I know, I know, I haven’t blogged in aaaaaages. Hopefully you are under the illusion I have been very busy and working incredibly hard. Well it’s vaguely true, depending on whether you consider meeting the Yarn Harlot at I Knit Day and staying in lovely hotels and schmoozing at Ally Pally hard work. I even managed to fit in Emma Whitaker nee. Brown (deputy ed)’s wedding and a holiday to St Tropez. I’m not quite sure where to start! 

Back in September Anna (Sales Exec.) and I traveled up to London, leaving Brighton at some ungodly hour in the morning, to meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka Yarn Harlot at her hotel for an interview before I Knit Day 2008 kicked off. We ended up having a giggle and a chat over coffee for over an hour. It was a pleasure to meet Stephanie, and yes she is as funny and dry in real life as her writing suggests, though she stuck true to form and wouldn’t divulge any future projects to me even though I tried! You can see the interview in our December issue.

We were greeted by a very harried Gerard at the entrance of the Royal Horticultural Hall, where the I Knit event was held. There were lots of people there, stands, fashion shows (which Gerard took a turn in) and even some comedy – though I have to admit, Girl and Dean aren’t my cup of tea comedy wise. It was great to be able to put faces to names and to meet up and coming authors and designers, though we didn’t get to spend all day up there as we had to rush back to Brighton for Emma B’s hen night that started that afternoon (that’s a whole other story, perhaps not to be published online)!

In early October Emma’s wedding was as beautiful a fairytale as we predicted and you can see how fabulous she (and we) looked on the day. The Knitting team doesn’t scrub up too bad does it?

I’m sure you’ll all join me in saying Congratulations and wishing Emma and Andy a lifetime of happiness.


Emma K, Claire, Emma W, Katy, Anna

Since Emma W is off on her honeymoon in romantic Tuscany it was up to me and Emma K to fly the flag for Knitting magazine at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally last weekend, which I think we did with a certain style (for example meetings were held in the Champagne bar). Again it was a great chance to meet people I felt like I already knew from phone calls and emails, catch up with people not seen since last year and of course swap gossip. We were also lucky enough to have Nicky Epstein, Debbie Bliss and Erika Knight signing books on our stand. They are all lovely and we can’t wait to see them next time. 

We bumped into Gerard and Craig again (they get everywhere these two) and had a quick catch up – Gerard told us they have about four more books in the pipeline! Craig and I bonded over Morris Minors, him lamenting the fact he doesn’t have one, me lamenting the fact mine seems to have recently died. I also had a quick chat with Domiknitrix, who is tall, gorgeous ad was wearing the tiniest rubber corset whilst still managing to talk, knit and converse in French to Marie-Alice Morisset, the French champion speed knitter. The only hints she would give me about her next book is that she is currently sketching and is focusing on tailoring for specific parts of the body.

Emma and I were also heavily involved in the Knitted Student Textile awards, both being judges (others included Sandy Black, Erika Knight etc) and then helping Chris Kingdom of the UKHKA count up votes for over-all winner and the various categories. The standard was very high this year and you’ll be able to see our coverage of it in the next couple of issues, it’s eye opening. Ally Pally is great fun but man is it tiring!

Phew, so after all that I feel my week in St Tropez at the end of September was well and truly deserved actually.

Don't miss your chance to meet your favourite authors Debbie Bliss, Nicky Epstein and Erika Knight, who will be signing copies of their latest books at the Knitting/GMC stand G14 at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally this weekend. Check out our schedule here:



THURSDAY

Nicky Epstein signing/demos (10.30-11.30)

Erika Knight signing/demos (14:00-15:00)

Nicky Epstein (15:00-16:00)



FRIDAY

Nicky Epstein signing/demos (10.30-11.30)

Debbie Bliss signing (12:00-13:00)

Erika Knight signing/demos (14:00-15:00)

Nicky Epstein (15:00-16:00)



SATURDAY

Nicky Epstein signing/demos (10.30-11.30)

Debbie Bliss signing (12:00-13:00)

Erika Knight signing/demos (14:00-15:00)

Nicky Epstein (15:00-16:00)



SUNDAY

Nicky Epstein signing/demos (10.30-11.30)

Erika Knight signing/demos (14:00-15:00)

Nicky Epstein (15:00-16:00)

Cucumber Patch are happy to offer 10% off RYC Cashsoft DK and Debbie Bliss Como. Please visit www.cucumberpatch.co.uk

The Knitting Parlour are happy to offer 10% off Sirdar Eco Wool DK, Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK, Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, Sirdar Country Style DK and Sublime Baby Cashmere merino Silk DK. Telephone orders only, 01684 892079 please quote KM56. www.theknittingparlour.co.uk