NaBloPoMo day 3: Festiwool 2

So, Festiwool was lovely.  An earlyish start, but Hitchin's only about an hour away even with a train change; friend Fran and I from the village met Rosie and Jackie, and managed to dodge the absolutely epic puddles on the short walk between the station and West Herts College.  Once we got there, it was pretty clear where to go:



And yes, those are little bits of cycle-bunting on the railings - there was quite a lot more in evidence too; but there's more about that later this month.

The event was opened by Baldock's only supermodel (I suspect) Daphne Selfe.  Ms Selfe is 85, but still impossibly elegant.  You probably don't even need me to tell you that she's the one in the pea-green dress.  I absolutely loved the nonchalance of her carrying her folding walking-stick in the pocket.  We didn't see her doing the opening bit, but this was later just after the fashion show.



And this is possibly an even worse photo, overcropped and so on; but look at those cheekbones.  Wonder if Kate Moss will still be strutting her stuff in 45 years time?



The halls filled up later - this photo was taken about 15 minutes after the doors opened - but the layout was such that you could always see things.  There was a bit of a crush around the button stall, but that's the nature of button stalls...



Heather and Michael from Sparkleduck had a little bit of a chance to catch up with a friend...



And there was a knitted village, which I'd have missed but was situated next to the main ground-floor loos... Amazing detail.



There was fun-fur thatch, which really worked; and let's have a closer look at that Methodist chapel...



And because no festival account is complete without The Haul, here are pics (minus the two or three things I bought for gifts)

Buttons from Textile Garden (TG also have excellent mail order, but nothing beats being able to weigh buttons in your hand and work out whether they're substantial enough for your project).  Metal ones for the NaKniSweMo cardi (the sleeve progress can be seen under the buttons), coconut-shell-that-look-like-leather ones for something To Be Decided.  Maybe a felted bag.



Yarrrrnnnn.  Left to right - Lang Mille Colori from Debonnaire, two skeins of Sparkleduck (grey is Pulsar in Town Mouse; sunsetty one is Galaxy in Darklands), a skein of Travelknitter high-twist merino in a colour called Dabbling Duck and a skein of DK from the bargain bin at Rosie's Moments. (And now I'm kicking myself - Travelknitter is Larissa, who I've talked to on Ravelry several times... gah.)



And my present to myself -  even prettier in real life than they were on Wendy Fowler's website, and even better matched to my house...





All told - lovely day.  The venue was brand-new, and there were stalls on two levels. There were loads of loos, and while I mistimed the food thing, there were lots of drinks and snacks available and I'd brought food having had the whole first-day-of-Yarndale experience.  I really hope it's been an equally good experience for the suppliers and organisers, and that it's run again next year, perfectly timed for Christmas-gift-knitting buying.