Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2017

A Few Q & As

Did I go? Yes

Did I enjoy it? Mostly

Did I buy stuff? Er - is the Moderator a Presbyterian?

Was it far too crowded? See reply to previous question.

How was the catering? Dire

Was it better organised than the horror that was the first Yarndale Festival? Umm, just about.

Will I go again next year? That's a definite no.

Will I go again ever? Well, maybe.

So it you're thinking from the above that, like the curate's egg, the EYF was excellent in parts, you'd be about right.

I'd bought myself a ticket in advance but the friend I was going with hadn't so we had to wait to get in in a queue that seemed unfeasibly long for something which was basically a chance to buy wool. On the plus side, the queue was good tempered, it moved relatively quickly and it supplied its own entertainment in the form of a constantly changing 'which pattern is that she's wearing?' challenge.

Inside there were far too many people making far too much noise in a space which was far too small to contain both them and the exhibitors. I understand the organisers of the festival refuse to consider changing to a larger venue, on the grounds that this would 'spoil the unique atmosphere of EYF'. Now I am not an airy fairy person much given to sampling atmospheres so I may be wrong, but for me the atmosphere is already ruined because it's all too crowded and too noisy and that to me is an unhealthy and unwelcoming atmosphere just there.

My main grumble is the lack of anywhere to sit and eat. The food was mass catering horrid in that predictable white bread and brie and bacon sandwiches, and cakes that are far too sweet sort of a way and when I was told that they had lemonade and I asked for a bottle of it I was not expecting to be given a bottle of lemon tonic water. There may have been nastier things on offer than fizzy lemon flavoured quinine, but if so I'm glad I didn't have any. Once you had queued for your food and waited for what seemed like hours to pay for it, you were then faced with the challenge of how to eat it as both times that my friend and I braved the catering area the tables were all full. I would not have minded this had the tables been full of people eating, who would then finish and vacate their seats in a manner reminiscent of - well almost any other eating place on the planet really -  but many of these people were not doing that. They had eaten, and were now sitting in groups round the table, knitting.

 

Now some of you may be thinking - so what? It's a yarn festival, but that's my point. Yarn. not kitting. You can knit anywhere, any time practically. You do not need to knit at a yarn festival. The thing about a yarn festival is the opportunity to , yes maybe take a class and learn something new, but mainly it's for buying yarn. It is a temporary shopping mall full of wool. It is not a knotting circle, it is not a Stitch and Bitch group, it's a big shop'n'café combined with a lot of customers, many of whom find it very uncomfortable to sit on the floor and eat. C'mon people, it's not even that it's not rocket science, it's just basic common courtesy.

On the positive side I managed to catch a word or two with Joy from The Knitting Goddess which is always good, I met some lovely people on a stand for a brand that was new to me Whistlebare Yarns, and I bought a pattern from the charming and extremely talented Lucy Hague. And although I lost my wallet it was returned to me with all contents intact, which says something about knitters, or women, or just people.

Tomorrow, for those interested, photos of what I bought.