Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show

I was at the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate on Friday, working on the Knitting & Crochet Guild stall most of the time.  Our display included some items from the collection - 1950s matinee jackets, beautiful children's Fair Isle sweaters from the 1940s and 1950s - and some new pieces inspired by vintage patterns.  We also had things for sale, including shawl pins made from old knitting needles, which sold very well.   For a short while before the show opened at 10 a.m., the stall was empty and we could sit and knit.  But for most of the day, we were really busy talking to visitors to the stall.   That's a good thing, of course - the point of having a stall at the show is to meet knitters and crocheters and tell them about the Guild.  

The Guild stall before the show opened...

 

... and afterwards

We took it in turns to have a break from the stall and look at the rest of the show.  I didn't spend long on that - there's too much risk of spending a lot of money.  But I did visit a stall selling nothing but Latvian mitten kits, and bought one  - I think everyone else from the Guild stall did the same thing.  The stall had a display of the finished mittens, very colourful and eye-catching, and the kits were selling fast. 

Latvian mittens

      
A few of the other stalls caught my attention too.  I called in at the Baa Ram Ewe stall to say hello to Verity and Jo  - they had a very attractive Christmas display on their stall with a fireplace, Christmas cards, etc. 

Baa Ram Ewe's display

And I looked at the UK Hand Knitting Association's stall, where the finalists' entries for the 2013 Textile Awards were on show.  Some very striking things - one I really loved was the Kagome cardigan by Emma Vining, who was a finalist in the Open category.      
   

Emma Vining's Kagome cardigan

Altogether, it was a very good day.