ISSUE 70 MARCH 2001ISSN 0959-2881

Guild SuppliesPrice List 2001

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Knotting MattersNewsletter of theInternational Guild ofKnot Tyers

Issue No. 70

President: Brian FieldSecretary: Nigel HardingEditor: Colin GrundyWebsite: www.igkt.craft.org

Submission dates for articlesKM 71 07 APR 2001KM 72 07 JUL 2001

The IGKT is a UK Registered Charity No. 802153

Except as otherwise indicated, copyright in Knotting Matters is reserved to the International Guild of Knot Tyers IGKT 2001. Copyright of members articles published in Knotting Matters is reserved to the authors and permission to reprint should be sought from the author and editor. All sources of quotations printed in Knotting Matters are acknowledged.

Cover design by Stuart Grainger

IN THIS ISSUE

Letter from a President 5IGKT 20th Birthday

Celebrations 6Knot Noticed? 8Origin of a Knot 10Autumn Meeting 11History of Knotboards 12Knot News 14Knotmaster Series 14Knots and Sailorizing 16Have a Knot Tyer’s Meeting 17Knot Gallery 22The 4L x 6B Turk’s Head Knot 28Presidential Honours

List 2001 33More Knotty Limericks 34Three F’s in Knot Tying 35An Invitation 36Branch Lines 37Postbag 44

Master splicer, Pat Cunningham, New Zealand Chapter at work.

Notes from theSecretary's Blotter

L ooking out of the window the snowis gently falling, which at leastmakes a change from the incessant

rain we have been having forthe last threeor four months. The tide has finally goneout in Uckfield and now at least, I canwalk rather than swim down to the postbox to send these notes off to the printer.

Christmas has been and gone, whichmeans that the new subscription season isupon me. Cheques and credit card detailshave been falling through the letter boxlike er, snow? Speaking of subscriptions,there is a rumour going around that I stuffa reminder in EVERY Knotting Matters.It's not true, and there must be a memberout there somewhere who has not receivedone.

The system I use is generated from myrecords, based on the individuals renewaldate. I have been sending out my littlenotes, even to those who pay by BankersOrder, under the mistaken impression thatI was helping by reminding them that thebank was about to dip their sticky littlefingers into various accounts and takesome money. This year, Knotting Mattershaving gone out just a week ahead of theend of the year, when more subs are due,I seem to havc caused all sorts of mayhemand confusion. What with some membersfeeling embarrassed because they thoughtthey were late paying, and other who haveforgotten the Bankers Order, and have sent

2

a cheque as well, it will take me weeks tostraighten everything out. I shall not bequite so generous with the 'red letters' infuture. My apologies to those memberswho have been inconvenienced.

Most of my time spent as secretary isenjoyable, but just occasionally I have adifficult task to perform, and at thismoment it is to announce the recent deathof Barbara Murphy, wife of Denis,secretary to the Devon Branch. Barbarahas always warmly greeted me at all theGuild meetings that I have been to. Shewas a lovely lady and will be fondlyremembered and sadly missed by all thosethat knew her.

Speaking of the job of the Secretary,which I have thoroughly enjoyed over thelast nine years. I have been trying to passit on to someone else, so as not to keep allthe fun to myself. It is now almost a yearsince I announced my retirement, and asyet there has still not been a singleapplicant. I was not particularly anxiousto go but decided that it was time reallyfor the benefit of the Guild, so that therewould be someone fresh at the helm, fullof new ideas, and enthusiasm. As a resultof the absence ofan immediate successor,it looks as though my retirement is on holdfor a little while, and, how shall I put it, itlooks as though you are stuck with me fora little while longer. At least that gives meup to three years to find and train the next

Hon Sec.

There must be many of you who arereading this at the moment who havedreamed of writing their own book ofknotting. Well your luck is in, for there isa whole army of publishers out therelooking for YOU. I am quite serious. Jhave had numerous enquiries this year,and even Geoffrey will admit that there isa limit to the number he can write eachyear. Admittedly, most of the publishershave a fixed idea of what they want, oftenwith the artwork already complete, andjust need some words to go with thepictures. It might not be exactly the bookyou had in mind, but there will be a modestfee, perhaps verging on the meagre, but itwould get YOUR name on the cover, and

once you have been published, you willhave gained a lot of experience. You willhave joined the ranks of the PublishedAuthors, and have a better chance ofcreating YOUR OWN book in the future.Don't be shy, just let me know, and J willpoint the next publisher in your direction.

J am always late writing these notes,usually because I am looking for someinspiration, but once I get going, I have ajob to stop. I will stop now, otherwise therewill be no room left for any KnottingMatters - Meanwhile, r look forward toseeing you all at the AGM in May.

Nigel Harding

Nigel Harding (right) at the 2000 AGM, T. S. Weston with Dick Chisholmand Lynda Turley.

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From the EditorY oU will find there is an awful lot

to read in this edition of KnottingMatters. The postbag for the

Branch news must surely be the biggest Ihave ever received. It's nice to know thatthere is such a lot of knotting going onout there, and new branches springing upor older ones being revived.

The bug of writing limericks hascertainly bitten some members. I havereceived many from around the world.Some members may consider this asnothing to do with knot tying. It does showhowever, that they are creative in moreways than with just string. You will find asmall selection again in this edition.

Brian Field mentions in his Letterfrom a President of a request for articleson knots and projects aimed at some ofour more novice members. As he rightlypoints out, I can only print those articles Ireceive. I could quite easily fill an editionof Knotting Matters with articles on Turk'sHead knots. Those on other more practicalknots or other decorative knots are fewand far between. I'm sure there is a lot ofexpertise among our members who workin these other areas. Perhaps you wouldlike to put pen to paper and write onsennits or practical ropework. What aboutthose working with wire rope or even lifesupport knots? Have I given you food forthought?

The time is rapidly approaching for theGuild to celebrate its twentieth Birthday.Did those founder members realise whenthey met in 1982 that the Guild would be

4

over one thousand strong in twenty yearstime? You will find details of the lead upto the birthday celebrations later in thisissue.

The Knot GaIlery seems to haveproved a success, not only for the colourpages, but also the standards of work thatsome of our member's turn out. The stockofpictures however are starting to run low.I try to include a range of work in theGallery, but again I can only put in picturesthat members send in. So if you have goodquality photographs (nice and brightplease), send them in so we can keep thegallery going.

While on the subject of the KnotGallery, in the last issue, the wonderfulcovered bottles on page 23, I wronglyattributed to Joaquim Paulo Escudeiro.Paulo was quick to point out this mistake(see Postbag). Fortunately the answer towho made them came just before thisedition went to print, so I am thereforeable to correct the matter. They were infact made by Marc Lauwereyns of ourBelgium branch. My apologies go to bothPaulo and Marc for this error.

It will soon be time for the AGM, thistime at Farnham. Members have oftencommented that the AGM and half-yearlymeetings fall flat on the Sunday morning,with no activity going on. This year willbe different. Activities and workshops areplanncd for both events, details in thisissue. I look forward to renewing oldacquaintances and making new ones. Seeyou there.

Letter from a President

L ife has more or less returned tonormal following my trip to theStates. I managed to work a fair

number of days on the quayside at Maldonduring August and September as theweather was reasonable in this part ofEssex (I am not allowed to have any kindof shelter or superstructure). The fleet ofeighty foot masted Thames Sailing Barges(still working) which form the backgroundto my pitch attract many visitors from allover the world and have helped recruit afew members to the Guild over the years.

In October I attended the half-yearlymeeting in The Netherlands and was ableto renew friendships forged at pastmeetings. Willeke can be pleased that thegreat deal of work, which she put intoorganising the event, succeeded inproducing a meeting that I shall longremember.

Council has recently taken twodecisions, which will have repercussionsfor members in general. They have agreedthat Council minutes should becircularised to all recognised Branchrepresentatives. At least you will nowknow what decisions are being taken onyour behalf. and with so many extra eyeson our activities, future meetings mayhave a little extra edge.

Council also agreed that I should issuewhat amounts to a Presidential Honourslist. There are many individuals who givemuch time and effort in running Branches,organising events and generally doing a

5

great deal of good for the Guild. Theseworkers make theGuild what it is and theirefforts deserve recognition. UnfortunatelyI am not aware of every individuals workso would you please let me have yourrecommendations for such a list, and yourreasons for putting them forward. Restassured that the list would be limited toprevent devaluation, and to prevent claimsthat the Presidency has gone to my head,there will be no similar Honours List onmy birthday!

