The whole world was at Yarndale

Mavis and Gladys changed their usual Saturday morning trip to the Hill for a little trip to Skipton. The first Yarndale (first of many I hope) was being held at the Auction Mart.  We really weren't sure what to expect but, as the day wore on we realised we were seeing a lot of unexpected things. The first was the queue of traffic about two miles out.  Actually there were other things going on in Skipton but there were still huge quantities of (mostly women) heading, with magnetic force to the beautifully situated Auction Mart.  It was quite easy to park although there were loads of cars. First unexpected - we were in the overflow car park and had to walk half a mile to get to the door - it was a lovely stroll downhill, which of course means uphill on the way back! Following the bunting we found the route to the entrance easily enough. People from all over the world had crocheted bunting triangles - 6000 in all.

Could I just apologise for the pictures which are poor and very few.  Firstly I forgot to pack my camera so had to use my phone and secondly there were so many people there you couldn't get a picture of anything except, well, people.

Ah and there were some animals - alpaca and rabbits.  They calmly watched the huge throng of ladies and the odd husband pushing by.  They probably wondered what on earth we strange humans were doing.  They must have been bored with being stared at because they had turned their backs on their audience by the time I had wrestled my way to the front. 

 

So what did I buy?  Fortunately none of the credit card machines seemed to be working in the great metal building so I had to content myself with spending only what was in my purse.  (I had been to the cashpoint before we left - ha!)

A little gallery of beauty:

 A Calico Bag for my purchases;

Some paper yarn - yes paper! and some monster rick rack;

Possibly for swags;

 Some hand dyed merino wool and a pattern for a neck warmer;

 Some silk blend for wristwarmers

 Some pink cotton and viscose for something I haven't thought of yet (at £2.50 a ball I will think of something)

Another unexpected - yarn made from sugar cane.  I love the ice cream parlour colours.

Some bamboo needles with beads on the top - I was brought up on metal needles so all the beautiful wood needles you can get now are sheer joy for me.

I have added these lovely purchases to my little basket of goodies waiting to be turned into something gorgeous.

I couldn't really take any pictures of another unexpected thing - it was the number of people whose hair resembled knitted items or un-spun wool. Some people had yarn and fabric woven into their hair. Some looked like they had plonked a bag of roving on top of their heads (we had to look to make sure it was actually hair - it was green too).  That was one of the men on the stalls. 

I'm not a great one for crowds - especially when you have to queue for hours for the loo but Yarndale was certainly a fantastic experience.  Lucy from Attic24 was mobbed every time I saw her, she'll be shattered.

We passed a sign saying Great Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm on the way there so we decided to call in on the way back.  Little farm shop, home-made ice cream? That was the last 'unexpected' of the trip.  It was a huge building with a wrap-around porch.  There was a massive playground and outdoor tables, heaving with families.  Inside there was an American Diner, again heaving with people.  The ice-cream was home-made and utterly delicious.  We each had a three scoop sundae and to wash it all down I had a cloudy ginger beer and Alison had a sarsaparilla.

The food looked delicious - the menu choice was huge and very USA Diner (lush and high calorie).  The sugar rush only lasted a short while and then we yawned all the way back up the A1.

Our first Stitchin' Friends class for some time is on Thursday at High Street Quilting in Birtley so I've been busy checking through the teaching materials. I also made a pattern for the bag I originally made last year called Autumn Glow.   We have had a lovely Harvest Moon this month so I adapted it slightly to celebrate this.  I painted some more pumpkin buttons and will print out the patterns ready to pack up and take with me.

The bag under construction.  

I cut out the purple fabric in the wrong order and didn't have enough to make a back in one piece - hence the striped back which I think is really nice - I made a good mistake for once!

The finished article - a lovely size for knitting and other projects.

It's 9.30 in the morning and I'm going to steel myself to go shopping.  I try to avoid Sundays but needs must.  Then I'm going to come home and finish Ben's First Year book.  Oh and housework, don't forget the housework.....