Knitting Circles Hit the V&A

Craft Rocks!
Knitting Circles Hit the V&A
Friday Late
Friday 26 March 2004
18.30 - 22.00

Nicole Kidman does it between takes, Cameron Diaz and the Queen swear by it and cool Hoxtonites can't get enough of it. Knitting is fast becoming the trendiest and fun new pastime du jour. The V&A is celebrating this handicraft renaissance with a night of knitting and crochet, Craft Rocks!, in March.

Led by cult knitting club Cast Off, Craft Rocks! will encourage everyone to grab their needles and get clicking. A knitting bar providing free needles, wool and crash courses for those who don't know their purl from their cable, will kick-start this knitting extravaganza at the V&A.

Frustrated slow knitters will be able to watch in awe as Wendy, the World's Fastest Knitter, makes a star appearance at Craft Rocks! Keen knitters will have the opportunity to pitch their talents against Wendy's fast and furious needles.

A highlight of Craft Rocks! is a special one-off performance of HAT. Conceived by Simon Thackray, HAT is a performance of four stories about wool and knitting - 'from the W.I. to the avant garde' - written and performed by poet Ian McMillan with music composed and performed by Billy Jenkins. HAT also features Andy Diagram (formerly of James) on cornet, loops and samples, and Angie Harrison (formerly of the Hallé orchestra) on viola and knitting needles. The audience is invited to knit during the performance.

Knitting performances, talks and workshops inspired by the V&A's collections and galleries will run through the evening, from making pom poms in the William Morris room to creating kooky crochet spider webs in the V&A's grand Dome.

Glamorous knitting djs Poodle Rock and the Murri Folk club will be spinning records to knit by.

NOTES TO EDITORS :
-Admission to the V&A is FREE.
-The following Craft Rocks! events are ticketed:
HAT - Tickets £10/£8. Booking 020 7942 2211
Talks - Tickets £5/£3. Booking 020 7942 2211
Gallery tours - FREE. Collect tickets on the night.
-HAT premiered at the Viaduct Theatre in Halifax in 2001 and further performances were staged in York, Newcastle and at the Union Chapel in London. ? For more information about the programme and for event timings see www.vam.ac.uk/fridaylate
-For PUBLIC enquiries please telephone 020 7942 2211.
-Museum web site www.vam.ac.uk
-Craft Rocks! Is kindly supported by Sirdar, the leading branded spinner of hand knitting yarn in the UK.

For further information contact V&A Press Office on O20 7942 2497 or email h.beeckmans@vam.ac.uk