Wonderful Wonderwool Wales...


Spent the entire weekend at Wonderwool and had a wonderful time meeting up with old friends and making new. Don't think I stopped talking, so apologies if you didn't get a word in edgewise.
Started off by keeping Gill from Woolly Workshop awake - I was very late arriving at the Greyhound Hotel where we shared a room, after driving around Builth Wells several times looking for the place... We shared much wine and banter despite it being past 1am.

I was volunteering on the Knitting and Crochet Guild Stand for the two days - and had these posters made for the event. I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

Now here we have the KCG Mafioso: Mrs White, Mrs Green and Mrs variagated purple with glittery highlights. Look at those needles fly! (Liz (Ali's mum), Ali and Jane in reality).
And what's Stash describing to Rosie - whatever, it was THIS big!

I neglected to take many photographs (too busy yakking) - but these fellas took my eye. The guy on the left has his hand under the box waggling those fish like fury (least I think that's what he's doing). Don't even go there. Scary. I think they were there because Wonderwool coincides nicely with a Welsh Food festival - yummy scotch eggs with myriad coatings and lots of other fattening goodies.There were so many colourful sights to see - here's just one example of soffft beauty.

I ran into Artisan-Anne and her daughter KraftyKath, Maylin, Laal Bear, Mr and Mrs Ambermoggie, WyeSue, Claire Crompton, lots of TeaShop Knitters (Spinning Janey, Chris, Jaebird, Jillliv) and Devon Spinners, Weavers, Dyers who came up in a coach (via Cardiff??!) on the Saturday plus lots more who know who they are and sorry if I've left you off the list...

One of the things I love about Wonderwool is meeting our fibrey friends in the flesh: here are a couple of alpacas, who I saw being taken for a walk around the fields on Saturday night after the show.

As I left the show I was greeted by a rainbow over the Brecon Beacons...

And goodbye Wales, croeso i Lloegr!

Driving over the Severn Bridge...



But What Did I buy? Far too much - I've spent my fibre allowance for the year now (well, at least until the knitting cruise at the end of the summer). This is what I got from KCG: a big cone of cheviot laceweight wool from the Joan Boardman legacy. A couple of cute cards, and some Rowan DK black 'soft' from Stash. the pink stuff is going to be fingerknitted for workshops at the Contemporary Craft Show in Bovey Tracey in June.


This was my bargain find: Alchemy Haiku Kid Silk/Mohair. This was from a destash courtesy of a Mrs B and two and a not quite complete third skein of 'equinox' colour for £12. Normally this stuff retails at £17 EACH! (at my LYS anyway).

The beads and stitch markers were also a bargain from the Natural Dye Studio. The laceweight hand dyed pandora from Artisan Yarns is for Aeolian shawl when I pluck up courage.

I saw the fat fairy godmother looking for a cinderella and thought of my friend Sandra: This is for her. The green merino (700g) was all of £10 and from JohnArbon at Coldharbour Mill/Alpaca UK. I also got the bosworth spindle from P&M woolworks - which is just as well as I've just broken the Golding I've got. Apparently P&M are stopping supplying them which means you won't be able to get them at all in the UK. The fibre is the yak/silk I bought at Skipnorth. I also bought two pairs small size knitpicks options (or Knitpros as they seem to be called now) to add to my collection. Stash had knitted RAJ shawl in sari silk and I fell in love. So I bought 5 skeins from the Threshing Barn and have ordered the pattern. I will finish this to wear on the Knitting Cruise.Finally I had been given a mission by Myrtle: yarn for a collaborative project and this was it. Great fun! I've started balling it up already and knitted the first square.

I also attended two workshops while I was at Wonderwool: modular knitting and dorset buttons. The modular knitting was no better than WyeSue's, and the dorset buttons I've now mastered. The board on top is Caroline Mace's display of buttons.



I had to remember to buy the boys at home something too: They got a pudding each from the PUdding Compartment, and also some garlic and olives.

All in all, a lovely time and I couldn't wait to get started on all the projects I've got in mind. Here's the will o'the wisp I've started with the haiku. There should even be enough left over for a (fiery) ice queen!

There are loads of links to be added to this post but I'll do that later. Got to work sometimes!