Tuesday 27 May 2014

Gardens, Cooking & Knitting to Extremes with an Irish American flavour

 Gardens and Donegal make interesting bed fellows! The majestic but mountainous terrain doesn't always have 'grow flowers' written on it! Yet the 2014 Donegal garden trail boasts 23 gardens.
At Knitfield we already know the power of flowers goes beyond their colour or scent. Flowers are good business creating an ambience more pleasant for customers and for us. Of course we're partial to wild things from the surrounding fields.

When invited to present the 'Crafternoon Tea Event' as part of the Northwest garden show, now in it's 5th year, we at Knitfield jumped over our needles with ideas. The venue for our part in this community led event was The Irish Garden for the White House, an exact replica of the Diarmuid Gavin designed garden built in the grounds of the White House with many Irish - American references.

Our location for the Northwest garden show weekend was the beautifully designed stone built oval room, central in the White House garden


Edel MacBride would lead the Knit craft activities over the garden show weekend, May 2014


  
Knitfield made it to the White House after some vehicle difficulties by 'borrowing' the van from the business next door, MacBride Bros Joinery


Some work in the branding department and we were ready for the large crowds that annually attend the Northwest garden show from North and south of the Irish border.


Roses are made daily at Knitfield and never need watered, even if the models do !

Late the night before show opening and it's starting to look the part


#socialgardener & gardener with BBC radio foyle, Gareth Austin takes a break from the allotments to relax with some knitting! He learned at school and you never forget how to hold the needles even if the blackberry stitch here was a little ambitious ?

That's the little girl from Omagh with her mum's 1970's weekend case full of magic circle knitting yum yums for the Crafternoon tea display


 Rita extreme knits by the White House garden pools with our Knitfield blanket wool


If knitting honeycomb wasn't for you even after Edel's Aran demonstration you could follow Joseph to the real honeybees










                                                                                                                 Or make new friends?


 Or even get very daring with the falconry display from Glenveagh, if birds are your thing. We're just after their lovely feathers at Knitfield for head pieces.



 Our most fashionable family at Crafternoon tea undoubtedly and great helpers at the Sunday afternoon extreme knit demo with Edel


Jemima puddle duck finds a frog in the garden pool!
 
The Tin man in the sensory garden designed by Janice Campbell had loads of lovely plants too from Dunwiley nurseries

 We loved the green octopi growing in the natural designed garden by Tim Austen


 
Irish TV loved our big colourful wool too and we look forward to seeing Edel's interview on soon and the coverage from the garden show. Little Eilish kate's lovely hand knit by Bogbean in the picture here.

Maggy from Knitfield with baby Eilish Kate both wearing Edel MacBride, never needing bribed to wear mum/grannies clothing line. The cardigan is available as a knitting kit called RITA, in 2 sizes and a choice of colours with beautiful hand covered buttons, here in French lavender

 This exhibitor from the Juice bar booked an early morning Crafternoon Tea having witnessed how impossibly packed the room was the day before. All that China and we didn't hear a piece drop in 2 days, check out the beautiful knit flowers on the mantle behind by a fellow Knitfielder, beside our letter from the actual White House

 A close up of our letter from the White House now IN the White House garden, Thank you too Hillary!

 You can eat this! wonderful colour in vegetable land

 We loved all the hot pinks and reds of flowers we didn't know the names of


           Colourful inspiration is everywhere at the White House garden


 
Donegal's Rose for the #rose of Tralee this year is Tamara and we found her loving our floral buttons from Knitfield 


 It helps to be prepared especially where cooking live in front of an audience is concerned. Edel takes up a twitter challenge from the #nosaltchef to cook a surprise dish if he learns to knit

Brian the #nosaltchef is all set to Knit with the extreme needles

  Time for a little cooking brush up with the #nosaltchef master himself RTE's Brian McDermott in the live cooking theatre

 
Remember the weekend case....we got into it!

 McCrearys made sure Sundays live Donegal game could be viewed by visitors

 Elaine in Edel MacBride iconic Gold beret takes bookings for Knitfield courses coming up soon, check them out at the edel macbride.com site


Michael Carlin and Edel MacBride
Organiser Michael Carlin can take his hat off to the best Northwest garden show ever by Sunday afternoon and the weather behaved pretty good too!

We loved the ethically made 'Bogman' hats handknit in Donegal by Anna at Bogbean designs

 
We found our Spring intern Kathleen Craig in entrepreneurial fashion selling her wondrous fudge

From colourful cakes to big bold colourful yarns, all rich with homemade goodness. Sharing technique and conversation.
 
Edward showcased our knit Bow tie with oodles of charm

AND we are back to crochet roses after a fantastic weekend, made fantastic by the massive interest in our yarns and kits and patterns and demos and workshops and everything!

Birds of a feather us knitters, gardeners, cooks and folks


If you'd love to make roses that don't need watered contact Elaine at Knitfield, she'll have just the option for you!


Good bye from us at the White House and back to the Knitfield in Convoy and our lovely wee shop at the Derry Craft Village, see you soon!

THANK YOU to the organisers of the Northwest Garden show for the invitation, especially to Karen Murphy who connected with us on Facebook and got the ball rolling ! Karen manages the very successful Trashnfashion event at the garden show and you'll find lots of info on Facebook.

More images of Knitfield at the garden show 'Crafternoon Tea' on www.facebook/knitfield page.
To buy Edel MacBride - Knitfield kits or to book classes go to www.edelmacbride.com
For more information on the garden show go to www.northwestgardenshow.com


At Knitfield /EdelMacBride we are available on landline at 00353 74 9147508 10 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Saturday.







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