Home from Yarningham

I am home from Yarningham and taking today to rest and take stock.

Many good conversations were had over the weekend, and I really enjoyed meeting so many fellow makers. I loved the local atmosphere at this festival and that it felt as much a part of Birmingham community life as a gathering of yarnies and makers who had come from far and wide.

Here are my festival highlights.

1. Doing Yarningham with Jeanette! We’ve done quite a few fibre events together in the past few years and I’m really grateful for how we laugh, work, and make things together. Hurrah for this wonderful human being!

As you know, Jeanette is an amazing knitwear designer but at Yarningham this year she was representing BIPOC in Fiber with a range of beautiful merchandise and a pop-up shop featuring lovely magazines, jewellery, project bags and yarn bowls produced by BIPOC-owned businesses and BIPOC artisans.

2. Our friend Helda turned up to surprise us – AND IT WAS THE BEST SURPRISE!

3. Seeing my old friend Liz and realising we’ve known each other for nineteen years now! What a treat to catch up a bit, and to see the lovely Smookie she is currently knitting. So good to catch up.

4. Playing my music box to folks, and seeing their genuine joy on realising that the patterns on the knitting represent the same notes they can hear. I love Yarnadelic Remixes 0.1 and I am just living for those moments when the magic of MUSIC YOU CAN KNIT / PATTERNS YOU CAN HEAR really comes across.

5. Having great conversations about art, research, and knitting.
6. Getting reassuring and positive feedback on my new strap line for KNITSONIK: art school for makers – and feeling even more sure that this the right direction for KNITSONIK to take.

7. Meeting other people who love washi tape and stickers, and sharing the joys of journaling.

8. Bringing my showreel and developing my special golden tickets as a way for people to be able to buy online course places from me in a real life festival situation. It was good to try this out, and to now have a way to market my school in real life, as well as online.

9. Being buoyed up by the LOVELY testimonials folks on my mailing list sent in – there are no words to convey how affirming and confidence-building your wonderful messages have been, THANK YOU.

Thanks to everyone who came and made this such a super festival, to everyone who visited me on my KNITSONIK stand, and to everyone who supported this adventure from afar – it was lovely to see you there x
Yours in home from the festival,
Fx