Going a-knitting, a-knitting sir, she said

[gwenynen]

On a very rainy day in Coventry, I met these two lovelies. They are alpacas from Toft Alpaca, and where I was was at a very big Wesleyan Methodist church with white_hart, where there was Uk Ravelry Day. white_hart had agreed to help out with some modelling for the fashion show, so for a while I was wandering round being trodden on in the giant crush of people, looking at the shinies. It was so full! And I kept running into people, sometimes literally.

First out, we were wandering past the stall, when I noticed someone staring at my Rav Name badge. I stared back a bit, and realised it was Quesselchen, my German-Welsh Rav twin! She'd come along to help Jeni at the Fyberspates stall. We chatted briefly, but I had to move on as white_hart was needed to be a model. Whilst she was being dolled up, I wandered round some more. I squeezed through a gap, and someone stepped backwards straight onto my toe. The Stepper turned round, and revealed herself to be Ruth G, from Oxford G&S circles! Small world. With her turned out to be Oxford Kitchen Yarns, complete with child in duck trousers. Then, further wandering took me to see Jo, The Knitting Goddess, whom I met on telynor's Weird Knitting Techniques session.

Every so often, as well, people would be looking at and commenting on the knits of strangers. Whilst I was at one stall, the jumper I was wearing got deconstructed by someone who wanted to make it, and was pointing out its awesomeness to her friend! Very weird. And kinda nice.

I bought a few things, some for me (such as a skein of sock yarn called Fraoch, from Old Maiden Aunt Yarns; some buttons; a couple of things for my CPaAG Swap Buddy), then went to see the Fashion Show. It was a case of "Victory from the Jaws of Defeat", as one of the authors of A Stitch in Time was drafted in to do the compering, and volunteer Ravellers for the modelling, as people from a local college had pulled out at the last minute). There was much shiny.

After lunch and more shopping, we sat down for tea and a knit. Two people passed, and for some reason I had an instinct that said they were from one of my Rav groups - however, I couldn't remember their names, so I grabbed them, looked wild, and managed to stammer "CPAAG" at them. Thankfully I was right, and they understood, so we had a sit. Stressknitters got tea, and Dreamcatcher showed us her knitted Death of Rats, which was so totally awesome. white_hart's friend wot is an editor of Simply Knitting, and is beautiful, came past. white_hart was knitting a sock she designed, so her husband (The Press) took a photie of that, then went "squee!" when DoR was pointed out to him, and took that too. The four of us then got interviewed for a podcast by Girl and Dean. Stressknitters' answers were so brilliant, I do hope they make it on! Who else would make a knitted e coli (I am now considering knitted spirochetes for my medical library). I, of course, got totally collared by a random little old lady who was surprised and pleased to see so many "young people" knitting, and stunned that I could knit without looking. Of course, every time she mentioned that, I split my yarn, but hey. She must have said 5 or 6 times that she was going to leave us to it, and then found something else random to talk about. I always get them, I must have a magnet. Still, at least she wasn't mad or angry or anything, and I hope we made her a little happy.
Then we were tired, and went home. knirirr made me chilli, and we watched a strange Stephen King film (Cat's Eye). I am seriously falling asleep now, though. Amazing how tired yarn fondling makes you!

Comments

[white_hart]

I did feel a bit guilty about deserting you, but they clearly needed everyone they could get for the fashion show - a lot of the models were actually staff from the cafe who got grabbed because they were the right kind of size!

It was strangely exhausting, wasn't it? I am still waiting for my chilli (we eat later than most people!) but will probably be asleep soon after eating it.

(I think you've got my LJ username mixed up with the Rav one? whitehart with no underscore is someone totally different...)

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

Oops. I think I've fixed them all, sorry! Totally knackered.
Leaving me was fine, really, I ran into all sorts of people, and got to run around not feeling guilted that I was taking too much time/speeding up too much &c &c. ;-)

[white_hart]

I really don't know how knitting and stroking wool can be such tiring activities!

[kaberett.livejournal.com]

It sounds to me rather more as though it was all of the high-intensity socialising-with-suddenly-real-people that was tiring, rather than the stroking yarn *per se*... :p

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I managed to "socialise" per se, more recognise people, go "squee bounce" for a minute, run out of things to say, and run away looking scared...

[kaberett.livejournal.com]

Sounds exhausting to me!

[aunty_marion]

Sounds like a wonderful day!

I am fascinated to hear that other people are knitting Death of Rats - I've made three or four myself (and should really be finishing another...!).

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

I think dreamcatcher said she'd adapted the pattern from some of the Alan Dart mouses that have been in SK in recent years. It was very good! As is yours - fascinating how similar and different they both are :-)

[aunty_marion]

I've seen the Alan Dark mousies, but I adapted mine very VERY loosely from the basic pattern in one of the Jean Greenhowe books for mice of the four seasons - I used the basic mouse pattern from there, slightly enlarged I think, for the head, and then just enlarged the whole idea enormously for the body. The skeleton is macrame (with knitted triangle shoulderblades!), with knots for the joints, and I use an acrylic yarn so I can melt the ends of the fingers/toes, which gives a nicely authentic aged-bone effect... *g*

The scythe is dowelling, plastic, and sticky-back holographic plastic film. Shows all those years watching Blue Peter weren't totally useless!

[dyddgu.livejournal.com]

Awesome!
I noticed that dreamcatcher's scythe blade was a cunningly cut bit from the edge of a foil jam tart case :-D