Knitting & Stitching - The Aftermath

It was an exhausting trip to London on Sunday for the Knitting & Stitching Show. Left home at 06:40 and returned at 23:30. Quite a long day.

London was packed - so much more so than in previous years when I've visited the show. I was totally squished in on the coach on the way home.

On the outbound trip I made several hats for the Innocent campaign for Age Concern (see my sidebar). They're lacking pompoms at the moment, but I'll need to finish them at the weekend as they need to be in the post on Monday. I managed 40 last year, but I've been too busy this time. I need to get myself organised earlier in the year.

While at the show, I took a short workshop making silk paper. The workshops had been sited right next to the cafe and the noise levels were very high. The Tutors were shouting to be heard. It was a bit manic. I've yet to iron my paper, so a pic will follow later.

My modest and bargain haul from the show:

Some variegated mohair for using with my weave-it loom, silver angelina, grey and black silk roving, various threads, some mega-fine silk from Habu and some bargain ultra-fine cotton, and silk throwsters waste from Texere.

Some nymo and bargain seed beads, some sequins, lobster clasps, a couple of buttons to finish off two hats I've knitted with my handspun, and a cone-end of Hemp yarn from The House of Hemp to practice some rainbow dyeing. Finally some huge balls of acrylic to knit a jacket on 15mm needles using all 4 strands. The garment looked great on the stand at the show, and it will be a quick knit that I may even actually finish!

I trotted off to Borders in Oxford Street and bought the latest edition of Spin-Off, as there's an article in there using mini-combs to prep fleece.

I bought some majacraft combs last year, but am a bit clueless on how to use them as they have round handles and can't be clamped to the table.

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I am still working on that baby cardigan for a colleague, at this rate he'll have started school by the time I get it finished.........

Wingham, Winchester and Woven Wicker

Late last month our Guild arranged a weekend visit from Wingham Woolwork, a fibre business based in Rotherham in South Yorkshire. There was a Try and Buy day on the Saturday and a Spinning Workshop on the Sunday.

I was spinning like a demon on the Saturday, and having a go with small amounts of allsorts of fibre I'd not had the opportunity to handle much. I managed to spin and ply this skein.

The fibres are:
100 count merino
Luminous space-dyed synthetic
Ramie
Variegated merino in autumn shades
Bamboo
Variegated merino and silk blend in red shades
Milk protein
Jacob humbug
Viscose
Jacob humbug and silk blend
Linen
Multicoloured trilobal
Light tussah silk
Black mohair
Merino and soya blend
Camel
Cheviot
Black alpaca and silk blend
Soya bean fibre
Fawn alpaca
Tencel

and finally........Possum.

I bought a couple of spare bobbins for my Sonata, some coloured merino for felting, and a humbug blend of Shetland, along with some small samples and some of the variegated autumn mix which is here, with one lot of singles on the bobbin.


I'm currently plying this into a laceweight, and was intending to knit something from Victorian Lace Today with it until I spotted the Muir pattern on the cover page of the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty.com.

Picture from www.knitty.com

The subtle autumnal shades of the yarn should suit the leaf pattern of this stole perfectly.

I've also started spinning up some eye-popping lime coloured Corriedale in laceweight, which is definitely destined to be a shawl/stole from Victorian Lace.


I had some startled reactions when I started spinning such a loud colour, but the pictures in Victorian Lace show quite a few bright modern colours and they look fantastic knitted up as lace.

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I had a week off work last week and after a shaky start, the weather was really glorious. For October, it has been really sunny and relatively mild. I took a quick jaunt to Winchester and enjoyed the sunshine in the grounds of the Cathedral Close. You can just see the very small tree in the middle ground turning to stunning autumn reds and golds.

It was the sort of warmth that makes you want to lie out and snooze on some grass while listening to the distant drone of light aircraft passing overhead. (Pity the grass was so wet!)

I visited my favourite craft shop in Winchester Creative Crafts who have a lot more stuffed into their store than their website would suggest. I came away with some sequins, thread and beads for some art yarn I have in mind.

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Also while I was at home I visited our local Art Gallery, Quay Arts to visit the 'East Weaves West - Basketry from Japan and Britain' Exhibition.

Some of the Exhibits were stunning:









If you live near Hove, you can catch this exhibition later in the year, then it goes to Holland.

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I'm eagerly anticipating my trip to Ally Pally on Sunday for the Knitting and Stitching Show.

Got all of my tickets booked for the coach and the Show and the Show Guide is through. I'm doing one of the workshops on making silk paper which is around lunchtime, and I'll also be trying to squeeze in John Lewis and Liberty before the shops shut.

Not that I end up buying anything much there, but it's nice to see yarns like Noro and Louisa Harding 'in the flesh' for when you see a lovely pattern on-line and wonder what it would be like knitted up.