K is for Knit Nation 2011



The Yarn Yard stand


Still enjoying An Accidental Knitter's ABC meme and as luck would have it this weekend was Knit Nation.
This wonderful event is becoming a fixture each July at Imperial College in London.  Too good an opportunity to miss for 'K'.

The weather was grim, but the atmosphere inside Knit Nation was cheerful and bright.  So many happy people,  all sharing the love of yarn. 



John Arbon Textiles stand


It's not a huge show, but a very busy and popular one and there are lots of quality yarns on sale.  The Habu Textiles stand was of particular interest.  So unusual and I regretted not doing more research before I got there.  Clearly lots of visitors knew about Habu and knew how to use these very specialised and unusual yarns.  I was fascinated, but unsure and so just bought a little tsumugi silk to experiment with.  A missed opportunity, but I'll be ready next time.
Habu - the UK website
Habu - the American website

Juno Knits roving

The colours at Juno Knits were hypnotising and Artisan Yarns took my breath away as they always do. 
And then there are the workshops.  I chose a class on Top Whorl Spinning for Beginners.  I fear this was really not for me.  The tutors were wonderful, but it was not my greatest triumph and as another delegate said after a couple of frustrating hours trying to get yarn from a heap of wool top and a wooden stick,
"I came into the room a knitter and I shall leave the room a knitter"
However, when a few of us gave up trying and just sat and chatted, we had a really lovely time and I came away happy.

The very dodgy bit of spinning that I brought home with me