The Knitting and Stitching Show

I was determined not to let too much time go by before I post again, but I really don’t know where the time goes to …

My friends Elaine and Jennifer and I really enjoyed our annual ‘jaunt’ to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate. It’s turned into a ‘mini-holiday’ and, although we didn’t spend anything like as much as last year – we all bought embellishers! – we still enjoy looking at the ‘spoils’ over a cup of tea in our room before we sally out to ‘Quantro’ for our evening meal. A glass of Baileys and ‘putting the world to rights’ before bed has become a ritual as well.

It was lovely to see our favourite tutor, Ruth Issett, surrounded by the zingiest of her fabrics. You could almost ‘breathe in’ the colour on her stand and the sheer emotion always – you’ve guessed it – makes me cry! What am I like?!

It was lovely to see Ruth - and Chas - looking so well and just enjoying the admiration instead of beavering away as usual. I’m sure that Kevin and Viv missed her demonstrations but I suppose the ‘finished product’ across the way was just as much an inspiration and selling aid?

The other stand I spent time at was the ‘Art 4 Cloth’. Lots of encouragement from inspired tutors who made their work sound ‘easy’ … it probably is for them after a lifetime dedicated to producing such detailed and elaborate surface decoration – Complex Cloth indeed.

As usual the Graduate Showcase attracted a great deal of attention. It’s great to see these young people who are just starting out in the textile world getting to show off their work to an appreciative audience. My particular favourites this year were Eleanor Feddon, Sara Baccucini Meadows and Linda Marie Young with her intricate, beautiful boxes. I was entranced by Victoria Geary’s ‘wrapped rings’ – lovely fabrics, threads and tiny, tiny stitches. Gorgeous.

On the way home we had such a wonderful sunset coming over Beamsley Hill. It started off as pink and pale blue, through purple and orange to scarlet. Very Ruth.