Stitches by the million to make a house from wool

Apr 26 2008 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

THE welcome above the door spells out Home Sweet Home but, apart from being obviously sweet, this is no ordinary home.

Every inch of the exquisite lifesize gingerbread “house” – right down to the finest details – has been painstakingly and lovingly knitted by thousands of knitters from around the world.

The house, which consists of a bed, Welsh dresser, cakes and sweet treats, toys and even a cuckoo clock, covers 140sq ft, and is held up on a metal frame, which takes seven hours to construct.

It is among exhibits at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts show being staged until tomorrow at Aintree Racecourse.

Also on display is a woolly Liverbird, created by Iidiko Szabo and other members of the Purlesque knitting group, who meet at the Bluecoat every week.

It’s part of Shaun the Sheep’s Great British PicKnit, a campaign aiming to encourage people to dig out their knitting needles and raise cash for charity.

Ms Szabo said: “We recently started the Purlesque Knitting Group at the Bluecoat.

“We thought it would be a great idea to contribute to Shaun the Sheep’s great British Picknit to encourage and promote the many opportunities opening up for knitting and crochet in Liverpool.

“The city is celebrating its Capital of Culture status this year and what better contribution could we think of than a knitted Liverbird?”

Textitle artist Alison Murray, from Devon, who instigated the gingerbread house project over a year ago to raise money for London’s Great Ormond Street children’s hospital and North Devon Hospice, is very excited to be exhibiting it in Liverpool.

She said: “It has gone down really well and we have had interest from all age groups.

“A primary school class who came in to see it loved the house but so did older people. It was finished last year after lots of careful planning and contributions from all over the world.

“I am raising money for Great Ormond Street with the piece so it is a good cause. My favourite bit is the Swan matchbox, which took me two weeks to finish.”

She added: “I think the house shows just how creative knitting is, it is as worthy as any other art form.”

2008 is the first year the long established craft show has visited Liverpool.

Other events at the exhibition include a display from Chrisanne Ltd, costume designers for Strictly Come Dancing and a show from fashion students at Liverpool Community College.

lizawilliams