Continuing to Show and Tell...

Hello again,

Soooo because I felt I left you all a little abruptly yesterday, I am going to continue to show and tell with my small haul.  However small my purchases are I do like to show it off.  I wanted to buy some quilting equipment but that will have to wait until another time.  In the meantime,  do I really need more yarn?  Probs not but do I want more yarn, hell yes!  What knitter (or crocheter for that matter) of substance can resist the call of the ply...honestly, I mean come on people...lol

Actually before I show my small amount of treasure I purchased at the knitting show, I am going to show you one of the two rabbits I'm knitting - a request from my friend and teacher.  I am really not sure how it will turn out, as I haven't put the pieces together yet but here is what it looks like so far....don't laugh... I have never knitted a rabbit before now, so this is something of a debut and adventure.

Rabbit in pieces

Coming together

To my mind this rabbit looks a little evil - hope it doesn't come alive at night.  We do have Hallowe'en coming soon.  I love Hallowe'en.  Anyway, this rabbit may have to be deconstructed as I am not happy with his front.  It seems a bit lopsided so I will have to alter and fix...it's bugging me.  I know it hasn't been sewn up or stuffed but, even so, it just doesn't seem right to me.  So when you next see it, hopefull,y it will have a more graceful alignment than it presently holds.

So, on to my stash...as I mentioned before I was a little disappointed with the show but of course there was still some good yarn to be had.

A discerning haul

The yarn in the large basket is Stylecraft's Special double knit and the yarn at the bottom of the picture is SMC select Extra Soft Merino Cotton.  The SMC is beautifully soft and I really like the mottled shade of the Stylecraft.  I know it's only acrylic but is good quality and doesn't feel at all itchy.  I do like Stylecraft who come out with some very good, affordable, yarn for those of us who are on a bit of a budget.  Not sure what I will do with these balls of lushesness but, never fear, I'll think of something.

Although my fave button company were not exhibiting, at the show, I bought some lovely chunky wooded buttons from Belinda Harris-Reid.  Aren't they lovely!  Plain and simple but with their own true elegance.  Simplicity is often quite enough to make a statement.  No need for any further embellishment. 

Chunky Wooden Buttons

See how thick they are - again, I am not sure what I will put these on but I have some ideas, perhaps a thick country jacket, in a moss stitch, cosy warm for winter or a very chunky wrap knitted with some sort of cable stitch... I am a sucker for buttons.

Extreme knitting is such hard work and here Barley Massey from Fabrications shows how it's done with such ease.  If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and  visit her shop in Broadway Market, Hackney, you won't be disappointed.  She has the most amazing ideas of recycling, lovely yarns and lots of workshops.  Gorgeous shop.

Black Sheep Wool never disappoint with their famous bargain for all 'free for all'.  It really is a spectacle to see masses and masses of parcels of yarn, seemingly strewn on the floor, for all to choose from and at such bargain prices - you really cannot go wrong.

Of course I had to come away with some pattern books and these did not disappoint.  All going for a £1 each...can you believe it?  I love a good bargain.

Bargain Pattern Books

I also got about six magazines FREE for a donation to Help The Heroes which was not a hard choice at all.  So that's my little haul with much bedtime reading.  It really doesn't take much to make me happy.  My needles, crochet hook, yarn, a good book, like-minded pals and I'm quite happy...So until the next time when I shall have more in the series of the bunny...be safe, be happy and keep creating.

Bye for now  :)

Knitting, Stitching, Showing and Friends

Greetings one and all,

I have just returned from the Knitting and Stitching Show at the wonderful Ally Pally (Alexandra Palace as if you didn't know...) where I enjoyed a lovely day with my buddies Jenny and Maggie.  It was great, as usual, to be with like minded friends who share the same passion.

Early Sunday morning visitors to the show

However, I have to say that I was, somewhat, disappointed with the show as two of my favourite companies didn't show.   The amount of visitors to the show seemed under par, compared to last year's event, and this was borne out by one of the vendors mentioning the same, even saying that buyers seemed not to be parting with their hard earned cash as before.

I also noticed that the amount of yarn companies seemed depleted with lots of other exhibitors that  I would not have associated, necessarily, with a Knitting and Stitching show.  I missed not seeing Textile Gardens as they always have some lovely buttons and also I didn't see anyone selling the range of  Drops yarn.

However, that said I did manage to get a few things, including some freebie magazines for a donation to Help the Heroes and I did see some beautiful embroidery and knit designs by graduate students of Kingston College.  There were some outstanding vendors such as Belinda Harris-Reid who had beautiful shawl designs.  I bought some chunky wooden buttons from her which are so lovely, even just to hold.  I am a sucker for buttons.  I also loved the ceramic artist Emily Cross who had fantastic ceramic buttons and wonderful yarn bowls - I am going to treat myself to one as they are beautiful works of art.

I also visited Spin City where - forgive me but I cannot remember the lovely lady's name - there were some absolutely gorgeous spindles that she has made herself.  I am new to this art but the whorl, I think it's called, was made from acrylic in which she had embedded some with flowers, sweets or glitter..gorgeous.  Not only that she gave me some really good advice on how to use my spindle so I will be trying that out and looking at her tutorial on You Tube.

I also tried on a deliciously yummy chunky cardigan from Loopy Mango as seen below.

Feeling delicious in a Loopy Mango design.

A stunning cape by one of the graduates from Kingston College

A detailed dress by a graduate from Kingston College.

Not only were there knit designs but some stunning embroidery such as this amazing kimono  

Beautiful!

Some amazing embroidery below of wildlife

Absolutely amazing embroidery with such vibrant colours that give a wonderful three dimensional feel to the projects.  I particularly like the crickets, shown above.

At this point I am leaving you for today as Downton is about to come on.  However, I do have more to show as I must show you my little haul that I got from the show but until then I will leave for now.

By the way, remember the rabbit?  Well it is coming along fine all will be revealed in the next post.

Ciao for now and keep creating.

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