In November I accepted the invitationof the West Country Branch to pay thema visit. Among the points raised was arequest for K.M. to include knottingprojects for the less advanced knotter. Thispoint has been raised at every branchmeeting I have attended in this countryand abroad so the demand for such itemsexists. The Editor can only select itemsfor publication from the material hereceives so here is a request that those whohave a little more ability; please submityour projects to the editor for the benefitof the rest of us.

Brian Field

The term "Choking a Stump" wasused by Mississippi River Steam Boatmen. It meant slinging a rope around atree when mooring to the bank.

Clint Funk

IGKT 20th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

THE EVENT

Date

The Co-ordinator

The Venue

Duration

The Build Up

Events

Publicity

20TH Birthday for The International Guild of Knot Tyers

In the form of an International meeting of the worlds knottyers.

20 May- 25 May 2002

Ken Yalden

Fernham Hall, Fareham, Hants. England

Five days of a public show of knot tying and static displaysof world-class work.

One day Open International Meeting I with AGM

Formal acknowledgement of 20 year Milestone.

Knot Year 2K2 commenced with the First Knot of theMillennium. Word-wide, Members have been encouraged todisplay and demonstrate their own work, as part of a Globalactivity; Guild Members have also been requested to make aknotted contribution to be displayed at the 20th BirthdayShow.

As well as the internal events, external coach parties will bearranged. Schedules including visits to the Royal Dock Yard(rigging shed), Iron-Age Farm, Waterways Museum (canalboats), Stonehenge and a whole host of venues dreamed upby Knot Tyers for their non-Knotty partners.

Guild Members will receive updates to their Millennium Pack,to ensure total awareness as the event unfolds.

The skills of Fareham Borough Council Publicity Team shallbe employed to ensure there are no missed opportunities withall aspects of the media.

World announcements can be made via the network of localradio stations as each member has a local show- linking allevents into Knot Year 2K2 and the Main Event.

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The Party

The Dinner

International

Concord

Education,

Art & Craft

Support

Commemorative

Programme/Catalogue

Book Signing

After a short AGM- limited Key Note speakers willacknowledge 20 years of the Guild.

The 20th milestone shall be commemorated with a birthdaycake and champagne.

A Knot Supper for 200 will be arranged, if possible amongthe displays, to ensure it has the correct knotting ambience.

Full use will be made of local guesthouses willing to acceptinternational visitors.

Local taxis or hire companies will be invited to collectinternational travellers, as knot tyers arrive from various partsof the world.

Fareham Borough Council and the Chamber of Commerceshall be invited to be part of the International Concord.

Schools, craft and youth organisations shall be invited to visitthe week-long show of work and demonstrations; namedGuild members will host these.

Some of the Associate Organisations invited to display willbe, Scout Association (Hampshire) Wessex Guild of Spinnersand Weavers, Flag Institute. Boy Seaman Associations(Ganges/St Vincent)

What about local branches of Sea Cadet Corps

It is intended to seek the aid of grants for the promotion anddevelopment of Arts & Crafts, also for the promotion of anInternational Event in Farnham.

Full use shall be made of sponsorship.

It is intended to publish a hooklet of the event as a milestone,as well as the sequel to 'Much ado about knotting' to the first20 years of the Guild.

The Commemorative Booklet plus other books will beavailable for signing by the authors.

7

Knot Noticed?On the matter of the knot error on the

newsletter cover referred to, but notidentified, by Rus Hammond (PostbagKM69). I reckon, like me, the entire IGKTmembership now has the coverpermanently etched, in great detail, intotheir mind. For what it is worth, the onlydetail I can see that I might take issue withis the depiction of the "granny" knot tiedabout the two strands at the bottom rowin the south east corner on the front cover.

The bottom strand entering from thenorth west is not in what I would call'good alignment' with the continuation ofthe loop emerging from under the strandson the eastern side of the bend. This, ofcourse is not so much a knotting error asa 'sloppy illustration'.

I look forward to seeing what moreexperienced knotting eyes than mine canfind and do hope that Rus supplies hisanswer before this becomes a majormystery.

Jim CaswellSydney, Australia

I would hardly call Stuart's illustration'SlOppy', I would dearly love to be able todraw knots as good as he does· Ed.

Having read Rus Hammond's letter inPostbag KM 69 I had a look and soonnoticed a bit of 'artist's license' or anerror? Whether it is what Rus is referringto I am Knot sure, but I thought I wouldshare it with you.

8

The top and bottom of the cover designcomprises three strand braiding, doubled,with the main 'net' design hanging fromthe lower strand of this by Cow Hitches.

At the top left of the front cover, andthe bottom right of the back cover the Cowhitches nearest the spine are not tied roundanything! They are trying to hide behindthe braiding but should be tied round thefront strands, if they are to follow on thesequence of the rest of the design.

If this is not the right answer we shallhave to keep looking! IfI am right could Iclaim a small prize! Maybe a signed photoof 'The Maldon Knot Man'! Only joking.

My knotting interests stem fromboating, Scouting and having met BrianField on Maldon Quay many times, andDes Pawson introduced me to the Guild.

Peter BestIpswich, England

Rus Hammond challenges the IGKTto find the "error" in the KM coverillustration. I surmise that he's both right& wrong:

I think that he believes Stuart's artfullyaccurate drawing of a single-rope*endless* design in the centre is wrongto not have the ends match up, to run intoeach other. Stuart will of course defendthis image as rightly intentional, as adrawing of just such a real knot (thoughone could, also, tie a 2-rope version andmake the ends match).

But I find an apparent (I don't see howto reconcile) error at the spine (technically,this isn't on "the cover"!). It seems thatthe centre crossing point of the 4 pairedhorizontally running ropes (interweavingup and down amongst them-selves) iswrongly showing the upper ropes of thiscrossing to both lie over the ropes risingfrom below. Note that the cover's TOPropes centre-cross such that the TOP ropesare rising rightwards (= falling leftwards),whereas on the back the same ropes'crossing is reversed, and they lie under.(The bottom is similarly drawn, similarlywrong (?).)

Again, in short, the toplbottom centrecrossing of the paired ropes runninghorizontally as borders show anapparently impossibility of the left & righttop pairs being both on top (at the topcrossing) or both on bottom (at the bottomof page).

This is more readily seen on the largercovers of older KM Us.

Dan LehmanVirginia, USA

On the same subject, Jeff Wyatt rang tosaythat the knotat the ten 0 'clockpositionto the front cover Guild logo has beendrawn different to all the others. In it, hesays that the top right hand cord comesin front of the two vertical cords whereason the otherknots, it goes behind. Jeffhasalways thought this error as too trivial tomention - Ed.

Stuart Grainger Replies:I have received a considerable postbag

9

as a result of the letter from R. F.Hammond published on page 44 ofKnotting Matters #69. So far none of mycorrespondents has been able to providethe answer to the vexed question of what'mistake' has been published for so longon the cover of this magazine, but theyexpect me to provide it. I must insist thatMr. Hammond provides it, if he can,without further delay, because I can noL Iam beginning to suspect that this isanother example of the famousQueensland export of bovine excreta.

I think it is fair to all concerned tomention that I drew this as astraightforward design exercise. It was notdrawn as a puzzle, nor was it drawn froma physical example and, if there is somemistake in it, I for one am not particularlysurprised, not being infallible in my ownopinion. The interesting thing is that onlyMr. Hammond has been able hitherto todiscern this claimed mistake. I wouldgreatly prefer that those who so minutelyperuse my design for mistakes takesimilar, but more creative, trouble toproduce an alternative cover design. If youcan design an alternative, please do so andlet us all pick holes in yours for a change.

Stuart GraingerDunchurch, England

The cover design has served the Guild wellfor most of its existence. As Stuart sorightly points out, the drawing is adesignexercise (and avery good one at that) andnot a copy of a physical example. Otherthan to call on Rus Hammond to put hismoney where his mouth is, so as to speak,this subject is now closed - Ed.

Origin of a knotby Sten Johansson

I n 1930 a book called "KODINTAITOSANAKlRJA" was publishedin Helsinki, Finland. The name of the

book means "An Em:yclopedia ofKnowledge for the Household". A lot ofknots were published in the book and theywere made by the Finnish Scoutleader MRopponen, who was the first to show adrawn Constrictor Knot in her bookSOLMUKIRJA (A Book of Knots) in1931.

