NEC and other stories...

Thursday morning and I got to the station in good time for my train (left home at 7.15am ...) only to be told there were no trains and I should go to the next station up the line and see if I could get one from there. Now I know British Rail have some interesting ideas such as the leaves on the line, but if there are no trains at X how can there be trains at the next station when the train has to go through X to get there....
Anyhow I decided to drive towards Worcester where Sue and her Mum were getting on the train. I stupidly forgot that Worcester is a mass of roadworks and I eventually got to the M5 some time after 9.45. By this stage I was not a happy girl I should have been at the NEC by then. So I turned up late (at about 10.50) and stressy not in a fit state of mind to teach anyone anything. Noonie took me round to Kerrie at Hip Knits to stroke some cashmere, which calmed me down :-)

It was good to catch up with Fred, Mary and Noonie.

It took three and a half hours to get there on Thursday but on Friday driving in a direct route, one and a quarter hours, less time than the train - so I wont be trying public transport again !!

We had a few issues with the stand, lack of tables and a 'defined space' so we had a reinvention and on the Friday all was looking better. I spent a lot of time trying to get people speed knitting, you wouldn't have thought this would have been difficult, we were giving away packs of wool as prizes but.....



This is Aneeta wearing a knitted wire flower by Mary.

Notice someone pulling faces in the background...


It was good to meet Diane from UKHK and we had a surprise visit from Yvonne.


This is the improved look stand.

The speed knitting area kept on being hijacked, they were looking very relaxed, but didn't want to join in the knitting when we asked them!!

The show didn't have very many visitors so I had the opportunity to talk to stallholders, Kerrie & Laura from Hipknits, their new mag sounds brill, full of new patterns.
Sue and Hannah from Get Knitted, I've never been able to say more than hello to them before, the new shop sounds great, and I will be there on the first day of opening !!
The lady from Knit Tin was also there and I made her friend very happy by buying a set of Britany needles, she just went into break even for the day.....


So this is what I bought, a quilt book with instructions to make all sorts of 3D things.

Two knitting books from Sublime, classical patterns.

And a cone of thin yarn to make some old fashioned undies with ;-)

From Get knitted two hanks of Fleece Artist sock yarn.

And a hank of Hand Maiden Lace Silk, I kept on going back and stroking it trying to decided which one wanted to come home with me....



And from Hipknits a hank of lace weight cashmere, also very strokable .

And some hand dyed silk laceweight green.



One stand did not want their stand photographed and were quite rude about it.Even though they did have some interesting yarn and thread I refused to look any further... from good publicity to bad in minutes.
Also one lady had her money taken out of her purse and her purse put back into her bag. Hopefully by the end of the day she had her positive knitting karma returned - she was our fastest knitter of yesterday. Linny has now got a blog !! go and see her shawl, amazing !!!



And look what was waiting for me when I got home on Thursday - looks like I will be toasty warm this winter, that is if/when he tells me when he's installing it !!!