With the World Shearing Championships set to be held in the North Island town of Masterton in March, federation spokeswoman Jeanette Maxwell said shearing was now a bona fide sport that deserved international recognition.

Yet almost two years later, Zwerling and her associates have taught more than 100 prisoners to knit, while dozens more are on a waiting list to take her weekly class. "I have guys that have never missed one time in two years," Zwerling says. "Some reported to us that they miss dinner to come to class."

Charlotte told us that she had little formal artistic or craft tuition as a child or teenager - a topic she would touch on later. However she developed an interest in fashion. This led to work in costume in film and television and developed her artistic skills as a designer. Her interest in textiles was a natural evolution from this background and she went on to study tapestry weaving at Warrnambool TAFE.

A visit to Varanassi in India allowed her to explore the possibilities of jacquard weaving techniques. On a holiday in Peru she was seduced by the local weaving and the vibrant colours the weavers used. Charlotte also talked about her role as a facilitator of the hyperbolic crochet reef exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum and showed us examples of the work produced. She also gave us a sneak preview of her exhibition of shaped tapestries and installations which look at polarities of colour and the ideas of opposites as exemplified in her video installation of a Samurai council worker, or the contrasts between digital art and hand knits.

Registration period: 1 October to 31 December 2011.

The aims of the scarf exchange are to preserve the skills of spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet and felting, to expand our wool craft network and to challenge each crafter to produce their best original work.

Participation in the scarf exchange involves you selecting 150gm of washed and combed natural fibre to be crafted into a scarf by another participant. In return you will be required to craft a scarf using the fibre sent to you.

1. Send your fibre, fibre sample, entry form and entry fee by 31 December 2011 to:

Wangaratta Hand Weavers and Spinners
PO Box 473
Wangaratta VIC 3676
Australia

2. You will receive an exchange package of fibre by the end of February 2012. Over the next 4 months you will be able to spin, dye, knit, crochet, weave or felt the exchange fibre into a surprising creation to showcase the best of your fibre talents.

3. Delivery Date for the return of your finished scarf is 20 July 2012.

4. Scarf Exhibition: All entries for the Scarf Exchange will be on display at Workshop Space, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Ovens Street, Wangaratta for 10 days from Saturday, 8 September to Sunday, 16 September 2012. The exhibition will incorporate the regional Sharing Day hosted by Wangaratta Hand Weavers and Spinners on Tuesday, 11 September. We invite all crafters to visit Wangaratta over this period.

5. Finished scarves will be returned by the end of Nov 2012.

All fibre must be in the form of washed and combed tops. You can use any natural fibre or combination of natural fibres. You can select the colours you prefer for your finished scarf or let the crafter choose whether or not to dye the fibre.

Entry Fee: Australian and NZ participants $16
Info & forms: Marion Stewart

A not-for-profit event run by the Rotary Club of Deloraine, the Fair hosts more than 240 arts and craftspeople, involves more than 1000 community volunteers and attracts more than 25,000 people from Tasmania, interstate and overseas in at least 15 venues, with even shopkeepers in the main street of Deloraine getting involved.

Throughout the Fair, there will be a range of classes for people of all ages, and working demonstrations.

The event also features a Gourmet Festival, with a range of Tasmanian food, wine and micro-brewed beers available while you sit back and relax. There is also a Gourmet Pantry, featuring predominantly Tasmanian-made produce such as jams, preserves, spices, puddings, wines, cheeses and more.

There will be also a variety of local and interstate entertainers throughout the Fair.

This is where you come in!

Help us create a giant container cosy.

Simply kit or crochet a 30 by 30cm square. The more squares you make the closer we'll be to our beautiful container cosy.

To find out more, contact Christine or Facebook

On Saturday and Sunday there will be shearing demos, on the hour every hour, together with fleece sorting and classing in preparation for processing. You will be able to watch the entire process as raw alpaca fleece is spun into yarn and then knitted into garments.

When: Thursday to Sunday, 13-16 October
Info: nationalshowandsale.alpaca.asn.au

Mary is keen to source stunning images of the work of creative individuals. Of equal interest are pieces that have been collected as outstanding inspirational examples, including ethnographic and historical materials, since one aspect of the text deals with the impact of the eye of the beholder. In particular, detailed images are sought in order to illustrate the complexity and extraordinary variety of surface treatments, manipulations, materials and structures that textiles present. In addition, Mary is seeking personal statements elucidating why or how each piece is of personal significance.

You'll be able to walk through this landscape starting with a stroll through a rainforest, meandering alongside a river and some bushland, before stepping up for an aerial view of a farm and then visiting a life-sized garden. All the plants, trees, animals, people, buildings, machinery, clouds, grass, water, insects, flowers will be knitted in 3D.

You can use any material as long as it is knitted or crocheted or you can use yarn in any creative way. And you can stitch your knitting over or around objects to give them form or make them stand up.

Info: Gloucester Gallery Farmyard patterns are available.

Go to www.object.com.au

Carbon dating is too destructive for most silk items, scientists said. The new method uses the natural deterioration of silk's amino acids to determine its age by calculating that change over time -- a process known as racemisation. Archaeologists and forensic anthropologists have used this process for years to date bones, shells and teeth.

Mary Schoeser, specialist author in textiles, is working on an exciting project commissioned by Thames & Hudson, London. Entitled The Art of Textiles, this is to be a major work comprising over 1,000 images and celebrating the breadth and depth of the field today.