Spring Into Wool 2017

I've had this new yarn festival pencilled in my diary for months now, it was being held at The Grammar School at Leeds, about half an hour from where I live, so virtually on my doorstep, it would have been a shame to miss it. Imagine how thrilled I was then to win free tickets when I entered a giveaway on Natalie's Knatters Knits podcast. Thank you, Natalie, the tickets were put to very good use.

The doors opened at 10am and the show had been going for about an hour by the time we arrived. I'm used to Yarndale and know how large that show is (I believe there were over one hundred and eighty exhibitors in 2016) but I knew beforehand that Spring Into Wool wasn't going to have anywhere near the amount of stands as that show does, in fact there were sixty exhibitors.

Although it seemed to get extremely busy at one point, the majority of the time we were there was quite relaxed. It was more of a laid-back show where you could peruse the merchandise at leisure and have a friendly chat with the stall holders without experiencing the pushing and shoving that I have done in the past at Yarndale. There was still a very good turnout though and there was plenty of choice when it came to making a purchase. I spent more than I had intended but Mick was there with his wallet and kept encouraging me to buy more, who was I to argue? This is my haul.

Would you like a closer look? Silly question, of course you would.

I nearly asked for 'one of each' at Fondant Fibre, goodness me, it was hard to choose from all the beautiful yarn on offer. In the end I went for these three skeins. I'd gone with a couple of projects in mind, a two skein shawl and a pair of speckly socks so these seemed to fit the bill.

The skein on the left is Hannah, a Superwash Merino and Mulberry Silk yarn in Wooden Heart colourway, it has tiny specks of colour and I thought this teamed well with the middle skein from the Covent Garden Collection on the Hardy Plus base, 75/25 Superwash Merino and Nylon in Coral Roses colourway. These are the two skeins I chose for the shawl I've got planned. I absolutely love the beautiful colours in this yarn with a very neutral background. The skein on the right is again on the Hardy Plus base, 75/25 Superwash Merino and Nylon and this is in Amazon Orchid colourway. It's beautifully speckled and I thought this would make a pretty pair of socks. I've just got to choose the patterns now. I'd love to hear any recommendations you may have for two skein shawl patterns. Here's a closer look at the colours.

I've never used a yarn with stellina, sparkly bits, in it before so I couldn't resist this skein from Yellow Door Yarn. It's on their Sparkle Sock base, 75% Superwash Merino, 15% Nylon and 10% Stellina, in Parisian Sky colourway, isn't that a pretty name? It's beautiful yarn, so soft and squishy.

I think you can just see the sparkly stellina in this close up. It's actually much more sparkly in real life.

I must have visited Third Vault Yarns stand about four or five times. They dye yarn which is inspired by sci-fi, fantasy, board games and books and they had some wonderful colourways. In the end I couldn't resist and I came away with this Dragon Scales colourway on their Companion 4ply base, 100% Superwash Merino.

There's lots of subtle colour changes in the yarn from greens and greys to blues and purples. I think it will look beautiful knit up. Perhaps a shawl, scarf or cowl beckons.

This skein from Jo.Knit.Sew is a totally different colour from anything I've used before. For a kick off it's got black in there, something I've never knit with in the past. It's got gorgeous pops of colour which stand out against the black, blues and greens. I can't wait to see how this knits up.

The colourway is Opal's Eve and it's on a Super Merino/Nylon base. I might even be kind enough to knit Mick a pair of socks with this yarn, we'll see.

I left this yarn off the photo of my haul by mistake, it's West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply. I've never used this brand before but I should support them as their home is right here in West Yorkshire where I live and all their yarn in reared, sheared and spun in Britain. This is their Country Birds collection in the Mallard colourway and is destined to be a pair of socks.

I bought the two embossed greetings cards from Beaks & Bobbins. They're prints of original embroideries by Amy Butcher. I think they'll look fabulous popped in a couple of frames. The knitters soap is from Fondant Fibre in the fruity Orchard scent. It will certainly freshen up my hand knits. I'm afraid I didn't keep a note of who I bought the buttons from but I usually pick up a few for my button tin whenever I'm at a show, I thought these two rainbow designs were particularly colourful.

There were also a few freebies being given out, I picked up a past issue of Knitting magazine and was given some free patterns from Knitting By Post, a company which designs and sells toy and novelty patterns.

It was a great day out, very well planned and it seemed to go off without a hitch. There was a canteen where hot and cold food could be purchased and workshops and demonstrations. Car parking was free and there were plenty of spaces. This is the first time Spring Into Wool has been staged but I'll definitely be back if it's on again next year.