Extreme Knitting Redhead: The Knitting and Stitching Show, Olympia

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Knitting and Stitching Show, Olympia

I'm a bit late in writing about this but it's been a busy week. Last week I was lucky enough to have been given a complementary ticket to the show by the lovely Dixie Nichols from whom I have purchased the most beautiful and original buttons. Unfortunately she was only at the show on the Thursday and Friday and I couldn't get there until Saturday so I didn't get to drool over her lovely selection of buttons. Probably just as well as my credit card went into shock as soon as we walked into the exhibition hall!

It was a dreary day, cold, wet and windy day as you can see from my photo of The Shard, taken from the train. I had to take the tube to get to Olympia and although I know it's an efficient and cost-effective way of getting about London it really isn't something I enjoy.

The entrance

Having joined the long queue to get in I was set loose in a veritable Aladdin's Cave of crafting goodies!

Felted meerkats

Emily Peacock at work on one of her vibrant tapestries

Aren't they stunning?

The proud stallholder of Helkat Designs

Bespoke one-off textiles. Simply beautiful!

A dress made from re-cycled carrier bags

A table of eager helpers cut up carrier bags - I love her headdress.

Fashion students displayed their designs

Ooooh, I'd wear this!

Many amazing quilts on display

A woodland Nymph with attitude!

Her Woodland Boudoir - a collaboration between 8 female artists

After much searching I finally found Jane Crowfoot. Her crocheted Easter Eggs were really jolly and reminded me that somewhere at home I've still got some eggs that mum and I decorated when I was a child.

We had a brief chat and she told me that the Crochet Club is about to get even more exciting than the granny square type patterns we've done this month. Excellent, now I can't wait for my next set of instructions!

When I first entered the halls the cafe areas were all empty. By the time realised I was both hungry and thirsty they were absolutely heaving so I decided to head for home and grab something en-route.

Right by the exit I couldn't help but smile when I spotted these ladies who were having a snack before they headed inside. Hope you enjoyed your visit ladies!

What did I buy? I was very restrained as I could have spent an absolute fortune but I tried to be good as I have so much in my stash that I could go without buying anything for several years and not run out of projects!

A cat shape to decoupage with paper or maybe bits of embroidery

A bag full of small amounts of yummy Chinese bourette silk for teeny-weeny crocheting

Seeing Jane reminded me that I haven't shared the last bits of crochet from the January Crochet Club so here they are. There's just a bit of surface crochet and embroidery and the beads were supposed to be sewn on but I preferred to crochet them in place because I think it's neater. Now everything needs blocking to size.

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.