Last Thursday saw us set off south with the trailer absolutely choc full of boxes / yarn / poles / hanging shelves and everything else needed to make the stand look appealing. We had a trouble free trip south, just stopping at House of Bruar for the usual bite to eat for lunch and to give Peggy the opportunity to stretch her legs in the special "dog" section of the grounds, which as dog owners we always appreciate.

Arriving at a venue to set up can always feel somewhat daunting. Even when you know the venue and have done the show a few times the first hour after you've unpacked the car feels somewhat overwhelming. In front of you is a very blank canvas which needs much work doing to it to get it looking attractive. You're sometimes tired from the journey to reach the venue, and for me the noise and clatter of the place dominates your thoughts.

But before long you get into the swing of things, and by about 6.30pm the stand was covered up in preparation for the first day.

And what a first day! Unveiling the stand in the morning was satisfying, and it didn't take long to talk Lizzi and Dorothy through the changes that had happened to stock over winter.

It wasn't long before the queues that had been forming outside since first thing were coming through the doors and were excitedly exploring the stands.

Friday was exceptionally busy, and there were times you couldn't move on the stand. But almost everyone was in generous spirit, and any jostling was generally met with an "Oh I'm sorry!" or at times an apology would begin only to be interrupted with "Oh HI! It is you!" and old friends would be reunited.

At the end of the day I was able to pop next door to the Chinese restaurant to meet up with former retreatees who had joined me on Tanera Mor or at Glencanisp - it was lovely to catch up, albeit briefly. And the food wasn't too bad either! I am afraid I may have gobbled my way through a couple of dishes before becoming a little more sociable!
Saturday was a much calmer day, and if you're nervous of crowds then I would suggest you consider coming on the second day of EYF in the future. There was much more time for me to chat to customers and to catch up with other stallholders who I know from shows gone by.
As usual I have only high praise for Jo and Mica, the organisers behind Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and their band of volunteers who work so hard to keep things running smoothly. The Corn Exchange as a venue is great, and the security staff did not stop smiling and were helpful all weekend. The range of stallholders from all over the world ranging from big well known businesses through to the smallest, but exciting, less known businesses was phenomenal. Sadly I didn't have time to visit them all. But it was good to catch up with Dana from Uist Mill and have a chat about their wonderful yarns and possible collaborations in the future. All I can say is ROLL ON EYF 2018!
The weekend was made so much more pleasurable too because we spent it staying with our friends, Ian and Jacqui, and there couldn't have been a nicer end to the weekend than a walk down to their local Italian restaurant for a meal on Sunday evening. The food was superb, and of course the company was first class.

I am slowly updating the shop site with stock again, but I will also be heading to Dornoch Fibre Fest this coming weekend, so if you're in the area do pop in. Furthermore, I have finally got myself on to Instagram, where you can find me as ripplescraftsyarn. Be gentle with me though .... I'm still getting the hang of it! It will mostly be about yarn on Instagram - for more general photographs / conversation you can find me on Twitter as @ripplescrafts.