Fashion and Embroidery Show in Harrogate

On Sunday I paid a visit to the Fashion and Embroidery Show in Harrogate. This used to be my favourite show in the days when it was run by Madeira Threads when it was run as a showcase for textile students and makers. Though it has changed since being taken over by a commercial organisation there were still exhibits from colleges and makers and groups as well as some interesting exhibitions; though it lacks the "buzz" it used to have it was still an enjoyable and inspiring day out, with a couple of particularly good exhibitions from the Quilters Guild.

Photographs of the exhibitions were not allowed. I'd planned to take some of some of the trading stands instead but only managed to get to Oliver Twists before the batteries ran out:


I always find Jean Oliver's displays and products very inspiring: I've known her since I used to trade in dyed fabrics and she was one of the people who was really helpful to me from the beginning. Nowadays we bump into each other only a couple of times a year when I visit shows and try tocatch up between customers. This time I was very good and didn't buy any of the dyed stuff (thus avoiding being told off for not dyeing it myself) but did come away with a big bag of silk rods and another of throwsters waste for dyeing.

Other favourite traders were Ario , Art Van Go, Colourcraft, Magie Relph's African Fabric Shop, and Bombay Stores so though I kept, broadly speaking, to my shopping list, I did come away with a lot of stuff to play with. I also managed a chat with Kim Thittichai (her book Hot Textiles has recently been published) and the people on the Braidmakers Society stand who showed me several easy and inexpensive ways to make braids (watch this space!)