Lesley - these are for you!
This will be a picture heavy post as I tried to capture some of the garden! There was a huge amount of interest in it at the show and there were photos in some of the national and local newspapers; interviews on the BBC and the GMTV and long queues to look at the finished item.
The garden will appear in slightly different formats at the different shows depending on the size of the "plots" offered.
I'm not even going to attempt who has knitted what - some I know very well as I was at a show when the items were handed in, others were a total surprise and delight.
The deck chair was knitted by Glynis who came along to the opening on Thursday - then came back on friday and saturday afternoon to play with us on the Knit and Natter stand. Angela Hatton is responsible for the lawn crocheted out of recycled items.*
The vegetable garden was attacked by a mole - there are clearer photos of him on Wye Sue's blog
A better view of the lawn.
Here's a few photos of the Knit and Natter stand with the Knitting and Crochet Guild stand in the background - it was great to be together as I could help on both stands as needed. We hope we picked up some new members for the Guild
we certainly convinced a few people that Knitting and Crochet were fun
Sunday night at 5pm the show was supposed to close - we had to forcibly evict the Knitters!
And finally - a warning - if you draw me for SP9 I might get you roped in to help me! Here's Tutley Mutley at the end of 2 days of volunteering - it was fantastic to meet her!
Next stop is Harrogate for the Fashion and Embroidery show at the Yorkshire Showground 6-8 October
*Updated to show correct nameof the person who made it.
It's the start of the show season. I made a very brief visit to the new show at Birmingham last week and came away having bought 2 balls of yarn as a gift and 3 pattern books - very subdued!
Wednesday I head off for Exeter and the launch on Thursday of the Knitted Garden - it will be fun to see the finished article after 18 months of plotting - hope the camera works.
For those of you who have emailed me and are still waiting for a reply - I'm having a nightmare with emails - only 5 have got through since Friday! If you were asking about volunteering at shows then go to www.ukhandknitting.com and sign up there.
Back in July I signed up for laceswap I exchanged several emails with the person who was sending to me - she wanted to make sure she didn't send a duplicate of a pattern or yarn that I already owned. I mentioned my frustration that KnitPicks would not ship to the UK.
Today I received the most wonderful package from Nichole - I'd been reading the blogs of others involved in the swaps and there have been some very generous gifts but I think this one wins hands down
• 3-ring folder - Nichole had picked up on one of my earlier blog comments and I can now file all of my USA patterns in a file of the right size!
• 5 lace patterns from Knitpicks - Sock Memories Shawl, Rona Lace Shawl, Janet Lace Shawl, Rectangular Square Cover Shawl and the Hanging Garden Lace Stole
• 1 lace pattern from Goddess Knits - Summer into Fall
• 2.0mm Knitpicks circular 24inches
• 2.5mm Knitpicks circular 24 inches
These are the right size for the Wedding Ring Shawl and the wonderful colour of the cables should make it much easier to see the gossamer yarn
• Sheep stitch markers - wonderful, particularly the single black sheep - he matches my tape measure!!
• 4 skeins knitpicks Shadow in Oregon Coast - will blend beautifully with the new colours in my wardrobe
• 2 skeins knitpicks Gossamer in Sunrise - the yarn I would have picked for myself!
• packets of Kool-Aid for dyeing or drinking
This was a fantastic gift and I can see a winter of lace knitting!
It's been a very hectic week since I last wrote. I've been trying to get 3 candidates through their NVQ portfolio's and the task is finally complete. I spent Friday afternoon in a long meeting about it and then took myself off to I Knit London as a reward, a few small purchases were made.
Mum enjoyed her weekend visit to London, the sun shone, the crowds weren't too bad, we got a good deal on a hotel in Islington and she enjoyed seeing the Queen's dresses at the Palace - phew!! She also enjoyed prowling round the shops in Upper Street, eating in an ockabasi restaurant and watching M&S cookery demonstration (complete with wine and food tasting) - I was shattered!
I even managed to sneak in a visit to Loop - totally unneccessary as I'd bought more yarn on Thursday at Liberty's and then even more at I Knit London on Friday!! The yarn on Thursday was Summer Tweed in a rust shade that I think will work for Bianca's jacket from Fall IK
Monday the postman started delivering interesting envelopes
I took this along to Liberty's tonight and there were a few oohs and aahs - all at the same one's that I'd liked! The Dragone shawl arrived the day after - that chart will drive me nuts - I see plenty of enlarging and colour coding as preparation for knitting it!
The Swallowtail is finished but is no where near as large as I would like it - still it is pretty and will probably get far more use as winter approaches.
The vintage book I bought is from 1902 and is by Pearsall's on Handknitting with Silk - here's one of my favourite patterns - wonder what I'd have to use as a modern equivalent of the yarn
The final photo is Tilli Thomas silk - I'm trying to see what I can make out of one skein - I'm resisting the temptation to go back and buy more!
It's been a funny few days - the lows were problems with attempts to remortgage our home; a very violent incident at work; Matt had his car windows smashed by vandals and news that a friend is back in hospital.
The highs were the mortgage finally getting sorted; the fantastic parcel from Sue; finding a good hotel at a good price for this weekend!
I've been indulging in a few treats, some are practical like my new Kipling bags, some are fun like the blouse I bought today. There's my Mother's visit this weekend where we plan to go to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen's dresses.
Then there's the sheer joy of getting Swallowtail off of the needles - photos after blocking.
There's the joy of plotting what to knit next - bearing in mind that I'm about to hit the show circuit so need minimum weight for maximum entertainment value. There'll be another shawl on the needles - something easy whilst I wind up to Heere Be Dragone by Sharon Winsauer and / or the Wedding Ring Shawl by Sharon Miller.
But the greatest joy at the moment is a little book I bought recently - a book published in 1902 with the most wonderful patterns for knitting with silk - fully-fashioned silk stockings with clocks anyone?
A huge sigh of relief as I finish the last of the nupps on the Swallowtail Shawl! I've discovered that I detest p5tog with 2ply alpaca, I kept getting fluff mistaken for stitches.
This pattern was great until the start of the Lily of the Valley sections when I could not get the patterns to work out. Frantic calls to friends led to them also being confused. Emails were exchanged with Interweave Knits and their responses were just as confusing. The light eventually came on when I realised that although the sections on the pattern were marked as repeats they actually moved over a stitch every two rows - solution - pull the stitchmarkers out and just go for it!
There's just 16 rows to go before this is finished, i hope there's no more nasty surprises
Hurrah my lap top is finally talking to our home network!
As I mentioned yesterday I received a bumper package from my SP8 pal, the socks are truly wonderful and will be treated with great love and respect - they are for sitting in the recliner and admiring my warm toes rather than walking on!
This little item got a lot of oohs and aahs when I showed it off at Liberty's last night
There were 3 (yes 3) different outragously perfect yarn selections
and these wonderful buttons
I know I have been totally spoilt in this exchange and mega thanks go to Spinning Sue
Finally - what a nice note that the last 3 comments on this blog had been left by the last 3 Secret Pals I sent to!