I Knit London Report

Date: Saturday, 6 September

Location: Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster, London

Occasion: A small trade show and festival of fiber (fibre) arts.



I headed out from the Flat on Abbey Road to the St. John's Wood Underground Station, and rode the Tube to Westminster. I could have gone to Victoria Station, which was closer to the venue, but I knew 2/3 of the neighborhood trek from Westminster. This is because on my first trip to London (in this lifetime) in 1978 as a student, I stayed in a hostel not far from the Palace of Westminster (aka the Houses of Parliament building). I could hear the tolling of Big Ben from my shared hostel bedroom. The street that the Knit exhibition was on was an extension of the one I was used to taking to get to the hostel. Also, I liked the idea of walking past the Houses of Parliament AND Westminster Abbey on my way to knitting.



Alas, for once I LEFT THE FLAT WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA. It's a good thing that that Exit 5 from the station was closed due to refurbishment, because by going the long way around, I passed many souvenir and umbrella vendors. I ducked into a shop to get out of the rain, and there was an umbrella containing a design of the silhouttes of the Fab Four crossing Abbey Road. Score!



It was a cool and dreary day. I wasn't quite sure which end of Greycoat Place/Road/Street (there WERE three options on the map) to approach to get to the entrance of the Royal Horticultural Hall, but decided to just press on. Soon I could see a stream of happy, excited (middle-aged) women crossing street, so decide to go in that direction. I was correct.

The RHH is a brick and stone building from the Victorian era. I entered a large, high-ceilinged hall which was a hive of commerce and creativity. There were dozens of booths. Some were stocked with hand-dyed yarns, some with hand-spun, some with single-breed undyed natural yarn and roving. There was a book store, many already-knitted garments to purchase, patterns, and other exhibits.

The following activities were highlights for me:

• Browsing around all the booths without buying anything... I was saving myself for later.
• Talking to the very creative and slightly kooky lady who knits "art" sweaters. These are brightly-colored intarsia pieces with well-known iconic images on them, such as Marilyn, Che Gueverra, Ganesha the Hindu elephant-god, Geisha, etc. She mentioned that someone had asked her to be in an exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Obviously someone Good To Know.
• Chatting with the ladies at the Wensleydale wool booth. Although my nickname was once "Wensleydale", I only knew about the cheese, not the breed of sheep. They have really long shaggy coats with a perfect crimp to the fleece, like tiny marcels. I spoke to a lady who runs a Wensleydale sheep farm in Sussex (a county on the south coast of England, easy to access from London). I told her I had access to a busload of American knitters who might like to come over for a tour. She pointed me toward the direction of a lady in the next booth, who owns a "retreat center" and will give sheep-to-shawl demonstrations. She also mentioned that 2009 will be the Year of the Native Fiber or some such designation, so we should get moving on the trip planning.
• I made a pompom for peace. As mentioned in the Fall 2008 issue of VOGUEknitting, which I bought in the US for airplane reading, Amy Lame's Pom Pom International project was created to "travel to areas of conflict around the glob. Together, we create whimsical, non-political, creative balls of fluffy yarn in a gesture of peace and reconciliation". Pom-pommers label their colorful creations. A railing in the hall was festooned with many that had been made recently in Northern Ireland. It was heartening to read the messages invoking world peace that ordinary citizens had written on their labels. All the pom poms will eventually be linked to make the world's biggest pom pom. For mailing information, pompom instructions, etc., visit pompominternational.com
• I visited the booth of local yarn shop Loop, and found out the number of a bus that runs through St. John's Wood to Islington, where the shop is located.

Finally, I made three purchases:

• One skein of "light weight" oatmeal-colored Wensleydale wool, 350 metres, approx. fingering weight. It is enough for a pair of gloves or other small project.
• One book: A Gathering of Lace edited by Meg Swansen.
• One small cluster of wavy-crimped Wensleydale roving with which to embellish a project or use for felting.

There was also a fashion show of "vintage" knits presented in the style of a fashion show from the 1940's. They were all modelled by tall thin girls with dark wavy hair and very red lipstick.

After about 2 1/2 hours, my feet were tired and I headed home. This time I did go to Victoria Station, and found the spot from which all the buses leave. I found one that would take me up to St. John's Wood, and went home to clean up for the evening at the outdoor theatre (see previous post).