A Day Out At The Spring Knitting And Stitching Show

Today, I had a lovely day out at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia in Kensington.  I'd never been to Olympia before, so I had to plan my journey, which actually wasn't too complicated, as I could catch a train from near where I live.

I arrived at around 11am and joined the long queue to get in which moved very quickly and then there I was in amongst all those lovely, lovely stalls selling anything and everything you could possibly think of relating to knitting, stitching and lots of other crafts too.

The first stall I went to was just full of lots of lovely accessories and other bits and pieces, so it was difficult not to indulge in some new fangled pom pom makers that I'd seen Kirstie Alsopp use on one of her craft programs on TV and which looked so simple to use. 

I have a massive stash of acryllic double knit that I need to use up, so I thought I might use it to make some pom pom bunting.  They were very reasonably priced on this stall too, as I've seen them elsewhere for a lot more money.  I also got some lovely ribbon to label my hand knitted projects

and a lovely inexpensive ring casing, which I bought so that Little Bird could make me a dress ring with her polymer clay.  (She was quite thrilled at the prospect).

I had a good look around all the stalls.  There were some beautiful fabrics on sale at very reasonable prices, but to be honest it was just so busy that it was hard to get to the front of some stalls to get served, so I didn't really indulge in much fabric buying.  I did buy a couple of lovely grey spotted fat quarters, for a possible future patchwork project, but that was all.

This visit, I made a point of sitting down to watch one of the demonstrations on the stage.  It was a lovely project for a paper cut style felt cushion/pin cushion, which I enjoyed.  Then, after stopping off for a sandwich and a cup of tea, I joined in one of the free workshops to learn to knit bunting.  It was great.  You were taught how to knit and then decrease down to the point to make the triangular shape of the bunting flags, so I learnt some new knitting skills that I'd never practiced before.  You were also kindly given your bamboo needles, ball of wool and simple how to knit instructions to take home, which were really useful for future reference.  I didn't manage to finish my bunting triangle in the time allocated, as it was only half an hour, and have since unravelled it, as I had made a mistake early on, so I'm going to try to do it again at home and make a better job of it.  You can get the gist from this picture on the pattern.

I met a very nice lady in the workshop, who also gave me another pattern, to knit a very simple ruffled scarf.  I later purchased an appropriate ball of wool and I'm going to try do follow it at some point in the near future, so expect a post on the subject!

After stumbling out of one knitting workshop, I came upon another gathering of knitters and asked what they were doing.  They were knitting links for a chain of knitting, to decorate the knitting tent at a forthcoming music festival called the Wilderness festival.  I couldn't resist joining in, as it was only six stitches wide and however long required to make a link.  There was some gorgeous ultra chunky mohair and big 15mm needles, so I plumped for these and knitted this alternating between rows of garter stitch and purl stitch.  (I've not used purl stitch for years, so I was pleased to try it again.)

I loved working with this type of wool and would love to knit an ultra chunky blanket if I can ever find/afford some, or I may even knit some strips of fabric together into a blanket, cushion panel or rug.  I purchased these 15mm fixed circular needles for just this purpose. 

Whilst knitting the link, I managed to find out how to knit moss stitch, which I've seen and really like the effect of, but didn't know how to knit, so that should be useful for me to practice in future.

As you can probably tell, I found lots of inspiration at this show, from the stalls and the people I met and interacted with.  It's just amazing what you can learn from other people and I'm now seriously thinking of taking some kind of knitting course to further improve my skills. 

Elsewhere at the show, I loved this use of fabric on an umbrella frame, decorating a stall selling fabric. 

I also got inspired by lots of other ways to use narrow strips of fabric, either by sewing them together or knitting or weaving them into practical, usable items.   Imagine recycling clothing in this way, how zero waste would that be.

There was an exhibition of fashion by schools and colleges and a patchwork exhibition too, to wander around, plus other workshops you could pay to enter and other free demonstrations and workshops to watch or take part in.  Plenty for everyone to see and do.  If you like knitting and sewing, this is a super show to attend.  Just be prepared for the crowds and to part with some money, as there are so many tempting things on sale.