Bright and early yesterday morning I headed off to the 2012 Stitch and Craft show in Kensington. To be honest, it was much the same as these things tend to be – the big fairs never seem to have their finger on the crafting pulse, and the embroidery area was particularly unaware of the modern craft movement. But tucked away in a corner, behind the cross-stitched Winnie-the-Poohs and past the Jo Verso samplers was a lost gem – Mr X Stitch‘s stand. Pushing my way past all the middle-englanders fighting over ”bargain” pastel shades of thread had been worth it for the chance to meet one of my crafting idols.

I got snaps of of truly awesome pieces of stitched art that I will share with you in my regular slot on Tuesday (if i can hold off that long. This stuff is gold – cyclops robots, raver tigers, QRs and Mondrian graffiti is just the start), but I just wanted to stick my head through the door and let anyone in the London area know to head down and say hello to Mr X – he’s lovely; very friendly, funny and upbeat (and rather tasty-looking).  Plus he has biscuits.

Elsewhere in the show, the quilts exhibition is well worth a browse as there are a few interesting nuggets, and the knitted village is… unexpected. Though I didn’t have time for any of the workshops there are some good ones on offer. Even if you don’t want to sign up to a proper class, lots of stalls were doing demos, or had staff more than happy to explain how particular pieces were made. It’s a good excuse to get out and about this weekend.

The works In the above image are (clockwise from top): Kanye by Crapestry, X-Stitch Robot 7 by Eliot BK, QR Code by Crapestry, Rokit by Mr X Stitch

Stitch and Craft 2012 at Kensington Olympia 2, this weekend

Mr X Stitch’s blog