SkipNorth - awesome

This is where we stayed, so the setting was lovely just for a start.

It was nice and comfortable and the food was excellent. There was also (how happy was I?) a YHA cat in residence.

I didn't get to spend long with her but I'd like to think we formed a bond for 10 minutes. More than that this photo gives me an opp to show off my Ruth Paisley Original that I purchased on the first night. You know I posted that hexhat buttopn a few posts ago? Well it was one she had made and I just fell totally in love with it at first sight. After buying it I was once seen in public without it before arriving back in London late last night and that one occasion was only because I was waiting for my hair to dry. That hat is the bomb.

The shopping was totally awesome. First Coldspring where we shopped our socks off. Then the Skep where we shopped our socks off before heading to the pub for a quick drink. Then Bombay Stores. Now there is a place with wow factor. Got some amazing fabric but there were shoes, clothes, jewellery, crafty bits. SO much stuff basically. Unfortunately we didn't have nearly long enough at any of these places. Nic and I have already decided less is more for next year (oh yes, I said "next year"!). Then on to the KCG Collection. Now there collection is amazing but what was almost equally amazing was the 1p a gram yarn mountain which I hadn't known about and those that did had assumed it would all be rubbish. But there was rowan and all sorts as far as the eye could see and dare I say we have added considerably to the buying power of the guild now through all our shopping.

This lovely dress was something that caught my eye. The photo doesn't do it justice but it was absolutely lovely and quite wedding-esque I thought in a kind of burne-jones type way.

As well as all the great shopping there was great chatting and knitting talk (as well as copious mentions of breasts and bernard matthews). The evenings were mini social whorls as we totally took over the lounge and did the spinning-and-knitting-in-public thang while glugging wine and sherry.

People had cooked cakes too which were scrumptious.

Sunday saw the final shopping destination and many people said to me that we had saved the best til last. I do love Wingham. Ruth who owns it was lovely and opened early for us and was so so helpful. As an added bonus I scored another cat.

It's left front paw was paralysed in a car accident some months ago but she gets around fine and as you can see frequently jumps up onto shelves and chases things. She was a big softy too. In fact it was a highly satisfactory weekend for cats.

At Wingham there was this particularly beautiful multi coloured merino roving. Yes, I did purchase just a tad. After we got back there was an excellent show and tell session with more knitting and chatting. People had brought some gorgeous things. Just as an example on this table...

...we have shawls from scotland, hats from Ruth (the same type as mine is at front right in its full hex glory) and then some lovely colinette patchwork creations. The mitred square one I am particularly loving and am thinking what to make one from. You avoid all the heaviness of sewing mitred squares together by picking up along the edges and doing it that way. So sensible and a technique that is in the patchwork knitting book I've already got.

So, do you want to see what I got then?

That's it. Because the thing is there just wasn't enough room in the car for everything and by the time we had packed the car absolutely to the brim the only two bags still on the pavement happened to be mine. I took the small brown cone of wool so I had something to get started on but all the rest went with Ruth so I will need (and I mean NEED) to meet up with her one evening soon to get it back here. Thank god she did have enough room in her car though as otherwise we would have been totally screwed. The other cebtre pull ball is some cherry tree hill that Jane gave me as a thank you present when we dropped her off. WHAT A DUDE. I can't see on the label what it is called but needless to say as soon as I got up this morning I wound the skein into the ball and cast on a sock. I LOVE this stuff. Can I say it again? She is a DUDE. So so far this morning I have done a swatch in the brown which has been residing in my bra for the last 2 hours doing the bra-test. And done the first inch of a sock. I will have to delay the gloating and stroking until later in the week. But...don't worry - I'll report in full when I do get it back.

These are just the tiniest part of the photos. The majority will be up at www.proudtobecrafty.co.uk by the end of this week.

Now I did mention next year because Nic and I have discussed making this an annual thing although with some necessary changes. One of which will be to offer accommodation in EITHER the hostel for still around £100 a head for the two nights or add a premium for people to stay in the hotel opposite in either single or shared rooms. We have also dicussed going overseas somewhere with a smaller group of people in the autumn so I'll let you know how that turns out.

Basically it was all very good but pretty tiring. It would have been nice to actually make a profit out of it instead or barely breaking even but now we know what works and what doesn't we can make the next one even better and hopefully attract some extra people along.