Filling in time with Granny Squares

I was in between crochet projects, having finished my Woodland Blanket and waiting to visit the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show in London, so I made a small hit on my stash by making some Sunburst Granny Squares to use as a cushion cover.

I used shades of blue and grey together with white to make the nine squares and once they were together and blocked I stitched them on to a plain grey cushion cover.

Footnote:   Never did make it to the Knitting and Stitching Show as it fell the same weekend we had snow which brought the rail network to a standstill.   Have to be contented with a weekend of online shopping to get some of the things on my shopping list but there's nothing like having a good look before you buy!  Will have to think hard now about Ally Pally in October.

Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace

Once again I made my way to Alexandra Palace for the Knitting and Stitching Show which really is one of the best shows and a must for anyone interested in any textile art.   This year I was once again joined by my daughter Karen and for the first time Granddaughter Eloise joined us.

I spent the morning looking at the Galleries with my Thread and Shutter friend Jacquie and what a treat we had.   There is always a great variety of textiles from the 'normal' to the 'bizarre' and everything in between.

My favourite had to be Kate Jenkins and her Kates Plaice, The Stitchmongers, a creation of fishy food in knitting, crochet and stitch.  If you missed the fishmongers counter it was probably because there were crowds in front of it!  I managed to get a few photos just to give you an idea.

Another of my favourites was Sue Dove whose had hand stitched creations made me really envious.  She also had her sketchbooks to look at and to say a loved them is a bit of an understatement!

Her work had a freedom I strive to achieve myself but rarely succeed.  I spent some time talking to her and her words of wisdom just about convinced me that I should accept that I have my style and maybe I will not be able to change it.   I was left feeling that I will spend more time working on sketchbooks for a while and see where it takes me.

Unfortunately photos were not allowed but you can find examples of her work on Pinterest.

There was of course many other exhibits that took my eye and of course many suppliers that took my money, but these two had the greatest impact on me.