Life-size gingerbread house stumps up cash for Archive

The house is completely hand knitted, from the clock to the cat, and the roof alone has 1,200 knitted tiles, each with a sweet or cake attached.
The Gingerbread House project ran between May 2006 and June 2007, when more than 2,000 knitting packs were distributed with patterns for the gingerbread men, cupcakes and sweets used to embellish the house.
More than 700 knitters were involved from across the UK, France, Spain, Canada and the USA. All contributors are mentioned in the accompanying recipe book, "In Praise of Ginger," containing ginger-based recipes and Christmas knitting projects.
The brains behind this project was a Devon based textile designer, Alison Murray and her mother, Ann Murray.
The house has gained international fame, appearing on The Graham Norton Show in the UK and the Martha Stewart Show in the USA. A UK fund-raising tour resulted in media coverage on a local and national scale.
Starting in North Devon the project raised £8000 for the North Devon Hospice, and touring Exeter, Brighton, Harrogate, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham and Liverpool raised £16,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.
The money raised in Greenham will go towards the National Needlework Archive, a registered charity with a rich archive of textile related books, magazines, instruction leaflets, dress and knitting patterns, machines, tools, haberdashery and laundry items as well as a collection of old textiles.
To compliment the exhibition, the Old Chapel Textile Centre are hosting a knitting workshop, a sock competition and a special open day, “The Big Knit” on 1 December (10am – 4pm), when the Gingerbread house will be occupied by a wicked witch tempting the children with tasty treats.
Visit the Gingerbread House at the Old Chapel Textile Centre, Main Street, Greenham Business Park, Greenham, from 6 November to 7 December. Entry is £4 per adult and free for children. For further details visit www.nationalneedleworkarchive.org.uk.