Ally Pally

Well I managed to finish the fringing on my Adriafil Baba scarf on the train to Ally Pally and the Knitting & Stitching Show. Luckily it wasn't that cold on the way home so I didn't end up using it but am very pleased with it and it is very soft and warm and the perfect length for a cream Roxy jacket I have. It was nice to actually use the whole 2 balls and have no leftovers remaining whatsover.

The show was good fun though very, very tiring indeed. By the time I met my best friend and we actually arrived it was almost 2pm and we sat and had a cup of tea and lunch while the Elle Fashion Show was just finishing. Then we were off and ready to go buying. Of course the best stalls are always busy and the ones you're not interested in quite empty but that's always the way. As usual Colinette was the absolute favourite and we couldn't resist buying some Point 5. Unfortunately I have been barred from taking a picture of it as it is a Xmas pressie from my DH. I'm also not allowed the 2 double ended Clover stitch holders that I bought either. Yes, they're for Xmas too.



But here's a picture of the colourway Mist I bought. It is just beautiful and the colour just talked to me and the 8 skeins I got will make a gorgeous jacket.

That was the main purchase at the fair. I didn't end up spending much money on myself as the lovely Knit Tin scarf set I fell in love was equally admired by Joanne so we ended up buying each other one, yep, for Xmas. These tins are fabulous as you get to choose the yarn you want and they make up a kit for you and include the gorgeous Brittany Birch needles and a simple pattern too! The needles are lush and the perfect size for scarf making. They had Rowan Ribbon Twist and various Colinette yarns available for the kits and more that I can't remember. Check out their site at The Knit Tin which will shortly have an online ordering facility. This stall was a great find and had some beautiful stuff. I chose Colinette Point 5 in Lagoon for my kit and boy is it bright and colourful.

Web of Wool is always a favourite and I bought my friend a kit (yes Xmas again) then decided I wanted one too so she's bought me one as well. I chose a yarn with some new fangled ingredient called Polycolon and came with bamboo Clover DPNs which I haven't tried before. Anna did explain what Polycolon did. Something about keeping your feet dry is what I remember. I also got some fabulous 5" Brittany Birch DPNs and I just love them. They are the perfect length though feel like knitting with toothpicks. They are also blunter than other needles but this doesn't actually make any difference. They are now officially my favourite sock knitting DPNs.

It was lovely to see Sue and Carol at Get Knitted. I also bumped into four of the staff at my local John Lewis on the way in and on the way out.



And that was it really shopping wise, apart from the new Vogue Knitting mag for just £2 which I couldn't resist even though my sub copy arrived on Saturday. Oh yes, and a ball of the brightest sock yarn imaginable. I quickly nipped to Web of Wool again to buy a ball so I could show Joanne how to start knitting a sock. Can you believe she wouldn't let me start my sock kit! So I had to go and get a ball didn't I?

I've been asked for some more info on my Cat jacket which I made using Colinette Point 5 instead of Rowan Big Wool. I used the shade Blue Parrot and the pattern is Cat from the Rowan Big Wool Collection. I wasn't keen on the collar for Cat so followed the pick up instructions for another pattern in the booklet and just knitted it in garter stitch to match the jacket until I was happy with the length. The stitch tension for both of these yarns is the same but Colinette is worked on 12mm needles and Big Wool on 15mm needles for this design. The row gauge is slightly different but as you measure the length anyway it didn't make any difference. It took 7 balls to make the small size. The original pattern had stripes but I just knitted it plain. I got so many comments at the show that I lost count. It was lovely to have complete strangers come up to me and say how lovely she is, but she got so big headed she could hardly contain herself ;)

PS - some Big Wool designs are knitted on 12mm needles so can't be subbed with Point 5 so easily as they have a different tension. Make sure the design has a 7.5 tension first! And of course the yardage will be different so take that into account too.