At page 173 she shows"KORISTESOLMUJA KIINALAISIA"(Ornamental Chinese Knot). At the top isshown in drawings how the ChineseButton Knot (Pyjama Knot) is tied in ahand. These are the exact same drawingsas shown in Ashley Book of Knotspublished in 1944, page 10I #599. Theonly difference is, that Ashley has drawna nail on the thumb of the hand.

This book is not mentioned in Ashley'sbibliography and Ropponen does notshow the knot in her hook "Solmukirja"1931.

Now to my query. Have any of IGKTmembers seen these drawings in any otherbooks? As Ropponen was the first to showthese drawings, where did Ashley copythem? If Ropponen and Ashleycorresponded, how come she is not

10

mentioned in Ashley's book? Ropponenis mentioned in Cyrus Day's book "TheArt of Knotting and Splicing". At page 116he writes about the Constrictor Knot"Martta Ropponen-Homi, in herSOLMUKIRJA (1931, preface dated1930) was the first to illustrate it. Shecalled it the WHIP KNOT (FinnishRUASKASOLMU) and show how to tieit in the bight. In a letter to me datedDecember 5 1954, she says she never sawit in Finland, but got it from RaphaelGaston, ofZaragoza, Spain. She translatedthe name WHIP KNOT into Finnish fromEsperanto, the language in which she andGaston corresponded"

Could it happened so that Ropponenin the 1930's only spoke Finnish andmaybe exchanged knots in Esperanto withGaston, the Constrictor for the PyjamaKnot. Easier to draw a knot, than toexplain in words in Esperanto how to tiethe knots.

Ashley then had some connections inSpain (Gaston?) who sent him thedrawings. Ashley then added a thumb tothe hand to make it look more natural andpublished it his book in 1944.

Is there anyone with other ideas aboutthis knot?

.J

3

Autumn Meeting - Ellesmere PortI would like to take this early

opportunity to invite you to the Autumnmeeting which will be held at theElIesmere Port Canal Boat Museum onFriday to Sunday, Octoher 13th to 15th,2001.

At this meeting, along with the usualFriday evening and Saturday events, I amhaving a Sunday timetable. So far, I haveplanned:

Ply Splitting - originally Indian camelgirths, a talk, demonstration and displayby Anne Dyer.

An Introduction to Netting by WiIlekevan derHam.

Public Speaking and Presentations byBrian Field and myself.

Decorative Square Knotting by TonyDoran.

Hopefully this will make an interesting

11

weekend

If your partner finds this boring, mayI recommend ElIesmere Port as a base fora long weekend? The museum itself is amajor attraction, housing many boats anddisplays over a once busy port centre. Thenew Cheshire Oaks Shopping Outlet isnearby. The Wirral itself has manyattractions. Great views over the Deemarshes to the Welsh hills. The PortSunlight Village is not far away. Also it'sjust a few miles from Liverpool and thehistoric walled city of Chester, with itsfamous "Rows" and cathedral.

Don't forget to put this date in yourdiary, and if you want any moreinformation, get in touch.

Happy knottingDavid Walker

The History of Knot Boards?By Des Pawson

O ne of the joys of knotting is thatthere are so many things still tobe discovered, so many questions

to be answered. The other day I was asked,"What is the origin and history of the KnotBoard?" This question got me thinkingabout just how old the knot board may be,why they were made and who made them.

At first thought I imagined that theyhad been around forever, made either as atraining aid on board ship or in a Navaltraining establishment. Or as ademonstration of the tyers skill, either tobe displayed in a rigging loft or chandlers,or perhaps given away as a gift.

To prove this idea is not so easy.searching my library, the earliest evidenceI could get was only as far back as the1920's. Photographs ofa knot board wereused to illustrate certain parts of theLaerebok 1 Pratisk Sj~m(1fmsarbeide

[handbook ofPractical Seamanship} by EW. J. Paulsen. published in Kristiania,Norway, 1924.

In the same year, the Portuguese,Joaquim Marques Esparteiro publishedhis book Arte de Marinlleiro in Macau.At the front of this book is a photo of afine knot board made by Saul Gomes daCosta and Alvam Pereira for an exhibitionin Macau, February 1924. This knot boardshows a wide range ofrope work. A coupleof years later in the first edition ofKnotting Gilcraji published in London,

12

has as its cover a drawing of a Scoutpracticing a knot whilst looking at a knotboard.

As far as actml1 knot boards areconcerned, C. W. Ashley certainly madedisplays of knots, probably about this sortoftime. The National Maritime Museum,Greenwich has a rather fine knot board inthe form of a wooden book. The variouspages showing how to make knots, splicesand how to rig tackles. No date is givenfor its making, but it has the feel of the1930's. Some of the Guild members mayremember it fmm an early meeting of theGuild held at Greenwich. Others will haveseen it illustrated as part of the article byPercy Blandford in the DecorativeArts ofthe Mariner, edited by Gervis Frere-Cookand published in London, 1966.

I have in my collection a fairly old knotboard, but just how old is hard to Itcertainly had a lot ofdust on it whenit, but I doubt that it goes back further thanthe 1920's or 30's.

None of these us very farback. I wonder if any members haveknowledge or perhapshave come across an account mentioningthe making of a display of knots, perhaps

us a lead to the why and when theywere first made.

from Geoffrey Budworth

Knot.masterSeriesNo.. 8

IIKnotting ventured,knotting gained. "

Vice versaUse this bend - devised by

the late Harry AsherlGKT - torender captive bungee (shockelastic) cord, polythene ropesand any other slick or slipperymaterials that escape from otherknots.

Lay the two lines parallel andtogether, ends pointing inopposite directions, then wrapand tuck as shown (fig's 1-3).Tighten the knot with care byrepeatedly pulling, a bit at atime, on each working end andstanding part in turn.

Knot Neiws

4 half-hour 'Word of Mouth' programme,written and prestmted

southeast London, the ,nl"T'"i"",,,rQuiz2:ed Guild members Simon Waite

the historic clipper ship) andme about knot names and knotting words.

