Yarnival

Yarnival Woolly Advert in the Post Office Window

Heard about this event via Ravelry and simply had to go as it was in Trawden which is not too far from me.  About 10 miles in fact, so in a moment of absolute bravado (madness is more like it though) I announced my intention to cycle there and back!

I chose a route and set off.  Powered along the bypass to Barrowford - bit of a slog on the uphill but wonderful on the downhill stretch. This will be a piece of cake, I thought.  Turned off and was pleased to find a handy underpass system to guide me under the M65 and I headed into Nelson.  I had decided to take a rural route but had only checked it out on Google Maps..... silly woman.  It looked so innocuous and of course there are no contours on Google Maps so I was completely unprepared for the one and a half miles of hill that is Barkerhouse Road!  And then just when I thought  I was at the top there was even more hill to go up.  It took me ages.  But I did it.  Hooray for me.  Sweaty and with a face the colour of beetroot I must say the twisty downhill bit was good fun.

Heading into the village of Trawden I suddenly realised that I hadn't made a note of the building that I was headed for and was a bit worried that after all the hill related hassle of getting there it would be all in vain. I needn't have worried as the wonderful organisers had been busy...

There was no mistaking the venue as there was yarn graffiti everywhere and very jolly it was too.  The best use I've ever seen fuzzy yarn put to on the Trawden sign!

I especially loved the bicycle.  It is really quite spectacular don't you think.  Inside there was a small but choice selection of stalls and happenings and some delicious cakes on sale in the cafe.  You got a free brew with your entry ticket which was really nice.  The turnout was pretty good. Hundreds of people making the overall event a real success.

I met some really interesting, quirky and cool people too.

Pete from Spindlers 2

Pete from Spindlers 2 was demonstrating hand spinning and has some simply gorgeous spindles for sale too.

Beautiful wooden spindles from Spindlers 2

Freyalyn was also spinning but this time with a wheel rather than by hand.

Freyalyn in action

She also had lots and lots of truly gorgeous hand-dyed fibres and yarns.  Had to treat myself to some which I have neglected to take a piccie of...silly me.

Some of Freyalyn's sumptuous hand-dyed sock yarn. Yummy

And there was also the lovely textile and button items from Handcrafted Textiles , braiding kits from Berlin Braids and a delicious selection of yarns from the Hawthorn Tree to name but a few.

Kate, event organiser and purveyor of gorgeous yarns at the Hawthorn Tree

There was also an ongoing knit and natter in the cafe area where lots of lovely work was displayed.  There were scouts and cubs getting stuck into knitting and lots of other informational stalls too.  There was a super cute Ronaldsay sheep with two 3 week old lambs outside but didn't get a decent shot of them - the lambs kept jumping about and being scampish!

Displays of knitting and crochet pieces - I especially liked the green monster made by pupils at Trawden Forest Primary School.

Decided to take a different route home.  Just couldn't face having to go back up that massive hill again. Took the opposite way out of Trawden and after a bit of guesswork and following the advice gleaned from one of the Yarnival chaps, found my way back via some back streets, an unexpected nature reserve and the canal before rejoining the bypass at Barrowford.  Much easier and a lot flatter route than the way there.  Even the sudden downpour of rain didn't bother me all that much.  Was a bit saddle sore when I got home though.

Took my new iPhone with me and all the photos were taken using it.  They are ok - not used to the phone so lots have my finger over the viewfinder!! Also used the GPS to find out where I was when unsure.  Nick was able to track my progress too so that was pretty cool - he would have been able to pinpoint where exactly I was if I'd needed to be picked up at all!

All in all a really great event.  I hear there is talk of next year's event so maybe it'll be back again next year. I do hope so.  Although I will choose a different route to cycle next time!!