Every year I like to go to the Knitting and Stitching Show, it’s held in Harrogate and it’s big, like three main halls and two smaller ones, full of stands and exhibitions. It’s the northern version of the show held at Ally Pally in London. It’s taken a while to get back on it’s feet after covid, previous years stalls have been a bit thin on the ground but I think it’s finally back up to speed. I had a great time this year!

I managed to win a pair of tickets from Sally Kendall AKA The Yorkshire Sewist, I have followed her blog and on instagram since the days of the Leeds sewing meet-ups as she was one of the organisers. I love seeing her various makes. She had a free draw on her Instagram page, I entered and won 🙂

I went with my walking buddy, she likes cross-stitch so she was happy to come along for a day out.

I bought all sorts! I went with a shopping list which I pretty much stuck to, with a few extras of course! I told my friend not to let me buy any patterned fabric, as I’ve realised I’ve lots of patterns and not much plain to wear it with. Within minutes of arriving at the show I’d fallen for two lengths of gorgeous linen, they were my colours, so I had to buy them both, a purple length for a dress and a shorter teal length for a skirt.

I had a few haberdashery items on my shopping list, like buttons, pins and a new Frixion pen, I didn’t realise they were refillable, so I was pleased to be able to get a new purple one and a pack of refils for my black one on a special offer.

I fell for two new tote bags, one has a cute sewing theme on the front and the other has a design to be embroidered. From the same stall as the embroidery one I also got a design to make the lid for a sewing basket, I’ve been thinking about making a basket for my stuff in the lounge and this looked a good size…I’m sure this purchase will please my OH!!

My biggest purchase was the kit for the Strawberry Sampler book by Jane Greenoff. I’ve had my eye on this for years and I decided it would be a good one to take on holiday with me. The wildlife squares were just too beautiful to leave behind! I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet, I might see if a couple of them would work in my garden book, they’re printed on good quality cotton.

There were quilts on display from the Festival of Quilts, these were the ones that caught my eye…

The gold one is called Carved Fairy Tale, by Elena Smychenko, inspired by her mothers wooden box, it was just beautiful. Dawn Windows was made by Lynne Edwards, it was stunning! Antics at the Quilt Show made me chuckle, lots of Sunbonnet Sue’s causing mayhem round a show. It was by Nine to Five, which I presume is a quilt group.

The show finishes tomorrow, so if you’re undecided and within striking distance, I think it’s worth a visit this year. We had a great day out, I think hopefully it might become an annual event with my walking buddy too 🙂