Monday, November 26, 2007

One more about Harrogate...

Yes, I did want to do one more post on Thursday and going to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show...

I didn't take many pictures at the show. Really, the day went by so fast! I managed to get an introductory walk through before taking a bead knitting class where we learned how to string and place beads. I then went back to the Knit & Crochet Guild stand where Susoolu and Wye Sue were. Susoolu and I made a run around to a couple booths, and I found some lovely Shetland Chunky from Jamieson's. I found a 10-skein colorway pack containing 5 different colorways. I have it earmarked for a cardigan of some sort for myself, because they are just my colors.


Jamieson's Chunky Shetland Marl


I then went and grabbed some lunch, and made my second pass around the exhibition - this time with intent to purchase! I got a couple skeins that are intended for Christmas gifts, so I won't detail here. I then found the Euro Japan Links stand, where I got some beautiful Japanese fabric, along with a pattern/zipper for a small change purse:


Change purse fabric


One of the things I was looking for was the perfect yarn to knit up Muir. I had decided to buy some laceweight from Jamieson & Smith, when I decided to wander into the "A" hall. From last year, I had remembered this hall as being all textile exhibits, so I had skipped it on my initial passes, purely for reasons of time. I decided to pass through and learned that I was wrong - there were also some stalls selling yarn, one of which was the stand for Habu. There, I found THE yarn for Muir:


Bamboo lace-weight Habu


I also got some of the silk/stainless steel blend of Habu, as well as some merino laceweight.

A trip back to the KCG stand to drop off my purchases, and I soon met up with Mary. I had mentioned to Susoolu and Wye Sue that I have an interest in bead and wire knitting, but just hadn't tried it yet. I was told that Mary was the go-to person, so she came and imparted so much wisdom onto me, I think I'm still processing it. The gem to me was when she said something to the effect that, with wire/bead knitting, "you're not knitting to clothe the form, you're knitting to create the form". Major. Lightbulb. Moment. I was inspired, and went in search of wire.

It was such a different experience from the previous year, and I'm not sure if I'll make it to next year's or not, but for me it was worth the trip.

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