The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show

On Sunday while it was snowing heavily (!) I headed down to London to visit the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show by Twisted Thread at Olympia.

It was surprisingly easy to get to, my sister drove us down and parked at the Westfield Shopping Centre nr Shepherds Bush (£8 all day parking), it's then a very short hop on the overground to Kensington Olympia, ( or apparently it's just an 18min walk, which I was going to do as I still don't like trains but actually I did get on it, Yay!) it wasn't packed and the journey took about a minute!

So I have previously been to the quilt show and the Ally Pally show, all run by Twisted Thread, so I was curious to see how it would compare.

The show was held upstairs in the west hall, so was quite a small venue, like a conference centre, it was quite quiet, not packed and also there wasn't a buzz when you walked in.

I was later annoyed at spending £4 on the show guide which only had about 2 pages of things to read, the rest was a list of all the days workshops and the exhibitors, oh and a map but seeing as this was largely displayed at the front of the hall, I wished I hadn't bothered!

Speaking of annoyance, the venue was hot and stuffy (as they usually are) so as I'd left my water in the car (oops), I literally HAD to have a cuppa to keep going half-way! I treated myself to a cookie and was horrified to find the total was £4.20, I hate that venues do this.

Afterwards we had a bite to eat at the M&S cafe in Westfield - much better value!

Anyway, so there were quite a lot of stalls, I looked at the Folksy pop-up stalls first, these were changing daily and on Sunday, it was a real mixed bag, some lovely artisan pieces and then also some slightly naff looking 'handmade' 'craft' items!

The above photo and the ones below are from the Stitch, Craft, Create stall, again they were having different daily sellers (I was sad to miss on Friday Alice and Ginny with their new book 'Sewing for Kids') Sunday's was Laura Long - who I follow on Twitter with her new book 'Knitted Toy Travels'.

The stall looked lovely, lots of lovely handknit items and most of the animals from the book, the giraffe was fantastic and I would be tempted to investigate this book further when I get my knitting mojo back.

At the Felt Makers stall there was a good demonstration of felt making which even I thought looked easy and gave me some ideas to try.

Lots of lovely fabric about, mostly home or quilting.

There were a few quilts on display from the Quilters Guild.

Colourwash Goes Red by Angela Rodda

Star Struck by Angela Browning

Silver Sword Hawaiian by Pippa Moss

Blame Jean by Margaret Smith

There was a display stand for Liberty fabrics but it's only now having seen pictures online and studying the map that I know I missed some more display bits!
There was a knitted garden and knitted bedroom which for reasons unknown was tucked back in the second hall, facing towards the back!
This would have been much better placed at the entrance to the halls to greet you as you arrived to help give a Wow factor.

The first hall seemed empty and spacious compared to the second hall at the back and it definately wasn't like Ally Pally which although was crammed it means conversely it's full of people and energy.

It didn't have lots of great yarn or fabric stalls either, definately not as much knitting and there seemed to be lots of spaces on the day's workshops but not many stall demonstrations.
But seeing as it's new it just needs to find it's feet and identity, I guess it may not have helped that the Sewing for Pleasure show is on at the NEC this weekend too.
I would be happy to go again, it's easier to get to for me than Ally Pally and I did manage to get a cheaper ticket due to being a Mollie Makes subscriber!

So....just as importantly what did I buy?!?!!

Well a lovely comfy bag from the Aid for Burma (KSDP Charity)_stand...I know it looks a bit hippy but it fits on your shoulder really well without falling off and is even reversible, for a tenner it was a bargain.

And finally, I managed to get hold of Bungle Jungle! 

I saw this ages ago and loved it but didn't get it and then I've struggled to find it online ever since. The moral of these charm packs/jelly rolls is that they don't hang around forever, the Moda range seems to have a high turnover, so if you like it, get it!!

Of course I think one of the reasons that I ummed and ahhhed previously is not knowing what exactly to do with it, which I'm still not settled on, but I did get a free book from Puddleducks for spending over a certain amount (don't ask!) which has a few nice quilt patterns in, which may work.

So from Puddleducks I also got another Moda pack - AppleJack, a small charm pack with lots of vibrant colours and prints.

and then after more umming and ahhing I decided to treat (!) myself to a quilt kit - the ABC 123 quilt, which I loved! There's a picture further up from the Puddleducks stall of the quilt made up and I'm hoping that by having it as a kit I won't need to query how to start or what to do, I can just jump straight in!

What I really wanted was some dressmaking weight fabrics, I didn't find anything I liked for myself - it's so hard to visualise a) whats a good fabric for the pattern and b) what would look good on me.

But from Fabrics Galore, I found this lovely soft jersey cotton for toddler clothes, only £6m so I got a couple and hope to get some leggings and a top out of it, hopefully using my Sew Liberated for Kids book.

I got some red felt and large buttons for possible badge ideas I have and then some washi tape, Mod Podge and Heat n' Bond to try, as I've seen them all used on Pinterest and I have a few ideas for them.

Now I'd just like some time to use them!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show too, or if you have any shop recommendations for dressmaking fabrics!

The Knitting and Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace

Well after lots of Umming and Ahhing, I did head off to Ally Pally on Thursday, mostly the hesitation was due to me not liking public transport (not for any snobbish reasons!  I've just developed an irrational fear of small places/buses/trains etc recently) so if me and my Mum were to go it would mean driving, which doesn't bother me it was the parking issue that worried me and as guessed when we did get there (12.30pm - which meant it took 2.5 hrs from Oxfordshire!) the 2000 parking places were full!

