I nearly didn’t book for the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show this year, but as I was visiting an exhibition in London the same weekend it was on, I decided to pop along. I wasn’t after any supplies, and none of the available workshops appealed to me, so I really just wanted to get some inspiration, see the textile galleries and catch anything of interest in the Creative Living Theatre.
The first thing I saw was The Knitted Enchanted Wood, created by the Louise Hamilton Knit and Yarn Group from Norfolk. It was being manned by the lady who created the woolly Great Yarmouth seafront that I saw last week.
The Knitted Enchanted Wood
Knowing that Saturdays at the show are hellish, I arrived early so I could visit the retailers’ stands before it got too crowded. I managed to get around most of the stands before it got too unbearable and, though I was tempted to buy some Alexander Henry fabric, I resisted this time.
Katie Jones’ Colourful Crochet
There didn’t seem to be as many galleries this time, but I liked Katie Jones’ colourful crochet and Luisa De Santi’s crochet sculptures. Sadly no photos were allowed in her gallery, but check out her work.
One of Catherine Kaufman’s woollen sculptures
There was a good National Needlecraft Awards display.
Bizarrely as I wandered around, I kept seeing a lady who looked uncannily like Jean Slater from Eastenders! When I got home I had to Google her and surprise, surprise Gillian Wright is indeed a crafter, who makes felted bags to raise money for the MS Society.
Dressmaking Competition entry from Karen Ives
The new sections of the show seemed to be more related to dressmaking, so were of less interest to me. There was also an exhibition of Zandra Rhodes’ knitwear collection.
I watched a couple of presentations in the Creative Living Theatre. Steffi, from The Makerss, gave a very entertaining talk about creating needle felt creations for the home. Diana Bensted later demonstrated different methods for joining granny squares but I was flagging by this point, and it was time to leave.
It’s still a great show but because of the lack of textile galleries, and the increasing price of the workshops, I’ll probably be giving the Spring show a miss for a while.
You can see more photos on my Facebook page.
White Hill Crafts 