And Breeeeathe....

Today is the Autumn Equinox, and Summer is officially over for another year. The weather here this week has been beautiful mind you, a really wonderful dose of late Summer warmth and sunshine and I have love love loved it. My heart has been light, and despite my days being full to the brim with pre-Yarndale* goings-on, I have managed to breeeeeathe easy and feel the joy.

Yesterday it was Yarn Bomb day! Here we have 25 colourful woolly jumpers all ready to wrap round the lamp posts in the local park.....

....we worked like the clappers (there were three of us) and it only took three hours to adorn the whole pedestrian walk way through the park. It's such a fun way to bring colour and yarny feel-good to our town in the run up to Yarndale*, as well as being a practical way to guide visitors to the festival.

My pre-Yarndale* days are pretty hectic and full-on, and much of this week has been spent preparing. Or running around orgainsing the preparing stuff in a fairly crazy way. It's always such a treat to see the crochet bunting in situ again (it went up yesterday), it looks just as amazing again this year as it does in my memories of previous years. I wonder how many of you made triangles for this huge project in 2013?

Today was all about the Woolly Sheep, gosh this has been such a fun thing for me to be involved with! Woolly sheep have been arriving thick and fast here during the past two months, and I am thrilled to tell you that a staggering 690 people contributed from 32 countries Worldwide. Thank you SO MUCH if you made and sent a little sheep on it's travels to Yorkshire, it is truly appreciated. I had the job of taking a shed load of photos today - I managed to photograph every single sheep (!! I really did!) and am looking forward to sharing all those images with you next week. In the meantime, the above photo gives you a glimpse of our rather rustic display (very appropriate for the Auction Mart) - the sheep look adorable all snuggled up in their straw bedding. We even had a super-cute sheep dog on hand to guard them for us. I'll be able to share lots more pictures and news about this fund raising project after Yarndale*.

This weekend is rather exciting for me on a personal level as I prepare to launch my brand new Weekend Bag kits at Yarndale*. I am so so excited about sharing these with everyone, I've worked hard during the past few weeks to create the printed patterns to go in the kits which I'll be selling with Wool Warehouse. This will be the first time I've had three different colourways/yarn packs for the same design, I really do love how they turned out.

Once the overwhelming business of Yarndale* has been and gone, I'll be working on the full tutorial for the Weekend Bag which I'll share here on my blog. I've already got all the photos ready, I just need some breathing space to pull it all together. I'll keep you posted and let you know when the bag kits go online in my shop.

I spent some time in my studio earlier today doing some much needed housekeeping, cripes, it was a tad messy in there! I tidied my shelves, sorted out a whole load of additional yarn that has come into my life in recent months, plumped my cushions, shook out my rugs, dusted my surfaces and pushed the hoover around the floor. It felt pretty good to get everything into order in my beloved little nest.

Tomorrow (Friday) I'm opening my studio door for anyone who is visiting and wants to pop in to see my (newly tidied) shelves and the such like. As it's Yarndale* weekend I know there will be lots of lovely yarny folk arriving in town, and I know the ladies at Coopers Café are really looking forward to it (they've been baking up a storm, let me tell you). The cafe (and my studio) will be open all weekend {Friday 8am - 6pm : Saturday 9am - 6pm : Sunday 9am - 4pm}
Coopers cafe is only 5 mins walk up the road from the train station if you are using the free shuttle bus to and from Yarndale, or walking the Yarn walk through the park. It's a grey painted building on Belmont Street (opposite B&M Homestore), you won't be able to miss it.

I shall continue to breeathe and enjoy these full days, I am so grateful for everything they bring me. I shall see some of you at the weekend (yippeeee!), and the rest of you here next week with lots of yarny tales to tell!

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*Yarndale is a for-profit organisation and I am one of the five organisers. The festival is heaven-on-earth for yarn lovers and happens this weekend! More details at www.yarndale.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments

[mamiyomani]

Very very beautiful!!!! The mandalas, the photographies, all them are so pretty .....!!

[Vanessa Weegmann]

Your blog is absolutely wonderful! I've been reading it for months now and I love your colour schemes, patterns and inspirations <3
So I chose to leave a comment to give your blog an international touch. Btw: I envy all the colourful yarns you get offered on the isle because where I live knitting and crochet isn't trendy at all- so the colour selection is quite small. :'(
Hope I can make it to Yarndale next year- looks great!

Greetings from Germany

[Maria]

Hi Lucy, this is with reference to the future bag tutorial. Don't know if you're going to address this, but I have found in the past that bag handles "stretch" as the wool gives too much. I've wondered about using canvas inside a wool cover for the handle but it seems like a lot of faff. Hope you might give some insights into how to get over this issue. Can't wait to read the tutorial and get started on the lovely bag. Congratulations on another lovely project and thank you for continuing to bring colourful inspiration. Maria <3

[Rashmi]

Hi Lucy... beautiful blog post as usual!!! I love your blog a lot, not just because of your beautiful creations but also because I love the way you write about your life in a very positive way...

