A great train journey up here yesterday followed by a bit of a nightmare with the stand set up - one box had failed to arrive - not too bad but it was the box with the needles and hooks!
This morning I sent a quick email and a had a brief phone call and by the end of the day had some great donations from local knitters - don't you just love how generous Knitters are!
The show today was busy and there was some serious buying going on in the next aisle - the one with the gourmet foods and wine. The Hobbycraft hall was heaving and you could barely walk around between 11 and 3.
We had a quieter time on the stand and settled down to do some serious teaching - I never thought I'd end up teaching crochet all day but I did as so many people stopped to admire the scarf I'm making from my SP9 yarn - here's a pic after the first ball.
The other main topic was casting on and I think I taught some very experienced knitters at least 5 new to them cast-on's at the end of the day. I've been practicising a few more for tomorrow - I didn't realise I knew quite so many.
One of the dangers of staying in a hotel on your own is that you can get sidetracked in blogland and end up following obscure links - here's the best of today's Sheep Poo
I'd meant to offer a small gift to my 1000 comment maker but never got around to mentioning it - that event has now happened - so as I have that person's address I'll get something in the post as soon as I'm home - bet you are all wondering who it was!
This time I'm off to Scotland for a craft show at the SECC - I'll be there until Sunday meeting up with some of my friends for yet another Knit and Natter.
Matt will join me over the weekend and then we are off exploring for a few days - who knows where we will end up!
I've not compiled a list of yarn shops, Matt's not listed Industrial archeology sites, we've looked at no maps or hotels - this could be fun.
A wonderul start to SP9!
Coffee for late night bloggers - yum! Candy and a sweet dish, a CD of songs from 25 years ago - this is already packed in my bag for our holiday and 2 great balls of Misti Alpaca in a worsted weight - I'll have to find a pattern to do it justice!
I'm at home feeling slightly crappy due to an asthma attack, thinking about all the work I should be doing before I go away on Thursday and what I need to do at this end to help the next two weeks go smoothly.
Instant mood change when the door bell rings and I find a smiling postman, with interesting mail! Two cheques have arrived which will help cover the excesses of the last few weeks; a great card from someone I taught to finger knit in Harrogate a few weeks ago; a package of squares to pass on to Gerard for the River project and a great box from my SP9 pal!
I promise to blog about it more when I've got new batteries in the camera.
It's time to come clean and show the level of self-indulgence I've wallowed in for the past few weeks!
I'd expected to get off lightly at Harrogate Fashion and Embroidery show - instead I discovered these...
11 copies of Knitters that I didn't have in my collection! How could I possibly walk away from them. They contain some absolute classics from Elizabeth Zimmerman, Medrith Glover and others.
We were positioned very close to Selman Textiles and Ashley and Liz encouraged my indulgence by selling me 17 balls of this at a ridiculous price!
On to Ally Pally where the first stop was at Taj Yarns to indulge my passion for Wagtail which was my favourite yarn discovery for 2005
Then on to Jamieson's where Elaine refused to sell me anything initially ( she has some idea about the size of my shetland stash) but eventually gave in to my pleas and sold me this
to make "Wisteria" - The sides are already completed and I thought the flowers and leaves would be good knitting to do on the stand next week end in Glasgow. I'm looking forward to my trip as I always enjoy the shows up there and Matt and I are taking the following week off and plan to potter up the West Coast of Scotland to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.
There was a new stand in the next room which proved dangerous! I've even planned (and budgeted) to go back and buy more from them at the Harrogate show in November - I'm even planning a ready knitted item in Possum / Silk
Touch Yarns are a favourite place to spend money and I make myself wait until Sunday after 4pm or I'd never be able to resist the temptation. This time I fell for the Angora/merino/trevira mix, no idea what I will use it for but it looked so warm I had to have it!
and finally Catalina Yarns where the stunning shawl pins made me dive into my purse immediately!!
For some the show is about shopping, for others it's the exhibitions. Some like the crowds; others the peace at the end of the day but for me the very best thing about this show is the people! I can't think of any other place where I can ask for volunteers and get so many offers that we had to turn people down! Then, as usual, some had to drop out at the last minute and others stepped in.
I have had a lot of feedback from people about the great atmosphere on the stand and the creative way that we taught so I need to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the Team - you know who you are!
I tried to keep track of the bloggers who attended and lost count on day 1; I tried to work out how many people I met that I knew and lost count by lunch time on Thursday. So here are a few happy snaps to sum up some of my enjoyment....
Sally had planned a tour from the USA and managed to get them all to Liberty's on Thursday night - it was great to see the place heaving
Another member of the tour enjoying the chocolate mousse
Gerard visited the show on Thursday and stopped by to say "hello". I mentioned that we were down on the no. of volunteers for Sunday and he offered to come and help - not wanting to take him away from the River for the day we set him up with his own table! Thanks to everyone who donated blue yarn at a few moments notice.
Normally at a show I see Hazel whizzing round so it was good to see her sit and enjoy herself
The final photo is Wibbo wearing Wormhead! I think this should be in your next book!!!
There were a few minor purchases made, there would have been a lot more except that I was too busy to escape the stand and when I did I had an entourage so couldn't buy any secret xmas gifts!
There are two items now on the needles - a hat in possum for me and a Nicky Epstein Wisteria bag also for me, photos will follow at some stage.
