Britain’s best knitter C4

[2Rebecca]

With Tom Daley who annoys me but I like that it’s proper knitting not dumbed down and they’re starting with a fairisle tank top

Spoiler alert!

WARNING! I tried to find out the date of the final by googling, and AI told me the winner! So if you cant be bothered to watch any more ....
I'm annoyed as I didn't want to know!

I just realised that the knitting festival I am going to tomorrow called East Neuk knits in Fife is ran by the 2 female presenters Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell. I've signed up to do a steeking workshop with Gordon in the afternoon. It's a weekend event today and tomorrow at various venues near St Monans. Tickets still available for tomorrow for anyone near the area. Google East Neuk Knits.

How annoying. Could be false news though. I was devastated to Google one of my favourite bake off contestants and be told he was dead, but it was actually someone with the same first name who'd featured on the Stand Up To Cancer bake off and sadly then died.

So AI does sometimes put 2 and 2 together and make 5 😁

My money (obviously don't confirm or deny) is on Holgar and as I said above, I see him as a future judge. Should the programme survive for another series.

@2Rebecca, I think they'll do a great workshop, I bet IRL they are highly skilled and very lovely. But do let us know either way!

The Sewing Bee originally had a different judge before Esme who wasn't as engaging. If this is renewed for another season then it definitely needs a shake up. There aren't many celebs in the knitting world but it would be interesting to hear who else they'd considered - wondering about people like Debbie Bliss, Kaffe Fasset. Or pretty much anyone from Shetland.

In my humble opinion they need to make it more like the other shows.

Challenge 1 - pattern challenge. Everyone makes the same thing, their choice of yarn etc. Would have to be small but still could be a single sock, a headband, mitts, cowl, bag etc etc. Or they produce a swatch.

Challenge 2 - something more complex but individually not these stupid team challenges. Maybe allow them to complete to a certain stage at home and then finish in the studio. Or knit a cardi at home and make a matching something.

Challenge 3 - a stash/transformation challenge. They can only use yarn previously used, so any ball that has been started in different weights, or an unfinished or old and tatty jumper and they have six hours to knit something interesting. It could be fun to see what people can do with what's around - a bit like the transformation challenge on Sewing Bee

Kaffe Fassett is 87 so I very much doubt he is about to embark on a new career as a tv presenter. It would be glorious to have him guesting though.

I want a judge whose skill I can respect. The two women they have got might be outstanding knitters but the program hasn’t shown me any evidence. It’s not even like they’re wearing better knits than most of the contestants. (Holger for instance!)
Their having designed fashion knitwear in the 80s doesn’t tell me anything about whether they have expertise relevant to knitters today; knitting isn’t fashion designing, it’s practiced superlatively by amateurs and as part of living traditions, it’s not mainly about products of the fashion industry.

I would be more likely to watch if Holger was a judge tbh.

I will let you know. Although I think in many ways the format is disastrous as a way to show the best of knitting I suspect the judges will be lovely women and much better at communicating to actual people and it’s great they are doing this for the knitters and wool producers of Fife and the surrounding area

I very much get the impression that there are no knitters on the production team. And that the show has been designed to appeal to people who do not knit either - they have gone for the dramatic and silly challenges for mass appeal. It's failing though in that there is not enough content for people who don't knit and don't understand what a cable is, or why crochet works up quicker, and it's unsatisfying for people who can knot or crochet because we can see how ridiculous it all is.

@SheinIsShiteI agree with all your comments. But I’m still watching and will stick with it till the end.
If it returns, I’d keep Tom Daley. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by him.
The judges need to be replaced for sure. I find them dull and inconsistent. No idea who they are so can’t comment on their expertise.
But the main problem is the challenges. I’m a casual knitter and there has not been a single thing on the show that I would want to knit. They’re bonkers. Dog outfits and bikinis? And the group/pair challenges aren’t much better.
Obviously time constraints are an issue but why not socks or baby clothes or hats.
Sewing Bee makes me want to learn to sew and Bake Off inspires me to bake. I can’t believe any non-knittter would have been turned on to knitting by this.
Last criticism is there’s too much crochet (I’ve never been able to get the hang of it)
I hope Ailsa wins but it will probably be Holger.

I had a great time at the East Neuk knitting festival. Sheila Di and Gordon did a Q&A on Game of wool that I caught some of. It is filmed over 5 days so not 12 hours knitting continuously and is very heavily edited, not by anyone seen in the program. There were loads of excellent stalls and Gordon talked a bit more about the programme during the steeking workshop. It was very cold in the filming barn, they filmed the group activity first, Gordon was annoyed both by the way steeking was portrayed in the episode and the flack the 2 judges get as he said they were well respected knitters and designers and got on really well with the contestants and kept being pushed by the production team to say negative things. He felt a different editor could have shown them in a much better light. 1000+ people applied. I think that was this series although series 2 is being mentioned. Gordon finds all the attention he has got a bit strange. He still sees himself as primarily a musician. The cruise ships are just a part of what he did. We made bookmarks on the round then steeked and finished them although most of us didn’t finish them. Gordon is excellent company. I could quite happily have a knitting with Gordon session every week.

So interesting, thank you.

I'm liking the food challenge, it seems a sensible match to the time and the knitted food has the potential to be cute. And not a million miles away from the post box toppers which are definitely creating a new audience for 3D knitted craft projects.

This week is better. Knitted food isn’t my thing but it is A thing unlike knitted trunks

I love a large knitted cardigan

Tom looks like Jake Shears has thrown up all over him

I would have half a sleeve done in that time though

Gordon said Tom rarely knitted the clothes he wore. He does go for interesting over tasteful and stuff you’d want to emulate

How interesting @2Rebecca

The short haired judge is coming across really badly this week. They showed her just standing there with a sour face the whole time she was judging the first round. It's interesting to hear that she's not actually that miserable.

That sage green cardigan is the first thing they've made I would actually wear.

Mel and Sue stopped the being nasty on Bake Off by swearing loudly when people were really upset so the footage couldn't be used. And they said they couldn't be nasty because it was cake! And cake is lovely.

I’m beginning to really hate the judging, oh this is marvellous how wonderful, actually it’s shit and we hate it.

@2Rebecca I had a strong suspicion a lot of the apparent awkwardness was down to the production company rather than the contestants and judges. It has very obviously been negatively edited. What a weird decision for them to make. It would be interesting to hear their reasoning for that.

I agree, if the production company make the judges look bad then it's a disincentive to anyone wanting to appear on a future series. Most knitters aren't thick skinned narcissists who will do anything to be on telly.

I think Tom Daley is part of the problem with this programme, in that he just doesn't seem to relate to the contestants and judges in the relaxed way that the presenters do on programmes like Bake-Off and the Sewing Bee.

I know crocheted food is a Thing, but when I come across patterns for crocheted veg in magazines etc I always seriously question who the hell ever makes them. I've certainly never come across anyone who does. All the talk about textures making the food look real - face it, none of it actually did look real, did it? If they wanted to do amigurumi, I'm a bit surprised they didn't go for something like toys or jewellery or Christmas decorations.

Still, the lace challenge next week looks promising.

I loved it too. They should have won.