Book Week promises a good yarn

Pictured from left, Frances Griss, Irene Henry and Yvette Hinchliff with their  creations

Horace the bookworm, the Knitty Professor and The Hungry Caterpillar.

Pictures Laura Dean

Three creative supporters of the forthcoming Kirkcudbright Book Week have proved that they know a good yarn when they see it.

The women have created characters that will form part of window displays staged by business owners in the town centre to promote the event, which runs between March 4 and 10.

Irene Henry, from Kirkcudbright, has used a mixture of knitting and crocheting to create The Knitty Professor and Yvette Hinchliff, also from Kirkcudbright, has crocheted The Hungry Caterpillar.

Frances Griss, who lives near Rhonehouse and is a volunteer for literary festival organiser Kirkcudbright Book Week Society, has crocheted a bookworm called Horace (no relation to the lyrical Roman poet of the same name).

The three creatives met for the first time at the Feast café in St Cuthbert Street, where Horace will spend Book Week and which is one of the establishments that will be hosting events

Frances said: “I have made Horace large so that he has personality and makes an impact on passers-by to attract attention to what will be happening in Book Week.”

Irene said: “I was pleased to be asked to do a knitted/crocheted display for Book Week and I hope that it attracts interest in all the events on offer.”

Yvette said: “I’ve been crocheting the last couple of years and it is so great for my mental health.  I couldn’t resist doing the Hungry Caterpillar as it was one of my favourite books as a child.”

Feast café owner Robyn Goodare said: “We are excited to be hosts again for Book Week. We love being able to provide a space for people to come together and share ideas.”

Jenie Grogan, the Book Week Society committee member who is co-ordinating the window displays in Kirkcudbright, said:  “We really appreciate the support and enthusiasm that the business owners have given Book Week.”

The third annual Kirkcudbright Book Week will be staged at venues across the Dumfries and Galloway town and include a mixture of  locally-based authors and those from further afield in Scotland and England.

The week will include talks, recitals, meet-the-author sessions and book launches and take in genres ranging from poetry, short stories, novels and general non-fiction to children’s books, crime fiction, romantic fiction, historical fiction/non-fiction and memoir.