Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace

I took a few days off work this week so that I can recharge my batteries and also attend the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace today (Friday).  It actually opened yesterday but knew it would be very busy and so Frank purchased tickets about 4 weeks ago, for today.  We thought it would be a bit quieter there but oh my goodness, it was busy.

The Journey

We did not leave home till about 9.30am and got the Hammersmith & City Line from Barking Train Station to Moorgate Station.  We then had to walk down a lot of stairs, including some old spiral stairs to another platform to get to the Great Northern Line and I was expecting it to be packed with knitters and sewers but it was empty but for just a hand full of people.  It took us to Alexandra Palace Station and Frank said there was a free shuttle bus to take you to the Palace but we decided to walk because it had stopped raining.  Walking up that hill certainly gives your lungs a good workout and the views were fantastic.  You could see for miles and unfortunately, I did try to take a little video but it was so windy it was not very good quality.  Once up the hill we then had to walk all the way round to the front of the building (it is a massive venue) and eventually found the entrance.

There was a brief bag check at the entrance and you then walk into a big foyer where there is a lot going on.  Coffee and snack bars, a stall selling brochures, t-shirts and bags and lots of students and groups of people that were meeting up.  There were 2 entrance's, a VIP entrance and a Main Entrance so we went through the Main Entrance which took you into a long hall that had what I can only describe as Teepee's, there was about 6 of them and each one was of a different colour and consisted of knitted blocks of all different sizes.  They were gorgeous and here is a photo of one of them.

The base of the Teepee is an inflatable and the knitted blocks are stretched across the top of it. It is so tactile and there were so many different shades over each one.

Inside the Palace

I would have loved to take lots of photo's but it was so crowded and quite overwhelming at times.  We got there about 10:45 and walked up and down the aisles and there was a lot of sewing companies and not as many knitting companies.  I saw Black Sheep Wool, they had a stand and there was a big stand with Rowan.  There was also Stylecraft which had a lovely selection of yarns in packs right in the middle of their stand and they were reasonably priced around £20.  

We saw the stand of the latest crochet blanket designs with Stylecraft and a knitted blanket caught my eye in the Bellissimo range.  It was a whole blanket kit for £45 which we thought was really good value, I got 2 free pattern books, a bag, 6 progress keepers, keyring as well as the actual pattern the yarn is for.  Frank bought it for me, he's so good to me.

Here is a photo of my purchases at the show..

 I purchased one of their T-shirts, I bought West Yorkshire Spinners Christmas yarn (one pair for Frank and one pair for me).

I also got a pair of 2.25 fixed circle needles for socks.

Can you see my new hobby that will start to transpire soon.

Romney Marsh Wool's had a stand and they had a Drop Spindle Kit with 250g of their fleece, a spindle and a technique leaflet for £20. That is good value.

I cannot wait to start spinning!


We had some lunch and then decided to go back into the main hall but it was getting so busy and so hot in there, we decided to leave.  It was about 1:15pm and were glad to get outside in the fresh air.

We decided to get the free shuttle bus back and then was home at about 2pm.  

Back to normal now, I can only image that tomorrow at the show is going to be even more busy.  I love craft shows but I just cannot stand lots of crowds and there were times when you could not stand and look properly which can be quite frustrating.  Plus it was so hot in there, it was getting quite unbearable.

Next is my finished object and they are my own design that felt like they took ages to do.  The first sock took about 5 evenings to knit because of designing it as I was knitting but then the second sock whipped up in about 3 evenings.  The recipient was very pleased with them.

It is now 7.30pm and am ready to do a bit of knitting and then an early night.  I have my Grand children tomorrow and overnight so I will be quite busy the weekend.  I will leave you with a photo of my gorgeous cat Tipsy who is 23 years old.

Don't be fooled by that cute face!

Early night with my knitting

I am in need of an early night and to rest my legs from arthritic pain.  So it is 6.30pm, I'm in bed and about to catch up with my vlogs on YouTube.

I finished my sock order and now making Frank a pair. 

It is very important to have a duvet evening and will be a regular weekly event.

Night night

Shawl & Socks

I do wonder where on earth the day goes which to me, seems to be very quick and before you know it the Autumn weather is here.  It is getting dark now about 18:45 and the sunrise is around 06:50 plus it is rather chilly in the morning and evening.

I have been showing off my completed projects to my colleagues at work and recently had an order for 2 pairs of socks.  Elisabeth's son and daughter in law are going to New Zealand in November and she said she would like to gift them a pair of hand knit socks to take with them so I said I would make 2 pairs.

 This first pair is a size UK 8-9 and they are knitted using Novita Venla which is a 75% wool and 25% nylon mix.  It is machine washable and the colour is called Harmaa (No.499).  

I would describe it as a stone grey and I have knitted it as a plain sock which is what Elisabeth wanted for her son.  

The yarn is 100g ball with 420 meters so I have quite a bit left over still.  

The 2nd pair that I am knitting are going to be in a gorgeous lilac colour and I am having a go at designing again so I cannot show them on here yet.  

I have knitted one sock and started the other one yesterday morning.

I seem to have a lot of design ideas going on in my head at the moment and I am so anxious to get them all knitted but it is just impossible.  

Today (Saturday) I decided to get up and get on with doing all of my chores i.e. hoovering, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, ironing, sorting out the freezer and cleaning the cooker.  Well, it is now 1pm and that is all done and am quite pleased with myself.  

After all of that my next plan is to write this blogpost and then watch some podcasts and do some more knitting.  

My next project that I have finished is a shawl that I have knitted before but using a different yarn.  

This shawl is a pattern called LaLa's Simple Shawl by Laura Linneman.  She is one of the Knit Girllls on Youtube.com.

It is a free pattern on Ravelry and the yarn that I used was Sweet Georgia Yarns 'Party of Five' Tough Love Sock Mini Skeins.

The colour way is called Hanami and I just kept on with the pattern until I used up the mini skeins which weight 30g each.  

This yarn was £35 to buy and it was a gift from my partner a couple of years ago and so I wanted to make sure I made something that I would wear.  It is very soft and a joy to knit with but be warned....the darker colour runs when you wash it.  

I let my shawl soak for about 5 minutes in hand warm water and the dark colour ran, I whipped it out of the bowl pretty quickly because I didn't want it to bleed into the other colours.  Thank god it didn't.

I do have a crochet blanket on the go which is using up scraps of sock yarn and I am crocheting a Christmas tree skirt for my grand children using a Cygnet Yarn in red which is lovely and soft.  I tend to do that in bed for a while because I cannot crochet for long periods of time due to fatigue in my hand and arm. 

Oh well, I am off now to watch Ali's from Little Drops of Wonderful Podcast.  She is doing Vlogtober which I thoroughly enjoyed last years one.  

Happy crafting and be back soon.