The knitting and Stitching Show

On Saturday I went to The Knitting and Stitching Show. The venue was Alexandra Palace in north London. Set in a park high on a hill, the views over London were spectacular in the Autumn sunshine. You could see for miles, way beyond Canary Wharf. The exhibition covered all areas of textiles and much more. There were hundreds of exhibitors selling specialist supplies and workshops where you could try your hand at a new crafts. It was a paradise for anyone interested in textiles. And to admire and inspire they had textile artists exhibiting. I spoke to a couple of artists Caren Garfen and Claire Moynihan. I was particularly impressed by their work and in a separate post I would like to introduce you to their art. What a silly girl I was, I forgot to take my handbag containing my purse, camera and phone. Luckily I remembered to take my friend Susie with me, who was a life saver. Susie gave me money let me use her camera and phone. That's what friends are for! My abiding image from this years show was giant wooden knitting needles, they were every where. For an idea of what they looked like check out Ingrid Wagner's website here. I remember having a pair in the seventies and knitted a very long scarf in an evening and wore it to school the next day. I wonder where those needles are now. I was wearing a necklace I made from french knitting, instructions here  and I had lots of favourable comments on it. This made me think I should champion this neglected craft. French knitting needs a revival, like big knitting needles! When you come away from these fiber fests you feel fired up to get out those knitting needles-sewing machine-felting-quilting-things!