Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not pop up to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace? Yesterday the sewing machines were out under a canopy of fabric scraps!

The biggest craft show in London is packed with stalls selling sewing and knitting supplies, there are exhibitions of work from craft guilds, textile graduates and artists, and you can even take a class to learn something new!

The show is open today and tomorrow. Find out more at www.twistedthread.com

What did you do this weekend? Add your photos to the Visit London Flickr pool.

We’re just hours away from the Bank Holiday (it starts when you leave the office, right?) but have you made any plans yet? Come rain (as forecast) or shine (hopefully) there’s plenty going on in the capital this weekend:

• The Gallery’s 15th Birthday: Paul Oakenfold, Tall Paul and Danny Rampling celebrate with a huge party at Ministry of Sound tonight.
• Patchwork Social: Get caught up in the quilting buzz and make your own patchwork square for charity at the V&A. 1-3 May
• The Great London Garden Trail 2010: If the rain holds off, make your way around 10 designer gardens in London for free. 3 May
• The Elephant Parade: Usually, London Zoo is the only place to see elephants in London, but they’ll be popping up all over the city to raise awareness of the plight of the Asian Elephant from 3 May
• Grand Designs Live: Loads of inspiration whether you’re building, decorating or just browsing. 1-9 May
• Vaisakhi: Celebrate the Sikh New Year at this free festival in Trafalgar Square. 2 May

Liberty
For the ultimate fabric shopping experience, head to Liberty and swoon over the lovely Liberty print cotton in this stunning department store. Look out for the special collection of fabric created for the V&A Quilts exhibition which is sold by the metre, as well as in smaller pieces just for patchworking which are charmingly known as fat quarters!

The Cloth Shop
The Cloth Shop is a Notting Hill fabric boutique and a rabbit warren of beautiful cloth. Check out the back room which is full of yummy designer remnants and Savile Row leftovers.

The Cloth House
The area round Berwick Street is home to lots of fabric shops, including the two shops which make up The Cloth House. One shop offers basics like cottons, suiting and ticking, the other sells luxuries – velvets, jersey and embellished fabric. You’ll also love nearby Boroviks, The Berwick Street Cloth Shop and Soho Silks which are great if you’re making something for a special occasion.

Creative Quilting
If you’re off to see the tapestries at Hampton Court Palace and the textiles at The Royal School of Needlework, you’re just round the corner from Creative Quilting who stock over 1,000 different quilting fabrics, including festive fabrics for special occasions.

Tikki Patchwork
Tikki Patchwork is stuffed with colourful fabric that’s perfect for patchworking and making pretty gifts. Tikki Patchwork is close to Kew Gardens and they’ve clearly been inspired by the exotic flowers and the beauty of nature when choosing their lovely cotton prints.

M Rosenberg & Son
OK, this isn’t a shop, but once a month, M Rosenberg & Son take over Hays Village Hall in Bromley and fill it with huge rolls of lovely fabric. As well as the basics, you’ll find astonishing bold Italian print cottons and other unusual stuff that isn’t on their website. A family business, M Rosenberg & Son have been selling fabric since 1946 and it’s now the son and grandson! www.mrosenbergandson.com

MacCulloch & Wallis
The ultimate haberdashery, MacCulloch & Wallis have three floors stocking everything you need to whip up the perfect couture outfit – the thread, fabric, zips and trim. You can even pick up a hat block and sinamay in every colour of the rainbow to make a matching hat.

Goldhawk Road
There’s loads of fabric shops in Goldhawk Road which sell all sorts of fabric from all over the world. One of our favourites is Classic Textiles which offers good quality silk, crepe de chine and suiting. A-One Fabric and the stalls in Shepherd’s Bush Market also stock a good range.

Cath Kidston
Did you know you can buy Cath Kidston fabric by the metre so you can make anything you like? We love the London street scene cotton fabric and the oil cloth in pretty spots and florals.

Joel & Son Fabrics
Joel & Son have an enormous shop near Edgware Road and have been selling everything from printed cottons to embroidered chiffon for over 30 years. If you can’t find it here, you’ll have to weave it yourself!

Did we miss out your favourite places to buy fabric in London?

We asked Katherine to tell us more about quilts in London:

What are you doing with Liberty this spring?
Liberty commissioned five new quilts from me for their exhibition Quilty Pleasures. They are also displaying the Action Man and Barbie quilts which I made 2007 after graduating. One of the quilts I’ve created is made from Liberty fabrics and clothing donated by the staff. The Liberty quilt will be auctioned on ebay to raise funds for the Variety Club charity.

Why did you start making quilts?
As a textile designer I’m concerned with our current throw-away culture. For me a quilt embodies the anti-throw-away. The sense of passed on skill and knowledge is a prominent aspect of my work and I run regular hand-sewing patchwork quilting workshops in London. I ask everyone to bring their own favorite textiles to work with and join in a discussion about the memories assosicated with these pieces.

Where are your favourite places to buy fabric in London?
I love to look in all the markets for bits of fabric. I also visit two textile recycling factories in London were I’ve built relationships that allow me to look through there, sorting piles for fabric off cuts or garments that will be suitable for my work.

What inspires you about London?
Finding new areas and new communities. When Bricolage had our pop-up shop in Brixton Market, I really enjoyed the vibrancy of the local community. Having many galleries and exhibitions on your door step is also an amazing source of research for a designer – I can’t wait to see the V&A Quilts!

The Quilty Pleasures exhibition at Liberty is only on until the 12 April, so get down there quick!

The Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition opens tomorrow at the V&A in London and features a fabulous line-up of vintage and contemporary quilts.

Everyone loves snuggling up under a warm, cosy quilt and knows that vintage quilts were handmade with carefully collected fabric scraps. Did you also know that quilts have also been created for political protests, made by men, quilted from illegal fabric and have been used to preach religion? You’ll be surprised what you discover at this exhibition.

I love textiles and have been very excited about seeing this exhibition ever since I heard about it last year. I will confess to a little gleeful skipping on my way to the preview. The lady who entered the exhibition in front of me gasped “Oh my goodness!” in excitement as she walked through the door!

One of the main themes of the exhibition is how quilts tell stories. Some have beautifully embroidered pictures of people, animals and events. I loved the Alphabet of Love and Courtship quilt from 1875-85 which features embroidered pictures of women being courted by men with luxuriant squirrel-sized moustaches – swoon!

The materials can tell us about the life of the quilter; one quilt is made from scraps of uniform material collected by a 19th-century military tailor. An unfinished quilt still has the tacking and paper inside (cut from the family’s household bills and papers) and has been displayed so you can see the back and the tiny stitches.

The detailed quilt by Fine Cell Work (prisoners in the UK who have learned to sew to a very high standard) tells the story of life behind bars. Another quilt features a portrait of Caroline of Brunswick in the centre, demonstrating the quilter’s political allegiance with her cause.

Quilts were often made by Victorians to either preach virtue or as an activity which would distract the weak-willed from the lure of taverns. One enormous quilt certainly would have kept the quilter from disreputable pursuits as it’s made up of thousands of tiny squares!

The exhibition feels quite traditional, even the contemporary pieces by artists like Tracey Emin reference fairly standard techniques and concepts. I fell in love with all the vintage quilts but I’ve seen contemporary quilts which make much more challenging use of the techniques, skills and material choices of quilters at other textile exhibitions.

Quilts 1700-2010 more than lived up to my expectations and I’ll definitely be going back for a second look. You should book your tickets now because it’s selling out fast!

Quilts 1700-2010 is at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 20 March 2010 to 4 July 2010. www.vam.ac.uk