Get festive.....

It's time to start getting excited about christmas...so I picked my favourite christmas song ever... being covered by one of my top all grrrl bands, enjoy...



p.s. whoever put this video together, hottt photoshop skillz!!!

5 days in Harrogate...and a whole lotta knitting!

So,

If you've been here recently, you will know that I took my knits to The Knittting and Stitching show in Harrogate last week. The show opened on Thursday, but with 3 walls, a whopping 4 square metres and many crowds to wow...I needed some time to set it all up so we went over on Wednesday. The day was spent measuring, deliberating, screwing cup hooks into walls and eating...and this was the result...

I treated my assisstant to some tasty thai food then we went our separate ways. I checked in to my new home for the next 4 nights, a lovely bed n breakfast 5 minutes walk from the International centre (where the knitting and stitiching show was held).

Thursday morning was...eventful. The set up on Wednesday was so successful and I didnt forget anything, it was going so well, then...the shower was broken, hmmm maybe its me, i'm probably pressing the wrong thing, 20 minutes of switching it on and off and still cold water! Got to shower in nextdoor's room. La la la, all clean, ready to get dressed and put my....oh no, where's my make-up?!? In Chesterfield. I then managed to order a breakfast with bacon in it (no good for this vegetarian) but managed to tell the lady in time so I didnt get pig on my plate!

The next two days were a blur of giant breakfasts featuring egg and home made yogurt, young and old people oooh-ing and aaahhh-ing at my knits (and a good deal of getting told I'm clever by old ladies, he hee) ,seeing people I know from a variety of past knit related events, wandering around harrogate, bit of Gok Wan, explaining to people why my company is called 'Knit and Destroy' and sleeping.
The weekend saw the arrival of my new assistants/sales people, in the form of my Mum and sister. They both did a great job of looking after my stand for me, such a good job in fact 2 ladies asked if they could take my Mum home with them!

This meant that I could go and look round at the rest of the show and see other crafty things. The highlights were the Knitted Textile Student awards, as always this showed what the most innovative students are doing with knit at the moment, the 3D cross stitch stall with little houses and boxes all made of cross stitch and the knitted christmas display.

As you all know, it has been snowing here recently, and Harrogate was no exception. The show closed early on Sunday so that people could get packed up and 'beat the weather' but it wasnt quite early enough. By the time we got out the roads were covered with snow and traffic, we only just got up the hill from the car park with 2 helpful local men pushing and my Mum revving like she's never revved before! But we weren't getting any further, so we rang the B&B I had been staying in and booked an extra night! This meant that we could go to Betty's as planned, hooray...we trudged through the snow and sat by the open fire with hot carrot soup followed by cakes (caramel slice, chocolate torte and some christmas concoction) and felt like we had gone back in time!

All in all I had a great time at The Knitting and Stitching show, it was really good to see hardcore knitters who have been making stuff for years impressed by my work! The 3D knits went down a treat, especially with the teens, but the firm favourite was the friendly foxxx fur scarf, i think there will be a few ladies getting their needles out and knitting themselves (or their grandkids) a fox scarf this winter!

That's all, go on about all the lovely people I met and detailed every awesome thing I'd seen but I do have knitting to do!

More soon, Kandy x

Knitting and Stitching Show..NEXT WEEK!!!

Hiya,

So I haven't written on here for a while because I have been busy knitting, for the biggest craft fair that Knit and Destroy has ever been to, the Knitting and Stitching Show!!! Described as, wait for it..."The best textiles exhibition in Europe"...and it definitly will be this year.



How come you are doing this, I hear you cry...isn't it really expensive n that?! Well, here's the thing, I won the stall. Thanks to the lovely ladies at Craft Guerilla for running the competition where stalls at each knitting and stitching show (London, Birmingham and Harrogate) were up for grabs for new designers who wanted the opportunity to bring their products to a bigger market and make that 'next step'.

I got the good news that I would be having a stand at the Knitting and Stitching Show way back in July and cannot believe just how quickly the time has gone and it's next week! I have plenty of last minute making to do, this is my anthem for it:

Just to be clear...I unfortunately won't be making the world's largest gem sweater...but I will be making lots of fancy knitted goods for people to look at and buy, wooop. Come and see me and all the other ace crafters and suppliers in Harrogate next week then go home and knit yo-self a gem sweater yeah!

Kandy x

New knits, straight outta the MOVIES!!!

So...my exhibition opening has been and gone, thanks to everyone who came along, it was a great night! I gave you all a sneak peek at a few of the products before the opening, but for those of you who can't make it to Manchester, here's some more!

Hollywood cushion

Admit One - ticket roll scarves and Celluloid scarf

Some of my main pieces, errrr behind me!!! I will go back and get proper snaps of these, they are both red and green pieces, best viewed through 3D glasses, oh yeah!
Also, the majority of the exhibition pieces will be available in my online shop SOON, I will let you know when I get them in there.

Exhibition continues at Purl City Yarns until 28th November.

Kandy x

Exhibition.....

Hello again,

I have been bursting to tell everyone about this for a while and the time has finally come to shout about it...I am having a solo exhibition!!!

This exhibition showcases the new 2010 Autumn/Winter collection from Knit and Destroy.
The collection is inspired by classic movie making and the cinematic experience; and ranges from a celluloid scarf to a 3D glasses case with usherettes, Godzillas, Hollywood and popcorn in between! The short film featured in the exhibition is an ode to the silent movie and demonstrates the scarf making process.

All the info you need is on the flyer, you should be able to click on it to make it bigger. I am so excited for this now, can't believe it's only a week away, but here is a sneak preview of 2 of the pieces the will be in the exhibition.

Hope you like it..and that you can come and see the exhibition!

Kandy x
p.s. artwork on flyer and advert by the lovely benjamin cooney

National Wool Week!

Today marks the first day of the first National Wool Week...what is this?! I hear you cry...well, it's part of a new initiative launched in January of this year called The Campaign For Wool. It's all about raising awareness of the awesomeness of the fibre that is WOOL. More people need to think about what fibres they are using to make their goods or what the things they are buying off the rack are made of. By choosing wool rather than man-made fibres you help to care for the planet and support sheep farmers.

When I first read about National Wool Week it was supposed to be happening in line with London Fashion Week in September, I got excited about the idea of wool in fashion and promptly designed and made the below scarf...

It will be available to buy in my shop as of today, and of course...it's made of wool!

If you want to get involved in national wool week there are events going on up and down the country this week, most extreme of all is the turfing of and introduction of sheep to saville row! Check out your local knitting club for events or organise something yourself.

The way I see it is...the sheep need their fleeces trimming when it gets warm, we need fabrics to wear, using wool is the solution!

People of Edinburgh....

...get down to Candlemaker's row for some handmade delights!

I first came accross Hannah Zakari many years ago, and met the lovely Rachel at the fist ever (and best yet) UK BUST Christmas Craftacular in 2008. We had talked about her stocking my knits but it never quite happened, until now! They recently opend an 'in real life' shop in Edinburgh, and I recently got myself organised and made a proper catalogue...the result of which is this...

My knits in her lovely shop! There are also Knit and Destroy bow scarves to buy as well as lots of other great handmade things by other talented crafters.