I have written a blog post about your blog in the link below which is my way of saying thank u to u...😃 hope to meet you in person some day

Luv
Rashmi

https://mythoughtsandcreations.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/the-world-of-blogs/

[Liana]

Your mandalas are so beautiful!

[Sierra]

Yarndale looks amazing! I can't wait for my first fiber festival of the season to start this weekend! Happy fiber times everyone!

[Pamela]

Yarndale on Saturday was brilliant! I usually go to Woolfest as it is only 10 miles from where I live but met my Mum and sister at Yarndale and had a bonus 4 hours on the train for knitting so managed from the welt to almost the heel of a second sock. Convinced someone on the train that she should try socks as she was fascinated by the 9"circular needles so hoping she managed to buy a skein of sock yarn. Didn't get to see everything as my elderly Mum had her own (very frustrating)agenda but nice to see quite different stands compared to Woolfest. Also liked the idea that sitting for a few minutes in the many seating areas mostly included pulling out some knitting!

[Holley Downs]

Oh my goodness, I would love to be there! I do have a triangle among those beauties and so proud to have something that is used across the pond...I know that this year will be a complete success! This is the first year that I haven't participated in and that makes me sad! You and this wonderful event will be in my thoughts!

[jan]

I want to be THERE !!!

[Angel Jem]

Lucy you are a hero! How did you keep smiling through the two days; I'm hoping that tomorrow you get the chance for a sit down and a cup of tea. It was a brilliant day today, and so beautiful to meet you in real life. Thank you for saying you recognised my name... I'd like to think you did, but I won't mind if it was sheer politeness on your part. Even the Daughter, who doesn't knit/sew/crochet found enough to keep her entertained, and we left with full bags and no money left. Here's to next year! (But Christmas first!!)

[Rose]

That is so beautiful, all that colours give me joy!!
I wish I could be there to see it in person!
Rose, xx

[Rae]

At least my bunting and Mandala will be there but sadly not me....bah humbug. I shall be thinking of all the Oh's and Ah's, those purchase's of yarn, Coopers coffee with cake, the yarn bombing walk that I shall miss so enjoy it everyone on my behalf. Loving the new bag Lucy, I've made the Jolly Chunky one, and patiently waiting for the after "Yarndale" posts.

[ReadingScotland]

Happy Yarndale Weekend!!!!! So happy for all those who attend as I'm sure it will be a beautiful event and a special weekend!!!

[Misa]

It was great to meet you today, Lucy! Loved my first Yarndale and I'll definitely be back next year!

[Yvonne]

It all looks fab! The bags look great too. I am they will be a hit. Love the pictures of the preparation for Yarndale. Would love to visit...maybe one year...xxx Von

[Janette Surtees]

We are thrilled for you Lucy re the bags. We travelled up from Taunton, Somerset, yesterday. Staying in Cononley. Beautiful!! Are you at Yarndale today or tomorrow Lucy? We'd love to meet you. Huge thanks to you and the team for putting on Yarndale, it's our first time!!

[Eleonora from coastal crochet]

Have a Happy Yarndale!! Wish I was going but sadly not this year... Will look forward to the photos :) :)

[Crotchety Cath]

Thanks for posting, you must be so busy at the moment! Love the bags, will definitely be having a go at making one of those, love the sheep, love the photos of the canal boats. Hope to visit Skippy Skipton and Yarndale next year. Hope it goes well xxx

[AnnieOB]

Have a great weekend and enjoy every busy moment. I'm sorry not to be there but sooo pleased to be able to join in the flock with Shirley the sheep and also Christine's Sockline.

[claire potter]

Oh I love it when it's your yarnbombing time of year!

That light in the first picture looks wonderful - sunshiney but distinctly Autumny!

[Catherine]

What happens to all the bunting and stuff once Yarndale is over? Do you keep it till the following year? Seems a shame to waste it. If you don't keep it, could it go to an old peoples home or something maybe? Hospitals can't usually take items like that because of hygene concerns, but the local old people's home might be able to put it to good use, a bit of colour never goes amiss! :-) Or sew it together into blankets for the local animal shelter? I'm just really into recycling, and can't stand the thought of all that hard work going to waste! :-) I'm talking about the stuff that has only been used indoors, obviously. The outdoor stuff has probably been subjected the the vagueries of the Yorkshire weather and might not be able to be saved! :-)

[Holly]

It looks so great - I especially love the bunting! Good luck with it all. One year I hope I will be in England at the same time as Yarndale!

[Rowena Corlett]

Sorry not to be able to make it this year but looking forward to ordering the bag kit ASAP and I will definitely make Yarndale next year. Have a brilliant time Lucy x

[Susan]

Can't wait to see it.especially the sheep & visiting your gorgeous studio😊

[Oran]

On our way. 5 of the 6 hour journey done! Looking forward so much. Love O. xx