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!
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