Tess Young Designs & Makes

It may not come as much of a surprise that one solution to a loss of knitting mojo is to go to a yarn show, mix with like minded people, squish delectable yarn and imagine oneself in many of the sample garments on display. While not much of a surprise I have to say it was most welcome and I was more than happy with my past self who had stated her intent to go to the show, and arranged to stay with family that weekend.

It was a fair way to go, and involved a full day travel, a combination of trains and a flixbus and some nervousness as to whether we’d be stranded in Turin when the bus we were scheduled on developed mechanical issues, but we made it in the end.

But you’re not here to read about the reliability of public transport, you want to see what I saw right? The yarn, the samples I can show you, the level of excitement and enthusiasm that were totally infectious may be a little more difficult to convey. So off we go…

Yes, there was the obligatory queue which made sure the anticipation was stoked.

The queue moved pretty quickly and I was soon grasping a programme and planning my route.

Initially I was being really sensible and checking out yarn, making notes of things that interested me and then moving on. But by the Ovis Et Cetera stand, just a single aisle in, I cracked. Need I say anything other than ‘Corriedale’? Probably not but you know I’m going to…. So I was completely won over by their Corriedale twist, and bought 2 skeins of the deep green ‘Pine’ colourway and a mini skein set. Since Old Maiden Aunt closed her wonderful dye business, my usual source of Corriedale has disappeared, and as you’ll see in a forthcoming design, I’ve been working through what I have…

Since I haven’t knit an adult garment since February this year, I figured this could be the perfect push into knitting a short sleeved sweater with a colourwork yoke. I have a number of such sweaters that are inconstant rotation during the winter and one of which I was wearing at the event, cue dodgy bathroom selfie:

This is my Lanatus by Susan Crawford knit out of vintage 4 ply/fingering yarn. What I really like about the colourwork in this, is that the pale colour is actually a combination of cream, pale lemon yellow and grey. This inspired my next purchase.

I think I’ve shared my love of natural colours before so this Terroir yarn is very much in my wheelhouse. I choose the deep brown (at the back of the picture) and with a contrast skein for a little colourwork. I didn’t go for the completely ‘white’ option but instead the next shade up, a blend of the white with a little bit of darker fleece.

After my initial splurges I browsed a few stands. I loved this top by Olga Putano that was on the mYak stand. I was temped to buy the yarn to go with it but then realised I have a least two lovely yarns in my stash in sufficient quantity that would work for this so my first mYak could wait a little longer.

Next to Myak was La Bien Aimee, again with beautiful samples on display and some gorgeous yarn. Having already bought a hand dyed yarn, and not having a particular project in mind I walked away and decided I needed caffeine to fuel further forays. The crowds were a little overwhelming and I needed a little time out.

So I had a break, a coffee and a bit of a knit and then headed back into the fray. There were a number of yarns that merit an ‘honorable mention’ as I was drawn to, and tempted by their yarns.

The colours of these fluffy yarns by Dark Omen drew me in. Aren’t they stunning? Dark Omen are Italian and have a great online set up.

La Fabrique Poveda had some beautiful samples knit up in their stunning naturally dyed local yarns. I was sorely tempted here.

Wooliette have taken fluffy yarns to a whole new level of softness, stunning yarns and some beautiful samples to show how they knit up.

By lunch time I was more than ready to go outside and enjoy the sun, the natural light and a slightly less charged atmosphere. I admired my purchases, and congratulated myself on my restraint. I also looked through the programme noting the stalls I’d highlighted on my arrival. It was then that I noticed that there was a whole section of stands that I’d thus far missed, and some more that I simply hadn’t been able to get close enough to to actually see the yarn…

So recharged, I went back in. I perused more fully the lovely yarns of Biche e Buches which I’ve seen online but never before in person.

I also stopped by Lanivendole, a lovely Italian yarn company whose yarns I have in my stash and I have used for an as yet un published pattern…

Lanivendole also had some lovely samples including an Isabel Kraemer cardigan that I really liked. This cardigan was still on my mind when I got to the dLana stand.

I was totally captivated by the dLana Madrilana yarn, a stunning tweedy yarn in a lovely range of colours that comes in both 4 ply and Dk weights. I knew I wanted some of this yarn, but also that to justify more purchases and to do it justice. I wanted to buy it with pattern in mind for it. So having ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ over it and and totally fallen for the flecked tweedy colours, I stepped away and thought I’d check out that Isabel Kramer pattern.

I did, sort of, except that as I was going through her portfolio I stopped at a different cardigan altogether. I must have looked at this pattern previously as it was so familiar, but totally different to the sample cardigan I’d looked at just 15 minutes or so previously.

The cardigan pattern I chose to buy yarn for was the Elah cardigan. I think my sense of overwhelm at this point was greater than I realised as I totally failed to do the maths correctly and bought just 400g of DK yarn for the cardy… I don’t want to say much more at this stage, but this combo of yarn and pattern has totally re-ignited my knitting mojo and I’m loving it.

At this point with 3 garments worth of yarn I thought I was pretty much done and decided to head across the road to the Botanic Gardens. I sat on the wall and did have a text exchange with some knitter friends about whether I should go back for another purchase. One of the first stands I’d been really taken with was by la nollin which had naturally dyed Organic Poll Dorset and Merino d’Arles. Go on, click that link and you’ll see why I was so drawn to it.

My friends gave me the right answer saying, ‘yes of course’, but to be honest by this stage I was pretty much spent and with no project in mind and my lack of knitting this year weighing heavily on me, I passed on it. Am I still a little disappointed in myself? Maybe. But I can always order online.

Instead my immediate plan is to knit with the yarns I have, my beautiful new yarns and some that have been in my stash waiting for me to find just the right project for them.

The Botanic Gardens in Lyon are lovely and I particularly enjoyed walking through the areas of colourful perennials including a few dyeplants. This was a perfect end to the day and wonderful opportunity to soak up some strong natural light.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip around Lyon Knit Eat Festival with me. I came home with such inspiration, hopefully I’ll be sharing some knitted FOs with you soon.

Take care, and happy knitting,

Tess xxx