EdinYarn Fest
We Out Here! That was the first picture I posted on Friday, Mar 22nd - my first day at Edinyarn fest.
I had just picked up Alexi (of @twoofwands and my very dear friend) at Edinburgh airport. She had taken the red eye from NY and I had taken the 4am from Dublin. We clutched each other briefly, as I had our coffees in one hand, and we both smelled mildly of airplane.
Neither of us had ever been to the fest and we were both really excited to be in a new place with new vendors and new yarns etc! You can see the full list of vendors here. Luckily we had a direct bus to the Corn Exchange from the airport. So after a brief fight between some English tourists with our bus driver (who by the end were both threatening to call the police) we got to our destination.
We had of a bit of a bumpy road getting into the actual venue. Neither of us had managed to snag the advanced tickets online before they completely sold out so we camped in line for about a half hour, battered and volumized by the high winds, until we got to the front and realized we had no cash, and this was a cash only affair. I blame my western upbringing and last 10 years in major cities. I ran out of line to go grab cash from a nearby supermarket and grabbed this hilarious sign of a nearby asian food place.
I was nearly not let back in as apparently capacity had been met, but luckily I had left an entire person inside as collateral.
Neither of us had eaten, and we were working on the vapours of sleep, but we wanted to get started. I definitely didn’t capture everything I saw, played with, and wanted to take home with me, but I did get a couple shots! Check out some of the highlights!!
Eden Cottage Yarn “yarnlings!”
La Bien Aimee (look at this fade tho)
Olann.ie (my personal fav colors)
I’m kicking myself for missing a couple people who attended as well: like Jes, from @olann.ie who was getting lunch when I was at her stall, @dragonhoardyarn who I totally recognized but then wasn’t totally sure if it was her, but it totally was, @labienaimee who’s stall was mobbed when I saw her, @booksandcables, and essentially everyone else that posted who I didn’t see in real life.
So what did I actually come away with? Well I am glad you asked! I got a leather ruler bracelet and friggin adorable tote from @__yak, 3 skeins of lavish yarn from @skeinqueen including one that’s part cashmere (swoons), a vinyl sticker from @girlandcatstudio with yarn ramen that says “make mistakes”, a new 8mm Toft hook, and this insanely awesome cross body bag from @jimmybeanswool. It has two different yarn pockets and a bunch of smaller pockets for notions and things!
it was windy tho
By about 3pm we were starting to get dizzy so sat down to have some carrot cake and a bottle of prosecco (both of which were fantastic). All part of a balanced diet. We got some weird looks from some of the attendees, but like, why would we not. We were lucky enough to run into Helen and Ella of @LoveKnitting and were able to talk shop and learn about some of the fun up-and-coming things from the various yarn brands offered through the site (get excited).
Overall, I had a great time! It was a lot easier to move around than in VKL in NYC, the venue was smaller, but nicer (I hate that stupid times square hotel, there I said it), and there seemed to be a lot less manic energy at EdinYarn Fest. People weren’t pushing, it seemed more disability friendly (we saw a couple people in wheelchairs and with canes etc), and there seemed to be a very friendly energy in the air! Going to the festival I learned more about European yarn brands and local artists which, in my opinion, is the point of going to festivals like this! It was my first non-American festival, so there were a lot of brands I didn’t know about before attending.
I’ve decided I want to try to go to more of the yarn festivals that happen around the world. Now that I’m living in Ireland it’s much cheaper and easier for me to get to these various festivals. I’m missing H+H in Cologne, but I’ll be in Dublin for Woolinn in June (I mean, I live here after all), and then I’m going to try to go to Barcelona Knit Festival in November! Let me know if any of you guys are going as I always love meeting fellow crafters!!
xx Katie