Wonderwool, a magical woolly place

Hello, again fellows knitters, crochet hookers and all yarn addicts.

Today I wish to share with you the wonderful experience of visiting for the first time A Festival of Welsh Wool & Natural Fibres aptly named: Wonderwool.

If you think that definition is a little exuberant, then my friends you are wrong. It was a truly magical place, where I met hundreds, maybe thousands of other yarn lovers like us.

Let’s start from the beginning: Wales.

Wonderwool happens in the same spot every year aka the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells, and from what I learned it started back in 2005!

I have been living in England for a little over six years now, and I am a little ashamed to admit that I never crossed the borders either into Scotland or Wales. I suppose that has happened to all of us: we plan grand trips to visit the marvellous places that are at our doorsteps, and then as life happens, these project often remain in the air.

However, this year I made a commitment to myself and to a good friend of mine, that this trip was going to happen, no matter what. So on April 28 off we went towards our woolly adventure.

Wales was such a pleasant discovery. The green, the scenery, the hills! I have to say I really enjoyed my driving trip there, even if I had no clue where I was heading and my SATNAV decided to bring us through the smallest villages and roads available on the route.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the road trip, because I was driving. I have however taken a picture of the view from the village while I was walking to the hotel on Saturday evening.

The yarn festival takes place in a three big “hangars” where exhibitors have their own boots where they can showcase their products which vary from yarns to buttons and tools for your favourite fibre craft.

Some wool producers also like you to meet their sheep and goats. Of course, we were not allowed to touch them as they didn’t need to be stressed, but I really couldn’t have enough of these little sweeties.

I was particularly keen on this little chap, an angora goat who was irresistibly charming.

So after having spent a good amount of time admiring the animals, I started scouting the exhibition. It was a sensory overload for someone who loves yarn as much as I do.

I surprised myself “oohing” and “aaawwing” as I was walking from stand to stand. The best part? I didn’t have to conceal my excitement and admiration as everyone else there was having my very same reaction! The exhibitors were all so nice and helpful, you could really see how much they loved their products and what they were selling.

Some of them had some items made with their yarns (which was super helpful to understand how the wool was going to look and drape once knitted), while others were there to demonstrate their skills as spinners, weavers or machine knitters.

I was particularly impressed with spinning, although I haven’t decided to add it to my list of new crafty adventures. This lady was selling handmade drop spindles. Check out how easy she made it look! (apologies for the vertical video *hides in shame*)

I was lucky enough to have the whole weekend to attend the festival so after a first day filled with excitement, surprise and wool overload, I went to bed early to discover the wonderful wool on sale the next day.

In my next post, I will show you some of the most interesting bits I found there, the yarns and items that caught my eye, and I might also show you which wool made it home with me…

Stay tuned, and happy knitting!