in February 2008.

Orders are now being taken for January 2008 delivery.

Reporter Sarah Swadling meets Julia Hopson from the Cornish Organic Wool Company and the women who complete the chain, from field to yarn. Miriam also speaks to Lee Holdstock from the Soil Association and Lucy Siegle, columnist for the Observer magazine and author of 'Green Living in the Urban Jungle' 

To listen please click below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2007_43_mon.shtml

Julia recently designed a Loopy Sheep Tea Cosy for 'Peoples' Friend' Magazine.

I (Matt) was convinced that this was rather pointless as who uses tea pots any more!!  

I've had to eat my words.It has proved so successful that I've now had to include it on our site.

Great Gargus Farm, Roseland is our first farm to be sheared this year.Their ewes are crossbred Dorset and Texel and sired by Signet  recorded rams.They have run a closed flock for twenty five years.

Richard and Rachel currently produce our Chunky Wool !!

Shearing	Richard & Rachel bagging up fleeces

Our visitors having a go with the 'largest knitting needles in the world'

Extract from 'The Cornishman'

BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY: KNITTING ENTHUSIASTS ON CORNISH TOUR  

- 17 May 2007  

Knitters from Canada and the USA were in town earlier this week as part of their European knitting holiday.The ladies (with some husbands in tow) had travelled to Penzance to meet members of the Cornish Organic Wool group. They'd come via Exeter (to see the Quayside, site of the original woollen cloth industry in the 1600s) and also visited Lanhydrock and St Michael's Mount - knitting on the coach between visits. Having found Cornish organic wool through their website, they were given a talk about the company by owners Julia and Matt Hopson. Julia said: "We told them about the revival of the Cornish wool industry after a 300-year lapse. "It was a great opportunity to spread the word about the concept of organic textiles. "And to explain the full traceability which our yarn has - every ball is labelled with the name of the farm it came from and this is unique to Cornish organic wool." In addition to the talk from the Hopsons, the trans-Atlantic holiday-makers with Joyce James Tours were not aware that Julia Hopson has the Guinness World Record for 'knitting with the largest needles in the world' (as previously featured in The Cornishman)." The needles were taken out and the visitors were able to "have a go" at knitting with them outside Julia's shop in Causewayhead, Knit Wits. "They're quite large (3.5m long) so we caused a bit of a stir but our guests entered into it with gusto and several of them knitted a row," said Julia. After their "giant knitting" experience, Matt took the group to Zennor to see the organic sheep at Bosigran Farm - all of whose fleece is used by Cornish Organic Wool. After leaving Cornwall the visitors crossed to France where they were due to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and then go on a leisurely cruise down the Seine - knitting Cornish wool as they go. Matt Hopson said: "We hope that this is going to be the first of many visits from overseas so we can spread the word about Cornish organic wool."

Cornish Organic Wool launch into retail sector
last updated: February 22nd, 2007




Matt and Julia Hopson have just launched Cornish Organic Wool into the retail sector at the Craft Hobby and Stitch International at NEC in Birmingham. The response was overwhelming and over the next few months retailers will be stocking our wool, kits and stuffing.

IT'S OFFICIAL !!
last updated: January 25th, 2007



Julia gains Guinness World Record for knitting with 'the largest knitting needles in the world'.
As part of National Knitting Week in October 2006 Julia Hopson of Cornish Organic Wool was awarded The Guinness World Record for ‘Knitting with the Largest Knitting Needles’.Julia knitted a tension square of ten stitches and ten rows in stocking stitch using knitting needles that were 6.5cm in diameter and 3.5 meters long. These were ten times the size of a standard 6.5mm and 35cm long knitting needle. The yarn was rope of 12mm in diameter.

National Knitting Week 2006
last updated: November 6th, 2006



Cornish Organic Wool largest event in South West in National Knitting Week

Knitting Event at Tregenna Castle St Ives Cornwall

As part of National Knitting Week Julia and Matt Hopson of Cornish Organic Wool and Knit Wits in Penzance organised the largest knitting event to be held in the South West, all in aid of the RNLI.

