The Joy Of Small Knitting Festivals.

Finchley, keeping me cozy with my now abandoned Beechmast, whilst I had flu.

‘Knitting Flu’ has to be one of the worst kinds of miasmas. Like a cloud, it creeped into my home, hanging low in my living room for the best part of two months. It sucked the joy out of my projects, so much so, I simply walked past my yarn basket without thought. 

It started to emanate when I had actual flu over Christmas as I tried to cast on the ‘Beechmast Pullover’ in the John Arbon yarn ‘Fallen Leaf’; a combination that I had been looking forward to since October. In fairness, I couldn’t even make a cup of tea at the time, so why I thought I could follow a cable pattern is now beyond me. But even the second attempt ended in catastrophe and I had to call my lovely friend, Sarah, and fog it with her on the phone as I was so despondent.

I also hadn’t been to my regular knitting group for a few weeks due to work. (I’m not going to lie; a Tuesday morning knitting group from 10:30 - 12:30 kind of kills a working day!) The regular encouragement that I receive from the kind hearted knitters at Stitches and Cream have helped me a lot over the winter, and not seeing them was felt. 

Spring Daffs.

All of this to say that I wasn’t really in the mood to go to YAFF, the Kernow Yarn And Fibre Festival, when Bron invited me to go with her, but looking back at it now, I am so pleased that I did.

I confess that until I moved to Cornwall, I had not heard of this local festival. YAFF is co-run by Gorgeous Yarns, who are based in Helston, and a wonderful team who want to highlight the talented dyers, spinners, weavers and felters in the South West of England, and they gather at The Royal Cornwall Showground in Wadebridge, (between Plozeath and Newque). It is a joy of a small knitting festival, and I am so pleased that I found it.

Sunday was what I like to call a ‘proper Spring day’. Daffodils bobbed their heads in the breeze, and clouds were skudding over a blue sky. As I drove past the farms, the first vibrant greens in the fields could be seen, lighting up the horizon that had been brown the week before. As I steered into the show-ground, I could see the cheery yellow flags guiding us in, and I was happily surprised to see how busy it was in the parking lot, as well as the presence of The Cornish Coffee Van!

Surprisingly, Sarah had got in touch with me the evening before to say that Yarn Food would be at the festival, and I happily offered to be the go-between for them both as Sarah was looking forward to welcoming the yarn wash into her shop; The Knit Lounge. I really had not understood Sarah’s enthusiasm for these particular soap suds until I met Helene and Oliver, and then it all fell into place. 

The couple have been in the knitting industry for years, and had noticed that wool soaps stripped the yarn of its natural property; Lanolin. Yarn Food incorporates this multi-purpose natural product, adding it back into the wool with each wash. As you don’t need to rinse your knitting after you have washed it, the fibres are not overly agitated. (They also offer a version for plant fibres, adding cotton milk to help protect them as well.) The blocking spray is also a unique development for both steam blocking, as well as a way to refresh for your knits between washes. To see a couple work so well together, and to help celebrate their first day of trading was such a joy! I can’t wait to get my own sweaters dunked into the lavender wash, and my socks into the tea-tree version. 

I then met up with Bron, and we spent a colourful time looking at all the yarns that were there to be enjoyed. I have to say that I was rather blown away with the variety of natural fibres on show, and the Cornish wool on display was some of the best I have come across in a long time. It reminded me that Britain has been known across the world for the quality of our wool, along with our spinning, dying, and weaving. To be at a festival that showcased such high-quality produce from my neck of the woods was a total joy! It was creatively refreshing in many ways. 

As we sat and chatted to friends we had bumped into at the show, we sat outside with coffee and pastries whilst getting a few rows knitted up. We must have been there for an hour, enjoying the warmth of the sun as well as nattering about our projects, before heading back in.

I have wanted to meet Kerry from Ginger Pink Yarns for years, but at Unravel, there was never a chance as it was always so busy, but on Sunday I finally snagged my chance to say hello and introduce myself. I love her colour pallets and the depth that she creates by using natural plant dyes. My eyes were drawn to her BFL/Gotland base in 'Weld', a colour that I was still thinking of this morning as I was looking through my sweater collection; it really needs a pop of deep citron! Based in Frome, Sommerset, Kerry uses British wool as the base for her dyes, and the results are bouncy, smooth worsted skeins that are great for both shawls, sweaters, and accessories. I am very much looking forward to ordering a sweater quantity of her yarns just as soon as I get my mojo back. 

Kernow YAFF was a delight to attend, and as it was the smaller Spring Festival, I will be looking forward to seeing what the larger Autumn one has in store for us in September. However, the Spring show was great to meet new-to-me dyers, as there was enough space to chat with them, see their beautiful yarns and squish all the wool. I shall be following Bluebell Yarns with a keen interest, along with Rosie’s Moments, both of whom have stunning colours running through their yarns that offered a lot of creative thoughts for next Autumn’s wardrobe. (Dartmoor Wool Sheep also gave me food for thought for an Aran sweater from one of my brothers…!)

I am convinced that we only get the best out of our knitting when we knit together, and our community is a rich and thriving one. Connecting back in, meeting new friends, and knitting under the spring sun whilst nattering is better than any flu remedy known to human-kind, and I am so happy that I took a great big dose of it on Sunday. 

I ended the day on Polzeath beach, a place I have not visited for a couple of years, but one where I always feel connected with friends, no matter how many miles separate us. My Knitting Flu has downgraded to a version similar to a bad cold. I am not quite over it, but I am enjoying designing my own V-Neck slip-over. I am using my Camel’s Yarn Comfort DK, in the colour-way ‘Studio Door’. I have had it for ages now, and as I only have 4 skeins due to it being the end of a dye lot, I hadn’t really found a use for it until now. As I start to reemerge and enjoy the spring sunshine, I can sense my mind moving to search out the styles of the coming season; boho dresses, linens and colour. I am looking forward to it, and sharing it all with you.