14

Vice versa

Knots•.. andSiailo.rizing hiavepride of p.laice at Brest 2000

By Graham McLachlan

T ~~:::;&FlIilstte,111a1tiO!lal€:"International), of which

I 'Prefect Corin drew a length ofcord Ifrom his tunic and tied one loop around I

Pandaras 's wrist and another around his Iown. He stood up, jerking hard Ithe cord so that Pandaras was forced to I

~~~:;h '~~~:~~l:~ 11, "They can dull the keenest blade, andIthey have a certain Iow intelligence. Try

I

,to tamper with the and it will

~:e;~,,~p'an. by cUI off II Third Book II I

I IL.,.",·".,·"".« "'_"~'>+'~c#"'""";'_""~_''''~=~''~,*","_~~;,~""",~"..~.'," .~" ·"·""·'·m'''',""''''~",,

How to"Have a Knot Tyer's Meeting

By Willeke van der Ham

I have just made sure the peoplecoming to the IGKT Beverwijk 2000meeting had a place to meet food to

eat and a place to sleep. If they wanted,they could stay in a Dutch home or thehall. I would like to tell you how to do thesame.

Knot tyers are a friendly bunch; theonly thing they insist on is a place. Theymeet in pubs, scout buildings, museums,private houses or other peoples backyards.So set a time for the meeting. Ask yourbarkeeper, scoutmaster, museum owner,pattner, or the people next-door with thebig backyard ifyou can use their buildingor grounds. Ideally, a meeting place is justa little bigger than the amount of peopleyou expect. A friendly bunch will find acosy corner in a big space or just fit inanother chair in a small a place.

The next thing knot people appreciateis water, bread, tea, coffee and cookies. Ifyou are on somebody's home ground,appoint him to find a volunteer to buy thefood. If you rent a place have somebodycheck whether to bring things like a waterboiler and If you are having a fullday affair, do not forget lunch, bringsandwiches, or arrange lunch in a nearbyplace, if not too expensive. Meeting in apub takes care of these details.

For a multi day, or big meeting youhave to think about dinner and drinks like

17

wine or beer, and whether they are allowedon the grounds. Do you want them to beused, because it may change the group?For a big meeting you need more peopleto take care ofcatering. A talk with a localrestaurant may find them willing to takecare your knot tyers.

Times, Numbers and the likeThe more informal the meeting the

shorter the preparation time. Phone yourfriends, tell them you are in your local pubtomorrow and they are likely to come. Tobe sure everyone can come; you may needto phone a week before the meeting.

If you want a formal meeting withspeakers from outside the group, using anoften booked place, you may need to rentthe place and publish the date as far astwo year ahead. If you are willing tochange your venue, or adjust your date, acouple of months may be enough for ameeting.

I have found that coffee and tea takestwo volunteers on the day at any time. Ifthe volunteers want to take part in themeeting as well, you won't have coffeeduring the So you will need arota so every volunteer has some free timeas wen.

Preparing lunch will take a group oftrained people who will ten you their

requirements and the numbers they canhandle, or some willing volunteers. AtRotterdam in 1996 we had four to producea simple lunch for 40. They missed themeeting until well after the lunch. AtBeverwijk, we had the lunch brought inby a caterer. Setting it up took ten minutes,and at about the same cost per person. Forserving we needed a few but they wherespelled by others so everybody could eat.

To cook dinner for any large amountof people you will need a group of peoplewho have done it before. For a group halfthe size, you will have to make ajudgement on numbers and amounts. Wedid not have the facilities and volunteers,so we went to a restaurant. Beverwijk,being a place with an abundance ofrestaurants, I had a fair choice and did nothave to book too early. In fact I bookedtoo late and was lucky my first choice ofrestaurant was available, but I knew there

18

were more. Also caterers who will wait atthe table's as well)

The other thing important is 'Do theyknow how to get there?' No problem ifyour group meet at your local pub. But itis a really important point when the peoplecome from out of town, or from othercountries.

As soon as you have rented orarranged your spot have a look around.Ask a couple offriends, who do not comethere, "Do they know the place and howto get there?" Ifnot tell everybody, in yourinvitation how to get there, and in such away that they do not need additional signs.

If the meeting is aimed at a biggergroup, like your entire county, province,state or even country, or the entire guild,make a route and supply them with a map.Make sure the place is well signposted.We have had meetings in buildings such

as museums, opposite well signpostedplaces, (I remember a horseracing track)near railway stations, motorway exits andso on. If you're spot is not signposted,make the signs yourself. If you are allowedput a ign on every corner from an easy tofind spot onwards. A small sign on severallamppo ts will help the people walking.For people in cars, the signs have to bebig and distinctive. If local laws forbid youto place signposts, use the landmarks likechurches and schools, and ask permissionto place one (big) sign in the trouble spot.Maybe you are allowed to place the signsbehind windows at the appropriatecorners.

The last couple of years we have used,among other things, white (cardboard)signs with the guild logo and/or IGKT inblack, or used a blue backdrop with ayellow Turk's head knot. Sometimes, awhite backdrop for IGTK, and an arrow.

I had the logo photocopied onto yellowpaper, cut it out along the line to tape to ablue board. The leftover knots, a smallsize, I taped to lampposts along the road.

Because of weather and folksreturning from pubs at nights I did not putup many signs till early Saturday morning.Only the ones on the trouble spots I knewabout where up on Friday, and of coursesome people showed me some newdifficult spots in the route.

Organising in headlines.Set a date - as early as possible.

Rent a place - or talk people in to lettingyou use the building for free.

Soon after above - Check route fordifficulties.

ASAP again - publish the date, time andplace as soon as they are confirmed.

22

Picture frame by Jeff Wyatt, pyrography by Lesley Wyatt

23

Knot Gallery

Above: Key fob by Dan CallahanSix strand Footrope knot, sennit and Matthew Walker Knot,

Eight strand Little Lump Knot

Below: Knotboard by Brian Jarrett

24

25

Above: Rope Sculpture, Hermitage Basin London (photo-Geoffrey Budworth)Left: Ditty Bag by Gary C. Sessions

Lanyard in 144 thread cotton, bag decorated with drawn thread work

26

Macramé bag by Jorgen Friis-Christensen

27

/b: .... A by.Md< Grl«....,~"..~t

"Errtftt /(_.

ub 7_, NarrltlUMod.NewZ_

"""","0" • W#feke ..." de< />am)

The Four Lead by Six Bight Turk's Head KnotTied in the Hand and Other Ways

By Jesse Coleman

The four lead by six bight Turk'sHead knot is an attractive knotwhen tied using two cords of

contrasting colours. This knot decoratesseveral jars, bottles and sticks around myhouse. This notc discusses several waysto tie this knot.

The rule of the greatest common divisorstates: "The number of cords needed totie a THK is the greatest common divisorof the number of bights and the numberof leads in the THK." The number ofbights in this knot is six. Six is divisibleby the integers I, 2, 3 and 6. The numberof leads is four. Four is divisible by theintegers 1,2 and 4. The largest numberthat is in both of these two sets of numbers(1,2,3,6 and 1,2,4) is two. That is, two isthe greatest common divisor of four andsix. Therefore, two separate cords arerequired to tie this knot.

The 4l X68 THK Tied in the HandCords of any colour may be used. Tomake this discussion easier, let's call themwhite and blue. We begin by tying a 2LX 3B THK in the hand using white cord.Begin by going around the ring finger andthen the index finger as shown in figureI. Figure 2 shows the completed 2L X3B THK. If you want a 2L X 3B Turk'sHead knot, you could stop at this point,remove it from the hand, double it onceor twice and use this simple but attractive

28

knot for whatever purpose you desire.

We tie the 4L X 6B THK by weaving theblue cord through the 2L X 3B THK thatwe just constructed using white cord (andleft on the hand). Begin by bringing theblue cord between the thumb and indexfinger. Go over two white cords and thenunder two more while cords as shown infigure 3. Bring the blue cord around thelittle finger then over two white cords, asshown in figure 4. With the working endnow in the center of the figure, begin thefamiliar over one cord and under one cordpattern, up to and around the ring finger,as shown in figures 3 and 4. Finish bycontinuing the over and under pattern untilthe starting point is reached. See figures5 and 6.

The knot may now be removed from thehand, doubled once or twice and used asdesired.

The 4l X68 THK Tied as AMatThis knot may also be tied as a mat byusing pins or tape on a tabletop to holdthe cords in place while tying the knot.Again we construct a 2L X 3B THK usingwhite cord, except this time we constructit as a mat, flat on a table. This is shownin Figure 7. To construct the 4L X 6BTHK, we again weave the blue cordthrough the completed 2L X 3B THK. Theweaving pattern is the same; over two,

1

29

6

30

