A Festival Of Creativity, Craft & Colour...

Hello lovelies...

How are you all?

I've just returned from a beautiful weekend in Yorkshire...

The reason?

Wool... and lots of it!!!!

Let me explain....

have any of you ever visited Yarndale before?

You haven't?

Not sure what it is?

Well my lovelies, go and grab a cuppa and take five mins out of your day and let me share all the details with you....

Yarndale is a festival of creativity and craft that prides itself on promoting British & handmade products with the emphasis based on highlighting the wonderful artisans out there designing, creating, making, producing and selling products which support British Wool.

If you love crocheting, knitting, wet-felting, needle felting, spinning, weaving, mixed media. rag rugging, or even quilting with woollen textiles then you will absolutely adore this event.

There is something for all ages, all abilities and for all interests.

Exhibitors range from small artisan designers, producers of  beautiful hand dyed products, individual textile artists, as well as manufacturer's of yarn and patterns.

Having never visited before, I was super excited I have to say!

I always love visiting any event that encourages and celebrates creativity and Yarndale certainly disappoint....

It was really wonderful to see so many people wearing or carrying their own creations and proudly sharing their love of all things handmade with each other.... scarves, shawls, cardigans, hats, bags, gloves, even items of clothing. 

All were admired with lovely smiles instead of the often skeptical or be-littleing glances I sometimes see at events which always make me feel sad. The fact that someone has spent hours making something special and then has proudly worn it out to have someone scoff at their design 

is simply atrocious in my eyes. 

We can't all be the next Christian Dior or Monet!

(*old woman grumble on soap box moment* - sorry!)

For me personally it is the first festival/ show/ event that I have attended where everyone embraced their own individuality. It was simply wonderful to be able to be a small part of that even if I was only a customer!

The Yarndale team had clearly put in alot of thought to the customer and their requirements and speaking from experience I can definitely guarantee the important things....

• Parking - Huge thought had been given to this and free car parks were offered with a regular shuttle service courtesy of a London Red Bus
• Meet & Greet at entrance - Lovely smiles from everyone involved! A free catalogue was included with your ticket price...again another bonus :)
• Toilet facilities - Loads of AND regularly maintained!
• Food & Catering - Excellent facilities....none of this corporate rubbish that costs a fortune for some plastic cheese. The food was simply good honest fare that hit the spot when you needed a much needed rest with a huge choice of options AND with seating unlike at other events where often I see people having to sit on the floor to take a break
• Rest areas - Spare spaces were left empty with chairs provided for a rest which I think is just fab as it shows Yarndale has total respect for their customers and values the fact that all that walking around buying goodies is important but looking after their guests is more important!
• Learning Lounge - A lovely relaxed area to learn new skills...
• Exhibitors - A fab range on offer which provides interest for everyone whether you are an experienced yarn lover or simply want some help to get started on your journey. Artisans were all so willing to offer advice and share their passion with everyone which I think is just lovely. 
• Visitor participation - displays of visitors donations could be seen all over the event which again added to the friendly atmosphere!

Overall I was super impressed at the really lovely atmosphere Yarndale offered (can you tell?!!!)

There really was too much to showcase in just one post so I will be doing a couple more posts focusing in on certain aspects of my weekend...

So keep an eye out folks for my future piccies!

Tilly

x x x