Anyway, last night I made up my mind that I'd give it a miss this year because of my yarn budget. Woke up this morning and decided to go after James asked whether we were going to the wool festival. I am so glad we went!
It was very easy to find once off the M6 and heading towards Wolverhampton. We parked up and although the show ground was nearby there was a tractor/trailer ride to take us there (the boys' eyes were on stalks!), it was very fun to have a little ride up and excellent for spotting knitwear. I saw a beautiful mitred square cardigan and so many lovely outfits. The queue moved quickly and we were soon into the grounds! I had one stall I really wanted to visit (the knackered psycho) as she was selling Lollipop Guild Yarn. I bought a copy of The Knackered Psycho's shawl book too, I can dream of one day being able to crochet a shawl...
The selection of exhibitors was really impressive, I think there really was something for everyone. If I remember I'll write a second post to share some of my favourites tomorrow. The food area was fab, wood fired pizza, fresh samosas, a vegan van, also lots of drink options including a fully stocked bar or 'Baaaaa' as its sign stated (had to explain few sheep-based jokes to James!).
If you turn right and walk that way (after the entrance but before the food area) you will come to THE BEST playground... It was so good it gave me happy pangs of nostalgia, lots of recycled items, creatively put together. They had an old fire engine the children could get inside and play with, reminded me of the pub up the road from my mum & dad's which had old vehicles in the beer garden... It was lovely and hot, there were farmland birds singing their hearts out, I had a bag full of yarn dyed by dyers new to me. There are also animals just next to the park, lambs, alpaca, pigs, all sorts. Oliver loved the 'baby lambs' and watching a sheep be shorn (sheared?).
Also! My stripey dress was a definite success. It proved to be cool/warm simultaneously, I'm very glad I didn't put sleeves on it in the end. Yarn was bought with a plan to knit another! People were so kind about my dress, so friendly and lovely.
