I joined the black and grey clad army of travellers on the 0805 train to Paddington this morning, doing my best to add a little seasonal colour to the platform.

 

 

Arriving in London on platform one, the bronze of Isembard Kingdom Brunel seems to have been replaced by someone else.  Looking at that container behind,  I do hope he hasn’t built himself in somewhere*.  (sorry, couldn’t resist!)  Anyway, not only Paddington was there to greet me, but it was great to see Mary waiting on the platform too, having arrived from LA yesterday morning.  She’ll spend a few days with us but was joining me today in her WI capacity.

 

 

We were going to meet the members and students participating in the NFWI/Kingston University Knitwear project again and was looking forward to seeing the progress they had made in the last six weeks or so.  We were meeting at NFWI HQ on New Kings Road and soon, the room was buzzing with creative energy.

 

 

I can’t show you too much at this stage but suffice to say that each group had done some remarkable collaborative work which made the most of everyone’s technical and creative skills.  I was especially in awe of the fashion illustrations created by the students.  Each one had their own distinctive style and their design sheets and mood boards were works of art in themselves.  The concepts are incredibly exciting and inspired by a wide range of source material celebrating a century of the WI.  The clever ways in which traditional skills such as Dorset buttons and knitted lace have been included in contemporary knitwear makes these collections very special indeed and there was all round respect for everyone involved.

The next step is the making of the outfits.  For the members, it will be time to bring their experience to the fore as they realise the student’s vision.  For the students, it will be particularly stressful to bring these project to completion amidst their final degree collections, ready for the in-house fashion show in May.

I can’t wait to see what materialises!

 

 

We caught the bus back to Paddington station later this afternoon but were surprised when it stopped suddenly, somewhat short of our destination.  Never mind, we walked the last part of the way, stopping for a few moments in  Norfolk Square Gardens, to take a photograph of the Paddingtonscape