Mike Patmore, veteran MSF lab technician, but virgin knitting festival goer, writes of his experience at Ravelry Day ‘09…

Who would ever have thought of it, MSF attending a knitting convention. Nevertheless Louise Salkeld, Anne Lomole, and myself headed to Coventry Central Hall, on a cold and wet June morning to attend the UK Ravelry Day 2009, which celebrates all things knitting. We set up our stand among many others selling balls of wool, finished knitted articles, patterns etc; there was even one lady, dressed up in 17th century style, demonstrating the art of spinning.

Heather (or Cybil) at the p/hop stall

If we thought we were in for an easy day, then we were mistaken. Within minutes of the doors opening the place resembled Waterloo Station in the rush hour; it rapidly filled up with enthusiastic knitters from all corners of the country, all very inquisitive and experts in their field. The MSF stand proved extremely popular, most people already knew us, some were regular donors, and we received many plaudits on our humanitarian efforts. Most were impressed by our fund raising method (p/hop = pennies per hour of pleasure) where we gave out free knitting patterns, and they, after knitting one or more article, would donate online according to the amount of pleasure it gave them.

Jane with the Crawford Mitts pattern

Trade was brisk, and we even managed to run out of some patterns before the end of the day; not a big problem as they can also be downloaded from the internet. An ‘on the day’ collection of 255 pounds and the likelihood of further donations, bears witness to the generosity of the knitting world, and our thanks go out to them.

Mike's first stitch

Amongst all this, our expert resident MSF knitter, Anne, managed to teach me some of the art, but alas I was not an apt pupil, and my speed was less than adequate.

All three of us enjoyed the day it was a great success, which bodes well for Louise who will embark on a similar venture later this year, and we finally celebrated with a welcome drink in the local pub before boarding the train back to London.

Mike's first encounter with 'the knitters' leads to heavy drinking

Mike Patmore.