The Knitting & Stitching Show Review

This was my very first Knitting and Stitching Show, so I was keen to find out what all the hype was about. Off I trundled on my own and had an absolute BLAST!

I arrived late morning on Saturday and straightaway knew that I wanted to get a place at Matt Chapple’s talk. By the time I had managed to find where to buy the ticket and get a drink it was nearly time – so I thought I’d arrive early, and hopefully get a good seat!

When I arrived there were already two ladies there waiting, and I loved that sewing people are so chatty and cheerful – so had a good natter while I was stood there!

Matt’s talk was fantastic – he is such an inspiration! I loved hearing all about him learning to sew in the army, tales from The Great British Sewing Bee and what he is up to now. He was so genuinely humbled that we all bought tickets to come to his talk too – such a thoroughly nice chap. I even managed to get a photo with him, and had a very quick chat at the end. This was the highlight of my day – I was over the flipping moon! Matt’s blog, Sew What’s New, is really fantastic, and I would definitely recommend you getting on there for a read.

After a quick phone call to husband to tell him all about meeting Matt (lots of squealing!), I made my way into the halls to rummage around all of the sellers.

As I walked around, I came to one stall and remember thinking that the trims they were selling were familiar… and the same as ones I had seen Lisa Comfort talking about on one of her vlogs. Well derrrr – I was at the Sew Over It stand! I was so excited to meet Lisa and get my photo with her – and I picked up a signed copy of her book too. I’m really looking forward to reading through this tonight!

Then I stumbled over the Fabrics Galore stand. Their fabrics were epic. I wanted them all! I picked up a couple of Liberty print Tana lawns. And on another stand I bought some amazing houndstooth purple/turquoise wool.

As my feet were feeling tired and sore, I thought I’d meander to the exit, but then saw that Chinelo Bally of Sewing Bee fame would be doing meeting and greeting. I hadn’t had chance to check out her book, so it was great to have a look through. Her freehand techniques on Sewing Bee were astounding – and would scare me to death! But her book gives fantastic details on how to use her methods. So I managed to meet the lovely Chinelo, and get a signed copy of her fantastic book. As I was about to get a selfie with her, a kind person behind asked if they could help by taking the picture. It was only blooming Fiona from Diary of a Chainstitcher! Ahhhhh!! So I managed to say hi to her which was really amazing.

By this time my feet really were aching and I hadn’t had anything to eat properly. So I headed off – purchases of books and fabric weighing me down – feeling thrilled with how fab my day had been. Thank you Knitting & Stitching Show! You were all kinds of awesome!

xxx