Hello! My name is Tatsiana, I am 37 years old, I am a crochet designer… and I have never been to any yarn show before. And when I say – never – I mean never in my entire life. Born in the USSR I didn’t have opportunity to visit a show like this. And in Czech Republic, where I live right now, we don’t have (I think) a tradition of spinning and hand-dyeing yarns. But last weekend everything changed. And my small crochet world exploded once again. We, Scheepjes Bloggers, came to YARNDALE!
I’m sitting in front of my laptop right now trying to concentrate and think of a best way of how I can tell you everything. Everything about what happened over last weekend. And my brain is not doing great, really. All I have inside my head is a crazy whirly kaleidoscope of emotions, impressions and pictures. I don’t think I will be able to build up anything logical, so please forgive me. I guess I will need another week, or month, for feelings to settle down.
Disclosure: my camera lense was broken at Yarndale. And credit for most of the pictures you see in this post go to my dearest Scheepjes blogger friends. Thank you for letting me use them!
So Yarndale. Yarndale is the biggest annual yarn show (“a festival of creativity”) in UK. This year it was the sixth event already (and just a week ago it won British Knitting&Crochet Awards as the best show). Every year hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors meet together in Skipton (North Yorkshire). If you, like me, have never heard of Yarndale before, check their official web-site for all information.
“Come and enjoy the fun and friendly atmosphere where you can socialise, learn new skills, soak up the creative vibes and shop to your heart’s content.”
And this is true to every bit. I have never seen so many like-minded and passionate crafters per one square meter. Thousands of people met in one place to share their love for yarn, crochet, knitting, spinning, felting and more!
This year Scheepjes had their own stand at Yarndale, and we, Scheepjes bloggers, were invited to join our yarny friends for bloggers days in UK. I think I’ll be safe to say Scheepjes stand was one of the busiest. Lots of visitors came in to say hello to us, bloggers, and to squish Whirls, balls of Stone Washed and Namaste.
It’s difficult to describe that particular moment when suddenly in the crowd you see a project made with your pattern. When I was walking along the stands and drooling over hand-dyed yarns I suddenly spotted a Grinda shawl. The shawl didn’t look like Grinda entirely, as it was modified a bit.
But I clearly recognized Whirl yarn and the lace border. And I decided to be brave and ask lady which shawl she was wearing. And yes, it was Grinda! Petra recognized me at once, and we started a nice talk. Like me, she came to Yarndale for the first time, and was very excited to see everyone and everything…
And then I noticed another lady in the crowd wearing Lilla Bjorn sweater and Peacock Tail bag. Yay!! We met with Tamara (@craftyescapism) later at the Scheepjes stand and had a lovely chat about crochet… And then Jenny Yu Chen (@yumushroom) came in (please, forgive me as I forgot to ask your real name!) to show me her stunning Winter Light Poncho! You know? Online people became real! And we all were talking, and talking, and talking…
Last weekend was not only about Yarndale, but also about Scheepjes Bloggers Days which happen once a year, and when I can see my lovely dearest beautiful blogger friends again (LOVE you girls and boys!).
I am often asked how to become a Scheepjes blogger and why on Earth I work for Scheepjes. Answering the first question – there is no application from or admission procedure to become a Scheepjes blogger. I didn’t pitch them anything. They just found me themselves (hey, a lucky girl here!). And answering the second questions – no, I am not working FOR Scheepjes, but WITH Scheepjes.
There is something special in our relationship which cannot be described or put into words. Something that makes all of us feel like friends, regardless the status. I mean… You can meet an owner of Scheepjes at Yarndale, he will sell you a few balls of yarn, offer you a Dutch stroofwaffle, give you bloggers’ postcards and you will never even recognize he is the “big boss” behind the company. And at the same time art director will chat with you about crochet and you’ll not know she is actually the one who put all Scheepjes magazines together and helped to develop innovative yarns. Like everyone feels equal. If you understand what I mean.
And this feeling of belonging to something huge, creative and… equal… makes my heart extremely happy. I don’t think I realize myself how much I grew up in designing over past 3 years being a part of Scheepjes Bloggers team.
*****************************************************
I came home in the middle of the night. My sleepy dog was greeting me. After almost 13 hours drive with a plane and several trains I could hardly believe Yarndale happened for real. Next morning my husband was drinking coffee in the kitchen. Silently. I supposed my yarn bills finally came through and he was in a kind of financial coma… But well, you know, it was Yarndale! And it happens once a year. Or once in someone’s life.
The end :)
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I’m sitting in front of my laptop right now trying to concentrate and think of a best way of how I can tell you everything. Everything about what happened over last weekend. And my brain is not doing great, really. All I have inside my head is a crazy whirly kaleidoscope of emotions, impressions and pictures. I don’t think I will be able to build up anything logical, so please forgive me. I guess I will need another week, or month, for feelings to settle down.
