Knitting & Stitching Show

So much to blog, and so little time! (I'm catching a mid-day train.) K&S was, as usual, a feast for the eyes. My favourite exhibit was the work of Renate Keeping, which deserves writing about on its own.

The only thing on my shopping list was a white cutting mat, but this proved unsuccessful. In the hunt for it, these beautiful scissors, traditionally made in Sheffield, caught my eye -

Made using traditional skills

Demo of buttonhole scissors

Caren Garfen's exhibit was spectacular, with tiny careful witty stitchery -

"She Was Cooking Something Up"

A skeleton in the cupboard?

Embroidered shortbread....

"It will not be possible to open the cupboards or eat anything in this kitchen as, according to research, food is dangerous. One week we can eat dairy, the next we cannot. Carbohydrates are fine, or carbohydrates are harmful. Sugar is deleterious to your teeth and your health, and sweeteners are full of chemicals. We should now eat 10 portions of fruit and vegetables rather than five! We treat ourselves with 'food' foods and feel guilty about 'bead' foods ........ enter this kitchen at your peril!"

In the Prism exhibit, I was drawn to the work of Janine Ayres ... those constellations ...

...and purchased one of Anita Bruce's little sparrows, with the asemic writing of the bare hedges and its stitched sonogram -

Best overheard comment was in the knitting awards section, apropos of this (gorgeous and clever, imho) piece by Georgina Lindsay -

"Look at that, she's used loom bands, just like my grandchildren play with, that just ruins it!"

Also in that section, I picked up cards for Emma Wright and Georgia Farrell. Elsewhere, a resurrgence of  Batsford, whose books were just about the only craft books around in the 1970s (and I still have some of those). Several titles tempted me mightily - Stitch Draw by Rosie James, Reclaimed Textiles by Kim Thittichai, The Text in Textiles by Sara Impey, Mark-Making in Textile Art by Helen Parrott ... and others ... see their textile titles here.

In the graduate showcase, the work of Maria Boyle - and her colour palette - caught my eye (this image is from her website) -

Much of interest in the British Tapestry Group exhibit, especially the work of Cos Ahmet (image from his website) -

"Collecting Gestures" (detail)

At the tail end of the day, crossing the traders' hall to collect a bag of knitting wool (for a cabled(?) jumper for my dearfella), there was Hobbywool's irresistble knitting from Latvia, beautifully presented but hard to photograph -

 Mittens and socks with their roots in folk tradition -

 Hard to choose from the many designs on offer -

In the end, this is what came home with me - potential mittens, a rotary cutting mat, and one spool of linen thread.

The show opened on Wednesday, adding an extra day. Hard work for the exhibitors ... and for traders, the increased cost is such that it could lead to some - the smaller, more interesting ones? - deciding not to bother, which would change the entire character of the show. We'll have to wait and see.