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

j

under two, over two, then over one, underone, repeated until the starting point isreached. This is shown in figures 8 and9. The completed Turk's Head knot inmat form is shown in figure 10.

The 4L X6B THK Tied as AThree LeggedTHK8rion Toss (The Rigger:vApprentice, firstedition - I only recently found out that ithas been published in a second edition - Imust buy my copy soon) published a wayto tie a 4L X 58 THK covering a T­junction such as where a spoke meets awheel. He called it a three-legged Turk'sHead knot. Geoffrey 8udworth (TheComplete Book of Decorative Knots,1999) presented Toss's method of usingthe 4L X 58 THK to cover the simple T­shape. The 4L X 68 THK that we havebeen tying in this note may be used forthe same purpose. Indeed, 1suppose any4L THK could be used for that purpose.Indeed again, I suppose that any THK withan even number ofleads could be used tocover aT-shape.

As shown in Figure 11, we begin by tyinga 2L X 38 THK around the wheel (upperpart of the tee) with one lead on each sideof the spoke (the lower part of the tee).The second cord is woven through the firstTHK in the usual over two, under two,over two and then under one, over one, asshown in figures 12 and 13. Thecompleted knot is shown in figure 14.

A common way of drawing theinstructions for a Turk's Head knot is todraw the knot being tied on a rod or stick.Ifyou prefer that type of drawing, just usefigures II through 14 and remove the

31

spoke or lower part of the tee from theillustrations.

We have just tied a four lead THK by firsttying a normal two lead THK and thenweaving another separate cord through it.You may wonder if you could, for instancetie a 6 lead THK by first tying an ordinary3 lead THK and then weaving a separateTHK through it. This is not possible,using a single cord. It is possible toenlarge Turk's Head Knots and severalauthors have discussed that.

To tie a multi-strand Turk's Head knot thatis as attractive as possible, be sure to usecords that are of the same thickness,stiffness and firmness.

A person tying this knot as a mat couldhave a problem with parity. That is,suppose that one tied the 2L X 38 THKas the mirror image of the one shown infigure 7. If you began the second cordwith the over two, under two patternshown in figure 8, the knot would not betied correctly. Ifyou begin with the mirrorimage of the knot shown in figure 7, thenbegin the second cord by going under twothen over two, etc. In any casc, bcgin thcsecond cord by making sure that the overand under pattern is correct from the veryfirst cord that is crossed.

Knot StiffcningTo stiffen knots I use Speed-E-Namel,a safe, lead free and fast dryingenamel, to stiffen decorative knots.This product is readily available in theUnited States.

Yvonne Chang--------~._-----

32

/ 1

33

PresU[entia.{:J{arwu;rs £ist 2001

SvenIr1c :Jtnd£rsson (PUle)forservwe to tne lr:jX'TinSwed~m.

Jonn1JUrRefor servwe to tne Xortn .Jlnwncan Bra1""lfJ n

as fou-nd:er nwmbe r, sec re tary and:Presicfe rt".

'.RfJaer carmrfor [orl(] servW e to t m Xew Zeda"1'7£f

Cfiayter and:for work on tne :J-ftStory ofCorcfage.

Jan :1foefnaae(for sefJressyromotion ofknot tytrl(] to trnyuf£ic a"1'7£ffor servwe to tne lr:jX'Tin tne

XetmrfandS.

"Dents :M.uryfi:yfor work witn tne RDydXavy, Saa CadetCorys, rtkst Country Brarwn 1.1X a"1'7£ffor

otner initiatives too nunwrous to fist.

"Don "'WoodSforservwe to tne Essex Bra1""lfJn 1.iX a"1'7£fto

tne lr:jX'Tingenera£.

'!Fiis is myfint nonoun ['1St (see ''Letterfrom a Presicfert""). 'Tfiere 'VVif[6e otnen,fortnere are many wnose efforts on 6eFu::df if

tne r:juirtfcfeserve re cofl?'7i.tion.

More Knotty Limericks!From Carol Walker

A sailor who came from Nantucket

Used his fid with finesse when he stuck it

In rope or in line,

Manila or twine.

Any strand that was loose he could tuckit!

From Cy Canule

The Marquis de Sade looked quite pained

When a knotting Guild member explained

'Seizings', 'whippings' and 'lashings'

Were NOT cruel thrashings.

'Then they're no fun at all: hecomplained.

A pretentious student at college, he

Called knot tying 'the art of nodology'

But a tutor named Dirk

Said, "it's science you bcrk!

And it's properly known as 'knottology'."

From Marc Chardon

There was a gay knotter named Smee

Who'd tie with considerable glee

When throwing a bend

He'd flip end for end

And often end up in a tree

34

From Phoebe Ashley Chardon

Oh, there was a young man namedHoudini

Who square knotted himself a bikini

When the twine became caught

It ripped out each knot

The remainder was quite teeny-weeny

From Sam Lanham

Cliff Ashley of New Bedford fame

Could tie knots and call them by name

One day while at home

He wrote a knot tome

And knotting was never the same.

From Maurice Smith

A member who lived in Bridgend

Tied a reef knot and then a sheet bend

He tied Turk's Heads as well

And we're happy to tell

That he now knows his 'send' from his'wend'

From David Rogers

A star knot takes time to put in

To rush it is really a sin

You must get every tuck right

And pull them all tight

Or it'll collapse to your lasting chagrin

From Jack Fidspike

A critic of knotting averred

"It's a pastime that's truly absurd

Braids, bellropes and beckets,

Mats, Turk's heads and sinnets,

Are hardly an art-form byword."

A self-centred knot tying bore

Crowed he'd invented new knots galore;

But his confidence crumbled,

And his hubris was humbled,

When shown they'd been foundheretofore.

From Norman Cockburn

There was a young man called Fred,

Who tried to tie a Turk's Head,

But his wife was called Fanny,

Said you've tied me a Granny

Now put it away and come to bed.

From Saltedog

A romantic young knotler from Kent.

Found rope jargon no impediment,

All the girls seemed impressed,

When he shyly confessed,

That his tongue wasn't tied, it was bent!

From Hank

A lady Guild member from Perth

Tied fancy Turk's Heads round her girth

She used all he might

To pull them up tight

And that's how she came to give birth!

35

Three F'sin KnotTying.

Not to be confused with the Anglo-Saxonexpletives heard at sea, when all is notwell.

These three F's will be an integral partof the IGKT over the next two years.

1. Famham; a town 45 miles inland. TSSwiftsure is in Famham and that is thevenue for the 19th AGM in 2001.

2. Fareham; in the Northwest corner ofPortsmouth Harbour. The 20th AGM and2K2 The Event will take place there.

3. Femeham- The first Queen Elizabethlanded in Ferneham in 1600-ish and said" Oh what a fair town," and the name waschanged to Fareham. Pemeham Hall is thesite for 2K2 The Event.

Do not even look in your map forFernhurst - that is miles away. For thesingle minded Knot Tyer, who may saywhat the F has this article to do with knottying? Come to Farnham and Farehamand Find out.

An Invitation

- TO TEACHERS

-

We would like to take advantage of the presence of any experienced knotters attendingAGM 2001 by running a number of workshops on Sunday, the day after the meeting.

We are looking for members who arc available to pass on their skills to interestedmembers and any non-members who may attend. Our current thinking is for theworkshops to start around 0900 and end at mid-day.

If you are willing to run a workshop session on Sunday (13th May), please contacteither Ken Yalden or Tony Doran, indicating:

Subject

Max number of attendees to the workshop

Preferred timing (if different from above)

- TO LEARNERS

There is usually an abundance of knotting skill and know-how at the AGM and half­yearly meetings, but few formal opportunities for tapping into it. If there is an aspect ofknotting you would like to learn more about, why don't you let Ken Yalden or TonyDoran know. We'll try to match supply with demand

- TO NON-MEMBERS

We'll have an open invitation displayed at the meeting, but if anyone knows any non­members who will be coming on Saturday to view the knot displays, please let themknow they will be welcome at any of the Sunday workshops.

36

Branchlines

Belgian Branch

Some news from the Belgian branch or tobe more precise: from Blankenberge,where two members of the Guild lead thelocal Sea Scouts.

Marc Lauwereyns and myself, are twokeen knotters. Marc keeps him sel foccupied with the making of mats,bellropes and the covering of all kinds ofobjects (bottles, etc.) As for myself r ammore interested in the practical side ofknotting (making of splices, breading netsand making fenders, etc.)

What is the news we have? Followingthe request of the guild to bring knotting

37

to the public and to do something specialfor the year 2000, we decided to organisea knotting session on January 22nd.Everybody who was interested, parentsand friends, was invited. The goal was tomake 2000 knots in two and half-hours.We called in the local press, papers andradio, to announce the news.

With a strong spirit and will to succeedthe start was given. All our members werethere. With us a group of land Scouts fromHalle (Brussels) and a few parents.

The cubs (7 to II years) made sixdifferent knots: half knot. square knot.sheet bend, figure of eight, bowline andclove hitch and this several times. Thescouts and guides (aged 11 to 14 years)along with the others, made forty differentknots several times. In a quick tempo 1840knots were thus made. With a hawser themaster (Marc) made a 'king size' Turk'sHead. I myself made 160 different knotand rope works. As we had now our 2000knots we were content but we had stillsome time to spend and so, without sayingwe had already reached our goal, the boysand girls were given a rope (I metre long).We asked them to make ten simple knotsas quickly as possible. After a short wilethe number of knots made reached 2450.

