Yarndale 2016!

So... Yarndale 2016 was a bit of a whirlwind (understatement)! Thankyou to everyone who came and made it a wonderful show. Thankyou to everyone who bought yarn and was nice to us - it made the 1am finishes the week before, and the horrible cold the week after worthwhile. :) And thankyou to the organisers who always make the effort to address any issues from previous years, and even had PCSOs (I think, or maybe they were regular police officers) there. I don't think we suffered any theft (unusually) and it's just really good to know that the Yarndale team take security seriously. It feels like they care about us, and believe me it makes all the difference. Here's our stall before uncovering it on Saturday morning (elegant, I know).  And here are a few close-ups from around the stall before it got descended upon by a lovely swarm of knitters and crocheters. One of the much-photographed and talked about features of this year was the yarn bombing. Well, it happens every year but this is the first time I've actually seen it and these bollards were just amazing. We saw lots of familiar faces as well as new ones. It's nice doing a big show in our home county - it gives me a real sense of woolly community. This is Kayleigh from The York Makery, one of our lovely stockists. I did that thing where you admire (but try not to stare too hard) a shawl from a bit of a distance and it gradually dawns that that might actually be your own yarn. I think this actually made me look at Askham 4ply in Damselfly in a whole new light - I'm so used to seeing it in balls but this made me want to grab a crochet hook and make this shawl immediately. I don't think my photo actually does it justice to be honest. I HAD to photograph this cardigan.. it's made in Bowland DK (which I'm hoping to stock up on in November), which in itself is not that surprising until you discover that it's a few years old. GASP! It's absolutely immaculate and I know that it has had a lot of wear. Another one of those times when you can't stop staring at a handmade item.. 

The final customer-make that I remembered to snap a photo of was this lady's (I'm so sorry, I don't remember your name) stunning cardigan in Askham 4ply in Air. You can 't see too well in this pic but all along the cuffs and hems is a beautiful delicate lace edging. I was very taken with this cardi - I wish I knew what the pattern was! It looks so elegant, and I have to say I really love the dress too. One of the best things about shows is the amount of inspiration you get just seeing everyone's handmade creations and different colours/prints/textures together. It was so busy that I struggled to get away to look around, but I did get about half an hour last thing on Sunday. I only got round about a quarter of the show, despite my efforts to be speedy, but I was so pleased I managed to stop by the Little Box Of Crochet/Greedy For Colour stall. It was being well-managed by Kate aka @justpootling  and Kate aka @greedyforcolour.. Isn't the circus just adorable?? The patterns for these sweet animals are in Kate's book, A Day At The Circus - it's so lovely. Here we are - LBOC's baby box cuties - my yarn (Whitfell DK) is/was in these boxes, and the pink I dyed especially for Amanda (ie it's limited edition). It was lovely to see these in person - I really want to make some for my new office once I've redecorated. Kate and I thought we'd best get a photo.. Finally, there were the gorgeous alpacas. I must admit I find their humming very disturbing - it sounds to me like they are anxious, which makes me anxious for them, but it was lovely to see them. Especially the littlies (which I couldn't get a good photo of). I barely bought anything as I just didn't have time, but what I did get got plonked somewhere in the chaos that is our house and is for the time being lost amongst it. I can't even remember what I got so it'll be a lovely surprise when I come across it again. Anyway.. hope to see you there again next year! Here's to Yarndale!