Off to London!

[Mabel Figworthy]

Catching the train tomorrow at 10.54am, and then I'm off on my K&S jaunt

Meeting up with a friend who works near Euston station, then probably go up to Ally Pally to pick up my pass -- tutor pass apparently gets you in on all days so I may have a look round to see where to get the workshop materials and so on (they lend you hoops and scissors and that sort of thing), and possibly do a little pre-shopping . Also go for a walk in the park there, I never seem to have time for that! Then to SIL's, with the special Dutch almond cakes I bake to bribe her into having me to stay.

Friday will be completely K&S-dedicated, then Saturday meeting up with friends at an Unveiling and my usual stroll through the central London parks. And of course lunch at my favourite little Lebanese restaurant *yum*.

Now all it needs is not-too-dismal weather...

Will see you all again after the weekend!

And if you are at Ally Pally on Friday, I'm the one carrying a black cotton bag with a hardanger Stitching Bug stitched onto it

[millymolly]

your going to be very busy
Enjoy!

[thread garden]

Have fun! I wish I lived closer to the UK. Enjoy!!!

[Squirrel]

Enjoy your stay in London Mabel and have lots of fun as well.
I am sure your day tutouring will be a wonderful experience for everyone, including you. Looking forward to hearing all about it next week.

[wwdiva]

I'm just back from London and I am ready to go back! My DH is talking about taking a 6 month sabbatical and living there for a while!
We had wonderful weather (don't know why everyone moans about how wet London is. Way less rain than in Vancouver).
Have a wonderful time!
Cheers

[bookknurd]

I hope you have a great time. I wish I could join you.

[Mrs Milkybar Kid]

Have fun Mabel - can't wait for you to report back especially with possible stash pics......... !

[kiwirach]

Might see you there! I'm off there tomorrow

[vanessanjf]

Have a good time

[Angel]

Ooooh how lovely!

[Louise1262]

Sounds like a great weekend Mabel, wish I could visit. Have fun and I hope the workshop goes well.

[rcperryls]

Sounds like a wonderful week-end ahead. I can't wait to hear all about it and like Amanda, hope that we get some great and lovely pics of the stash you get. Have fun in your workshop!

Carole

[Serinde]

I'm sure you are having a wonderful time, Mabel. Also hope you're not being blown away... since the weather has turned, well, seasonal. We shall need a report on "The Newest Thing", since you can't bribe us with almond cakes to forgive your absence.

[wendywombat]

Have a great time....Relax and enjoy the Show, the teaching and of course buying just a few 'Essential' bit of STASH!!!

[tiffstitch]

Hope you have fun, and yes, can't wait to see your stash!

[kiwirach]

And if you are at Ally Pally on Friday, I'm the one carrying a black cotton bag with a hardanger Stitching Bug stitched onto it

i looked out for you!, but i was rather busy spending money
hope you enjoyed your time at the show - i think your class was sold out, cos i did look into coming along.

for others who like stash pics - i did a blog post about what i got rather than completely hijacking this thread!!.

[helbel]

I went on Saturday, massive train problems meant I was over an hour late meeting my friends - but they had had to queue to get in at around 11:30!

Thought that the cross stitch stuff had decreased again for another year, very few stalls selling thread. Sewing was up this year - maybe an effect of the Great British Sewing Bee? I was also shocked that the exhibition space looked to have been halved.

I bought some silk yarn for crochet but nothing else (very broke at the moment!).

Still had a lovely day out with my friends and enjoyed it. It's always so great to see finished cross stitch pieces on display and confirms my love of Maia projects. Must actually get around to doing some more stitching soon!

[Hetty1989]

WOW sounds like a busy few days!! Hope you had fun!!

[Mabel Figworthy]

helbel, I always find that even if I don't buy anything, I'm still having a lovely time!

I saw A Timeline of Crewel Work by Jean littlejohn and was lucky enough to catch her talk -- and one of the pieces that was in an article in this month's Stitch magazine was actualyl there so I could see it in real life, which was so interesting!

Lots of other talented stitchers with great projects, but like others I did find that there was more patchwork/quilting/sewing this year. Also, although there were quite a few thread people, there was really only one selling "counted" fabrics, and that was Sew-It-All. They have a nice range, but they had become quite expensive and I don't like their printed (rather than dyed) fabrics and the spray-on opalescents. Kate from Sparklies told me last year that it was simply getting too expensive for her

The workshop went well, fortunately, there was one lady who hadn't done much stitching at all and she found it a bit too challenging, so she took the kit away and I told her to email me if she wanted any advice or had any questions. I hope she will try it when she has a relaxed day at home. All the others seemed to manage quite well, several people finished or near-finihsed it, and two of them stayed behind to say how much they'd enjoyed it, and that it was one of the best workshops they'd done -- one lady said it helped that I kept going round to see how everyone was doing, and was patient and showed them every step. I was soo pleased!

I did buy a few bits and bobs, some I can't show you because it's for Stashmas but here is the rest of my haul.

Overview:



Hand-dyed felt:



Hand-dyed silk organza:



Two lovely ceramic buttons:



Also some beads for the Christmas Craft event and possibly for Beadazzled. Have already designed something for the organza

[tiffstitch]

What lovely choices!