WOOL WEEK

My goodness - what a week it's been! I can confidently say that this week has seen me add two things to my 'never-thought-I'd-do-that!' list - teaching a knitting class, and knitting in an Oxford Street shop window!

Of course, if you read the last blog post you'll know that it was all part of MillaMia's contribution to Wool Week 2013 in conjunction with Campaign for Wool and John Lewis. We were thrilled to be involved with raising awareness of wool and it's myriad amazing properties (something that us knitters have known for a VERY long time), not only because it's such a worthwhile cause, but also as it was super great fun!

I thought you would like to see the story of our day on Wednesday in pictures - we took lots! Yumiko, our most lovely intern is about to leave us to go back to Japan, but she very kindly agreed to help us out on the day. Katarina was on hand for the drop in session throughout the afternoon and for the evening class, where her 'Continental' style of knitting was so helpful. Helena made her debut with me in the window, which was really chilly but surprisingly comfortable. We both commented on how quickly you forget where you are and adapt to your surroundings - it gave us real insight into why people on reality TV shows are able to disregard the cameras so easily - even with people walking past and waving at you!

John Lewis were incredibly open to the idea of the knitting classes taking place in the Womenswear Department as opposed to the more conventional Haberdashery Department, and made us a very comfortable 'room' amidst the cashmere:

As you can see Yumiko and I managed to make it feel more like home with some strategically placed cushions.

The classes were already fully booked when we arrived, but we welcomed lots of other people who happened by and were so intrigued that they joined us too!

Around midday, Helena and I made our way to the cosmetics department and through a little door out to the window. We took some Milly's for company, the cushions for comfort (you can see a beautiful bright Tivoli and a Dalarna Cushion on the sofa) and our knitting of course!

It was really cold in the window, but thankfully we both had our MillaMia cardigans on (I'm wearing my brand new Monica Cardigan from High Society in Pitch Black (100) and Helena is wearing the new Vanessa Cable Cardigan in Forget-me-not (120) and Storm (102)) and soon settled down to knit and chat for a couple of hours. It was surprising how quickly we forgot that we were 'knitting models' sitting in a rather large shop window in Oxford Street!

We were occasionally reminded of the surreal nature of our experience by the people walking by - some waved, some smiled in a wry manner and hurried past, but some even stopped to take a picture!

Tomorrow sees the last of the knitting classes at John Lewis in Oxford Street with Erika Knight taking the knitty helm but our friend and MillaMia stockist Sue Stratford will be in store all day today to teach 2 fairisle classes and do her stint of knitting in the window. Go along and find her in the Womenswear Department for drop-in knitting help this afternoon if you haven't booked a class, or for more information on all the other amazing ways that people have contributed to Wool Week 2013, visit the Campaign For Wool website.

(posted by Max)