TWENTY-four members attended the November meeting in Dinton Village Hall.

Discussions of a variety of events taking place in the future followed, including a visit to Waitrose for a cookery demonstration in December.

Speaker Sue West, whose talk was entitled Vintage Knitting, started her talk by giving members a brief history of knitting, informing them that the first form of knitting took place around 2,000 years ago, and that up to the 1800s knitting was done by men with the women spinning the wool.

The severe cold experienced by soldiers during the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856 gave special purpose to the knitters at home to send knitted helmets, jackets and other warm clothes to the soldiers at the front.

At the outset of the Second World War knitting wool was rationed, so items which children had outgrown were unpicked and made into larger clothing items.

In the late 1940s the advent of Bri-Nylon from America opened other possibilities to the clothing industry, but hand-knitting with wool was still popular and hand-knitted fashion items became very popular.

The competition was to ‘Make a knitted item for a baby’ and first place went to Yve Kirby, second to Paddy Archer, and third to Julie Jolliffe.

There were several items made by members and entered into the competition, and these will be donated to the maternity ward at Salisbury District Hospital.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 10, when members will meet in Dinton village hall to enjoy a buffet lunch and take part in a variety of seasonal activities.