Day 1 at Ally Pally - I still haven't managed to even walk around the show. The Relax and Knit stand was heaving and over 150 people went away having learnt to knit (and they are only the ones I managed to count!) by my estimate we will run out of kits and yarn by Saturday lunchtime!
The volunteers worked so hard, wonder if they'll turn up tomorrow?
It was so good to see so many familiar faces and a big thank you to all the blog readers who stopped by and introduced themselves - it's great to know your audience - you were all so generous in showing your purchases - you do realise my bank manager will be very unhappy with you!
At one stage today there were 13 bloggers on the stand - anyone want to try to guess them all?
My biggest thanks of the day go to someone who wasn't there - there is a wonderful knitter who spoils me outrageously by keeping me in hand knit socks - The pair I wore today made for happy feet and smiling face - I could not have done it without you!
This morning I had an email from the SP9 sending to me and she's left a blog comment - can you tell I'm looking forward to this?
Tomorrow is Ally Pally - the highlight of the UK Knitting and Stitching Shows (not to be confused with the ICHF shows where we have the Knitted Garden). Today I've been helping set up a few of the stands and got to have a sneak preview - I need more money! This is the best collection of yarn I've seen for years.
I'm back from my holiday in Harrogate having had a wonderful time at the Fashion and Embroidery show - I spent much of my time walking around trying not to look at th exhibits or I would have been coming home with new hobby items - I'm fascinated with some of the embroidery and the multimedia work.
The Garden caused a great stir as did the Knit and Natter area - we put out an urgent plea for more volunteers for the Friday and were ably asisted by Martine, Denise and Mary from the KCG.
Here's a few more shots from the Garden - taken with the new camera ( which I still haven't learnt how to use properly)
I loved this little group of funghi
I loved the bricks in the wall, many were knitted by Ray of ICHF, others by friends at Liberty's, and beginner knitters at shows.
The WIsteria spirals inspired many beginners to have a go at knitting or crocheting a scarf.
The goldfish pond is one of my favourite areas, there's always something new to look at
There's still only one tortoise in the garden and every time I look at him I remember how I felt when I discovered that the original had been stolen from the show in Glasgow. I'm living in optimism that the original will be returned when I go to Scotland later this month.
Don't you think that every lawn should have daisies like these?
I finished knitting Bianca's jacket last night and have it packed in my bag to sew up at the hotel this evening. It's looking as if I achieved my aim of keeping the Summer Tweed tight but may have over compensated and made it a little too much so! Here's hoping it will stretch a bit.
I've now got the camera software installed on my laptop so will hopefully be able to work the necessary magic to post pictures in the near future.
The disasters are that I'm on the train but the essay I'm supposed to be doing and the knitting pattern for the new project are both sitting by my chair at home - hence sitting on a train and writing blogs.
there is some knitting packed in my case but it's of the complicated lace variety and not really pick up and put down material for a knitting show ( I also forgot to bring the chart key) - looks like I might have to go shopping for a new project!
This time I'm off to Harrogate to the Fashion and Embroidery show at the Yorkshire Showground where I will be Knit and Nattering with the ICHF Knitted Garden.
I've never done this show before but it is held in a beautiful part of the world and I'm hoping to sneak in a quick visit home.
The week after is Ally Pally - let the mayhem commence! I have a mainly new team of volunteers for the show, know nothing of their skills or preferences so this could be fun.
Having started to gather the essentials for the trip ie needles, computer and camera cables, mobile phones,yarn for the journey there, yarn for the journey back, interesting things to knit with etc I've decided there is little or no room for clothes. I have dreams of travelling light one of these days but probably not when I'm heading to a show. I even bought a new camera and can't understand 1 word in 5 in the handbook!
I've been working away on Bianca's jacket from IK and was hoping to finish it. Alas the combination of Summer Tweed and a circular yoke have affected my hands and I'm now on the 2ply in the hope of giving them a rest. Photos to follow when I've worked out how to download them!
I had so much fun on the last few rounds that I signed up again!!
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I enjoy knitting with wool, my hands are finding it a struggle to battle with cotton and silk these days
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A 6 drawer cabinet, pouch bags and mini-totes - you can never have enough needles
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Over 40 years after being taught by ny Grandmothers. I'm fairly advanced in some areas but a novice in others.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes on both UK and USA amazon
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Flowers - lavender, rose, jasmine
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do but I'm diabetic and have a very low resistance level to chocolate
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I sew, crochet and am beginning to experiment with lacemaking. I've done some spinning with a drop spindle with mixed results
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
A real mixture anything from folk to jazz. I can play MP3's but haven't learnt how to make them yet!
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Purples, reds and blues but am also moving on to deep oranges and browns. I don't do well with pale / neutral colours as they make me look ill
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married to Matt for 25 years on halloween. No pets only balls of angora
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Everything except the poncho
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
hats and shawls
13. What are you knitting right now?
Bianca jacket from IK; Angela Wrap from Heirloom Knitting
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes please
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circulars, preferably metal or ebony.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Probably about 15 years
18. What is your favorite holiday?
Any where I can spend it sitting in the warm knitting
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Dust bunnies, vintage patterns and lace books
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I'd love some of the knitpicks needles as they won't ship to the UK. I subscribe to Vogue; IK; the UK mags and get sent the Aussie Yarn and Creative Knitting magazines
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'dlike to improve my finishing and fitting techniques
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I'm not a sock knitter but cherish those knitted for me by friends. I take a UK 8
23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
August 3