I went to YARNDALE!

Well, hello there. Yes, I have been having a little break. Unintentional. Unplanned. It just sort of happened, and therein lies a long story, but that can wait a day or two, because this past weekend, Jean, Glynis and I headed north to Skipton. 

To Yarndale. 

This was the very first year of Yarndale. I am quite sure it will become an annual event, providing that Lucy from Attic 24 and her friends can face the thought. It was a total triumph, and a total delight, and they have an enormous amount to be very very proud of indeed. 

We loved every single minute. 

Skipton is a beautiful market town in Yorkshire, and we arrived on Friday morning, to meet my sister-in-law, who lives a few towns away for lunch. It was her birthday, so that was lovely. And then we started exploring Skipton. The centre of the town has a wide high street down the middle, and on 4 days a week, there is a market along it. On both sides of the road. It was heavign with people. If you look on the left of the photo, you will see some of the backs of the stalls. The church and Skipton Castle are at the top of the street, but more of them tomorrow.

And, wherever you went, you were reminded of Yarndale and it was SO exciting. And hot. The sun shone beautifully while we were in Yorkshire. Most of the time. Please note the bunting in the window - the town was festooned with crocheted bunting all over the place. It came from around the globe.

The train station had more bunting..........

Crocheted flowers in the park.......

Yarnbombed trees..........

And friends taking photos of them..........

And then we walked back through the town along the towpaths next to the canal. It was absolutely lovely. Sunshine, canal boats, bright colours, water, swans, ducks..........

I could happily have stayed forever. 

And then the three of us set off for oour hotel, some supper, and bed before Saturdqay and the Big Event. We had popped in to the Wild Oat Cafe, and one of the lovely girls told us she was on the door on Saturday, and to come at 9, get our tickets and then pop into the restaurant for coffee and a rest until the doors officially opened at 10. 

So, at 8.45, we set off.

The other two more agile members of our party forged on ahead to get the tickets, and I trundled along slowly behind them. That way I could stop to take photos of the stone sheepfold on the way......

And the sheep. We were in wool country. 

And, after totally ignoring all "No pedestrians permitted" signs along the way, we arrived at Skipton Auction Mart, to be greeted by the decorated trees.......

Don't you love the wool and needles?

So, we walked along to the restaurant, got our coffee and fresh fruit (we are so healthy around here) and sat down to wait for the clock to roll on, and THEN................

I looked over and across the room, I noticed someone familiar popping crocheted flowers onto each table from her basket, and being ignored by everyone, and when she got to our table, I said - "Hello, Lucy", and she smiled and stopped to chat. I told her how she triggered my love of crocheting with her ripple blankets, and I asked if I could take her photo. "The first of the day", she grinned. (Hah. I hold the honour of taking the first photo of Lucy at Yarndale. Only it is on my phone and not on the computer yet. Tomorrow.) And then I asked Jean to take a photo of me with her, because HEY, I WAS THERE TOO. I waited for her to finish talking to the ladies at the next table, and I have my photo. Actually, I stood behind her until she must have been driven crackers, if truth be told, but she was so sweet. 

I am so glad I recognised her. Without her, crochet would be dead to me, so she is responsible for a great deal of woolly stuff around here. ( I am just finishing my first granny stripe blanket at the moment. Another of her tutorials.)

And then, it was time for the show to get going, and just look at what we saw as we walked in the door...............

Bunting. Stunning. It took my breath away. So we got our Yarndale bags, and stuck our sticker on the world map to show where we came from, and off we went. We agreed to meet every hour to exchange findings and bargains and discoveries...........

Many photos were taken.....

Much bunting was admired..........

Alpacas - and their oh, so soft wool was being sold. I would have LOVED to buy some, but restrained myself. This time. Aren't they gorgeous? I want one. 

Lucy had a Knit and Natter area in the middle, where people could chat and gather and all her beautiful things which have encouraged people around the world to crochet - her tutorials are unbelievably easy to follow - they were all there. Her home must have looked very barren for the duration of Yarndale.

And she was there, just exactly as she is on her blog. Lovely. And she must have been shattered beyond belief and in need of a month in a darkened room to recover at the end of the weekend. 

So many stalls. Thousands of people. Workshops. Wool. So much beautiful wool. Yarn. Hooks. Needles. Stuff. I was in heaven. 

And, here are the baby alpacas. Well, I think they are babies. They were small com,pared to the others. Gorgeous. 

And then we headed back to flop at the hotel. Exhilarated. Exhausted. Yarndale was superb. And we were oh so happy. 

So, I will be back tomorrow. It is October and the 31 Days of............Month. I will be blogging every day. A theme? Hmmm. I may have come up with one by the middle of the month. 

That is if I haven't run away to Yorkshire before then...........................................