The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show

Hi everyone, how are you all? I can’t believe we’re past half way through March and the weather is still so cold! I’ve hardly managed to get out in the garden at all yet this year, and the only real time I did was the plant up an old tin bath with some spring flowers – and I made sure to stay in the greenhouse out of the wind! The little narcissi tete-a-tetes have come out in flower and look really pretty against the blue primroses, and there’s some tulips growing nicely ready for the next wave of colour. Hopefully it will have warmed up enough by Easter weekend to get out and do some proper gardening, get the vegetable patch prepared and some seeds started.

Anyway, back to the main reason for this post – a run-down of my trip to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia a couple of weeks ago. I went for the first time last year and really enjoyed it, so booked tickets again this time and took Mum with me for a day out. The Olympia show is only half the size (in terms of number of exhibitors) as the big Ally Pally show in the autumn, but actually I quite like it as it’s not so crowded and you get a better chance to look at everything, talk to stallholders and makers, watch some of the demonstrations, and take part in workshops.

We started off working our way round one end of the hall and I was tempted straight away by rolls and rolls of ribbons, gorgeous buttons, miles of fabric and beautiful coloured yarns. I had gone with a targeted (if long!) shopping list so I tried my best not to get too distracted! I met the lovely Jules from Sew Me Something at their stand – it’s great to put faces to names after chatting on Twitter! I also bought one of their fab tote bags and the Portia trouser pattern. This is going to be my most ambitious project yet tackling pockets and a fly zip, but as it’s one of the very few patterns I’ve found for wide leg trousers (because I can’t stand skinny trousers) I think it’ll be a useful one to have in my wardrobe.

It’s compulsory (in my opinion) to hit the yarn dive at Black Sheep Wools and see what goodies emerge from the pile – this time I scored another pack of Rowan Revive and a pack of Summerspun – yarns I’ve already used and love – although I could have gone mad with several other packs, and the selection of cross stitch patterns was amazing, but I really don’t have the time to work on one of these! My other woolly purchase this time is a pattern and yarn from UK Alpacas for a shawl. I’ve not knitted one before, but this pattern is knitted from end to end so you started with a few stitches, increase until you get to the middle and then decrease across the other side. It sounds simple enough, and the yarn is gorgeously soft (I went for a neutral cream) so that’s going to be next one my list after I’ve finished my current jumper.

I got a few other ‘odds and ends’ this time round – a couple of extra feet for my sewing machine and some spare bobbins, dressmaker’s tracing paper and a couple of pompom makers. I expanded my pattern selection too with the Anna dress from By Hand London, and a few easy jersey knit patterns from McCall’s.

Fabric was my main spend though, starting small with a pack of Liberty Tana Lawn pieces in beautiful blues, and then I found the SimplyFabrics and Fabrics Galore stands. From the first I got a couple of metres of red and white striped jersey, and two metres of this amazing blue and white patterned viscose. It drapes beautifully and I’ve got it earmarked for a couple of summer tops. The prices here were incredible, only £4 a metre for the two I got; almost makes me wish I’d bought more!

At Fabrics Galore I treated myself to some more Liberty Lawn in this purple Capel print (Capel is the parish in Kent where my Nan grew up), and this red peacock print cotton – these will both make more summer wardrobe basics I hope. Finally, by pure luck I spotted this Alexander Henry ‘La Paloma’ on a roll that someone else had finished with and snapped up the final two metres! This was the fabric that Deborah used on the Sewing Bee for her summer cotton print dress and I loved it – every website I’ve checked since has been out of stock so I’m really happy to have found it. It’s only a narrow cut but I’m hoping I should have enough for a simple dress – something that doesn’t require too much pattern matching!

After a well deserved sit down and a picnic lunch Mum went off for a wander round the quilting and textile art exhibits, and I did a workshop making an easy jersey knit t-shirt. I was hoping to pick up some tips on using an ordinary sewing machine for working with this kind of fabric as I like wearing it and want to make use of the patterns I bought. Unfortunately I don’t think the set-up for the Dressmaking Studio space was very practical, it was really just an open area in the middle of the main hall with tables and sewing machines set up, but people could still wander through and of course it was open to all the general chatter and background noise. I think there were about 10 of us in the group but because of the noise the lady running the class (Janice I think, though she didn’t properly introduce herself) had to walk round between us instead of being able to stand at the front and talk us all through at the same time. The fabric pieces had already been cut out for us to save time and we ended up with a t-shirt with grown-on sleeves (so no need to set them in) meaning just two long seams down the sides. We did have to insert a bias neckband which was a bit fiddly but mine ended up OK – I had to go over a bit that I’d missed and left a hole so it ended up a bit puckered at the front. We also didn’t have time or opportunity to hem our t-shirts and we didn’t have twin needles for the sewing machines, so I finished this at home the next day. In the small amount of remaining time we had a go at slashing and plaiting spare pieces of jersey which was quite fun, but I think I’d have rather had a bit more instruction with the t-shirts. When we looked round, some of the other workshop spaces were in a different area and more screened off so I think they would have been quieter and a nicer place to be taught – I’ll have to remember to check for next time.

Overall I had a really good day, it was lovely to chat to other crafters and laugh at our efforts with the t-shirts in the workshop, and I’m very happy with all my shopping. It was nice to spend some time with Mum too as we’ve had a lot going on at home recently so it was good to have a break and do something fun. I can’t wait to get stuck in to making things with all my lovely new fabric but just need to work out my time as work has been really busy lately, and we’ve had a lot of family things at weekends. Hopefully now the evenings are getting lighter I’ll feel more like doing something when I get home from work instead of just cosying up on the sofa in front of the TV. My fabric stash expanded even more recently thanks to acquiring some fantastic curtain material from my Nan’s house – the pastel floral should be enough for a Walkaway dress, and the orange 1970s stuff will also make a dress I think. I’ve actually been making a lot of presents for other people recently so I’ll update you on those next time – when they’ve all had their gifts so that I don’t spoil the surprise!