Phew, what a day! I think I will remember yesterday for a long time to come. The first day of the inaugural Yarningham festival, that is. A long day but a fun day of meeting new people, teaching my first sock workshop, chatting with friends, feeding a carrot to a very cute baby alpaca, and buying some colourful and very squishable new yarns.
This is Stirchley baths, a community centre transformed from a former Edwardian public baths. The impressive facade was adorned with a Yarningham poster which gave little away of the colourful feast for the eyes that was to be found in this weekend. Once through the front doors and along a short corridor, I was met with this amazing sight!
The main hall used to house a swimming pool. This weekend it accommodates stands and stalls from a variety of vendors selling yarn and spinning fibres in pretty much any colour you could name. Personally I like the bright colours, the multicoloured sock yarns and the dramatic colour-on-black variegateds. My friend who came with me prefers more muted colours, greys and soft blues. We were both able to find a fantastic choice to suit our tastes.
If you needed a break from the colour overload indoors, there were the two cute faces of Cookies and Cream, two baby alpacas in the garden outside. Very sweet! And speaking of sweet, did I mention cake was available too?!
My main reason for attending was to teach the sock workshop. It was a small group but all keen to learn, and friendly too, and we had a good chat while we worked through what were probably the smallest socks in the world! The time ran away with us somewhat, but everyone left having worked through all the skills needed to produce a top-down sock, and a pretty comprehensive worksheet to allow them to make more at home at their own pace.
The workshop itself took place in a smaller room, with a rather in-keeping Deep End sign on the wall! Not surprising when you discover the floor covers one of the former public baths, and a window in the floor reveals the steps down to the original tiled pool floor still six feet below.
If you needed a break from the colour overload indoors, there were the two cute faces of Cookies and Cream, two baby alpacas in the garden outside. Very sweet! And speaking of sweet, did I mention cake was available too?!
My main reason for attending was to teach the sock workshop. It was a small group but all keen to learn, and friendly too, and we had a good chat while we worked through what were probably the smallest socks in the world! The time ran away with us somewhat, but everyone left having worked through all the skills needed to produce a top-down sock, and a pretty comprehensive worksheet to allow them to make more at home at their own pace.
The workshop itself took place in a smaller room, with a rather in-keeping Deep End sign on the wall! Not surprising when you discover the floor covers one of the former public baths, and a window in the floor reveals the steps down to the original tiled pool floor still six feet below.
Of course I came away having purchased just a few skeins of fun new sock yarn.
From left to right, Happy Owl Sock in Garnets and Sparkle Owl in Anna, both from Owl About Yarn, a Yarn Angels yarn called Pirates of the Sea, merino nylon sock in Blue Blood from Hand Dyed by Kate, and a self-striping sock yarn from Mothy and the Squid in Midnight Rainbow Brite. The shawl pin is from Textile Garden.
From left to right, Happy Owl Sock in Garnets and Sparkle Owl in Anna, both from Owl About Yarn, a Yarn Angels yarn called Pirates of the Sea, merino nylon sock in Blue Blood from Hand Dyed by Kate, and a self-striping sock yarn from Mothy and the Squid in Midnight Rainbow Brite. The shawl pin is from Textile Garden.
Massive thanks have to go to Sara and Helen and the others at Stitches and Hos for organising such a marvellous event. The amount of work they must have done to put this all together is astonishing. I had an amazing day and sincerely hope they'll put it on again next year, and the year after, and the year after that!
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