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...

Sunshine and Ice Cream

Do you remember that fortnight or so of sunshine we had? Not that long ago?

Well, on one Saturday I decided to take myself off for a day at the seaside. I was headed for Colwyn Bay on the North Wales coast. The plan was to enjoy a leisurely walk along the sea front and then up Little Orme to eat my packed lunch whilst enjoying the fabulous view from the top.

On the way I decided to have a little detour to Abakhan at Mostyn. It’s been a long time since I was last there and now they have a whole building dedicated to knitting and crochet and I felt it my duty to check it out.

Theory was that I don’t need any more yarn at the moment, especially as I’m going to Woolfest soon, but what harm would it be to take a look and maybe pick up a pattern or two in readiness?

I wasn’t prepared to be totally inspired this Sirdar pattern booklet.

And especially this pattern,

And so while I was there, I may as well get the cotton yarn that it calls for and some buttons that went very well with it, hadn’t I?

Ah well, will power is not my strongest point, but I was really pleased with my purchases.

This will be the first garment that I’ve knitted in a long time. I had somewhat lost my confidence in knitting garments for myself quite a few years ago due to the items either not fitting me correctly or was just plain wrong for me. So I’m hoping this one will go well and be first of many. I’ll keep you posted.

I finally got to Colwyn Bay late morning, it was warm but a bit overcast, with the promise of getting better. I set off along the sea front enjoying the sea air, with a spring in my step and the joy of casting on a new project when I get home.

The weather did clear up and it became a wonderful sunny day. The short steep climb up Little Orme was well worth it, with a stunning view over Llandudno and the Great Orme one way,

And Colwyn Bay the other.

I had the whole of Little Orme to myself while I enjoyed my lunch.

By the time I had walked all the way back to my car I was ready for the ice cream I’d promised myself. A day at the seaside is not complete without one!

I couldn’t leave this perfect day without a paddle in the sea, another must on such a sunny day.

It was quite late by the time I got home, so I saved my new project for the following day.

On the Sunday, I weaved in the loose ends on a cowl I had knitted and blocked. This was a bit of a made up pattern using the pattern repeats from the Floating Checks hat I had knitted a while ago. I’m really pleased how this had turned out although I probably (hopefully) won’t be wearing it until later in the year when the whether gets colder.

Later on, savouring the moment, with tea and cake, I started my new cardi project.

Hope you too, enjoyed the sunny weather and the excuse to eat ice cream!

Till next time…

Finished Objects

I have some finished objects I’d like to share with you. I’m really pleased with how these have turned out, particularly because they are my own designs.

First up is Solar, so named because of the sunshine colours and ‘rays’ that are produced by the pattern. I’ve wrote this pattern up and have added it to Ravelry as a pdf download. It’s free, so if you would like a copy, please click here.

Hopefully they will feel like 'walking on sunshine'.

Next up is Spring Moss. I had a couple of balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace, which I didn’t know what to do with. I wasn’t keen on using it as a lace weight, so I decided to hold it double and use it as a 4ply.

It’s a really soft yarn made of 100% extra fine Merino wool and I thought it would be perfect for a cuddly soft cowl. I wanted the design to have different textures for visual interest as well as knitting interest.

Again, I’ve wrote the pattern up for this and I will be publishing it on Ravelry at a later date. I want to knit it again, to double check that the pattern is okay. When it’s available for download, I will give you an update. This too will be free for anyone who wants it.

Last but not least is Cirrus Cowl.

A small cowl that I can use when I go walking and happily shove it in a rucksack when I get too warm.

I had a ball of teal and one of aqua, both in 4ply, and wanted to combine the two together. I came up with a design that started with one, and then transferred into the other by a series of stripes. It reminded me of the striations in the cirrus cloud formation, hence the name. I’m not going to write this pattern up formally, but I have put comprehensive notes on my Ravelry project page for this. If you are interested, you can check it out here.

 As well as starting a new Spring Moss cowl in some of the Sock Yeah! yarn, that I bought the other week, I’m also working on an asymmetrical triangular shawl, of my own design.

So, I’ve plenty to keep me busy.

I hope, like me, you are enjoying some of our, long awaited, spring sunshine. I’ve been busy giving the garden a thorough tidy up, so that I can sit out, with my tea and cake and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Till next time…