Disclosure: my camera lense was broken at Yarndale. And credit for most of the pictures you see in this post go to my dearest Scheepjes blogger friends. Thank you for letting me use them!
Yarndale!
So Yarndale. Yarndale is the biggest annual yarn show (“a festival of creativity”) in UK. This year it was the sixth event already (and just a week ago it won British Knitting&Crochet Awards as the best show). Every year hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors meet together in Skipton (North Yorkshire). If you, like me, have never heard of Yarndale before, check their official web-site for all information.
“Come and enjoy the fun and friendly atmosphere where you can socialise, learn new skills, soak up the creative vibes and shop to your heart’s content.”
And this is true to every bit. I have never seen so many like-minded and passionate crafters per one square meter. Thousands of people met in one place to share their love for yarn, crochet, knitting, spinning, felting and more!
This year Scheepjes had their own stand at Yarndale, and we, Scheepjes bloggers, were invited to join our yarny friends for bloggers days in UK. I think I’ll be safe to say Scheepjes stand was one of the busiest. Lots of visitors came in to say hello to us, bloggers, and to squish Whirls, balls of Stone Washed and Namaste.
 |
| Scheepjes stand at Yarndale 2018 |
It’s difficult to describe that particular moment when suddenly in the crowd you see a project made with your pattern. When I was walking along the stands and drooling over hand-dyed yarns I suddenly spotted a Grinda shawl. The shawl didn’t look like Grinda entirely, as it was modified a bit.
But I clearly recognized Whirl yarn and the lace border. And I decided to be brave and ask lady which shawl she was wearing. And yes, it was Grinda! Petra recognized me at once, and we started a nice talk. Like me, she came to Yarndale for the first time, and was very excited to see everyone and everything…
And then I noticed another lady in the crowd wearing Lilla Bjorn sweater and Peacock Tail bag. Yay!! We met with Tamara (@craftyescapism) later at the Scheepjes stand and had a lovely chat about crochet… And then Jenny Yu Chen (@yumushroom) came in (please, forgive me as I forgot to ask your real name!) to show me her stunning Winter Light Poncho! You know? Online people became real! And we all were talking, and talking, and talking…
 |
| We, lovely people we met and famous Yarndale bunting! |
Bloggers and Scheepjes
Last weekend was not only about Yarndale, but also about Scheepjes Bloggers Days which happen once a year, and when I can see my lovely dearest beautiful blogger friends again (LOVE you girls and boys!).
 | |
| Pic. 1 - Carmen of New Leaf Designs, Christina of A Spoonful of Yarn, Dedri of Look At What I Made, Rachele of Cypress Textiles, Kirsten of Haak Maar Raak, and me; Pic. 2 - Me, Susan of Felted Button and Esther of It's All In A Nutshell drooling over new Rachele's book; Pic.3 - A birth of a new shawl design... |
 |
| A hotel "Old Swan" and we - crocheting and "socializing" :) |
There is something special in our relationship which cannot be described or put into words. Something that makes all of us feel like friends, regardless the status. I mean… You can meet an owner of Scheepjes at Yarndale, he will sell you a few balls of yarn, offer you a Dutch stroofwaffle, give you bloggers’ postcards and you will never even recognize he is the “big boss” behind the company. And at the same time art director will chat with you about crochet and you’ll not know she is actually the one who put all Scheepjes magazines together and helped to develop innovative yarns. Like everyone feels equal. If you understand what I mean.
 |
| Job - a "big boss" of Scheepjes wearing a faaaamous Read Between the Lines Shawl by Tammy of Canadutch. Photo Credit: Dedri Uys |
And this feeling of belonging to something huge, creative and… equal… makes my heart extremely happy. I don’t think I realize myself how much I grew up in designing over past 3 years being a part of Scheepjes Bloggers team.
*****************************************************
I came home in the middle of the night. My sleepy dog was greeting me. After almost 13 hours drive with a plane and several trains I could hardly believe Yarndale happened for real. Next morning my husband was drinking coffee in the kitchen. Silently. I supposed my yarn bills finally came through and he was in a kind of financial coma… But well, you know, it was Yarndale! And it happens once a year. Or once in someone’s life.
 | |
| Skies of Yorkshire |
The end :)
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I was SUCH a fan girl wearing your fabulous sweater and carrying your peacock tail bag but I do so LOVE your designs and it was absolutely wonderful meeting you and the other talented bloggers at Yarndale. Best wooly weekend EVER!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post about a fantastic weekend.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to read it from your point of view, although it does not differ much from the mine;)
What an amazing time you had with your tribe. And I agree there is nothing like meeting people who you have only previously engaged with online. Loved your post and I love your patterns
ReplyDeleteSo glad Yarndale was fantastic for you
Wow! What a fabulous post. I've gone away feeling a bit blown away after reading it. I had to come back to thank you for sharing those amazing experiences with us, and doing it so well.
ReplyDelete