Every so often the Irish Knitwear Exporters Guild meets to discuss how to promote its product, and to find out how much has been sold in the preceding 12 months.
The news is good this year: £25 million turnover - £14 million from exports - was achieved, according to Mr Vincent O'Neill, chairman of the guild and managing director of Heritage Knitwear in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
Promoting the Irishness of the garments through a swing tag had positive results. For an industry which felt the draught when fleece became the rage, it was news everyone wanted to hear, especially the 600 employees and the hundreds who work from home.
And now knitwear is back in fashion. From the commercial sweater to the designer two-piece, it is the desirable item of the winter wardrobe. One good feature is the new feminine flare, and the fashionable colours in novelty yarns. Greys, blacks and oatmeal are among the sophisticated, with plenty of rich colours in the more traditional pieces.
Yarns are so much improved that a bulky looking coat (see Stone Circle at the Sweater Shops) in tone-on-tone greys, weighs just an ounce or two, £215).
Maybe the knitwear industry has got it right.
The Sweater shop, in Wicklow Street, Dublin and its branches around Ireland, carries the majority of guild knitwear.
It is obvious we are dealing with high fashion in many cases. Joan Millar (long dress £99 and matching coat, £115), Heritage (fluffy fitted jumper and zip-up hooded jacket mixing ivory with grey), and Irish Style, doing the new flared jacket (£149), are among the many great looks, though it must be stressed the dateless winter woollie is still there at under £30.
So while exports are doing well in Japan, the US and throughout Europe, the home market is especially lively and the Knitwear Guild could disperse this time satisfied with a job well done.