Sep
27
Juliet Bernard, contributing editor of The Knitter, travelled 380 miles to attend British Wool Weekend 2012!
The distance from my house to Harrogate showground is 380 miles. Quite a way to travel in just one day for a show but I am so glad I did.
The British Wool Weekend is now in its second year and although it is a relatively small show, the quality of the exhibitors it attracts is impressive. From yarn to spinning, felting and sheep shearing as well as Sasha Kagan’s wonderful touring exhibition (shown left). If you get a chance to see this, it is well worth it and really amazing. A retrospective of Sasha's work, it explores her wonderful eye for colour in Fair Isle and intarsia. On their own, her designs are stunning but when you see a collection of her work together in one place you can really appreciate why she has been one of our top designers for so many years.
Sue Blacker was there running workshops on how to choose a fleece as well as launching her new book called Pure Wool (shown above) which should be on every knitters’ shelf. It is packed full of information about different sheep breeds and the characteristics of the yarns made from their fleece as well as patterns from Blacker Designs.
The Lowland Legacy had journeyed all the way form Holland with a wonderful array of spindles and weaving accessories. What really caught my eye was this Bogway handspinner.
Erika Knight was there and showed me her new DK yarn – the colours are just delightful. My other favourite yarn was Woolie Bat’s Laceweight Blue Faced Leicester which is spun by the Halifax Spinning Mill in Selby near Goole.
The Real Shetland Company have just launched their own duvets with 100% Shetland wool filling. They also had a wonderful range of blankets as well as the new Jamieson and Smith Heritage yarn – my first chance to see it up close. I can’t wait to try it out.
This is a show not to be missed so make sure you put it in your dairy for next year!
Comments