The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate has always been special to us because it was here that we first launched The Close Knit Gang and Bright Young Things in 2009. We were so happy to be met with such enthusiasm from the knitters at that first show. And we still feel incredibly fortunate today that those same loyal customers keep coming back year after year to support and encourage us.
This year saw us with the largest stand ever. At a whopping 6 meters, we wondered if it was a little on the large side, but with 4 collections for children and our first ever adult collection Country Escape to display, it proved to be a good thing. We had samples from Country Escape to try on as well as garments from our ever popular babies and childrens' collections. It was thrilling to see just how excited our returning customers were to see the Little Rascals samples - we never tire of hearing people exclaim 'My granddaughter will look adorable in that'.
Helena and I travelled up on Wednesday and arrived late in the evening. As you may imagine we were really tired by then, and knew that we still had to set up the stand to be ready in time for opening on Thursday morning. We were overwhelmed by the amazing help we received from the porters - they unloaded the car in literally 5 minutes when it would have taken us ten times as long as that - we were so grateful to them.
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| Helena helping a customer |
Thursday morning saw us tweaking the stand and soon a steady flow of knitters and crocheters, crafters and quilters stepped through the doors and we were kept busy all day. It was really only the pre-cursor as Friday and Saturday were truly manic, and even Sunday was the busiest I've seen for the last day of the Show. Luckily Louisa (our design intern from last year) was on hand to help out on the stall on Sat and Sun as she is now in her final year nearby at Huddersfield University.
It wasn't until Friday lunchtime that we had the most exciting delivery of the weekend. Our first batch of Country Escape was finally with us!
It soon became apparent that the Charlie Cardigan was going to be the big hit of this first collection for adults. Popular across the generations, it was great fun to see so many knitters eager to knit this gorgeous cable cardi - and in so many different colours! We show the Charlie in claret, moss and putty in the book, and these proved to be very popular. But, there are also now Charlie's underway in fawn, forget-me-not, fuchsia and storm, to name but a few.
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| Charlie Cardigan |
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| Emma Boatneck |
The stunning Emma Boatneck was a clear favourite amongst the younger generation (shown here in midnight and fawn).
Lastly - anyone who visits Harrogate knows that a trip to Betty's is an absolute must. It's a treat that Helena and I indulge in once every year. If you haven't sampled the delights of breakfast (or afternoon tea!) at Betty's, we can heartily recommend it!
Go and check out a review of Country Escape on The Knitter blog for another perspective on our first ever collection for adults.
Posted by Katarina
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