Ally Pally

Ever since I started reading knitting blogs regularly around this time last year, I've been dying to go to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally). Last year, I was green with envy at all the wonderful, unusual, and hard-to-find-in-the-UK yarn that people had purchased. I resolved that I was going to find out about the show for 2007, and I was NOT going to miss it. I put the dates in my diary as soon as they were announced at the beginning of the year.

Woo hoo! I went today. I took two days off (today and tomorrow, in case I feel a need to go back again). I got there pretty early, about 45 minutes after they opened. But it seems Ally Pally is THE knitting and stitching show of the year. Even 45 minutes into the four day event, people were already leaving laden down with huge, and I mean HUGE, stashes. I couldn't believe it. I bought my ticket and hurried to the Habu stand. There were loads of women there looking at the yarns and the sample knits. Habu is clearly very popular. There was no actual pushing and shoving. The shoppers were courteous and helpful; one lady even helped me to find a particular colour of silk/stainless steel yarn that I couldn't locate. The main difference at the Habu stand was that people were there to shop; there was no idle patting/stroking of yarn, and then wandering off to return later. It felt like you needed to buy now, or it may not be there when you came back. I bought several items: yarn to make a Kusa Kusa scarf, some bamboo, some silk, and some paper.


A real highlight of the show was meeting people from Ravelry. I knew that Yvonne and Sarah would be there as I had planned to meet them. I brought along my Ravelry bag, and so many people stopped to say hello, to talk about Ravelry and to say that they recognised me from being online. It was great. Sarah was generosity itself. She gave me my first spinning lesson on an elegant light-weight drop spindle, using some beautiful pale blue silk roving that she was working on. It was fascinating, and I can see myself getting a drop spindle so I can try this out. Imagine knitting with yarn that you've spun yourself?

I went to the UKHandKnitting "Relax and Knit" stand, where Tamsyn (also on Ravelry, but blogless I think) showed me how to knit the continental way. I can see that I'm really going to have to practice, it felt so alien holding the yarn in my left hand. Just as I was leaving I got talking to Gerard of I knit London and Mithranstar who were in the queue behind me for coffee. It was amazing how friendly people were.

Sarah also introduced me to Socktopus. I think that this is a fairly new online sock yarn shop. The owner, Alice was there. She was super-nice, and boy does she have some lovely yarn. I bought some Dream in Color "Smooshy" in Cloud Jungle. It looked even better when I got it home and could see it under good lighting. I am so glad to see that she is in the UK. I will definitely be buying more from her. Here is a pic of a bunch of Ravelers/sock yarn lovers at Socktopus's stand... Erm, why didn't I get a photo of me with the group? ~headpalm~

Ooh... I also got some wonderful needles that are made from the remnants of musical instruments in rosewood and ebony. Ooh, and some Lantern Moon DPNs.

Well, what with my Ally Pally SEX and some recent Posh Yarn purchases, I think I've got my haul for the year - no more yarn purchases for me. Let's see how long I can stick to THAT, huh? I've had a wonderful day off. Despite it being foggy on the way in to London, this was the view that greeted me when I left Alexandra Palace. How lovely is that?

Harvest Sock Swap 07

Just recently I seem to be having trouble following directions. I doubt that this is because the directions aren't clear. It's more likely to be because I skim read so much.

Harvest Sock Swap 07 has just got underway. One of the rules is that I'm to make contact with my pal within three days. I managed to do that alright (just, since I was away when the swap partners were announced). Another instruction is that I'm required to update my blog by Tuesday each week with my progress on the sock that I'm making for my pal. Hmmm... failed there so far. I thought it said that I was supposed to contact my pal once a week, or was I supposed to contact the organiser once a week, or... What am I supposed to be doing? I had to go back and read the instructions again.

Anyhoo, here is my update. I've settled on a pattern. I'm not an experienced sock knitter, but I wanted to knit something that is not absolutely plain, but that had a "quiet" design (big, rather obvious clue). As for the yarn - what should I get? Since my pal is American, I'd like to buy a British yarn that is not so easy to get there. I'd like to use an autumnal colour in the spirit of the swap, but I keep being attracted to various shades of green, which is not very autumnal at all really. I am exercising control though; I haven't purchased the green. I have a plan. I regularly buy yarn from a lady in Wales who does some lovely luxurious hand-dyed yarns, and she's bound to have the kind of colour that I'm looking for. In fact, I think I've seen what I'm after. I just hope my fingers are fast enough on Sunday evening...

I'm A Knitting Floozy!

I haven't posted for a couple of days (make that SEVERAL days) 'cos I'm ashamed. Ashamed that whatever I say I'm going to do these days, I go off and do the exact opposite. I said I was going to work on my Habu/Shibori-felted scarf and that I was going to leave the buttery Seraphim inspired stole until later. But erm, I've been working on "Seraphim-alike". My explanation? I went to the Birmingham Knitting & Stitching Show a couple of weekends ago, saw a wonderful stand showing superb examples of Shibori-dyeing technique and got scared I guess. Plus I'm not that fast a knitter, and I realised I wouldn't get it done in time for my friend's wedding in a couple of weeks. I haven't even bought my wedding outfit yet... ~sigh~ So I picked up the stole again. The good news is that I've finished the first half. The thing is, now I'm a little nervous about unpicking the provisional cast on to join for knitting in the other direction. I've asked for advice from the folks at Ravelry. I don't want to mess this up, and I saw online somewhere that knitting in the opposite direction can look pretty craptastic if I'm not careful; twisted stitches or some such.