So we had a drive down some side streets and thanks to Google maps that I'd looked at earlier and saved on my iPod touch, we were able to navigate down to Dukes Avenue, where we luckily found a space that was just by the cut through path into the grounds.

 It was very lucky and we were very grateful!  I would definitely recommend having a drive down that street and then even going left at the end into the The Avenue, as in the week it looked possible to park, there didn't seem to be any parking restrictions.  The cut through path with black gates is just opposite the junction of Grove Avenue.

I've never been to Alexandra Palace before and going in was a real 'wow' moment, the roof and decor inside was lovely, very old regal elegance!

The luck continued as a very kind lady sold us one of her unwanted tickets for £10 rather than the on-the-doorprice of £14!
The programmes were only £4 but I don't think they were really needed, they weren't really informative and there were several maps dotted around the rooms anyway.

So as we were on a strict time restraint, we headed straight into the Resource Centre on the right of the West Hall, walking past the lovely Morsbag stand, where tuition was being passed on and also there was a lovely display of competition bags.  I really must make some more, the freebie I got from the NEC is now my favourite shopping bag and I finished up the ones we made on the day so they are always in my stair basket where I keep the re-usable bags ready to pick up when needed.  The choice of fabrics really brings them to life.

In the Panorama room, there was a great display of stitchers/knitters/organisations, it was small and very crowded in here though, very warm!
Here is the Stitch London stall, after voting in the week via Twitter for my favourite 'crafty' slogan I was pleased to be able to pick up a 'Knit Calm and Carry Yarn' badge!

Near to this was a wonderful stall of Sarah Kenny who I forgot to take a photo of as I was mesmerised by the deliciousness of her knitted biscuit cushions!

Have a look at her site as they are truly lovely, wool and biscuits, it's a natural combination!

This stall was beautifully laid out, very organic and natural looking, lots of cardboard and wood accents, it was on the Selvedge stand.

Then in the other hall, the Textile Gallery there was a mix of artists work and sellers.

This was the Toft Alpaca stand, which was a feast, I'm really liking the grey yarns at the moment, very cosy and wintery.  The great thing about shows is that you get to touch these yarns/fabrics you've heard about.  Everyone raves about how soft alpaca is but until I'd actually touched this you can't really experience it, it's also illuminating to hold it, to feel the weight, feel how it feels against your skin, all these factors that need knowing before you'd even know whether to use it.

 They seemed to have a great idea of selling the items ready made or in kit form, these bags were so gorgeous and the chunky scarves were really tempting, I shall peruse the interweb later nearer Christmas to look at them again me thinks!

The Coats Craft stall was a bit disappointing, quite small with not much selling going on, it was more of a display, they had a few Amy Butler fabrics and a few Rowan yarns but nothing much, not like at the Quilt show where they were heaving with shoppers.

Me and my Mum liked the Paton range of Colour Range Aran and tried to get the pattern book, but it seems they must have only had one as when we went back earlier, this stand copy had gone!  We'll be searching for that on the web later too!

Beyond Fabrics had an amazing stall, beautifully laid out and I meant to go back and choose one of their corsage making kits but completely ran out of time, another one for the online shopping!

Then in the Great Hall it was the market place, with rows upon rows of stalls and traders, the layout was quite tight and it seemed quite intense trying to go round them all, rather than a leisurely stroll past.
Lots of fabric to see, lots of fat quarters, I like the retro prints but didn't want to buy any without a project in mind.
The Eternal Maker stall had some lovely prints, I really must sit down and choose a couple for some dresses for the girls, as their selection is wonderful.

Magnificent huge stained glass at one end, I believe the organ is at the other, but the swishing area blocked that.

If you're planning on a visit, I have a few tips, wear short sleeves, it got very hot and take plenty of water! The food facilities are a bit basic we should have taken our own really.  There are food places in each of the halls of varying types, not extortionately pricey but the seating is a bit oversubscribed, stairs and outside steps are mostly utilised!  Toilets are basic, with queues and again are in most of the halls and some out round the side to the right apparently, if you want to avoid the overcrowded ones in the main foyer!  The facilities are definitely not like the NEC for example.

So I am glad we went, but I'm not sure I'd go next year, apart from the lack of yarn I preferred the Quilt Show at the NEC.
We did have to make sure we left by 3.30pm to try and miss the worst of the west-bound traffic, so we were rushing by the end, but I did manage to purchase the quilting ruler I forgot to get at the NEC, on the advice of the Jelly Roll Quilt's book by Pam & Nicky Lintott I was looking for the 6.5 x 24" Creative Grids one.  Which I found for £14.95 on Coleshill Accessories and I'm glad I bought it from there as the lady serving was really nice and helpful. So now I think I have all the tools for tackling my Moda jelly roll...

I also loved the felt corsages on the Felt Works stand and got two for £10 which I thought was good value, all the felt is lovely and thick and is also fair-trade, the lady serving was really nice too, which I always think should be the first criteria for people manning a stand!  I shall try and get a pic for you tomorrow.
If you went I'd love to hear what you thought, did anyone do the swishing or a workshop?