Can you believe it has been over a week since Yarndale already? I had the most fantastic time and I hope you did too. This year seemed even busier than the last and Skipton auction mart was just full of woolly wonder!
Thank you to everyone who visited my stall and said hello. It was lovely to meet so many people and discuss designs, yarn and all things woolly with you. Yarndale really is one of the friendliest yarn festivals. Where ever I went people were smiling and having lots of fun.
The very full Yeti
We set off on the Friday with a very full car of books, tables and mannequins (there were a few strange looks from other car drivers for the rather indecent torsos). It is amazing what you can fit in a Yeti.
The Yarndale sheep sign
The drive to Yarndale is always a pleasant one for us as we pass through some beautiful Yorkshire scenery. The best bit though is approaching Skipton and catching the first Yarndale sheep sign - there were squeals of excitement!
The sheep pen before.....
Then came the hard work of transforming our sheep pen into a beautiful display. We had just got going with pinning the drapes around the pen in the above photo.
.....and after!
A few hours, lots of sweat, a few swear words as we pricked our fingers on pins and occasionally tripped over boxes and the stall was set up and ready for the crowds arriving Saturday morning. For the eagle-eyed amongst you, yes I did put the hands on the wrong way round on White Lady. Yes I am a doctor. No, I don't operate on people anymore and obviously that is a good thing! Thank you to the customer who pointed it out early on Saturday so not too many people noticed!
Alpacas!
One of the things I love about Yarndale is the animals. This year there were some beautiful alpacas and sheep around the auction mart, and we were lucky enough to be placed opposite the angora bunnies. I popped over several times to say hello to their fluffiness.
The Yarndale little woolly sheep
The other thing I love, and what I think makes Yarndale so special is the community crafting that goes on around the festival. This year was little woolly sheep! There were hundreds of them, made by generous crafters all around the world (32 countries!). Each little sheep was identified by its owner and then auctioned off to raise money for Martin House Childrens Hospice, a very important charity that does amazing work for very sick kids. The auction raised over £3000 for the hospice which is just amazing. Well done to all the lovely crafters and people who bought them. There is the most amazing variety of sheep and their little woolly jackets. There were so many really imaginative ones it is hard to choose a favourite, but I think the little dragon-sheep (in red bottom right) and the Yorkshire White Rose sheep (in blue with white flower top right) are high contenders. I did not get chance to buy one but I am glad they all went to good homes.
Overall, a really fantastic fibre festival and an overwhelming success for the organisers, and all the volunteers who work so hard to keep everyone happy. I hope to be back next year with my next book!