In other knitterly news, I've joined the Harvest Sock Swap 07. It's great, you only have to knit one sock and then send the sock the rest of the yarn and the directions to your swap partner together with some goodies. I think this is great, second sock syndrome blights us all. My swap partner is Jennifer. I've been stalking her blog and her Ravelry page looking for ideas on what she might like. I'm not an experienced sock knitter, but I don't want to disappoint either. I have a pattern in mind, but I just need to find the right yarn. I'd like to use something soft and luxurious but without mohair, as I already know that she's not keen on it, which suits me because I really can't stand it. Yeah, yeah, I know I was drooling all over my Habu, but I swear that is a special mohair/silk mix.

Birmingham (Knitting &) Stitching Show

Last weekend I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Birmingham. I didn't get there until the Saturday afternoon, and on the way in to the exhibition halls I felt as though I was walking in the wrong direction - everyone else seemed to be leaving as I arrived.

I have to say that it felt more like a stitching (and knitting) show. The dress-makers, embroiderers, cross-stitchers, beaders all seemed to be better catered for than the knitters. I didn't buy any yarn or needles whilst I was there.

The thing that stood out for me was the Hiroshi Murase Shibori stand. Hiroshi Murase is a master dyer, and there was a gallery of his work available. Whilst I'm not into dying myself, I found this interesting as it relates to learning how to tie Shibori style for the scarf that I am planning to make. I saw a presentation on Shibori by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, and bought a lovely cotton-square that I can dye myself. The pattern is very intricate, I'm not certain it can be seen in this picture, but here goes...

Hasselt "City of Taste" & Beer Tasting in Antwerp

I'm now fully back to the old routine at work, and I've been working in Belgium this week. I've been staying in a small city called Hasselt. It markets itself as the "City of Taste". I decided to wander around the city centre taking a few photographs last night. Here's what I got. Interestingly, I saw at least two other people out doing the same. So, we've all got fairly new cameras, then...

I kept coming across a young arty-type fella who was going around the city on his bicycle taking pictures of random traffic cones and bags of rubbish (clearly, it was rubbish collection day the next day, and there was lots of grey rubbish bags around). I so wanted to take a photo of him photographing the rubbish, but I didn't dare.

This is the view from my hotel window at night. I think it's lovely.

On Thursday night we had our project team building event. Belgium is famous for its artists, its beer and its chocolate. There was some culture to the evening; we went to the Antwerp Fine Art Museum. This is the scene opposite it. However, since I work in engineering with lots of men, you can guess what the main theme of the night was... Here's a clue.

It was strange tasting beer as though it was wine. I have to say that this Gulden 1389 (that's when the original recipe dates from) was pretty delicious. Hands up all of you who like beer?

I would like to tell you that I was the model of decorum, but I am (apparently) a "cheap drunk", and was one of the last to stumble, bleary-eyed, into the office on Friday morning.

Book Club Choice: The Pilot's Wife

It is amazing how your taste in books changes over the years. I don't know whether it is a function of maturity or being a member of my local book club for a couple of years, but I am definitely starting to see a change. Last month's choice was The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. As soon as the host announced what her choice was, I knew I was in for an easy time.
Why? Because I had already read a few Anita Shreve novels and I knew that I liked her style and subject matter. I was so relaxed about this book that I got a little lazy about reading it and left it until the last day. In the end, I read it in one sitting on an indolent Sunday. I'd pretty much never done that before. I always thought that reading a book in one day was one of those Hollywood cliches, like packing an entire wardrobe into a small suitcase in five minutes flat, and then lifting the thing with ease whilst sobbing hysterically, yet not smudging your mascara... hmmm, I digress.

How was it? It was an extremely easy read, but I was surprised that I wasn't enchanted by it. When I finished it, I thought "that's that then", and put it aside. Last month's book club choice was thought provoking, and this book wasn't. So I'm not sure what I think: is it thumb's up or down? It is probably thumb's horizontal!

Start of Autumn - The Proms

We are just about to go into my favourite season of the year - autumn. I like the slightly cooler weather. I like smell of autumn. I like the mistiness we sometimes get in the morning, the way leaves turn gold and russet, and I love the smell of bonfires (not that many people burn bonfires any more). September is usually a much more reliable month weather-wise than June, July or August. I think that because school is restarting, and the family summer holidays are now just memories for another year, people think that the summer is over and no longer have any great expectations of the weather, and so are always pleasantly surprised when we get a warm day in September.

Yesterday evening was the Last Night of the Proms. I went with a group of friends to have a picnic and watch/listen in Hyde Park. I am not a huge fan of classical music, so the lighter classical stuff you get in Hyde Park, together with a bit of easy-listening pop is great for me. I think that you need to be a genuine season ticket holding Prommer, or at least very organised to buy tickets for the Albert Hall. What stood out for me this year was that I got a real sense of the Proms being celebrated all round the British Isles. I'd always considered it a London event, so it was great that for the finale, we had choirs from Glasgow, Belfast (I think), Cardiff and Teesside signing songs/arias that are strongly associated with their part of the UK. This is the second time I've gone to this event in the park, and it felt like a great end to the summer/start of autumn.