Knitwise Shawls at Connolly

After my husband Joe died in 2010, we set up a charitable foundation in his name and chose the focus of our support to be mentoring. Because, even fourteen years after his death, I have people contacting me to say how Joe helped them establish themselves, gave them support when they needed it, a showcase, a wise word, an introduction…We tend to work with charities that are closely involved with hands on mentoring and giving opportunities to refugees, students, victims of torture and abuse, the dispossessed, the elderly, those who may not have the chance otherwise to find their voice, a way of supporting family or a safe haven… and we are very proud to say that quite a few of our charitable initiatives are now flourishing independently and are no longer viable for our support!

The latest initiative has been a hand knitting project called KNITWISE, based in Scotland with The Kings Foundation and launched in October 2019, just prior to Covid and which sustained many of the knitters throughout their lockdown and gave a sense of community which resulted in front page coverage of the Times as three huge beautiful blankets were unfurled in 2021 by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla from the Adam bridge at Dumfries House. Made from many hand knitted squares from supporters all over the world ... they represented the impact and importance of community and the benefit health of knitting and a beacon for the skills of the future of the industry in this disadvantaged part of Scotland.

Over many years both Joseph and Connolly used the hand knit skills of south west Scotland until it was off shored by over demand from mass market and the industry collapsed. Working with Connolly knit designer Lorraine Acornley and with the support and teaching skills of visiting tutors led by The King’s Foundation’s textiles education team, we have reintroduced traditional knit skills, encouraging a small community to support themselves by producing handknit for the fashion industry and beyond, as well as preserving techniques that would otherwise be lost. We are now working with two groups of knitters and a women’s prison and our stalwart team of knitters has embarked on a journey of learning how to create to order and how to generate income from their skills which require nothing more than a pair of knitting needles and skill. Low tech but high value work that can be done at home or in a group - as we also discovered this knit initiative became as much about community and the support for one another and coming together… as creating a business model!

This Christmas we are proud to showcase our Connolly KNITWISE collaboration of 20 uniquely beautiful hand knitted shawls in our Christmas window at Clifford Street. The shawl designs are based on the rare Taatit rugs of Shetland with symbols and motifs and colours taken from these remarkable pieces of handcraft and weave. All the proceeds from the sale of the shawls will go to Age UK and Age Scotland, to help the elderly keep warm this winter … Each shawl has been individually created by the knitter and comes with their initials swiss darned on it … they are knitted from naturally dyed, practical, heavy duty, robust wool and perfect for keeping warm while walking around the garden or sitting outside on a crisp sunny day … even thrown over a chair back or under a dog.

It is a nice thought that during the Christmas season you can offer a gift that has been made by someone who has been given the chance to create and connect with a community and a future and how your generosity also allows desperately underfunded and often overlooked charities for the elderly to reach out and provide comfort and warmth this winter. We hope you will come to see the KNITWISE project at Clifford Street as your support will mean so much to the knitters and to all of us who have been involved in this project.

- Isabel