Monday, October 31, 2016

London

After eleven days in Shetland, the next stop was London to do some sightseeing.  It was totally a surprising, happy coincidence that the London Knitting & Stitching Show was on at the same time.  I'd often heard people talk about Ally Pally, named for the venue, Alexandra Palace, but never really expected to be there myself.

Click to enlarge
It was very busy on a Thursday and I can only imagine what it would be like on the coming weekend. There were a lot of booths for the sewers, quilters and felters, but I was more interested on the knitting booths.  Even Jamieson & Smith, from Shetland, was there.  

Rowan was quite busy with a small runway show and designer Dee Hardwicke showing off her beautiful afghan and offering her new book.  


A signed copy is now in my knitting library.  She was lovely to talk with and I couldn't resist the book, especially since it featured intarsia, one of my favorite techniques.

I showed incredible restraint in not buying much (I have a lovely yarn stash at home) despite the temptation of a pile of yarn, full bags, various brands and colors, most very tempting.  This was only one of the yarn mountains.  I resisted lying down and wallowing in all that yarn.


Check out the beautiful window in the venue.  The Jamieson & Smith booth is on the left.


After a few hours, it was time to say goodbye to the show, with hopes of returning one day.  I didn't see all of the knitting booths and would love to come back with more time to spend.

Me, Pam and Sue
Photo:  (c) Col.
We did visit other places in London, too, for example, Covent Garden:


The Victoria & Alberta Museum (V&A) is an incredible place worthy of another visit.


Harrods Department Store - unique, and expensive.  John Lewis Oxford Street - huge, with something for everyone.  I even had an impromptu chance to help one of the customers with her knitting, which I enjoyed very much (I love to teach).  Liberty London fabulous architecture and one-of-a-kind beautiful fabrics.  Incredible stores, all.

Since I've been to London before, I passed on the tour of the city...this time!

At the end of Thursday, after the Knitting & Stitching Show, was a trek to visit Loop London.  It's a fun shop with a nice variety of yarn over two floors.  We had hoped to knit with the locals on knit-night but there wasn't a seat available.  Here is our friend, Col, from the UK.  We were lucky enough to spend the day with him.


I spotted this scarf in Loop, obviously knitted on very tiny needles with a small gauge.  Someone in France knitted it and it was available to purchase, but there was no pattern available.  Perhaps one day I'll try to duplicate it.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.  It doesn't show just how tight those little stitches are, how pretty the colors are and how many different colors were used.  You have to see it to really appreciate it.


It's was an amazing almost-three-weeks and, like all good vacations, it went by too fast.  By the end I was ready to go home and wear something different for a while.  However, I'm already dreaming about possible future adventures and wondering what I'll do next.

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