Wow! To my great surprise, my knitted shawl won 1st place in the Crafts section of Kāpiti Arts and Crafts Society’s annual Awards. The 2026 theme was ‘Art and Craft inspired by popular music’. The shawl was very beautifully displayed by the Kāpiti Gallery exhibition team.

My shawl’s inspiration was “I see fire (inside the mountain)” by Ed Sheeran, from The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug (link) – although I first heard the fantastic version by Sol3 Mio (link).

2nd place was won by fellow “Spinning, Weaving and Knitting group” member, Valerie Copeland for her fabulous quilt.

Here’s the citation from judge Fiona Christeller: “1st Bronwyn White: Shawl – Wool – ‘I see Fire – Ed Sheeran’

“The shawl clearly provides an image of the mountain being sung about. The swirling fire, vibrant reds and orange swirl and intermingle with remaining colours and textures. The knitting technique looks complex – I like the use of different knitting types and the way colours wind their way around the body and into each other.”

Icing on the cake: the shawl was bought before the exhibition closed and the buyer told me she loves it!