Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit The Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia, London. Over 200 companies were exhibiting and selling their wares at the show and there was also a number of dressmaking workshops and other classes on. Sadly, I didn’t have a lot of time there and I had to be quite selective with the stalls I visited, but I managed to see quite a bit considering my late arrival. Obviously, one of the first stalls I visited was the By Hand London one, where they were selling all their patterns, including their new Flora dress pattern and I got to have a nice chat with Victoria.
The By Hand London girls were promoting their new Flora pattern at the show
I also visited the Toft Alpaca Shop, a DIY knitwear company with a lovely range of wools and jersey yarn. I first discovered the brand last year when I researched them for Prima and they’ve certainly become one of my firm favourites. Although I mainly focused on seeing my favourite brands, I did discover a few new names, including Katie Essam, a mixed media textile artist who works mainly in embroidery. I loved her stuff and, when I’ve got a bit of money, I’ll definitely invest in one of her pieces.
I did have a lot of fun at the show and I came away with many crafty ideas as well as some supplies. My favourite purchase was some green fabric which will hopefully be used for some trousers shortly.
The Toft Alpaca stall was selling a range of beautiful yarns
Katie Essam’s work is a mix of embroidery and other mediums