I can't believe the contrast between last year's Wonderwool and this year's - last year we were in a heat wave, and I went in linen trousers, a summer top and sandals - this year it was 5 degrees on the way there, with icy winds inside and out, and the ever-present threat of rain - and that was on the Saturday, before the weather really got going on Sunday!
Weather notwithstanding, it was a fabulous show - I thought it was yet again busier than in previous years (although that might have been partly because people had seen Sunday's forecast and all decided to go on Saturday!) with a really good atmosphere and lots and lots and lots of really high-quality exhibitors. I took a friend who was a Wonderwool-virgin, and warned her that she'd have sensory overload - she described it as 'jaw-dropping, breath-taking', which is about right! The colours and textures have to be seen to be believed. It was great to catch up with a number of producers and makers whom I have been in contact with via Twitter but never actually met, and I managed to get everything on my shopping list apart from hand-carders (the queue at Wingham Wool Work's stand was just too long - they really need to think about bringing more staff to Wonderwool to take people's money!) and not to get tempted by too many goodies that were not on my list.
The only issue was food - unlike previous years, the catering vans were squashed up against the back of the building, so that it was very hard to queue without obstructing the other vans. Also, there simply were not enough caterers for the number of people there - we joined the shortest queue at 12.30, and it took us 40 minutes (in the Arctic wind) to get served. That's 40 minutes less browsing/shopping time! I heard later that some of the caterers ran out of food. Also, we then had to eat standing up as there were simply not enough chairs in the seating area. Queues for coffee inside the hall snaked right across the building, so we didn't bother with hot drinks even though we were in dire need of them to thaw us out. We (and others who had been at the show) ended up having tea at Erwood Station craft centre afterwards. If numbers attending Wonderwool Wales continue to increase at the present rates, the organisers really will need to think about catering arrangements, and/or suggest that people bring their own packed lunches and flasks, and maybe even folding chairs!
However, despite the trials of the cold and the catering, as regards exhibitors it was the best show yet. There seemed again to be fewer stands selling finished products, and more selling high-quality materials. My impressions was that there were fewer batts for spinners, but more yarn, needles and patterns for knitters. I couldn't find any mention of the Wool Board being there, which is odd as you'd have thought they would want to connect with all this vast number of wool-users, and I couldn't find the Campaign for Wool either, which is even more extraordinary as they explicitly have an understanding of the role of artisan wool users.
Real live sheep are always a bonus at events like this, and it was good to see the Shetlands, Manx Loughtans etc - I think they were the only ones who were well enough wrapped up against the cold!
So, having had lots of wool-related activity over the past few days (including a two-day course with Liz Clay on Thursday and Friday which I will try to blog about soon) it's now back to the day job, and catching up on my inbox...meanwhile dreaming about knitting a gorgeous lace shawl like some of the ones on show at Wonderwool!
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