Well, it's been a bit of a crazy weekend around here, what with Nordládda going live and heading up to Festiwool on Saturday! Allison and I were on the road before 7:00 am on our way to Hitchin, and we made it there in good time.

After a somewhat hectic set-up (poor Alli didn't get her breakfast until after the show opened!), we were ready to go! I hadn't been to Festiwool before, and was really happy with the space: it was bright, airy and well lit, even though the day was grey and overcast. We were right next to Third Vault Yarns, and I was very entertained to find that, just like designers, two dyers can come up with the same idea independently.

*On the left, Porpoise Fur Holly Walk on Romney; on the right, Third Vault Yarns The Magpie on superwash Merino Aran weight squooshtastic yarn.*

It was really lovely to see some familiar faces from Fibre-East, and to meet some Fibre Club members who are having fun with their club parcels! Thank you all for stopping by, and well done to those of you who were insistent that you really didn't need another hobby (but you do, come on, you know you do!)

There will be a big update on Saturday, 21 November at 10:00 am London time with lots of woolly goodness, including last month and this month's Phat Fiber colourways, and some new holiday-themed colours just in time for December. Happy spinning!

This past weekend was the start of the Wool Festival Season here in the UK, and as always, it was a complete pleasure to make the journey down the A3 to Farnham for the wonderful Unravel, held at Farnham Maltings.

It's hard to convey the feeling I had sitting down on the train at 9:15 on Sunday morning with my mum, Allison, and her mum, knowing that I was going to spend the day surrounded by wool and color and creativity. We arrived just after ten, and after a brief photo shoot of Alli's finished Munchkin Baby Blanket, we headed in to the show.

Let me just get this out of the way now, since everyone wants to know: how much did I get?

That's 300 g of fiber from John Arbon (100 g each of Exmoor Blueface, Exmoor Horn, and an Exmoor Blueface/Zwarbtles blend). There were two skeins of Canopy Fingering from The Fiber Company (yarn support so it doesn't count as stash enhancement, right?) and a pile of shade cards for their different yarn lines which have my designer brain jumping up and down in glee. I also managed to snag an old needle gauge/row counter from Eliza Conway. Plus a lovely shawl pin from Textile Garden. Not pictured is my lovely poster of all the different varieties of colors and markings in Shetland sheep, from Judy Hardman.

More important then the buying were the people. We talked to people we'd like to see at the Yarn in the City Pop Up Marketplace in September, we talked to old friends and to (hopefully) new ones. I looked at lots of stalls to get inspiration for my upcoming Porpoise Fur stall at I Knit Fandango in May. I feel like I spent most of my time gabbing with people, but I came away from the show with lots of excitement and inspiration and full of creative energy. What could be better?

Festiwool recap

And so it begins, with Unravel