At the moment, I am finding it hard to even contemplate current events. It is all rather horrifying and is already having an impact on business as people wait to see what will happen with the price of oil and so on. I remember the invasion of Ukraine by Russia having the same effect. So when I was thinking about my blog for the week, I decided to focus on the positive, to think about Spring and the hope that it brings.
The first of March is the beginning of the meteorological Spring and last weekend it certainly felt that way. The daffodils exploded, I discovered some really pretty violets by my gate and it seems as though the grass is growing at pace. My neighbour the sheep farmer has brought in the bulk of his flock for lambing and the sun shone and was actually warm. I drove to Leeds to visit my friend Vanessa in her shop, Hoop at Sunnybank Mills and passed huge fields of daffodils on the way which was extremely uplifting.
I had a great time in Leeds. Sunnybank Mills (where they film the Great British Sewing Bee) is an extraordinary space. Vanessa had arranged for some yarn shop owners to see the new Spring/Summer ranges not just from the yarns she distributes (Lang, Shoppel and Hjertagarn), but also from Selected Yarns who distribute Kremke, BC Garn, Hey Mama Wolf, Arne and Carlos Sock Yarns and Erika Night. Heaven. I wanted ALL the yarns, but obviously have to make decisions. Do let me know if there is any brand or yarn that you would be interested in seeing in the shop and I will consider it.
We also got a guided tour around the Mill itself – the archive/museum is extraordinary mostly because the current owners, who’s family have owned the Mill for 100 years, have never thrown anything away. All the swatches and samples, the guard books and dye swatches. It was absolutely fascinating. Our textile heritage is amazing and it makes me sad that it has almost vanished.
Inspired by the sense of the season turning, I took Thursday out of the shop to do a bit of hand dyeing. In this case it was my Corriedale/Mohair blend – a light fluffy 4ply – and I have dyed 5 colours in Spring shades with which I am rather pleased. I will be launching them at the East Anglia Yarn Festival so have had to hide them upstairs in order not to be tempted by them! What was particularly nice was that I was able to dry them outside in the fresh air and the sunshine.
Because we have the East Anglia Yarn Festival at the end of March, we are not putting on any classes this month, but our Social Stitchers session on Tuesday 10 March will be on as usual from 2 to 4pm. We are closing the shop from Friday 20th March at noon and on Saturday 21st, but we hope that you will come and see us at the Norfolk Showground instead!
Next week 14 March, we launch the Fakenham Food Market – a monthly Food Market (second Saturday of each month). Shop Fakenham has been working hard on this and we very much hope that it will bring a bit of vibrancy back to the town centre on a Saturday. We have managed to persuade 14 businesses to come to this first market – fish, meat, bread and lots of cake, pies and other yummy things. If you live locally, we really hope you will come along and see what is there.
So, lots to look forward to. Keep calm and carry on as they say, and enjoy the new season!