Needlework Tuesday - A Trip to the Knitting Show

 This past Saturday was the annual Knitter's Fair hosted by the KW Knitters Guild.  I usually attend with my sister, an avid knitter, but she had an important choir rehearsal, she sings with the Fanshaw Chorus in London, Ontario.  I was asked by another friend, Karen, if I would take photos to share with her.  I hope you enjoy the show along with me.  I can't feature every vendor as there were so many, so I picked out a few that appealed to me.

 Karen specifically asked that I stop by the booth of Ann from Alpaca Acres.  Karen and Ann knit in the same group in Stratford, Ontario.  I haven't had the pleasure of knitting with alpaca wool yet, but I do have to admit, that it is wonderfully soft.  Very appealing.

It was a very busy day, so I could only spend a few minutes speaking with Ann.  I did learn that the alpaca are very happy after shearing.  There wool is cut when it is approximately five inches long.  It must be a lot cooler once it is off.  It is this strand length that makes for such a soft, supple wool.

There are lots of great photos on the site, and I encourage you to check out the images in the Gallery.

 I was intrigued by this mat being crocheted from the roving. 

 I love the name of this shop, The Purple Purl.  Every year at the show my sister manages to buy a large bag of supplies here.  I think that she really does it just to get the super cool purple shopping bag.

 In this photo, the lady on the right is Miko, one of the owners.  The other owner, Jennifer, had to stay behind in Toronto, Ontario and keep the store open.  If you are in their area, Miko invites you to bring your current project and join them in the shop, there's lots of space to sit and knit a while.

I believe that Miko is standing in front of a display of Cascade 220 wools.  The colours are wonderful.

 As I rounded the corner of one of the rows I practically walked into this wall of colourful yarns.  It made me want to run my fingers through them.  I didn't get a chance to speak with anyone from Rose Haven Farm Store as their booth was so crowded with buyers.

 For the past few years I have made a point of buying a pattern or two from this designer.  Iwona at The Knit Cafe in Toronto keeps putting out patterns that appeal to me.  The majority of the patterns are printed on cards that measure about 4 x 5 1/2 inches.  Some are single sided and other requiring extra instructions fold open.

 The "Saturday Shrug" is a new and very popular pattern this year.  It is knit in 'Dream in Colour Smooshy', with a touch of cashmere added for luxury.

 I have made Iwona's Groovy scarf several times now, and have a few more planned.

 This was my first time meeting designer Natalie Servant.  I was attracted to her booth by this gorgeous yellow shawl.  It really is more yellow than this photo shows.  Even though she has only been designing for a few years, she has over a dozen pattern available on her site.  You can purchase them through Ravelry.  I am going to be making the scarf Fast Forward.  Love the end details.

Wednesday afternoon update: I ordered an e version of this pattern from Ravelry and printed it out. Can't wait to get some wool.

 The final booth I visited was Shall We Knit from Waterloo.  (some how I managed to miss that the shop moved a half hour closer to me.  It  used to be located in New Hamburg.  This definitely means a very short road trip, driving time will be short, visiting time lengthy, in my near future.

I love the 'cute' monsters that have been knit by the staff.  Notice all the little legs hanging at the top of the photo.

I believe that most of the wools on this wall are from Koigu.  It is the most wonderful Merino to knit with.

It was only while writing this post that I came to realize that I missed a whole room of 33 booths.  When I entered the show and paid my admission, no one mentioned that the show was in two rooms in two separate buildings.  Were there signs I should have read?  I was handed a show guide which I promptly put in my bag.  On the very back of it was a map for the second room.  Oh well, I did miss thing that a few vendors were missing, I just put it down to this economy.

Have you written a post about your favourite yarn/wool shop?  Leave me a comment with a link to your post.  I'd love to visit with you.

Next week I'll be back with my regular needlework update.  I have been sewing on more pairs of boxer shorts.

Rikki at Rikki's Teleidoscope has posted an update to her crochet project.  It's perfect for a needleworker wantin to start out with a small project.

Sherrie over at Just Books has an update on her doily project.  I absolutely adore the thread colour and  am going to have to order some.