Ickworth Wool Festival

Yarn shops.  Yarn festivals.  Craft fairs.  They are a bit of a busman's holiday for us, but I love them.  Mr Sconch despairs that everytime we go somewhere new the first thing I do is look for a wool shop.  'But why?' he always asks.  Cos I love yarn?  Isn't it obvious?!

Well on Sunday, I dragged us all along to the Ickworth Wool festival.  It is only about 45 mintues from us, held at the beautiful Ickworth Hall.  It is a National Trust property, and is set in pretty grounds.  The fair itself was held outside in the grounds under a marquee and various free standing tents.

It wasn't as big as I had hoped it would be, but we did have a rather lovely day.  I started off taking lots of photos for you, including of the amazing sheep show.

I have seen these guys at other events (they quite often go to the big shows like the Norfolk Show etc) and I can highly recommend a viewing if you get the chance... 

We were introduced to each of the sheep in turn. There was Dougal...

The adorably dopey Sam, a Suffolk Sheep...

And then Nobby, and of course the reggae loving Lenny...

The whole show is a really good mix of education about the history and use of sheep over the ages, as well as a cute little sheep dancing show (yes, you did read tha right!), which means it is great entertainment for adults and kids. You can find out more about them here.

There were alpacas (freshly shorn) which were drawing a bit of a crowd, as they were pretty adorable...

They were so cute and strokeable, as demonstrated by the little Sconchlet hand peeking through the bars...

And there was LOTS of food to be had.  Including an amazing popcorn seller, who was mixing the popcorn in a giant vat, whilst wearing an industrial blowtorch-user style helmet (technical term) and industrial rubber gloves.  Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of this spectacle, as it had started to rain...

A lot.

By the end of the day we were like three drowned rats, and the poor little Sconchlet was very miserable - so miserable she didn't even want to see the Elsa impersonator perform (and those that visit the shop will know that Frozen is a big theme in our lives right now)...

I did, however, get a good look around all of the yarny stalls, and did see quite a few possible new suppliers (so keep your eyes peeled for that!).  And more excitingly, I did buy yarn.  All from one seller in fact.

Hand spun yumminess by Hook, Line and Stitches...

And some more...

And a gratuitous group photo...

We ended the day with a hot bath and warm drinks, which cheered the Sconchlet up no end (although she was already fairly cheerful as apparently stripping her off in the car out of her soggy clothes and wrapping her in a blanket was highly amusing)...

Bliss :)

Sam x