Renri DehenGuw

Kent Branch

On Sunday 29th October 2000, tcn of KentCounty's knot tyers got together for thefirst time at the historic dockyard inChatham heside the River Medway. If you

enter the Thames estuary, and take a leftjust past the Isle of Sheppey, this venuelies about 10 miles upstream on your portside; although, in fact, arrivals on thisoccasion came by car or train.Consequently, such outings areundertaken only for sound reasons, andso the actual turnout was heartening.

Those who attended were: GeoffreyBudworth*; Derek Chipperfield(organizer); Andy Glean; lill lenner*;Dawn Kenneally; Roger Riddle; TerrySmith; Bob Straud; Gavin Trigg; andAndyWaghom. *IGKTfoundermembers

Credit for this initiative is due toDerck, who had obtained the use ofa largeroom above the old (e.1790) - but stillcommercially active - industrial rope­walk. A donation of just £2 from eachperson present just about covered hisoutlay.

With everyone approachable,mingling and chatting soon prevailed.Most sought answers to one question oranother, or had brought specimens of theirown knot work to show and explain.Among the useful tools produced, handledand discussed were: Dan CalIahan'sinternally-threaded needles; StuartGrainger's 'grip-fids'; and Vemon Hughessinnet braiding, lathe-turned, woodentable-tops.

Derek had also arranged an informalbut informative walk around the variousrope making areas now operated byMaster Ropemakers, including the DoubleRopehouse (so-called because both yam­spinning and rope closing processes werecarried out there). Its impressive internallength of 346 metres Cl, 135 feet) was

38

originally required - Bob told us - toaccommodate the manufacture of cablesfor the Royal Navy who specified lengthsof 120 fathoms (219 metresl720 feet) toanchor a ship in 40 fathoms (73 m1240 ft)of water. It was amusing to see a memberof staff riding an old-fashioned errandboy's bicycle to get from one end of thisropewalk to the other. Better still wasfinding a large box labelled 'Helpyourself!' containing odds and ends ofdiscarded rope.

All things considered, this was awelcome - indeed overdue - inauguralgathering of Kcnt county Guild members.Before parting, it was unanimously agreedto do it again in the Spring of 2001, aftera longer period of written notice, whenthe invitation would also be extended toinclude those nice IGKT people in theneighbouring county of East Sussex.

Anyone wishing to become involvedin this next outing should contact DerekChipperfield at 192 Fairview AvenueWigmore, GiUingham, Kent ME8 OQE(tel: 01634-233603; or email:delc@onete1.net.uk).

Reported by our Kent stringer

British ColumbiaChristopher Stask, Terry Ridings andmyself were participants at the recentlyheld 13th Wooden Boat Festival held inVancouver BC, August 24 to 27. Terry didhis rope making demonstrations, whileChris demonstrated his techniques onmaking rope fenders. As for myself I didknotting demonstrations of the simpleTurk's head knot and a few other fancyknots along with my class of local SeaCadets from HMCS Discovery.

While Terry had his own display boothwith his rope making machine and his bigvariety of ropework, Chris shared a boothwith my Sea Cadets and me. The Cadetsput their work on display as it was beingfinished. Chris displayed his latestfenders, bellropes, Turk's head knots, andmats. My part of the display consisted ofnumber of large canvas mounteddecorative Celtic patterned mats includinga clock face in the Celtic style (a 60 bightby II lead patterned Turk's head knot tiedflat).

Christopher Stask was one of the beststudents I have ever had. He has for thepast year, been teaching my introductoryfancy knotting course on VancouverIsland. His interest in knotting is unique.He had an industrial accident about threeyears ago that left him without the use ofhis right hand. He had to leave his job andfind a new career: He had taken my fancyknotting course a few years before, andwith my encouragement started knottingseriously. He now has much of the use of

39

his right hand again, has a new career onthe horizon, and has an improved outlookon life.

David Fukuhara

West Yorkshire BranchIn the year 2000 we have met regularly asa branch and had several outings wherewe have been displaying to the generalpublic and doing talks and workshops withinterested groups.

Our first event of the year was aweekend display in one of our localmuseums Armley Mills. It was quite alarge room that we had to fill and wemanaged to cover a lot of aspects ofknotting which included a large work tablein the centre of the room for practical workand instruction groups.

We put on a display for The LaceMakers Guild Convention in Scarboroughwhere their members showed a lot ofinterest particularly in flat knotting andneedle hitching. This was also a learIlingexperience for us seeing how much workcan go into making a piece of lace.

We were welcomed again at theBrighouse Boat Gathering where we hadour display stand and put on a full andinteractive display for the general public,and met up with friends from previousyears.

It was a pleasure to attend WakefieldCanal Festival again, we have attended forthe last six years and I think we areaccepted as regulars now. They save aregular space for us.

Scammonden Sailing Club had an openday where we put on a small djsplay, there

was limited knotting interest, but we didhave perfect weather and a chance to gosailing

When the Grand Turk (Sailing ship fromthe Hornblower television programme)visited Liverpool, we helped with theguild display on board the ship. It wasgood fun and the most intensive displayand demonstration that I have ever beeninvolved in.

It was unfortunate that we did not haveenough members available to man a standat the Leeds Waterways Festival and wehad to give this a miss.

We had representation from our branch atboth international meetings with Tim Fieldgoing to Weston-Super-Mare and Sheilaand I going to The Netherlands.

We have also done various talks andworkshops throughout the year and areenjoying ourselves promoting the guildand knotting as a hobby

David Pearsoll

New Zealand Chapter

It has been a good year for the NewZealand Chapter. We started with ourJanuary meeting hosting the InternationalVice-President, and our Patron, ProfessorVaughan .lones. He told LIS how much hevalues his participation in the Guild,especially the meetings he has attendedof the North American Branch. Ourmonthly meetings on the "Hikitia" havebeen great meetings where we havecontinued to share ideas and experiences.Chapter members Richard Hodge and RodOrrah have attended important meetingsof the Guild in America and England.

40

IGKT President Brian Field will reportto you on another highlight of the year forus!

The Wellington based team continue withvarious Guild related tasks: Supporting therestoration of the floating crane, we havepainted the public face ofthe main supportstructures using harnesses, bosun's chairs,flying foxes and gin poles. PatCummingham led a team to do a Long­Splice in a 24mm diameter Lang-laid 6X7wire for the Cable-Car RestorationSociety. Those of you who have worked

Pat Cunningham entering thesecond, lead spike. NZ Chapter

President, Tony Fisher on hand tosupervise! Photo: Cefia O'Neif.

with this type of wire will appreciate theskill that Pat needed to bring to the job.

I want to take this time to impress onyou all the International importance of ourorganisation. We are more distant from theactivities of the Guild in Europe, than mostof you and many of us are not weathly.But we are as important to the organisationas everyone else is. In my advocacy forthe New Zealand Chapter membership, Ihave strived to emphasize the point thatwhen the Council or the AGM isdeliberating on matters, the far-flungmembership be consider more actively. Iwant to place on record, particularly, thekindness and warm humanity thatPresident Brian Field has accorded mydiatribes and me! I have come to valuehis sage council and personal letters.

On a personal note: my wife Carolynis visiting my daughter Clare in Londonat Easter and I hope that she can meetsome of you during the month that she isin Great Britain.

I would like to claim having done thefirst eye splice and the first short splice inGreetings rope in the true millennium. Ifinished them at 12:05am January 1st,New Zealand time.

Tony FisherPresident, NZ Chapter

Texas BranchNovember 2000 was a busy month for theTexas Branch. On November 4th and 5thseveral members of the Texas Branchvisited the Texas Maritime Museum inRockport, Texas in conjunction with theMuseum's Music of the Sea Festival.

41

There they demonstrated knots, knottying, and rope making. The memberswho attcnded were Charles Holmes andhis son Carson, Sam and Missie Lanham,Ed Baker, and Barbara and Gary Sessions.On Saturday the 4th the weather was sobad that all of the activities had to bemoved inside the museum but on Sundaythe skies cleared and everybody couldmove back outside on the lawn. Ed Bakerhad his rope making machine set up andmade rope throughout the day whcn hewasn't making his famous dragonflypendants. Charles Holmes helped somevisitors tie Turk's heads and also taughtsome splicing. His son, Carson, tieddragonflies and key ring fobs. Samworked on one of his beautiful knot­covered bottles. Gary put Turk's heads onsome marbles and Monkey's fists on somewooden balls for necklaces.