It was the first time that Cornwall was linked by satellite to both the Highlands in Scotland and Alexandra Palace in London (the equipment was donated by Rowan Yarns for the London end).This fantastic satellite technology was provided by Patrick Child of 'actnow', which is promoting broadband in Cornwall.

The event was featured on the BBC Spotlight TV News and broadcast live on Local BBC radio.See more photos on www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2006/10/16/knitting_feature.shtml

Guinness World Record Attempt: 'Knitting with the largest Knitting needles'

This was successfully completed by Julia Hopson of Knit Wits Wool Shop (Penzance)/Cornish Organic Wool and Matt Hopson and James Morris-Marsham of Zennor Gig Club, who held the giant needles.

A tension square of ten stitches and ten rows in stocking stitch was produced using knitting needles that were 6.5cm in diameter and 3.5 meters long. These were a ten times scaled up version of a standard 6.5mm and 35cm long knitting needle. The yarn was rope of 12mm in diameter.

The event was officially witnessed by Claire Crompton, author of 'The Knitters Bible', and Maurice Stevens from The Cornishman newspaper.

All the evidence has been submitted to The Guinness Book of Records and we await official verification from them.

Celtic Challenge: Cornish V Scots. Fleece to garment competition

This was the second time this challenge had been attempted, turning a fleece into a garment (or, in this case, a throw) in the quickest time.Both teams consisted of 8 spinners and 8 knitters working at any time plus 2 carders and 1 person to sew up.The Cornish team used Romney fleeces supplied by Cornish Organic Wool from The National Trust's farm, Bosigran, just down the coast at Zennor.The Scottish team used Scottish Cheviot fleeces.Both teams had previously dyed one fleece (with tea) so the throw (which consisted of 63 squares of various patterns) was a chequerboard design.For the second successive year the Scots won the challenge – clearly, the Cornish knitters need to speed up!

 

Crocheting with boat hooks: RNLI - first ever attempt at crocheting.

Julia Hopson and Dave Nichol from the RNLI successfully managed to crochet a flower design, much to the amusement of onlookers.

           Julia and Dave Nicholl RNLI                        

Behind her is the Landrover with the satellite sending the pictures live to Alexandra Palace and Highlands of Scotland.

Speed Knitting

Witnessed, via satellite, at Alexandra Palace in London, Frances Jago managed to knit 250 stitches in three minutes which, we understand, makes her the fastest in the UK this year.

She said that, due to all the attention, nerves got to her and she feels she can do over 260 stitches in three minutes.

(pics pr Frances Jago and Johnny Rutherford from the BBC)

Rowan

Heather Esswood from Rowan inspecting Julia's 'Extreme'Knitting

Heather Esswood from Rowan spent the Friday advising and showing some wonderful yarns to the public.

On the Saturday Heather ran a wonderful successful workshop where Rowan kindly donated their fee to the RNLI.

Claire Crompton

Claire had a successful day advising on knitting techniques and signed copies of her book, 'The Knitters Bible' and gave a sneak preview of her two latest books: 'Knitted Accessories' and 'Knitted Bags' which are due to be released in March 2007.

Seed Power

Josh & Nikki Bond and June Rainbow demonstrated the 'Yarn Shifter'- their unique weaving loom.

School workshops

Jo McIntosh from Knitweave, St Ives ran some very well attended School workshops with the aim of bringing the younger generation on.Many children left proudly clutching their first attempts!

Fashion Show

The finale of the day was the fashion show put on by Cornwall College, Camborne featuring local designers as well as Jaeger, Sirdar, Debbie Bliss, Colinette, RYC and Cornish Organic Wool.

Throughout the day a number of local groups demonstrated their unique skills.Never before had so many different, local craft groups gathered under one roof to display their extraordinary talents.All visitors left having been inspired by the huge range of ideas they witnessed.Demonstrations included: Beading with GJ Beads (St Ives), Lace Making with The Penzance Lace Circle, Weaving, Drop Spindle Spinning and Spinning with The Cornwall Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, Embroidery with The West Country Embroiderers from Penzance, and Rug Hooking from Newlyn.

Guinness World Record attempt
last updated: October 17th, 2006



Julia is awaiting official verification as to whether she holds the Guinness World Record in knitting with the 'largest knitting needles' in the world.