So last Saturday I had such a fun day as I took a train down to Weston Super Mare which I have not visited in many years.
The organiser's of Stitchfest started back in 2016 at Totnes is now in it's 9th year. They have gone from strength to strength and for the first time, organised a much needed event in the area in a great venue and called it Stitch Fest by the Sea. I could not have been happier, as I say only a short train ride for me and I got to visit my old college town to a wander around after the show.
There were a total of 42 exhibitors there, some of whom I had seen at other shows I have been to over the year's but also new exhibitors I had not had the pleasure to meet before.
The first of those was Second City Yarns . I was busy just admiring the rainbow colours on her stand.
Jo started her business after attending a dye workshop by RiverKnits back in 2022 after 20 years working as a quality control employee full time.
Her first ever colourway that she created was Kimichi inspired by the Kimichi Music School in Birmingham.
She shared the colourway with friends and received very positive feedback so she continued to use inspiration from her home town of Birmingham as some fascinating inspiration.
Creating a colour palette for the four seasons inspired by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.org.uk
Another colourway is inspired by an area in Birmingham which is predominately known as the Gay Village where there are many gay bars and clubs.
The final area of her stands was an equally great and unusual inspiration for yarn dyeing.
But it was the Number 11 Bus that travels around different areas of Birmingham. With the names of the yarns being called after different stops on the route and the colours transitioning from light to dark as the day goes from morning to evening.
I then moved around to Fabazaar's stand. The company's ethos is to work with companies predominantly in Nepal, India and Thailand, supporting local craftsmen and women.
Their online shop has a huge selection of items from clothing to giftware.
When speaking to Bronwen she explained how she works with the craftspeople in their respective countries and placing orders and suggesting ideas for designs that they may not have been used to making.
One of the products that was available to buy was both nettle fibre in its wound state, to scarves, and the boloro that she was wearing which just looked exquisite. She also recommended I watch a video called The Nettle Dress.
The fibre used on Bronwen's stand is from Nettle fibres from the mountains in Nepal, which are made from the Himalayan Giant Nettle, which is also known as Allo.
Incredibly, the plant grows at altitudes above 1500 metres. It can take up to 4 days to reach the area where the plant is found. The fibre is often spun on the way to market, some 3 to 4 days' walk to market. The plant is among the longest in the world!
The fibre has been extracted and used by Gurung, Magar, Rai and Sherpa people to make socks, bags, jackets and fishing nets. It can take up to one week to make a sack on a backstrap loom
Recently, the Sankhuwasabha people from Nepal have started to create textiles which include knitwear, combining the nettle with local wool and silk to diversify their opportunities to sell.
The next vendor I met was Zuzana, such a happy soul. Her business is called Travawool.
All the products are dyed using unwanted clothes to make project bags, which are embroidered with plant decoration, the thread having been dyed with natural dyes. The yarn sold is also dyed again with natural dyes from plants either collected from her allotment or on local walks.
I purchased these mini laceweight skeins which are a blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere, so I shall have to create something very special with them.
The last stand I went to was Faye Perriam-Reed. This was Faye's second in-person exhibition and it is so great to see knitwear designers' work displayed with the pattern and the knitted product in person.