The weekend was a success andAllison Lakin, the Educational Directorfor the Museum, has plans for a KnotTying Workshop early in 200 I and wantsthe Texas Branch to participate.

On November 18 Ed Baker and GarySessions made a 20-minute presentationabout the history of ropc and knots beforea local Chapter of the Daughters of theAmerican Revolution. Ed, again, maderope and Gary attempted to explain to theladies that rope making and knot tyingwere ancient and honorable skills.

Gary C. Sessiolls

FranceThe Maritime Museum of the Isle ofTatihou proposes a spring-time meetingofknot-tyers, open lo all, on the weekend17th & 18th March, 200 I. Tatihou is tobe found in the Normandy region ofFrance and lies a short distance off the eastcoast of the Cotentin peninsula, about 30kms from Cherbourg.

The objectives of the meeting are:

• An informal meeting between peoplewho are interested in knots

• A presentation of individual work, anexchange of information and know-how

• A debate concerning thc communicationof knotting matters on the Europeanmainland (e.g. the publication of KnottingMatters articles in other languages.)

The meeting will be conducted inFrench and English.

Accommodation is available on theisland at the reduced price of 160F a-day(full board), unfortunately space is limitedto 55 persons. There are many campsites(for the brave) and hotels in the vicinity,the museum can provide contactaddresses. Meals are available on theisland. The ferry crossing from the portof St. Vaast-la-Hougue will be free to allthose participating. For logistical reasons,reservations and acknowledgements ofparticipation must be made in advance.

The weekend is organized by France'sbranch secrctary of the International Guildof Knot Tyers, Graham macLachlan, whois also an employee of the museum.

Contact: Graham macLach1anMusee maritime de l'Ole Tatihou

50550 St. Vaast-la-Hougue

42

Tel: (0033) (0) 2 33 5433 33Fax: (00 33) (0) 2 33 54 33 47

E-mail: ile.tatihou@wanadoo.fr

Solent BranchThe inaugural meeting of the SolentBranch of the IGKT was held at TheAshcroft Arts Centre in Fareham,Hampshire on Tuesday 28th.December2000.

There were seventeen persons present,thirteen Guild members and four potentialmembers. After a welcome andintroduction by Ken Yaldon when he setout some ideas for a way forward for anew branch, Don Bellamy invitedeveryone to introduce themselves andtheir reasons for being there in the timehonoured format.

The appointment ofofficers was a littlemore difficult, Bob Pearce volunteered tobe the Hon Treasurer (he thought thatwould let him off anything else) and DonBellamy offered his services asMembership Secretary. We still need aMinutes Secretary. Don was acceptedunanimously as Chair/man/person. Thenumber and dates of future meetings wasdiscussed and agreed as follows:

Four times a year.

One: Just before the Guild AGM in May.

Two: Just before the Butser Hill event inJUly.

Three: Before the Half-Year Guild AGMin October.

Four: Just before Christmas.

The date of the next meeting will beTuesday 24 April 2001. The venue is yetto be decided and we are hoping that one

of the members who volunteered toarrange a venue will come up trumps andlet us know in plenty of time. If there isanyone out there who would like to comealong, please let us know, you will be mostwelcome.

After the formalities of the meetingwere finished we moved on to the realbusiness - Knots and Knotting. Severalmembers had brought examples of theirwork which all attracted a great deal ofinterest. Ken Elliott's bottles werecarefully scrutinised (has he made amistake anywhere?) and admired. GordonPerry's netmaking was observed withgreat interest. Ken Yalden's sea chest,fenders and decorative star knots werealso on display.

The item which probably aroused themost interest and discussion was a KnotBoard (25 inches by 37 inches, with 65knots, bends & hitches, a couple of tacklesand two types of anchor) which had beenbought at auction for Jim Welsh by hisson. A really splendid board except for thefact that all the labels were in Spanish.

Literal translation produced names, whichwere at variance with the opinions of thosepresent, and, dare I say it, with Ashley'sin some cases. Ken Yalden looked at theboard for a while then disappeared for afew minutes (1 learned later that he hadgone off to practice) when he returned henamed and demonstrated a knot that wasbaffling everyone else with the skill andartistry as befits the Chairman of theIGKT.

All in all, it was a very good meetingand we hope to see even more faces inApril.

BobPearce

Devon BranchA very busy summer started at the

national year garden party and the Looefestival of the sea. The whole summer washelped along by various National Trustevents. The craft fair at Saltram House anda weekend at Cothele House were wellattended by the public. We also did a fourday stint on the trusts Grand Turk tourwhilst in the Plymouth Naval BaseMuseum. Also the Devon group displayed

43

during the American Thanksgivingfestival. Thanks to Charlie Smith whomade three visits to Devon during theseason.

Denis Murphy and family would liketo thank the many guild members whooffered sympathy after the death ofBarbara, who will be missed at Guildmeetings. All the best thanks.

Denis 'Spud'Murphy

Pacific Americas BranchThe Pacific Americas Branch holds

monthly meeting at the Los AngelesMaritime Institute in San Pedro,California. We normally have from 10 to15 people show up, a fact that never ceasesto amaze the Secretary. In January therewas a discussion on how to make a RopeMal a la Hervey Garret Smith. InFebruary, we will have Mr. Charlie Bellshow us all how to make Pieter van deGriend's "Little Lump Knot." Charliepicked up a few tips from Dan Callahanwhen Dan was down here in June for ourAGM. Hopefully we will all learn a thingor two.

The branch is scheduled to have adisplay booth at the Whale Watch Festivalin Dana Point Harbor, California in lateFebruary.

The Secretary, loe Schmidbauer, willbe talking to a number of Scout Troops.He will talk to a Girl Scout Troop inLakewood in March and a Boy ScoutTroop in February. He learned of thesetroops through contact with the differentScout Troop Leaders at his work. Thegirls want to learn about braiding and theboys want to learn about lashing.

Our President, Lindsey Philpott, hasbeen especially busy. To begin with, heheld two knot-tying seminars. The firstseminar was in September on behalf of

44

the Association of Santa Monica BayYacht Clubs. The seminar was co­sponsored by WestMarine, Boat/US,Boater's world and ASMBYC, whodonated prizes for the participants andmany lengths ofline for people to practicewith. The second seminar, in October, wasgiven on behalf of the American SailingAssociation. There he taught studentstwelve knots to help them look their peerknot tyers in the eye!

As a member of Boat/US SpeakersBureau he gave a talk to about 50members of the San Fernando ValleyYacht Club in November. The topic wasthe fifteen or so knots that a sailor wouldneed aboard, why they are needed andhow to tie them. There was a warm andfriendly discussion on the benefits orotherwise of the outside bowline and thesheetbend. Many members learned for thefirst time the proper way to tie thetrucker's or waggoner's hitch.

Lindsey also taught a limited­attendance nine-week class titledMarlinespike Seamanship at OrangeCoast College's School of Sailing andSeamanship. There were some dozenlocals in attendance. They covered aboutseventy-five knots, splices, whippings,etc., canvas-work, fancywork, workingwit wire, braided line splicing, rigging andtackle systems. Projects attempted by thestudents included a ditty bag, knot-boardand a fishing net.

Finally, he has also taught would-becaptains who are studying for their USCGlicense as master or mate, the finer pointsof rigging and marlinespike seamanship.This is just one class in a series of classesthat these students will receive to trainthem to pass the licensing exam for theCoast guard's license.

Joe SchmidbauerSecretary IGKT-PAB

PostbagTile views expressed in reader's letters do notnecessarily reflect those of the Council. The Editorreserves tile right to shorten any letter as necessary.

The Figure Eight BowlineIn the article The Bowline by Owen K.Nuttall of Knotting Matters 67 there is amistake in the drawing of figure I, page30 of the Figure Eight Bowline. Theworking end is shown as having goneunder then over going through the loopbefore the move of the directional arrow.

Tom HallLonetree, USA

Isomorphic KnotsResponding to John Smith's letter on page46 of KM67, there is a word for identicalknot layouts. They are isomorphs[biology: isomorphism - structuralsimilarity, due to resemblance ofcorresponding parts]. Where the functionis also altered - for instance, sheet bend tobowline or the reef knot into a mesh knotfor nets ~ these knots are then refeITed toas metamorphic (i.e. physically changed)knots.

