Woolfest 2016

Village Knitters by Dee Nickerson a Green Pebble Greeting Card

I'm definitely mellowing as I get older. 30 years ago I went to Glastonbury festival with a bunch of friends, bunking down in the back of a transit van. This year, on Glastonbury weekend, I went to Woolfest, a festival to show and celebrate the best of British wool as well as the amazing design and creativity of wool crafts. It's a two day event that takes place every year at the livestock center just outside Cockermouth, in the Lake District.

I had booked myself in for two nights at the Manor House Hotel in Cockermouth,

a far cry from the back of a transit van!

Woolfest itself was fabulous. This was my first wool/yarn type of festival and it definitely won't be my last.

As well as the multitude of stall holders covering a large area, there were also examples of the different sheep breeds being exhibited too.

In the middle of the day, there was a very interesting talk and exhibit in the auctioneers ring. This showcased each of the British breeds, explaining their origins, fleeces and in some cases their rarity, with a cheeky alpaca making an appearance at the end.

I knew a couple of the lovely ladies, Fay and Lynne, from Sandbach Woolgathering Group, were going to be there and we arranged to meet up for tea and cake a couple of times in the day (only once with cake...Honest!) and we had a nosy at all the goodies we were buying.

Fay and Lynne are also hosts of The Crochet Circle, you can listen to their wonderfully chatty podcasts here.

So...what did I spend my pennies on....well!!

I made a bit of a bee-line for John Arbon Textiles. I wanted some DK yarn for a cardigan project I have coming up and I bought six skeins of their DK Knit by Numbers.

The Knit by Numbers walls, are most impressive. Who could not resist all those colours?

For all the buttons and a shawl pin that I purchased, I visited and re-visited, throughout the day, Textile Garden. The choice was amazing.

Next door to Textile Garden was The Knitting Shed.

I couldn't resist one of their hand-dyed baby alpaca mix yarns, but couldn't choose between two of the colours. So...I bought them both and a few more buttons to match...

And a hand-dyed skein of 4ply sock yarn from Wild Wood Wool, part of the Wool Clip co-operative, whose members organise Woolfest as well as exhibit their products together.

A final purchase came from Emily Foulds. Two skeins of Shilasdair 4ply, from a bargain basket.

Here, Fay and Lynne caught up with me and we enjoyed a chat with Laili from Emily Foulds and Emma Wright from Emmaknitted, a very talented young knitting designer.

Time for a quick group photo,

before we all said our goodbyes and headed off on our separate ways, tired but very happy.

Till next time...

Forward Thoughts

 So where’ve I been since August?

To be honest, nowhere, here at home wondering where I’m going and what I should be do about my blogging. I’ve always had the thought that if I’m really not sure about something, I should leave well alone until I am.

My crafts have always gone in cycles. One minute its drawing and doodling, card and stationery making, the next its photography or sewing with experimental tangents of baking or candle making etc., etc., the list goes on.

But one craft has always stood out more than the others and it’s the one that I return to, time and time again, like an old friend. It’s there whenever I need comfort or just to relax with or to satisfy a creative need or inspiration challenge.

What is this craft?

The fabulous art of knitting.

At this point, I know some of you will be glazing over and rolling your eyes. I understand that, I see it in my colleagues at work whenever I mention the k word.

But I also know that there are others of you who share my passion for the wooly stuff, who love a conversation about any and all things yarn related.

I think you can tell where this is heading…?

Unashamedly, I will be blogging more and more about my passion for knitting and the joy it brings me, as well as the wonderful company of a like-minded community.

I hope you will stay with me on this journey and enjoy the comfort and challenges that knitting can bring. Not to mention the tea and cake that, always, goes perfectly well with this craft.

Till next time…

Crafty Makes

I've been asked by my lovely Sister-in-Law, Julie, for some crafty makes that would be ideal as gifts for Mother's Day. Every fortnight she has the opportunity to hold a craft stall. Like me, she loves to craft and excels in her card making and amazing, yummy cakes.

So, I got busy...

Knitting more dishcloths...

Making dishcloth knitting kits...

Vintage brooches...

Vintage sundae dish candles...

And beautiful soaps paired with a vintage pin dish.

 

I got all these packed up, and took them over to Julie in time for her next sale.

Till next time...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all!

I do like the start of a new year, it gives you a chance to think of all the possibilities it can hold.

For me, 2015 will be the year I finally get to grips with the garden, and sort out some neglected jobs around the house.

In the meantime, I've tidied away the Christmas decorations, doodled 2015 into my new journal and bought a few flowers to cheer up, the now bare, fireplace.

The 'vase' is a glass storage jar which I found in a local charity shop. The greenery is a mixture of the fake eucalyptus, used at Christmas, and sprigs of bay from an overgrowing tree in the garden. The rest of the flowers are a small 'whoopsied' bunch from the supermarket.

Altogether, a thrifty display that makes me smile.

Till next time...

Knit One, Purl One Dishcloths

One of my goals for next year is to combine my love of crafts with my love of vintage collectables, and have a stall at a local homemade and vintage fair.

I have lots of crafty ideas to get me started. One of which is knitting dishcloths, like they did in the olden ‘vintage’ days!

You can still get the dishcloth cotton fairly easily, so there must be more people knitting dishcloths than just me out there!

Part of the fun is being able to make up your own design. I like to knit a heart shape, using moss stitch, in mine.

I’ve knitted these before and had glowing reports on how much nicer they look and more durable they are, compared to bought ones. One friend, told me recently, that her’s is on its last legs now, so a new one would be lovely…

I think I’d better put one in her Christmas stocking!

Till next time...