Woolfest 2013

Have you ever been to Woolfest?

It is held in an auction mart in Cockermouth, Cumbria.  Right there, in the animal pens.

The bars of the pens end up dripping with an array of bright colours and textures.  Everything NEEDS to be touched and fondled.  But some of the stall holders do not like photographs being taken, so these ones I am going to show you are not so great as a sneakily took them with my phone.

Everything a knitter, or a crocheter, or a weaver, or a spinner, or a felter could possible need/want will be under the corrugated roof of the auction mart when Woolfest is happening.  From fleeces straight off the sheep, to dyed and treated merino tops in a vast rainbow of colours, ready to do with what you choose.

There is a lot of pushing and shoving, not many manners within buyers/browsers (of course the stall holders are great) but be prepared for a nudge from a sharp elbow if you happen to be in the way of what someone else wants to see.

You can even talk to the animals.

I must apologise again for the really rubbishy photos, I didn't realise quite how bad they were until I uploaded them, and obviously I cannot go and retake them, so they will have to do  :)  Still, it gives you an idea of what it was like I guess - or you can go and have a look in the Woolfest gallery...

http://www.woolfest.co.uk/gallery/

I made a few sneaky purchases, ones that you will no doubt see popping up on the blog at some future point.
I bought some batting and some coloured norwegian felting wool to make some more needlefelted animals.  A few spare needles, and some wool that I bought 7 balls of a while ago in a shop (7 was all they had left), so I was delighted to find the same yarn on a stall at Woolfest - I think a jumper might be in the pipeline.

I also signed up and paid for the first part of a distance learning Diploma in Crochet!  (more on that soon)

Did you go?  What did you buy?