For those who are not keen onscientific tags, preferring more colourfullabels, I recommend a bit of whimsy fromthe late Desmond Mandeville. Musingover the drastic difference in reliabilitybetween the metamorphic reef and thiefknots, in which just one wend and onestand have been swapped over, put him inmind of Robert Louis Slevenson'sfictional doctor (and his awful alter ego);so he called such dissimilar pairs 'Jekyll­&-Hyde knots' ... because they exist intwo forms, one stable, the other extremely

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unstableGeoffrey BlIdworth

Tonbridge, England

Watch telescopesIf John Constable ever 'took a look'through a naval watch telescope, he wouldimmediately revise his percentageassessment figure to 100% ceremonial.

Decidedly more so, if he got theopportunity to compare a naval telescopewith a pair of Zeiss binoculars - standardissue on all RN ships.

Thomas SimpsonSouth Shields, England

Origin of the BowlineI write with some hesitation, as a very newmember of the Guild, in response to thisquestion in Owen K. Nuttall's article (KM67 p.28). I believe Captain John Smithwas right, though he expressed it lessexplicitly than Collins Dictionary of theEnglish Language, which defines it as "aline for controlling the weather leech of asquare sail when the vessel is close­hauled" (CI4: probably from Middle LowGerman bUline, equivalent to "bow +line").

In the book The Viking Ships, a briefintroduction to The Viking ShippingMuseum, Roskilde, Denmark, they showa diagram of the rig. There is also adrawing with its terminology in Englishand Norse that includes Bowlinelbolina.

The rope that is fastened to the bowsand used for mooring is usually called thepainter (C 15: probably from Old Frenchpenteur strong rope), although I know ofone instance where the words "bow line"are used instead, in the Class Rules of theInternational Topper dinghy.

I have observed a bowline knot untieitself, twice, when everything was againstit: tied in stiff cord to the handle ofa bailerin a sailing dinghy. It was not undertension, and was rattled around in thewater in the bottom ofa boat during a race

David LambethChertsey, England

Hervey Garratt SmithIn his interesting article on a Sea Chest(KM 62, p28) Daniel E. Smith asks formore information on Hervey GarrattSmith. Like Daniel, I learned much of myearly rope and canvas work from hiswritings and excellent drawings. I havenever been much of a worshipper at theshrine of Ashley. His book is a terrificreference, but to learn knotting you needother books and The Marline Spike Sailorby Hervey Garratt Smith is one of the bestin its line.

Before World War n, HGS and Icontributed articles to the Americanyachting magazine The Rudder. I still havecuttings of some of his articles.

About 30 years ago I was on one ofmy six months stints in America. In thosedays I was almost an American! Ivy and Iwere using a motorhome while collectinginformation that I was to use in articlesand books [or American publishers~ thistime on the eastern seaboard. FromCanada we had worked down the lengthof the Maine coast. We had to make a visitto Newtown, Connecticut before goingsouth.

Just after returning home to England Ihad a letter from HGS about a knottingarticle I had written. I have not kept hisletter or address, but from memory, hishome was about 30 miles from Newtownand we had almost passed his door.

46

So Hervey Garrett Smith is or was anAmerican and a New Englander at that. Igot the feeling that he was older than me,so he may be dead by now. Who knows? Iam 88.

The certain way to find out about thisor any author is to contact his publisher.Even if they will not give the address, theywill forward a letter.

Percy BlandjordStratjord.upon-Avon, England

Quick Release LoopIn reply to Jan Midtflaa's question abouta quick-release loop in KM68 p47, it isthe Speir loop, shown twice previously(KM56 p42 & KM63 p33).

This loop is similar to Olivier Peron's'Marion's' loop, although the Speirdoesn't directly load the quick-releasebight.

Joe Schmidbauer cited this knot froman Army technical manual, and describedhis use of it on the job at Boeing. I believethat the earlier KM reference was ofsomeone citing learning of the knot alsofrom a seaman.

DanLehmanVirginia, USA

I have also come across this knot,described as a 'Quick Release BOWline'in a US firefighter's manual - Ed.

Knotting Bamboo?On the twenty second of June listening toMysteries of Lost Empires I was intriguedto hear of the uses of bamboo. I wasalready familiar with the use of fine stripsas lashings but the construction ofbamboorope was new to me.

The programme referred to suspensionbridge cables being constructed wholly in

hamhoo. The core was rope laid and thecovering made of plaited bamboo of adifferent type.

John ConstablePershore, England

Grocer's KnotI have been reading the Hamlyn Book ofKnots by Geoffrey Budworth. Thisinteresting book has made me wonder ifany of your members can answer aquestion which has puzzled me forseventy years.

When, as a boy, I had to accompanymy mother to the Grocer's shop I watchedthe assistants packing, say, sugar and wasintrigued by the way they finished the finalknot and then broke the string. They didthis even though there was a blade on thestring dispenser.

Their method seemed to be to wrapone part of the string, the fixed end I think,around a thumb and snatch the loose endacross it. Needless to say whenever I havetried to copy it I have a mangled thumband fingers. However thin or weak I havemade the string I have failed.

Have any of your member's longmemories?

Peter CoulthurstCheltenham, England

Signs of the ZodiacCould KM readers suggest 12 knots,which could represent the signs of thezodiac. So far I have found one, BrianField's 'Bull Head' design which is in hisbook Breastplate Designs, that I thinkcould represent Taurus. Please send meyour ideas.

Dave WalkerCheshire, England

Beautiful, But Not MineThe magnificent Knot gallery of KM 69p23, show covered bottles by J. P.Escudeiro.

Well, no, no! I have not made them.

This is only a misunderstanding in theproposer of information. Quite natural Iimagine with thousands of photo's comingto the Guild, for the Knot Gallery.

Paulo EscuideroCacem, Portugal

Thank you to Paulo for bringing this to myattention. Marc Lauwereyns made thosefine bottles. I apologise for this error - Ed.

Old SaltsAs an "Old Salt" I cannot let the "One forOld Salts" rest at two responses. I agreewith the naming of the seas, but there isso much bilge talked about how manyropes there are in a ship.

It depends on the type, class, riggingand purpose of the ship as to how many"named ropes" are onboard. This couldbe one, two, three, or many. Two ropesnot yet mentioned are the "Mast Rope"and "Bull Rope" (no bull- it is genuine).

Gordon J. PerryHorndean, UK

Ibo Knot?Could you take a few moments to explainhow to tie an Ibo knot? I understand it is atraditional Japanese knot used to securebamboo poles together. The "helpfulillustrations" I have found are veryconfusing! Any information would begreatly appreciated.

Jena Peters011via E-mail

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EVENTS28th September - 21 st October 2001'Spliterati 01 'ACelebration of Ply-Split Braiding, Traditionaland Innovative.Bampton, Oxon.Exhibition; opening lecture by PeterCollingwood; programme of workshops andseminars. For full details and booking forms,when available, please send an SAE to JennieParry, 21 St Philip's Road, Leicester. LE55TR

KnottingDiaryAGM's &1/2 YEARLY MEETINGS

IGKT 19th Annual General MeetingFarnham, Hampshire12th May 2001Contact: Nigel Harding

IGKT Half-yearly MeetingEllesmere Port, Cheshire13th October 2001Contact: David WalkerTel: 01244 682117E-mail: getknotted@appleonline.net

BRANCH MEETINGSSwedish Branch10th March 2001, Visit to Alvangen RopeYard, north of GotenburgContact: Olof NystromTel: 08 265 065E-mail: olotnystrom@nybnd.com

French Branch17th - 18th March 2001The Maritime Museum, Isle of TatihouContact: Graham macLachlanTel: (00 33) (0) 2 33 54 33 33E-mail: ile.tatihou@wanadoo.fr

Kent BranchSpring 2001Contact: Derek ChipperfieldTel: 01634 233603E-mail: delc@onetel.net.uk

Solent Branch24th April 2001Contact: Bob PearceTel: 01489 691643E-mail: BatswainB@lineone.net

48

Guild SuppliesPrice List 2001

Supplies Secretary:- Bruce Turley19 Windmill Avenue, Rubery, Birmingham B45 9SP

email 106077.1156@compuserv.comTelephone: 0121 453 4124

Cheques payable to IGKT, or simply send your credit card detailsPS Dont forget to allow for Postage

Item PriceGeoffrey BudworthKnotlore a miscellany of quotes from fact and fiction £2.50Much Ado About Knotting history of the 1st 10 years of the Guild £2.50 *The Knot Book £3.99

Brian FieldBreastplate Designs £2.50Concerning Crosses £1.50

Eric FranklinTurkesheads the Traditional Way £1.50 *Nylon Novelties £2.00 *

Stuart GraingerKnotcraft £3.60 *Ropefolk £1.30Turks Head Alternatives £2.20 *Creative Ropecraft Hardback £9.95Knotted Fabrics Hardback price includes UK postage £9.00

John HalifaxSomething Different with over 50 Button Knots £3.20 *

Harold ScottOn Various Cruxiform Turks Heads £2.50Sliding Template Method for Designing Cruciform Turks-Heads Vol. 2 £3.00

IGKTKnotting Matters copies of past editions £2.50(Some past editions available – contact the Secretary for details)* bulk purchases of these items available at a discount – phone for details

Printed by Gipping Press, Needham arket. Tel: (0449) 721599. Fax: (0449) 721372